InfraGard Members Alliance Houston

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

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

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

InfraGard National Members Alliance leaders webinar on "Sharing and Layering in Cyber Investigations"

Attacks on information infrastructure pose the most serious economic and national security threat of the 21st century.  Gone are the days of individual hackers as the primary threat to cyber security; today's cyber warriors are members of organized crime rings and hostile nation states, and their targets are government and financial networks; communications, utilities and critical infrastructure control, and sensitive defense and military information.  The need to improve cyber investigative information sharing from both a technology and policy perspective, put an end to data siloing, and improve public-private partnerships is crucial to prevent a cyber 9/11.

Learn from these veterans of policy and technology development about how to implement best practices that can ensure your organizations investigative, defensive and offensive capabilities are always one step ahead of cyber enemies:

Speakers:

Dr. Kathleen L. Kiernan, CEO of Kiernan Group
Ronald E. Plesco, Jr., Esq. CEO, National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance
Rob Schmidt, CEO, InfraGard National Members Alliance

Thursday, July 8, 2010 - 10:00am CDT

To register click here.

Ten Alleged Secret Agents Arrested in the United States Multi-year FBI Investigation Uncovers Network in the United States Tasked with Recruiting Sources and Collecting Information for Russia

The charge of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

This case is the result of a multi-year investigation conducted by the FBI; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; and the Counterespionage Section and the Office of Intelligence within the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/nyfo062810a.htm

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Houston InfraGard Chapter collaborating with DHS to gather assessment data after tropical storms

The Houston InfraGard Chapter is collaborating with the local Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office to provide critical infrastructure damage assessment after any regional disaster.  The DHS will monitor the Houston InfraGard Twitter account IMAHoustonSR for in the field updates.  The Twitter account is only available for Houston InfraGard Chapter members and vetted agencies.  All members and critical infrastructure partners are encouraged to "request to follow" the Twitter account well in advance of any incident.

Additional users will not be added 48 hours before any landfalling storm.

Please refer to our web page at: http://www.infragardhouston.org/infragardhouston/member-resources.html

FBI: Social networking sites a favorite target for child predators

HOUSTON—The FBI is warning parents to be on the lookout for predators who target kids on popular social networking sites.

Since it’s summer, more kids will be spending time at home. And with the down economy, the cost of child care may force more parents to leave their kids at home alone.

That could leave them open to danger online.

"They leave them home," the FBI’s Amanda Hinton said. "And a lot of times when you leave kids at home, they’re going to turn to the electronics."

Full article at KHOU

Obama emphasizes identity management

Federal news Radio’s Jason Miller writes that now, the Obama administration is trying its hand at promoting identity management. Officials believe a new comprehensive strategy for secure online transaction...

“The ability to conduct transactions is key to everything we are doing, whether it’s a transaction with the government moving from a 90 percent to 95 percent of people filing taxes online,” says Howard Schmidt, the White House Cyber Coordinator, the other day during his speech at the Symantec Government Symposium 2010 in Washington. “The ability to interact with the government in a very secure manner, where privacy and civil liberties are protected and you can only do that with some of the things you look at from an identity management perspective.”

http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/obama-emphasizes-identity-management

Submitted by:  E. Charles Sterling

White House preparing national Internet identity authentication plan

The White House plans to reveal June 25 a strategy for verifying the online identity of Internet users, said cyber czar Howard Schmidt, speaking June 22 during a Washington, D.C. conference.

"I want to make sure that the computer on the other end knows that it's me that's interacting with it," he told audience members of the Symantec Government Symposium 2010.  To that end, the White House will unveil a strategy for public comment called the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. The strategy will not limit itself to creating authenticated identities for federal employees.

"We need to figure out how we get those things to work at the national level," Schmidt said.  National identity authentication will be voluntary and must take into consideration privacy concerns, Schmidt also said.

http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/white-house-preparing-national-internet-identity-authentication-plan/2010-06-23?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Special Interest Groups (SIG's) gaining momentum

We've have had a great response to our Special Interest Group (SIG) program.  Additional SIG's are being considered as we roll out the program.

Currently the following SIG's and Sector Chiefs have been established:

Sector Chiefs by Special Interest Group (SIG)

Banking and Finance        William Gemza

Electric                             Dirk Suter

Information Technology      Mark Stingley

Oil & Gas                         Johnny Lockett

If you complete the registration form and do not see your sector listed, but have an interest in establishing a SIG please add a note to the comments section on the form.  A list of the defined sectors are included on the SIG web page, as well as additional information on the program:

http://www.infragardhouston.org/infragardhouston/sectors.html

We are in the process of validating membership.  You will be contacted by a Sector Chief over the next two weeks