InfraGard Members Alliance Houston

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) will be holding a hearing entitled “Securing America’s Future: The Cybersecurity Act of 2012.”

On Thursday, February 16, 2012, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) will be holding a hearing entitled “Securing America’s Future:  The Cybersecurity Act of 2012.”  Over the past year, several other committees proposed related legislation which caused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to direct all committees of jurisdiction to come together and produce a single bill.  That bill will be introduced this week.  The HSGAC hearing begins at 2:30 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, February 16, 2012.  An audio/video of the hearing can be accessed on the HSGAC’s Web site at:  http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/securing-americas-future-the-cybersecurity-act-of-2012 

The upcoming HSGAC hearing comes on the heels of recent testimony concerning the world-wide threats, including cyber-related threats, facing the United States.  On January 31, 2012, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held an open hearing concerning “Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States.”  The Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper, testified at the hearing and provided an unclassified statement on the Intelligence Community’s assessment of threats to U.S. national security, which can be accessed on the Committee’s Web site at:

http://intelligence.senate.gov/hearings.cfm?hearingid=f14e6e2889a80b6b53be6d4e412f6eac&witnessId=f14e6e2889a80b6b53be6d4e412f6eac-0-1  

Director Clapper’s testimony is worth the read.  He focuses on, among many other topics, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (focusing on Iran and North Korea), cyber threats (focusing on increasing computer network operations), and threats to the energy and water sectors.  An archived video/audio of the hearing can be accessed on the U.S. Senate’s Web site at the following address:  http://www.senate.gov/fplayers/jw57/commMP4Player.cfm?fn=intel013112&st=xxx   

Source: Connecticut InfraGard Chapter

US faces 'huge' cyber threat in the future: Gates

Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Tuesday that potential cyber attacks posed a "huge" future threat that had to be tackled through joint efforts by US military and civilian agencies.

Gates said the challenge for cyber security efforts inside the United States is that resources and expertise are concentrated in the military and the National Security Agency (NSA), which raises thorny legal questions about civil liberties.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_faces_huge_cyber_threat_in_the_future_Gates_999.html

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Surveillance Detection Awareness on the Job - Virtual Roundtable event on HSIN

The Office of Infrastructure Protection’s (IP) Sector-Specific Agency Executive Management Office (SSA EMO) and Partnership and Outreach Division (POD), with assistance from the Surveillance Detection workgroup, developed a 90-minute, highly interactive and visual, virtual roundtable, designed to raise the awareness of suspicious activities and behaviors that might indicate potential surveillance activities. An invitation to the roundtable is attached. 

The target audience for this roundtable will be a full-range of employees working at critical infrastructure facilities, government agencies, governmental organizations, and private-sector owners and operators, including front-line supervisors such as security managers, facilities managers, human resource managers, compliance managers, and IT managers.

More information: http://www.infragardhouston.org/pdfs/SDA%20Virtual%20Roundtable%209-9-10%20Invite.pdf

Border spending bill cuts $100 million from SBInet

Tactical communications along the southwest border gained a funding boost with President Obama's August 13 signing of a $600 million supplemental spending border security bill--a boost paid for in part with a decrease in SBInet funding.

In a statement accompanying his Friday signing of the bill, Obama said the extra spending will be offset by canceling $100 million from the SBInet program, with the remainder coming from an increase in application fees paid by companies seeking U.S. work visas for foreign citizens.

Subscribe: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/signup?sourceform=Viral-Tynt-FierceGovernmentIT-FierceGovernmentIT

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

DHS moving forward on cell-all smartphone chemical detection technology

Last November we wrote about DHS’s plan to turn cell phones into chemical sensors, in the process making millions of Americans into roaming chemical sensor nodes (“Day of Americans Serving As Mobile Chemicals Sensors Nears,” 6 November 2009 HSNW). The Government Monitor offers an update on this intriguing concept.

http://www.thegovmonitor.com/world_news/united_states/homeland-security-develops-super-cell-all-smartphone-technology-25800.html

http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dhs-moving-forward-cell-all-smartphone-chemical-detection-technology

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

FEMA'S READY Campaign and Citizen Corps Encourage Participation in the National Preparedness Month Coalition

FEMA announced that to date more than 1,900 national, regional, tribal, state and local organizations and businesses have pledged their support and joined the 2010 National Preparedness Month (NPM) Coalition. This is approximately 200 more than last year at this time.  The registration for the Coalition continues through September.

National Preparedness Month Coalition membership is open to all public and private sector organizations. Click here to register for membership.

http://www.ready.gov/america/npm10/index.html

 

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

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

Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep) Resource Center

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the adoption of the final standards for the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep)—a major milestone in DHS' implementation of a program recommended by the 9/11 Commission to improve private sector preparedness for disasters and emergencies.

"Private organizations across the country—from businesses to universities to non-profit organizations—have a vital role to play in bolstering our disaster preparedness and response capabilities," said Secretary Napolitano. "These new standards will provide our private sector partners with the tools they need to enhance the readiness and resiliency of our nation."

http://www.fema.gov/privatesector/preparedness/index.htm

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

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