CISA Community Bulletin August 2024

Last month, CISA released the FY 2024 Rural Emergency Medical Communications Demonstration Project (REMCDP) Notice of Funding Opportunity to find innovative solutions to improve the delivery of rural medical communications and address the gaps in the National Emergency Communications Plan.

REMCDP is now accepting applications via grants.gov through Friday, August 9, 2024, at 11:59 PM ET. Eligible applicants may apply for $1,000,000 for a two-year period of performance, anticipated to begin on September 30, 2024. Funding will be awarded to one recipient following a competitive review.

We are proud to announce the release of our Guide to Operational Security for Election Officials.

The new guide aims to enhance the security of our election infrastructure by providing a comprehensive overview of operational security (OPSEC) within the election context, identifying potential risks, and offering practical mitigation measures.

Learn more about this guide and protecting our elections at cisa.gov/protect2024 

CISA recently teamed up with Fauquier County, VA, for a comprehensive active shooter and family reunification full-scale exercise. This vital training session focused on enhancing our community's emergency response capabilities and preparedness. A huge thank you to all the participants and organizers for their dedication and hard work. 

Learn more about the exercise to keep communities safe here. 

CISA published a joint advisory with Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC), and other partners that outlines activity and tradecraft of a state-sponsored cyber group associated with the People's Republic of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS). It is based on current, shared understanding of advanced persistent threat group, APT 40, and recent ASD’s ACSC incident response investigations.

To help cybersecurity practitioners identify, prevent and remediate APT 40 intrusions against their own networks, the advisory provides a couple of significant case studies of this adversary’s malicious activity against victim networks.

Recommended mitigations to reduce the risk of being compromised by similar activity include comprehensive and historical login information, prioritize patching for all internet exposed devices and services, and segment networks to limit or block lateral movement. 

Protecting critical infrastructure is of vital importance to the security and stability of the nation. Our infrastructure is vulnerable to a variety of threats and hazards, including physical attacks, cyber attacks, aging infrastructure, and natural disasters.

CISA Region 8 and the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security (WOHS) invite you to join the 2024 Region 8 Critical Infrastructure Resilience Conference to address the security and resilience of our critical infrastructure. The 2024 theme is “Preparing our communities for the future through secure and resilient infrastructure”.

Agenda topics include a threat overview, foreign influence considerations, weather impacts to infrastructure, and presentations focused on energy, nuclear, mining and critical minerals, water, and emergency communications.

Dates: August 28-29, 2024; 8 am – 5 pm MDT

Location: Wyoming Workforce Services Center - 5221 Yellowstone Rd, Cheyenne, WY  82009

For more information about Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience resources, visit
https://www.cisa.gov/topics/critical-infrastructure-security-and-resilience or email CISA Region 8 at CISARegion8Outreach@cisa.dhs.gov.

CISA released a new K-12 school physical security resource specifically designed for school-based law enforcement and school resource officers. This new product provides an overview of how these stakeholders can support school physical security planning and implementation efforts through the key concepts and principles outlined in CISA’s K-12 School Security Guide. The publication also includes examples of how school-based law enforcement and school resource officers can play a role in the five core elements that comprise a school’s physical security system, assess vulnerabilities across K-12 campuses, and better protect against targeted violence threats.

The new resource was developed as a companion product for the broader K-12 School Security Guide Product Suite, which provides K-12 districts and campuses with resources, tools and strategies to improve school physical security. The product suite includes a guide, web-based tool and training videos. Learn more about this new resource and access the full K-12 School Security Guide Product Suite at cisa.gov/k-12-school-security-guide-product-suite.

Registration is now open for CISA's 2024 National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security, taking place September 25-26. This virtual event brings together K-12 school leaders and practitioners to discuss and share actionable recommendations that enhance safe and supportive learning environments. The Summit will feature panel discussions, sessions and keynote speakers covering topics such as understanding and preventing youth violence, protecting K-12 networks, youth online safety, supporting student mental health, emergency planning and physical security, and intervention and restorative practices.

This free event is open to anyone with a passion for improving school safety but will be of particular interest to K-12 school and district administrators; principals and superintendents; school-based law enforcement; teachers and school staff; mental health practitioners; first responders; federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government partners; and other school safety and security professionals. Learn more about the Summit and register today: 2024CISASchoolSummit.eventbrite.com.