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Volume 22 — Issue 9 | March 3, 2022

New study on the effectiveness of emergency warning lights and reflective markings yields surprising findings

Traffic incident scenes are a dangerous place for first responders to be, and responder safety is always a concern. Secondary crashes, including struck-by incidents, are a leading cause of line-of-duty deaths among emergency responders.

One significant variable impacting the safety of responders operating along a roadway is their visibility to approaching motorists. Warning lights and reflective materials on vehicles and clothing are typically employed at the scene to ensure visibility. Continuing research is needed to measure the actual effectiveness of these visibility measures for ensuring responder safety.

The Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) just released the results of a new study, Effects of Emergency Vehicle Lighting Characteristics on Driver Perception and Behavior, which was funded by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

This study investigated the impact of lighting color, intensity, modulation, and flash rate on driver behavior while approaching and passing a traffic incident scene at night. The study also included measurement of vehicle distance to the lights and the distance at which drivers could distinguish the silhouette of a firefighter wearing reflective safety apparel.

There were a few surprising findings from this study, which are highlighted in ERSI’s news release.

The findings about detection distances of the firefighter silhouette were the most surprising of all. Of the four setups tested, high intensity lights with no markings on the firefighter silhouette produced the longest detection distance, meaning drivers could see the silhouette from the furthest away. High intensity lights combined with high visibility markings yielded the shortest detection distance.

The report discusses the possibility that reflective markings may increase the amount of scattered light entering the eyes of a driver, thereby making the responder less visible, especially when also in the presence of high intensity lights. The study suggests this as an area for future research.

ERSI encourages emergency responders, leaders, standards development organizations, and policy makers to read this study. ERSI has created a new landing page on its website, ResponderSafety.com, entitled Emergency Vehicles and Lighting. This page links to the full study, a video interview, and several additional research reports on this topic. The page will be updated as additional research follows. 

This study is also featured on USFA’s page on Emergency Vehicle and Roadway Operations Safety, where you can also access several USFA publications on this topic.

(Source: ERSI)

Highlights

New study on the effectiveness of emergency warning lights and reflective markings yields surprising findings

2021 edition of US Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators booklet released

FEMA updates shelter locator texting feature

NFPA hosts Outthink Wildfire, a free one-day virtual event on March 15

Cyber Threats

The U.S. Fire Administration operates the Emergency Management and Response – Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC).

For information regarding the EMR-ISAC visit www.usfa.dhs.gov/emr-isac or contact the EMR-ISAC office at: (301) 447-1325 and/or fema-emr-isac@fema.dhs.gov.

2021 edition of US Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators booklet released

The United States faces a heightened threat from violent extremists motivated by a broad range of ideologies. The ability to recognize when an individual or group may be mobilizing to violence is necessary for preventing an act of violence.

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released the 2021 edition of the U.S. Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators booklet. The booklet provides a catalog of observable behaviors that could signal whether individuals or groups are pursuing ideologically motivated violent extremist activities.

This 34-page booklet is intended to inform law enforcement, terrorism prevention practitioners, other first responders, and community leaders, as well as the general public, about both threats of violence and contextual behaviors that suggest an individual is mobilizing to violence. The indicators are intended to aid law enforcement and first responder investigative and detection efforts, but are not intended to be a substitute for their expertise and experience.

The booklet catalogs a set of 42 indicators, which are categorized under “motivation,” “preparation,” and “mobilization”, and further characterized by behavior that may be associated with each indicator and who may be most likely to observe these behaviors. The booklet provides a section on risk factors that could increase the likelihood that the indicators suggest violent mobilization. A 2-page reference card summarizing all mobilization indicators is provided at the end of the booklet.

The U.S. Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators booklet was first published in 2015 and then updated in 2017 and 2019. Previous editions of this booklet have focused solely on the indicators of homegrown violent extremist mobilization to violence. This 2021 edition has been expanded to include indicators that apply to multiple ideologically motivated U.S.-based violent extremists, given the evolving complexity and variety of factors influencing the domestic threat landscape.

You can access the 2021 U.S. Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators booklet on the NCTC’s website.

(Source: NCTC)

FEMA updates shelter locator texting feature

Having the right information at the right time is often key to surviving a disaster.

FEMA has updated a texting feature that allows the public to access shelter addresses when they need it most. Users can text “shelter” and their ZIP code to 43362 to get a list of nearby shelter locations. This effort is made possible through collaboration with the American Red Cross.

FEMA’s old text feature only showed shelters within the requested ZIP code. This new feature uses Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities to give users shelter addresses within 200 miles of their ZIP code. The texting feature is available across all 50 states and U.S. territories.

In phones with a standard map feature, users will be able to click on the shelter address inside the text message and view directions. The text can be easily shared with friends and family so they know where the user is going or where they themselves can take shelter.

FEMA does not run shelters and shelters identified through the text feature are pulled from data managed by the American Red Cross.

This is a resource that can be used during a disaster to supplement any immediate instructions of state and local officials, who may be able to point survivors to additional shelters and resources not included in the text feature. Information on different types of shelters and sheltering can be found on Ready.gov. Additional ways to find shelter can be found on FEMA’s website or the Red Cross’s website.

Emergency management agencies may want to disseminate this information to their areas of responsibility and encourage the public to save this number, 43362, in their phone.

