CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE: Napolitano: Hackers "came close" to Shutting Down Critical Infrastructure

courtesy of:
www.ccip.mst.edu

Infrastructure protectionPublished 28 October 2011On Thursday DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano revealed that hackers have "come close" to shutting down parts of the nation's critical infrastructure; at a press conference Napolitano stated that hackers have attempted to infiltrate financial systems, transportation networks, and other key elements of U.S. critical infrastructure, making cyberattacks on these facilities one of her top concerns  Read more

EAST COAST QUAKE: Virginia Quake Highlights Overlooked Danger: Decrepit Dams

Published 25 August 2011

Tuesday's Virginia earthquake raised fears that a Fukushima scenario would unfold somewhere on the East Coast, but experts say that earthquake pose a much greater threat: breaching decrepit dams; of the 85,000 dams in the United States, 4,000 are seriously unsafe or deficient -- and of those, 1,800 are located in areas where a breach would cause grave damage to life and property

Concerns about dam failures come to the fore // Source: qwiki.com

Tuesday’s Virginia-centered earthquake, which shook the East Coast of the United States, caused a nuclear power plant in Virginia to be immediately taken off line, and for its cooling system to be powered by back-up generators.

Many may have feared the tremor may bring about a Fukushima-like disaster, but Scientific Americannotes that Americans should be more worried about a quieter danger: tens of thousands of dams, many built before seismic engineering came of age, have the potential to release tsunami-like flash floods in the event of a seismic breach.  Read more

DISASTER INSURANCE: Disasters Take Toll on PartnerRe’s Profits

Published 3 August 2011

PartnerRe Ltd,
Beijing,China

On Monday PartnerRe Ltd., the international reinsurer, announced that its second quarter earnings fell 35 percent as a result of the devastating natural disasters that struck around the world.

PartnerRe’s first quarter earnings also fell in large part due to the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand as well as the particularly destructive tornado season in the United States.

Costas Miranthis, the company’s CEO, remained optimistic and said that PartnerRe’s other businesses “[continue] to perform well and its capital position is strong, despite the heavy costs from this year’s natural disasters.

In June, PartnerRe was downgraded slightly by Fitch Ratings due to its catastrophic losses that hurt shareholder equity more than most other reinsurers. Fitch Ratings added that while PartnerRe has had a strong record of profits over an extended period of time, the company’s earnings have fluctuated more than a higher rating merits. The ratings company also does not forecast a net profit for PartnerRe this year.

In the second quarter, PartnerRe generated $124.2 million in profits, compared to $190.9 million for the same period last year.

The company’s revenues increased slightly to $1.35 billion, up 1.5 percent, but net premiums fell 5.1 percent to $1.06 billion.  Read more

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY: Not Just for Private Sector Any More

Tue, 2011-07-26 02:32 PM (www.gsnmagazine.com)

Mark Fabro (left) and Anthony Di Bello

By Mark Fabro and Anthony Di Bello 

In the last several years, critical infrastructure protection has moved to the forefront of almost every asset owner’s agenda, be they in the public or private sector.

Perhaps more importantly, cyber security and its relevance to the protection of national critical assets are gaining considerable attention from Congress, the White House and the U.S. Defense Department.

Even though much of the U.S. critical infrastructure is owned by private industry, many high-value critical facilities are actually operated by government agencies. Critical infrastructure systems, regardless of who owns them, often share a tremendous amount of interdependency and interoperability, and from these interdependencies come previously unseen attack vectors.  Read more

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE: Insider Threats and Critical Infrastructure: Sometimes, the News is Worth Worrying About

Thu, 2011-07-21 11:10
by CSO, Salted Hash – IT security news analysis, over easy! 

My instinct is almost always to look at something scary and tell you why there's no real reason to be afraid. But when it comes to malicious insiders working in nuclear power plants, a little fear may be justified.

I bring this up after reading all the reports about how Osama Bin Laden was planning an attack for the 10th anniversary of 9-11. The Department of Homeland Security issued a report that malicious insiders sent by the terrorists may already be on the inside at nuclear and other facilities essential to maintaining our energy supply, in positions of deep responsibility.

And so here we are, on guard like we've been so many times before, with the TV news people telling us to be afraid -- very afraid.

Exhibit A: This ABC report featuring Brian Ross, who is, in my opinion, one of the biggest doom-and-gloom-we're-all-gonna-die reporters out there:

Sabotage by an insider at a major utility facility, including a chemical or oil refinery, could provide al Qaeda with its best opportunity for the kind of massive Sept. 11 anniversary attack Osama bin Laden was planning, according to U.S. officials.

A new intelligence report from the Department of Homeland Security issued Tuesday, titled Insider Threat to Utilities, warns "violent extremists have, in fact, obtained insider positions," and that "outsiders have attempted to solicit utility-sector employees" for damaging physical and cyber attacks.

