Homeland Security: The vunerable electric grid

A few months back an informal member discussion on homeland security occurred. One of our CTWG Captains remarked that of all the possible things that could happen, an attack on our electric grid was one of his largest concerns. Well, the below tels us that our membership is very much on the power curve...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Spies hacked into the U.S. electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service, exposing potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities in key pieces of national infrastructure, a former U.S. government official said Wednesday.

The intrusions were discovered after electric companies gave the government permission to audit their systems, the ex-official said. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The inspections of the electric grid were triggered by fears over a March 2007 video from the Idaho National Laboratory, which had staged a demonstration of what damage hackers could do if they seized control of a crucial part of the electric grid. The video showed a power turbine spinning out of control until it became a smoking hulk and shut down.

Although the resulting audits turned up evidence of spying sometime earlier, the former official told the AP that the extent of the problem is unknown, because the government does not have blanket authority to examine other electric systems.

"The vulnerability may be bigger than we think," the official said, adding that the level of sophistication necessary to pull off such intrusions is so high that it is "almost without a doubt" done by state sponsors.

The Wall Street Journal, which reported the intrusions earlier, said officials believe the spies have not yet sought to damage the nation's electric grid, but that they likely would try in a war or another crisis.

Chinese and Russian officials have denied involvement in hacks on U.S. systems.

DHS: Cyberspace follow up

Legacy Futures in Cyberspace
To deal with future problems, its helps to look forward

At the information security convention Black Hat DC, homeland security expert Paul Kurtz argued in favor of developing sophisticated cyberweapons to deter attacks on American networks. However, as ThreatsWatch's own Michael Tanji observes, cyber-deterrence makes as much sense as trying to ban math. With anyone with a computer science degree able to develop malicious code, Cold War concepts of deterrence and non-proliferation are useless.

Nebulous concepts of cyber-deterrence are but one isolated symptom of a severe problem within the cyber-industrial complex: the pervasive reach of "legacy futures."

Futurist Jamais Cascio writes that legacy futures are old conceptions of the future that act as a deadweight drag on the policy planning process:

"Legacy futures are rarely still useful, but have so thoroughly colonized our minds that even new scenarios and futures models may end up making explicit or implicit references to them."

Cyberspace is a radically new battlespace, but security experts and strategists increasingly draw on the legacy future of the Cold War for strategic concepts and solutions. But can one really deter Russian hackers hiding behind a wall of botnets and proxy servers or contain stateless global guerrillas in an era of porous borders? Applied to the brave new world of cyber-conflict and networked insurgency, Cold War concepts muddle rather than clarify.
More here…

DHS: Cyber Security Chief resigns over battle with NSA

Since the USAF is also a leader in National Cyber Security, we will have to watch this story play out.

WASHINGTON -- The government's coordinator for cybersecurity programs has quit, criticizing what he described as the National Security Agency's grip on cybersecurity.

Rod Beckstrom, a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, said in his resignation letter that the NSA's central role in cybersecurity is "a bad strategy" because it is important to have a civilian agency taking a key role in the issue. The NSA is part of the Department of Defense. (Read Mr. Beckstrom's resignation letter.)

The power battles Mr. Beckstrom describes in his resignation letter illustrate the challenges ahead for the Obama administration as it plans its defense against governments and terrorists who might try to disrupt U.S. computer systems, cybersecurity specialists said. One issue is what part or parts of the government should lead the effort.
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DHS: FBI fears home grown attacks

WASHINGTON - A Somalian American man, who died in what is believed to be the first suicide bombing carried out by a U.S. citizen, appears to have been "radicalized" in the United States, FBI Director Robert Mueller said yesterday.

The suspect, identified in news reports as Shirwa Ahmed of Minnesota, died in the bombing in northern Somalia in October. He was recruited while in the United States, and other Somalian Americans may have been "radicalized" as well, Mueller said.

The recruiting in the United States "raises the question of whether these young men will one day come home, and, if so, what they might undertake here," Mueller said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, a research group.
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DHS: Mexico contingency plan called for

With a number of Mexican resort areas hit with narcoterrorist attacks, spring break should wait one. The Department of Homeland Security has more.

