InfraGard Members Alliance Houston

August 2010 - Quarterly meeting announcement - Air Transportation focus

We have an exciting meeting planned for this quarter.  Our focus will be on Air Transportation and the location will be Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Agenda

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM – Registration
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM – Lunch & Houston Chapter update Bob Janusaitis and Noel Due

A box lunch will be provided but you must RSVP!  Please only RSVP if you will definitely attend the meeting.

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM – Shawn Clark – Continental Airlines
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM – Gregory Fremin – Houston Police
1:15 PM – 1:45 PM – David Williams – Houston Airport Systems
1:45 PM – 2:15 PM – Tom Woodby – Federal Bureau of Investigation
2:15 PM – 2:45 PM – Ann Testa – Transportation Security Administration
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM – General Questions and Answers or Further Discussion
3:15 PM – End of Quarterly Meeting.
 
Location:        IAH Mgmt Conference Room - Terminal A, Mezzanine Level 
Address:         2800 N. Terminal Road, Houston, TX

Directions:      The IAH Mgmt Conference room is located in Terminal A on the mezzanine level.  Come to the Ticketing Level (2nd floor) of Terminal A and look for the Stadium City Bar & Grill and Frontier Airlines located on the north side of the terminal.  There is a set of stairs between those two  business.  At the top of the stairs make two left turns and you will see the door to the conference room.

There is limited seating so we must have an RSVP.

To RSVP please click here

 

WISER for BlackBerry

We want to announce the release of WISER for BlackBerry.  This version of WISER leverages a customized version of WebWISER to deliver content to this popular platform.  This release features:

-- Quick online access to WISER's full database of chemical, biological, and radiological substances

-- Easy access to WISER's help identify capability and full suite of tools

WISER for BlackBerry ( http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov/downloads_blackberry.html?email= ) can be downloaded from the WISER website. 

Please note that WISER for BlackBerry requires an active Internet connection.

 

http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov/index.html

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling
 

Portable (and Ultra-Low-Cost) Ventilators Could Save Lives in Rural Areas and During Disasters

MIT students are developing a very-low-cost portable ventilator that could save hundreds of lives during emergencies and in rural areas, where hospitals often lack high-tech medical technologies.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, hospitals were overwhelmed and understaffed. As hallways were flooded with patients, many of whom had life-threatening injuries and illnesses, the lack of proper supplies became apparent. Especially alarming was the shortage of ventilators, many of which failed when the power went out. Doctors and nurses were forced to give air by manually pumping machines for hours and days—sometimes resulting in the death of patients. In an effort to alleviate these fatal situations, students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are developing a small, portable ventilator that could be distributed cheaply to hospitals and rural areas.

http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Technology-For-Change/Portable-and-UltraLowCost-Ventilators-Could-Save-Lives-in-Rural-Areas-and-During-Disasters/?kc=STNL07272010STR1

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Houston Police Dept. gets 737 airliner as training tool

Houston police now have an old jet airliner to use as a training tool that could make them the envy of big-city law enforcement agencies around the nation.

Top police brass cut a ceremonial ribbon Monday on a retired Boeing 737 that had been used as an Air Force trainer in San Antonio. It was set to be decommissioned and destined for an airplane graveyard in the Arizona desert.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/19/2344848/houston-pd-gets-737-airliner-as.html#ixzz0uKSm6Dlf

Cyber protection

A shortage of experts to protect the U.S. against hackers has led the government to cast a wide net for talent - and next week that net lands at Cal Poly Pomona.

The 22 winners of a statewide competition that sought to identify Californians with a talent for cyber security - the protection of computers and networks against attacks - are set to gather at the university for a weeklong cyber camp beginning Monday. 

Delaware and New York are also hosting camps, organized through the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a nonprofit initiative to build up 10,000 Americans over the next few years to enter the fields of computer security.

"Cyber security is a growing field," said Karen Evans, the national director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge. "There's a limited number of people with the right skill set to do these jobs. We want to create a framework to generate buzz and interest."

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_15535794?IADID

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Mathematics could be anti-terror tool

Mathematicians and computer scientists have begun to develop equations and algorithms for combing through mountains of data and uncover hidden "rules" that govern terrorism behavior, ScienceNews.org reported Monday.

Other researchers are seeking simple mathematical formulas that could describe the optimal arrangement of a secret terrorist cell and provide clues on how to destroy it.

"If you have a mathematical model that can describe the structure of a terror network -- and the model works -- then you can predict the future," says Alexander Gutfraind, a mathematician at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Full article: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/07/13/Mathematics-could-be-anti-terror-tool/UPI-45631279046662/

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Smart Grid 101 Training

An Energy Management Institute Training Program.

Understand the Smart Grid and how it is likely to evolve and be protected.

In its contemporary form, the Smart Grid encompasses the facilities, control systems and protocols from the electric generators to the retail customers and their usage patterns. The new Smart Grid will be a target for foreign governments, terrorists, hackers, and disgruntled employees that may be intent on causing damage to the U.S. electric grid and utility system integrity. The Smart Grid will also offer a wealth of benefits in energy conservation, control of electric generation, and transmission of energy to best meet customers needs economically and dependably. This course will explore the Smart grid vulnerabilities and implementation options that may best protect and utilize new technologies, with a focus on best practices around the country

Full article: http://www.energyinstitution.org/education/course-detail.php?filterby=A&filterval=0&returnto=schedule&id=74

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Terror defendant scoffed at JFK security

A former cargo handler on a reconnaissance mission... marveled at the lack of security for jet fuel storage tanks there, according to tapes played Tuesday at his terror trial.

The pair hoped to "cause greater destruction than in the Sept. 11 attacks," the government alleges in an indictment. The plot never got past the planning stages, authorities said. The men have pleaded not guilty.

In the tape played Tuesday, Defreitas bragged about his knowledge of Kennedy Airport and its vulnerabilities.  "For years, I've been watching them," he said of the fuel tanks.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5imyS6Rxh0dCsz_QlXiqWrCjtdtEwD9GPPLDO0

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

U.S. quietly launches protection program against cyber attacks on critical infrastructure

The U.S. government is launching an expansive program dubbed Perfect Citizen to detect cyber assaults on private companies and government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the electricity grid and nuclear-power plants, according to people familiar with the program.

An NSA spokeswoman said the agency had no information to provide on the program. A Raytheon spokesman declined to comment.

The goal is to close the “big, glaring holes” in the U.S.’s understanding of the nature of the cyber threat against its infrastructure, one industry specialist familiar with the program told Gorman. “We don’t have a dedicated way to understand the problem.”

http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/nsa-perfect-citizen-program-purely-research-and-engineering-effort

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

DHS issues Private Sector Resources Catalog

In order to face the new threats and evolving hazards of today's security environment, we must develop and maintain critical homeland security capabilities at all layers of our society. We all share the responsibility to build all-hazards preparedness and resiliency into our way of life. As outlined in the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report released earlier this year, this enterprise approach is composed of multiple partners whose roles and responsibilities are distributed and shared among a broad-based community with a common interest in the public safety and well-being of America and American society.

The Private Sector Resources Catalog facilitates your organization's access to the resources you need to participate in the homeland security enterprise and help keep our country secure. The first to be targeted specifically towards private sector partners and encompassing the entire Department, this document collects the training, publications, guidance, alerts, newsletters, programs, and services available to the private sector across the Department. Recognizing the breadth and diversity of the available resources as well as the Department's continually evolving work, this catalog will be updated regularly to publicize new resources and increase private sector awareness.

Available at: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/private_sector_resource_catalog.pdf