"Based on the reliable reporting of previous incidents, we have high confidence in our judgment that insiders and their actions pose a significant threat to the infrastructure and information systems of U.S. facilities," the bulletin reads in part. "Past events and reporting also provide high confidence in our judgment that insider information on sites, infrastructure, networks, and personnel is valuable to our adversaries and may increase the impact of any attack on the utilities infrastructure."   For more

EARTHQUAKE DETECTION > Volunteers help California build quake sensor network

Image courtesy of USGS.gov

Published 12 July 2011

Thousands of residents across California are helping the U.S Geological Survey (USGS) build a dense network of seismic sensors across the state; as part of the Quake Catcher Network, Californians are being asked to place 6,000 seismic sensors in their homes to help geologists study earthquakes

Thousands of residents across California are helping the U.S Geological Survey (USGS)build a dense network of seismic sensors across the state.

As part of the Quake Catcher Network, Californians are being asked to place 6,000 seismic sensors in their homes to help geologists study earthquakes. Last weekend the program was introduced in the San Francisco Bay Area with the help of University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University.

“With thousands of volunteers hosting our seismic sensors, forming dense networks in these regions, we’ll be able to get data on a level of detail and with a degree of accuracy that we could only dream about before” said Jesse Lawrence, assistant professor of geophysics at Stanford University, where the project is based.

The sensors can be plugged into a computer’s USB port and need to be firmly secured to the ground to prevent false readings. Using special software and an internet connection, data is transmitted from the device back to Stanford University, where the information is being collected.

Elizabeth Cochran, a USGS research geophysicist,explained that the sensors will allow geologists to track ground movements after an earthquake from more locations to enable a denser record of seismic data.  Read more

STATE OF THE OCEAN > 'Shocking' Report Warns Of Mass Extinction From Current Rate Of Marine Distress

Huffington Post

by Travis Donovan

If the current actions contributing to a multifaceted degradation of the world's oceans aren't curbed, a mass extinction unlike anything human history has ever seen is coming, an expert panel of scientists warns in an alarming new report.

The preliminary report from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) is the result of the first-ever interdisciplinary international workshop examining the combined impact of all of the stressors currently affecting the oceans, including pollution, warming, acidification, overfishing and hypoxia.

“The findings are shocking," Dr. Alex Rogers, IPSO's scientific director, said in a statement released by the group. "This is a very serious situation demanding unequivocal action at every level. We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime, and worse, our children's and generations beyond that."  For more

Security > Border Patrol uses wireless cameras originally intended to photograph wildlife

Thu, 2011-06-23 03:35 PM

By: Jacob Goodwin

Tree-mounted BuckEye Cam

The Spokane, WA, sector of the U.S. Border Patrol plans to purchase about 70 long-range wireless camera systems that were originally designed to photograph deer and other animals in the wild, but are now being used in a variety of security applications and as part of the war on terror.

The cameras will be supplied byAthens Technical Specialists, Inc., of Athens, OH, which markets individual cameras – as well as an integrated collection of as many as 30 cameras known as the BuckEye Cam CellBase – under the nameBuckEye Cam.

Tornado Sirens > Proved Beneficial in Rural Communities

[Sirens may not save property, but they sure as heck SAVE LIVES!]


On April 27, 2011, widespread damage was reported in Guntersville, AL, with trees down and some residents trapped in vehicles or homes. Trees and power lines blocked roadways as tornadoes ranging from EF-0 to EF-4 struck Marshall County. Five fatalities were recorded. According to Anita McBurnett, Marshall County’s Director of Emergency Management, the picture could have been grimmer in several rural communities had warning systems not been in place.  Read more

Pakistan > Militant Strike Refreshes Doubts on Pakistani Nuke Security

Militant Strike Refreshes Doubts on Pakistani Nuke Security

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The siege by militants on a Pakistani military base on Monday is expected to again increase concerns about the South Asian state's capacity to protect its nuclear arsenal, the Los Angeles Times reported (see GSN, May 23).

(May. 24) - Military personnel arrive on Monday at Pakistan's Mehran Naval Station following an attack on the installation by Taliban gunmen. The strike could heighten worries over Pakistan's capacity to secure its nuclear weapons (Rizwan Tabassum/Getty Images).

Four to six militants were initially believed involved in the physical operation that killed no fewer than 10 and hurt another 15 at the Mehran Naval Station in Karachi. The number of attackers as of Tuesday was being assessed at up to 12.

The attackers used two ladders and wire cutters to overcome the security perimeter of the installation, where they proceeded to destroy two high-tech spy aircraft provided by the United States. It took Pakistani authorities the better part of the day to overpower the attackers who were armed with grenades, rocket launchers and guns.

The Pakistani Taliban has taken credit for the siege, which it said was retaliation for the U.S. killing earlier this month of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (see related GSN story, today).  Full article

Japan > Nuclear - Data Points to Reactor Fuel Breakdown

Data Points to Reactor Fuel Breakdown in Japan: Report

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

photo courtesy of:  browzz.com

Newly disclosed information indicates that nuclear fuel has fully melted inside the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Wednesday (see GSN, May 17).

The six-reactor Fukushima facility was severely damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 20,000 people dead or missing in Japan.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power's blueprint for stabilizing the plant is rooted partly in the belief that fuel in several site reactors had not completely heated to the point of losing its shape, according to the newspaper. Data released on Monday, though, indicates water pressure in the reactors dropped on March 15 and 16 -- seemingly due to ruptures in the internal pressure vessels of both systems.