The Department of Homeland Security has contingency plans to rush additional personnel and other resources, including the U.S. military, to parts of the southern border if law enforcement agencies on the ground are overwhelmed by spillover effects from escalating criminal violence in Mexico, department officials say.

Several border states likewise are drawing up contingency plans, amid growing concern about possible cross-border effects of the violence in Mexico, which claimed more than 5,300 lives last year - double the number in 2007.
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DHS: Mexico has lost control of US border states

MEXICO CITY, Feb. 19 -- Mexican President Felipe Calderón on Thursday defended the deployment of the military in his fight against drug cartels, vowing that the army would continue to patrol cities until the country's weakened and often-corrupt police forces were retrained and able to do the job themselves.

In a speech commemorating the founding of the Mexican army, Calderón suggested that drug bosses had paid marchers who took to the streets this week to protest the army's presence in a dozen cities, where soldiers man roadblocks, search houses and make frequent arrests.
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DHS: FBI plans large hiring blitz of agents, experts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wanted by the FBI: agents, language specialists, computer experts, intelligence analysts and finance experts.

The FBI said on Monday it had launched one of the largest hiring blitzes in its 100-year history involving 2,100 professional staff vacancies and 850 special agents aimed at filling its most critical vacancies.

The agency, which seeks to protect the United States from terrorist attack, fight crime and catch spies, among other duties, said it currently has more than 12,800 agents and about 18,400 other employees.

Since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, the FBI has been criticized for not having enough employees fluent in foreign languages and for not moving fast enough to upgrade its computer system.

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DHS: Director pick for DHS, backs new security tech approach

Gov. Janet Napolitano — President-elect Barack Obama's pick to run the Homeland Security Department — has strongly advocated using advanced security technology as a law enforcement tool, drawing praise from police and raising concern among civil liberties groups that warn about privacy invasion.

In a speech in 2007, Napolitano, a former state attorney general, called for "technology-driven border control." She advocated more radar, motion sensors and aerial surveillance to spot illegal entrants.

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DHS: Homeland Security 5 Year Threat Assesment

Analysts look at the DHS 5 Year Threat Assesment:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press.

Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks are considered the most dangerous threats that could be carried out against the U.S. But those threats are also the most unlikely because it is so difficult for al-Qaida and similar groups to acquire the materials needed to carry out such plots, according to the internal Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013.

More here... and Here...

DHS: Homeland Security, The TV Series

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ratings champion "American Idol" will face serious competition when it returns next month: the Department of Homeland Security.

"Homeland Security USA," an ABC reality series debuting Jan. 6, tracks the daily efforts of the federal workers responsible for safeguarding the nation's airports, borders, waters and anyplace else threats might arise.

While viewers see the mechanics of agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration, absent is discussion of such hot-button issues as post-Sept. 11 security programs or immigration policies. That's by design, said series executive producer Arnold Shapiro, whose credits include "Rescue 911" and "Big Brother."

"It doesn't have a political point of view," Shapiro said. "It's not meant to show the (department) higher-ups .... just the average men and women on the front lines protecting our country from various things illegal and dangerous."

"Homeland Security USA" has a week to win viewers before it has to face Fox's hit singing contest, back Jan. 13.

The ABC series, filmed with the department's cooperation, is a virtual travelogue in the first episode as it skips from border crossings at Blaine, Wash., and San Ysidro, Calif., to Los Angeles International Airport to a mail processing plant...more at the above link...

DHS: Civil Defense 2009

The question is; What can or will CAP do to help? Analysis below.

U.S. Cities Brace for Mumbai-Style Attack
NewsMax
By: David A. Patten

“U.S. cities are racing to fix security vulnerabilities revealed by the devastating terror attacks in Mumbai,” experts tell Newsmax.”
“Security personnel around the country are intensively reviewing what happened to Mumbai to learn more about terrorists’ shifting tactics, according to Fred Burton, vice president of counter-terrorism at Stratfor, a private intelligence firm located in Austin, Texas.”

“The study has already begun,” Burton tells Newsmax. “I’m seeing that from a lot of our channels, and I am answering a lot of questions myself in that regard.”