(Source: FEMA)

NFPA hosts Outthink Wildfire, a free one-day virtual event on March 15

Wildfires have been growing in frequency and size for a number of years and the wildfire problem has now reached crisis proportions, according to  the United States Forest Service’s new wildfire crisis strategy. The National Interagency Coordination Center reports that wildfires consumed over 7 million acres of land and destroyed almost 6,000 structures in 2021.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has launched an initiative called Outthink Wildfire, based on the simple premise that “wildfires are inevitable, but wildfire disasters can be prevented.” The initiative is focused on wildfire action policies aimed at ending the destruction of communities by wildfire within the next 30 years. Since achieving that goal will require a coordinated effort among all levels of government and the cooperation of residents in fire-prone areas, Outthink Wildfire calls for new approaches, new tactics, and a new resolve to use what has been learned about the risks of the wildland/urban interface (WUI) over the past 50 years to create a new blueprint for addressing the nation’s wildfire crisis.

On Tuesday, March 15, NFPA is conducting a free, one-day virtual training program, Outthink Wildfire: Identifying Solutions to End Community Loss. This program will cover a range of topics that can support professional development in wildfire risk reduction and connect participants with industry leaders in research, design, wildfire training, land management, insurance, and more. Topics will include how and where we build, ways to motivate and incentivize safety upgrades for existing structures, public education, community risk reduction, firefighter safety, and effective land management.

A special closing keynote will provide personal insight into the devastating impacts of wildfire disasters on communities, highlighting the challenges and inequities uncovered in the process of recovery and rebuilding.

This webinar is free and open to anyone interested, but advanced registration is required. Note that the NFPA’s registration page for this event has a section for payment, but the cost is $0 and registrants are not required to complete this payment section of the registration form in order to complete their registration.

Once registered for this event, participants can either tune in live on March 15 or access the recorded sessions after the event on demand. Both live and on-demand participation are eligible for up to 9 credit hours (0.9 CEU). The program will be available for one year after the launch date.

To find out more about the agenda and to register, visit the NFPA’s page for this event.

(Source: NFPA)

Cyber Incident Assistance

MS-ISAC
SOC@cisecurity.org
1-866-787-4722

IdentityTheft.gov

IC3

Cybercrime Support Network

General Information

StopRansomware.gov

CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog

FTC scam list

CISA alerts

Law Enforcement Cyber Center

TLP Information

Alert (AA22-057A): Destructive Malware Targeting Organizations in Ukraine

Leading up to Russia’s unprovoked attack against Ukraine, threat actors deployed destructive malware against organizations in Ukraine to destroy computer systems and render them inoperable.

• On January 15, 2022, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) disclosed that malware, known as WhisperGate, was being used to target organizations in Ukraine. According to Microsoft, WhisperGate is intended to be destructive and is designed to render targeted devices inoperable.
• On February 23, 2022, several cybersecurity researchers disclosed that malware known as HermeticWiper was being used against organizations in Ukraine. According to SentinelLabs, the malware targets Windows devices, manipulating the master boot record, which results in subsequent boot failure.

This joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) between the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provides information on WhisperGate and HermeticWiper malware as well as open-source indicators of compromise (IOCs) for organizations to detect and prevent the malware. Additionally, this joint CSA provides recommended guidance and considerations for organizations to address as part of network architecture, security baseline, continuous monitoring, and incident response practices.

(Source: CISA)

CISA Insights: Foreign Influence Operations Targeting Critical Infrastructure

CISA has released CISA Insights: Preparing for and Mitigating Foreign Influence Operations Targeting Critical Infrastructure, which provides proactive steps organizations can take to assess and mitigate risks from information manipulation. Malicious actors may use tactics—such as misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation—to shape public opinion, undermine trust, and amplify division, which can lead to impacts to critical functions and services across multiple sectors.

Current social factors—including heightened polarization and the ongoing global pandemic—increase the risk and potency of influence operations to U.S. critical infrastructure. CISA encourages leaders at all organizations to review the CISA Insights and follow the guidance to assess risk and increase resilience.

(Source: CISA)

CISA adds 95 known exploited vulnerabilities to catalog

CISA has added 95 new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risk to the federal enterprise.

Although BOD 22-01 only applies to Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the Catalog that meet the specified criteria.

Note: prioritizing software updates that address known exploited vulnerabilities is one of the actions CISA encourages as part of the recent Shields Up recommendations to all stakeholders. CISA appreciates the contributions of Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) partners to this recent addition to the catalog.

(Source: CISA)

Alert (AA22-055A): Iranian Government-Sponsored Actors Conduct Cyber Operations Against Global Government and Commercial Networks

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the U.S. Cyber Command Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK) have observed a group of Iranian government-sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) actors, known as MuddyWater, conducting cyber espionage and other malicious cyber operations targeting a range of government and private-sector organizations across sectors—including telecommunications, defense, local government, and oil and natural gas—in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Note: MuddyWater is also known as Earth Vetala, MERCURY, Static Kitten, Seedworm, and TEMP.Zagros.

MuddyWater is a subordinate element within the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).

(Source: CISA)

U.S. Secret Service launches cryptocurrency awareness hub

The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) has launched a cryptocurrency public awareness hub featuring a new public service announcement video and information on the security of digital assets and cryptocurrencies. The new website will feature the latest in the agency’s work combatting illicit use of digital assets as well as provide public awareness information on digital asset security and how to ensure it remains secure.

(Source: USSS)

The InfoGram is distributed weekly to provide members of the Emergency Services Sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures.

Fair Use Notice:
This InfoGram may contain copyrighted material that was not specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The EMR-ISAC believes this constitutes “fair use” of copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material contained within this document for your own purposes that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Disclaimer of Endorsement:
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement of the linked websites or the information, products or services contained therein. Reference to any specific commercial products, process or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the EMR-ISAC or the U.S. government.

Section 504 Notice:
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that FEMA grantees provide access to information for people with disabilities. If you need assistance accessing information or have any concerns about access, please contact FEMAWebTeam@fema.dhs.gov.