Power Companies Need Better Threat Intelligence, Group Finds – CQ Homeland Security
Of all the industries considered “critical infrastructure,” perhaps none is so accustomed to recovering from disasters as the electricity sector. Power companies are well-versed in restoring service after storms, hurricanes and earthquakes.
Well, there is a headline NO ONE ever expected to see…yeah, right. At the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council’s Cyber Security Awareness Month Conference, it actually happened – really. Roger Cressey of Good Harbor Consulting was the lead keynote speaker. After a good introduction by Marc Pearl, the head of the council, Cressey gave a super address that covered the water front of the key issues facing our nation in cyber. Yours truly had the honor of being the closing keynote speaker. I took exception with my friend Roger on a couple of areas. For one, he draws far too strong a line between cyber crime and cyber espionage, and does not consider cyber crime a national security issue but a law enforcement one. I could not disagree more.
The Middle East has undergone a sea change at the geostrategic level, presenting U.S. policymakers with a new set of serious challenges. To design a new approach to the region that would have resonance with the key players and be ultimately successful in preserving its vital interests, the United States needs to fully understand and assimilate “why and how” this shift has taken place in the region. In this four-part series, I will attempt to shed some light at the root developments that have caused the demise of the old Mideast order, the birth of the new order and its significant impact on U.S. strategic interests, and the viable policy options at the disposal of the United States, given the new realities of the region.
Cyber czar: Threat protection is a shared responsibility – NextGov
The government, individual users and the private sector all play critical roles in protecting the nation against cyber threats, a senior White House official said Friday.
Last week, speaking at the Migration Policy Institute, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Alan Bersin gave a glowing review of the successes CBP was having in meeting its mission. Whether one agrees with Bersin’s overall assessment, there was one area that jumped out at me that begs further inquiry. One will note that Commissioner Bersin was clever in his wording, in that he did not SPECIFICALLY talk about the need to deploy Predator UASs, but about UASs in general. To my mind, he was being too clever by half, but he is not the first government official to use verbal misdirection to give himself wiggle-room for a later time.
A week or so ago, I did a post on 5th Generation Warfare (5GW), and it apparently stirred up some interest among the readers of Security Debrief. Given that interest, I thought I would look a little deeper into this subject. My title will probably bother some. Isn’t it always about “winning?” Actually, life would be much simpler if it were. Vince Lombardi’s famous quote (“Winning isn’t everything, it is the ONLY thing.”) works for football but not for 5GW. As much as Americans love a winner, in 5GW it will not be quite so clear cut.
Regulators: N.J. nuclear plant employee was an Islamic jihadist – Homeland Security Newswire
A New Jersey man accused of joining al Qaeda in Yemen spoke openly of militant views while working at American nuclear plants, according to a report by the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that proposes tightening personnel security rules.
U.S. intelligence: Europe terror plot did not target Americans – Homeland Security Newswire
The U.S. government says there is no indication the United States or its citizens are a target in the latest al Qaeda plot that triggered a blanket travel alert for Americans in Europe. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that the State Department alert “deals with Europe and isn’t related to the United States.”
Since 9/11, the U.S. government has struggled with the twin goals of reviewing visa applicants for security risks while maintaining the attractiveness of the United States as a premiere destination for business and leisure travel. As the President’s outgoing National Economic Adviser Larry Summers recently commented, improving the climate for travel to the United States may represent the most effective way to grow U.S. exports and create export-related jobs. The reasons for the relative decline in the U.S. travel market are complex, but clearly new security dictates are part of the explanation. We need to recognize the economic impact of this security, and we need to be more creative in securing the international travel system that is so valuable to our economy and foreign policy.
Under Secretary for Management, Patrick Kennedy, gave a teleconference briefing Sunday afternoon on the Department of State travel alert issued this weekend, indicating a heightened threat level in Europe. While slim on specifics and details (to be expected), the briefing did underscore that this alert was the result of high-level discussions between European and American government leaders.
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