“We look at these new kinds of tactics and the way they orchestrated this, and modify our approach,” Michael Downing, the head of the Los Angeles Police Department’s counter-terrorism unit, told the media. “We’re looking at it very closely.”

“On Friday, New York City police conducted the first U.S. training exercise based on the Mumbai experience. “Our goal,” New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told security officials, “is to find out as much as we can about terrorists worldwide, to understand who’s behind them, what motivates them, and what tactics they use.”

“Homeland security expert Dr. James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation tells Newsmax : “It’s something to worry about because most police forces would be really overwhelmed. SWAT teams don’t really train for this.”

“Burton agrees, telling Newsmax: “Think about the D.C. sniper case and the chaos that was caused, due to one two-person team,” Burton says. “Magnify that by say six to eight teams, and place them on the loose in any city in America. Most cities in America have only one SWAT team, so think about how much damage could be caused. It’s a fairly frightening scenario.”

“It is believed that extensive planning and surveillance preceded the Mumbai attack. New York City police are asking all security forces, both public and private, to report any idle visitors or suspicious vehicles.”

“Other cities are responding to the Mumbai threat as well:

• In Boston, police have stepped up surveillance and are keeping an especially close eye on hotels.
• The Department of Homeland Security has warned hotels throughout the country to beef up security.
• Authorities at port cities are particularly concerned, given that the terrorists traveled to Mumbai by boat. “Our great vulnerability is the water,” Miami Police Chief John Timoney told USA Today.
• InterContinental Hotels says it has taken additional, unspecified security precautions in “high-risk markets” nationwide.”

“The nationwide security review triggered by Mumbai includes the U.S. Coast Guard, which would play a vital role in repelling terrorists before they could attack the soft underbelly of America’s cities.”

“Rear Admiral Thomas F. Atkin, who leads the Coast Guard unit responsible for stopping ship-borne terrorists, continually asks himself: “Can we do the mission with our current equipment? We need to evaluate it to determine what the right equipment is. Then we can train appropriately.”

“Atkin tells Newsmax, “We don’t want to give the perception that everything is fine, that we don’t need to change. The Coast Guard is always changing to improve its mission capabilities.”

“Stopping terrorists before they get loose in American cities is the right idea. “The best way to combat this is to make sure attacks like this don’t happen in the first place.”

More here….

DHS: New Homeland Security Secretary is official

Gov. Janet Napolitano is homeland security secretary
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 8:02 AM CST
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun

President-elect Barack Obama made it official Monday, naming Gov. Janet Napolitano homeland security secretary. Napolitano was among some big names selected to Obama's cabinet in a press conference.

Others named were Senator Hillary Clinton, who will take over as secretary of state in January when Obama is sworn in. Susan Rice was named ambassador to the United Nations and Robert Gates will stay on as defense secretary.

"I am confident that this team is what we need to make a new beginning for American national security," Obama said.

Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords said Obama could not have picked a better secretary of homeland security.

"As governor over the past six years, she has had to deal with some of the most difficult issues confronting the second-fastest growing state in the nation," Giffords said. "First and foremost among these has been border security and illegal immigration. She knows the seriousness of this problem. She has a keen, first-had understanding of the tremendous toll it is taking on our communities, our schools and our hospitals. Her experience will certainly serve the American people well.

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OSINT: Protecting us from WMDs

WMD REPORT
Hat tip, Threats Watch

On or around 12/7, an internal report to the incoming Vice President (Joseph Biden) contained analysis related to possible WMD attacks in the United States. Some are specific to domestic security and surveillance missions.

RECOMMENDATION 9: Congress should reform its oversight both structurally and substantively to better address intelligence, homeland security, and crosscutting 21st-century national security missions such as the prevention of weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism.

RECOMMENDATION 10: Accelerate integration of effort among the counterproliferation, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement communities to address WMD proliferation and terrorism issues; strengthen expertise in the nuclear and biological fields; prioritize pre-service and in-service training and retention of people with critical scientific, language, and foreign area skills; and ensure that the threat posed by biological weapons remains among the highest national intelligence priorities for collection and analysis.

RECOMMENDATION 11: The United States must build a national security workforce for the 21st century.

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