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

Quarterly meeting Nov 17th at the Texas Medical Center

The next quarterly meeting will be held at the Texas Medical Center and focus on the Health Care sector.  It will be held from noon until 3:00pm.

Agenda and addtional details will be posted by Nov 4th.

Please refer to the following link for additonal detials: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2441219754

 

JCIP conference details

This page will be updated with information about the JCIP conference in Houston on Aug 3, 2011.

Symposium agenda: Brochure

Venue map: Centerpoint Energy 1111 Louisiana

Parking information: Map to nearby facilities

Local lunch locations will be provided at the registration desk.

Last minute details:

Houston - JCIP conference to focus on Oil/Gas, Chemical, and Electrical Sectors

The Joint Critical Infrastructure Partnership (JCIP) conference will be held at CenterPoint Energy on Wed, Aug 3, 2011.  The full day conference will have a number of nationally and internationally known subject matter experts.

There will be presentations from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Houston Fusion Center.  In addition we will have private sector as well as academia represented among the speakers.

The focus of the program is Energy (Electric, Oil and Gas), and Chemicals.  Although other sectors are welcome, the sessions will be focused  specifically for those sectors.

Speakers will provide insight on current threats to physical, as well as cyber assets.

Draft copy of agenda: http://www.infragardhouston.org/Conferences/JCIP/JCIPHoustonAgenda_DRAFTv2%207-6-2011.pdf

The final copy of the agenda will be posted on the website in the next several days.

Please refer to this link for to REGISTER: http://www.infragard.net/jcip/register.php

Look forward to seeing you on Aug 3rd.

Joint Critical Infrastructure Protection - Symposium

Save the date Aug 3, 2011 for the JCIP symposium with a focus on the Energy Sector to be held in downtown Houston.  Addtional informaiton is available at: http://www.infragardhouston.org/Conferences/JCIP/JCIPSavetheDate.pdf

 

Secure World Post

Secure World announced the availability of Secure World Post as a consolidated digest of current security news.  The site is: http://www.secureworldpost.com

Computer Forensic Examiners SIG announced

The Houston Chapter is establishing a Computer Forensic Examiners SIG. A hands on exercise will be held on Friday November 19th from 10:30 to 1:30 at the Houston FBI office.  In order to participate you must be an InfraGard member (REQUIRED) and you must bring a malware submission on CD (REQUIRED) to gain admittance.  At least one of the submissions will be analyzed during the boot camp by Adam Pridgen (lead analyst from the recent Rice University/Houston IMA pilot project) and a report of the malware analysis will be distributed to the membership.  This boot camp is by RSVP only.  Seating is limited, walk-ins will not be accepted.

Regulators: N.J. nuclear plant employee was an Islamic jihadist

A 26-year old American, Sharif Mobley, now under arrest in Yemen for terrorist activities, became an Islamic militant while working for six years at several nuclear plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland; the man -- who told fellow workers "We are brothers in the union, but if a holy war comes, look out" -- had unescorted access to the interior of the plants; to have unescorted access to secure areas of a nuclear power plant, a person must undergo a background investigation, including a criminal record check and a psychological assessment -- but the rules did not account for temporary workers who migrate from plant to plant, as Mobley did...

Much of the report was withheld from the public release because it “revealed security vulnerabilities” at nuclear facilities, said Stephen D. Dingbaum, the commission’s assistant inspector general for audits.

Shane writes that the inspector general found that Mobley did have unescorted access to the interior of the plants but did not have access to computers or high-security information.

http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/regulators-nj-nuclear-plant-employee-was-islamic-jihadist

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Iran's Nuclear Chiefs Battle Cyber Attack

"This computer worm (STUXNET) is designed to transfer data about production lines from our industrial plants to (locations) outside of the country."

The Stuxnet worm is described by experts as the most complex piece of malware ever designed.

Technology security provider Symantec told the Financial Times it would have taken a team of 10 specialised programmers about six months of full-time work to design Stuxnet.

"Government organisations across the world need to think carefully about how they are protecting their power stations, water plants and industrial units, from malicious attack," Mr Bentley added.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Technology/Irans-Atomic-Energy-Organisation-Meets-To-Discuss-Response-To-Stuxnet-Worm-Over-Nuclear-Plant-Fears/Article/201009415743426?lpos=Technology_Second_Home_Page_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15743426_Irans_Atom

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

InfraGard Houston Malware Analysis Initiative Announced

All Houston InfraGard members are encouraged to participate

Today the Houston InfraGard Chapter announces its Malware Analysis Pilot Project, which will provide additional intelligence for the Houston InfraGard Community to protect Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources.

The pilot project will identify and develop a process to acquire OPEN SOURCE malware, viruses, and other cyber threats at private sector organizations on an anonymous basis and to provide early intelligence to the private sector.  The program will leverage the Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) groups within the Houston Chapter.  The Sector Chiefs will be a collection point for all Houston IMA members who wish to remain anonymous.  The Sector Chief’s will provide a conduit to disseminate analysis, and insure that adequate population of data is available to the analysis center.  Anticipated participating SIG’s are: Electric, Oil and Gas, Healthcare and Medical, Finance and Banking.

The program will include requirements definition, the analysis of infrastructure required to support an ongoing program, identification of analysis assets to review the cyber threats, and identifying methods to provide intelligence back to the community.

The program will include a collaborative effort between a university information technology research curriculum at the graduate level and subject matter experts from the Houston FBI Cyber Security division, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Houston Special Interest Groups.

The program will additionally provide an opportunity for educational institutions to develop curriculum that includes practical application of current threat analysis, research, and best practices for cyber security.

The pilot program will conclude with a after action report, projected human resource/ infrastructure funding requirements, and project plan for permanent establishment of analysis centers at multiple universities.

For specific details on the project including a FAQ and submittal form please refer to the project information web page at: Project webpage