The discovery of technetium and other radioactive contaminants in fluid at the No. 3 reactor site supports the view that overheated nuclear material had produced openings in the system's inner container (Asahi Shimbun I, May 18). Melted fuel is also likely responsible for openings in the No. 2 reactor's pressure vessel (Hidenori Tsuboya, Asahi Shimbun II, May 18)  Full article
.

Historic, desperate measures to control Mississippi River

Opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway // Source: nola.com

The historic levels of water swelling the Mississippi River required the Army Corps of Engineers to take historic measures to prevent catastrophic flooding of Baton Rough and News Orleans: first, the Morganza control structure, located 186 miles upriver of New Orleans and completed in 1954 as part of the Army Corps of Engineers' broad flood-protection upgrades in the wake of the Great Flood of 1927, was opened for only the second time to allow water to flow out of the river and into the Atchafalaya basin, a designated flood relief area; the Corps says that Saturday marked the first time in history that all three floodways built by corps after 1927 flood -- the Morganza Floodway, the Bonnet Carre Spillway, and the Birds Point floodway in Missouri -- have been in operation at the same time; about 25,000 people and 11,000 structures are in harm's way, as up to 25 feet of flooding is expected in a 3,000 square-mile area of Louisiana  For full article  (2 minute read)

Turkey plans two earthquake resistant cities to move residents from vulnerable Istanbul

These Istanbul buildings are especially vulnerable
Source: purdue.edu

Infrastructure protection

To encourage residents to move away from seismically unsafe neighborhoods, Turkey's government recently announced that it will begin building two earthquake-resistant developments near Istanbul; the city of more than twelve million people currently sits near a major fault-line that could potentially kill thousands in the event of a major earthquake; engineers and seismic experts warn that Istanbul's poor construction, shoddy city planning, and overcrowding would result in many fatalities in the event of an earthquake; officials plan for the new urban centers to be home to roughly 1 million residents each; any move to the new settlements would be entirely voluntary  Read more

Disasters > Swollen Mississippi River to be closed for traffic as of Monday

Swollen Mississippi River to be closed for traffic as of Monday

Landsat comparison images of Mississippi flooding:
Source: esri.com

Swollen by weeks of heavy rain and snowmelt, the Mississippi River has been breaking high-water records that have stood since the 1920s and 1930s; it is projected to crest at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on 19 May and break the mark set there during the historic Great Flood of 1927; the crest is expected to reach New Orleans on 23 May; officials with the Port of New Orleans said the Coast Guard may close the river to ships as early as Monday, halting traffic on one of the world's busiest commercial waterways; barges headed south from the U.S. heartland to the Port of South Louisiana at Reserve, upriver from New Orleans, would be unable to reach grain elevators; massive ships that carry U.S. corn, soybeans, and other crops out of the country would be unable to move  Read more

Critical Infrastructure Protection > A Guide for Homeland Security Instructors Preparing Physical CIP Courses

If you are in to Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), you need to read this article. It is a very long read, but well worth it.  Give's a great indepth description of CIP and where it's headed.

The eighteen Critical Infrastructure and Key Resource (CIKR) sectors are defined as:

Agriculture and Food	Water	Nuclear Reactors
Defense Industrial Base	Chemical	Information Technology
Energy	Commercial Facilities	Communications
Healthcare and Public Health	Critical Manufacturing	Postal & Shipping
National Monuments & Icons	Dams	Transportation Systems
Banking and Finance	Emergency Services	Government Facilities

The events of September 11, 2001 brought about a rapid expansion of critical infrastructure protection efforts. The first National Strategy for Homeland Security was published in 2002 and was followed by the National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, which replaced PDD63, in 2003. These documents expanded critical infrastructure to thirteen sectors and added five key resources and led to the publication of the first National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) in 2006, with the second edition following in 2009. Currently, the NIPP defines Critical Infrastructure as:³

Systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital that the incapacity or destruction of such may have a debilitating impact on the security, economy, public health or safety, environment, or any combination of these matters, across any Federal, State, regional, territorial, or local jurisdiction.

LEVEL OF HAZARD - LEVEL OF PROTECTION

Table 1. Recommended Resources on the Whole Building Design Guide

General Category	Specific Topics
Terrorist Threats	Blast Safety of the Building Envelope
	Designing Buildings to Resist Explosive Threats
	Retrofitting Existing Buildings to Resist Explosive Threats
	Landscape Architecture and the Site Security Design Process
	The Site Security Design Process
	Windows and Glazing
Earth Effects& Natural Disasters	Flood Resistance of the Building Envelope
	Seismic Design Principles
	Seismic Safety of the Building Envelope
	Wind Safety of the Building Envelope
Planning	Balancing Security/Safety and Sustainability Objectives
	Cost Impact of the ISC Security Design Criteria
	Threat/Vulnerability Assessments and Risk Analysis
	UFC/ISC Security Design Criteria Overview and Comparison