Adfero Group HSPI

The recent death of three DEA Special Agents in Afghanistan is a tragic reminder that the war on narcotics and terrorism cannot be separated in that part of the world. I doubt many heroin dealers and addicts in the U.S. make the connection between the two.

While there has been a sustained effort to protect the energy industry, particularly nuclear facilities, from terrorist attack, in the run-up to the Global Environmental Conference in Copenhagen later this year, another threat is emerging – environmental protesters.

The Army is working hard to finalize plans that will allow it to better support the nation’s efforts towards correct and effective cyber operation. There is a major effort this week to finalize the Army’s Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for the future of cyber forces, doctrine and organizational arrangements.

They say the first step in battling addiction is admitting you have a problem. Congress has yet to take that step in facing its problem with homeland security grant funding. On Tuesday, FEMA’s Deputy Administrator, Timothy Manning, testified in the House Homeland Security Committee on FEMA’s attempts to measure the effectiveness of the DHS grants program. The Committee’s main criticism concerned the lack of methodologies and metrics for measuring the program’s effectiveness.

In a letter to Congress today, a coalition of privacy advocates have called on Congress to investigate the DHS Privacy Office. The gravamen of their complaint is that the Privacy Office is insufficiently independent from the Department and isn’t protecting privacy. Proof of this, they say, lies in the Privacy Office’s approval of Privacy Impact Assessments for several programs (e.g. Whole Body Imaging) that allegedly erode privacy interests.

Recently, Delta Airlines (formerly Northwest) settled a lawsuit filed by six imams who claimed they were profiled for their religion rather than suspicious behavior. They were subsequently removed from a flight and questioned by authorities. In July, a federal judge sent a strong message that the airline lacked probable cause to remove the imams from the flight by ruling that Delta could be held liable for civil damages. Delta settled with the Muslim clerics out of court.

In truth the Fiasco on the Potomac was the sloppy result of various parties, all of whom deny having engaged in any sloppiness whatsoever except for the Coast Guard. So kudos to them.

A recent policy from the Obama Administration directs federal prosecutors not to prosecute medical marijuana cases in states where medicinal use of the drug has been approved. This means that even though federal law conflicts with some state laws, those who act in compliance with state laws will not be prosecuted. The advance announcement providing assurance of no prosecution to a select group of people weakens the foundation of our effort to reduce the use of illegal drugs.

This week I filed a quick comment in the FCC’s broadband proceeding, urging the Commission to ensure that any wireless broadband plan included an opportunity for the use of standardized, low-bit-length messages in emergencies.

Prof. Lewis explained how the word revolution was abused by regimes in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa in attempts to give legitimacy to what in reality amounted to coups or putsches. By contrast, the Iranian Revolution was a true phenomenon similar to the French and Russian Revolutions. While the French and Russian Revolutions transformed in radical ways the world of Christendom, so would the Iranian Revolution radically transform the world of Islam.

I received a truly scary briefing on the incredible magnitude of the existing cyber threat that runs the gamut from individuals to nation-states. We must understand that just being in compliance with federal or state laws does not equal security. We must get better at cybesecurity.

Michael Braun, former Chief of Operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, testified before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control regarding the Taliban’s involvement in drug production and trafficking.

Our most recent post looked at the benefits of cloud computing and some of the factors involved with the decision making process leading up to adoption. For the most part, it looks like it should always be a slam dunk call to go for the cloud, but are there downsides? I’d love to say they do not exist, but they do. But where are the possible “landmines” in adopting a cloud computing model for your enterprise?

Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff spoke at the National Press Club this morning, citing insightful new research: while Americans are highly concerned about the security of their personal data online, 87 percent of Americans do not realize their exposure to online identity threats. He echoed the cyber security theme that current Secretary Janet Napolitano focused on with her remarks yesterday. Because citizens don’t fully appreciate the vulnerabilities, people are failing to take the appropriate precautions to manage or reduce their risk.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano addressed the public today on Cyber security via a Webcast from the DHS home page. Both her tone and substance was on the mark and badly needed. The Secretary should be congratulated for an appropriate and direct view that recognizes the things we can do today, and the way to go forward.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee is set to markup the Drinking Water System Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 3258) tomorrow. The bill, which would regulate drinking water utilities through a “CFATS-like” regime under the Environemental Protection Agency (EPA), will require utilities to update their vulnerability assessments, develop site security plans, and evaluate their disinfection processes.

Using the medium she is out to the protect, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano took to the Internet today to deliver what can best be described as a “State of Cyber Space” address. Without the fanfare and annoying distractions that often accompany presidential remarks, the Secretary spoke frankly about the challenges and threats our nation, its infrastructure, and its citizens face by criminals, hackers, and others.

Is it possible to teach hundreds of cockroaches to swarm TSA checkpoints and laser in on explosives? Might this be the answer to the al Qaeda booty call problem? Read on, Dear Reader.

As we continue to explore cloud computing, we will look at why we consider it, what cloud computing can do for an enterprise that adopts it, and briefly, a few of the different adoption models that might be considered.

September 2009 was a busy and successful month for law enforcement with the disruption of three terror plots, all around the eighth anniversary of 9/11. Including these three plots, U.S. law enforcement has disrupted 26 publicly known terror plots since September 11, 2001.Although these foiled plots demonstrate just how far information sharing and cooperation amongst local, state and federal law enforcement has come since 9/11, they also demonstrate that the threat of terrorism has not diminished; indeed, it’s on the rise.