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Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones, are incredibly useful to public safety for many reasons – increasing situational awareness during response, conducting risk assessments, providing additional support to traditional relief and rescue operations, assisting in dangerous operations so that responders can stay out of harm’s way – and the list continues to grow.
Integrating multiple public safety agencies into a single drone program takes the utility of drones a step further. An inter-agency drone program can provide the capability to coordinate drone traffic in controlled air space and more easily share information across agencies in real time.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently highlighted the UAS program of the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) in an NECP Spotlight, Implementing UAS Programs to Support Emergency Operations. After VBPD’s program was developed for use by law enforcement, it was then extended into a city-wide UAS program, in which all Virginia Beach public safety agencies can participate.
This NECP Spotlight provides real-world examples of ways that VBPD’s UAS program aligns with the goals of the National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP). These examples include:
- VBPD’s 40-hour in-house training program. This program was originally developed for VBPD but was expanded city-wide and tailored to meet the needs of other Virginia Beach public safety agencies, including the Fire Department (VBFD) and Office of Emergency Management.
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to interoperate and coordinate the use of shared air space with other local agencies and federal entities.
- Development of an online flight management tool called the Virginia Flight Information Exchange (VA-FIX), providing a platform for cross-agency communication that allows agencies within the city, such as VBFD and the Office of Emergency Management, to track each agency’s request and flight schedule. Data is secured and only shared according to tenets laid out in the interagency SOPs.
VA-FIX was recently highlighted by Virginia Department of Aviation for its role in supporting not just public safety, but also the growing drone industry. By serving as a hub of information sharing and a trusted, authoritative source of data on drone flights at the state and local levels, VA-FIX is providing clarity to industry on what the ‘ground rules’ are for drone operations in controlled air space.
Through VA-FIX, state and local agencies are helping drone pilots avoid risky areas and avoid breaking the law by laying out advisories around incident responses, hazardous materials, search and rescue, critical and sensitive infrastructure, public safety facilities, obstructions, and ground hazards.
To learn more about Virginia Beach’s UAS program, see CISA’s NECP Spotlight and the Virginia Department of Aviation’s website.
To learn more about adopting new and emerging technologies that align with the NECP’s goals and enhance the Nation’s emergency communication capabilities, visit: cisa.gov/necp.
(Sources: CISA, Virginia Department of Aviation)
Information and communications technologies hold strategic importance to the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s report released in February, Assessment of the Critical Supply Chains supporting the U.S Information and Communications Technology Industry. The U.S. has designated the Communications Sector as one of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors vital to our national security and economic security, public health, and public safety.
Emergency services depend on communications equipment and technology for their missions. Technology such as the portable radios used by first responders; FirstNet, the emergency wireless broadband network; the 9-1-1 network and computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems; are all part of the United States’ critical communications infrastructure.
But what would happen if there were shortages of these technologies, or they didn’t work when they were needed most, or they were too insecure? The United States’ information and communications technology (ICT) supply chain ensures that these things don’t happen, but what happens if the ICT supply chain itself is disrupted?
Fortifying the integrity of the nation’s ICT supply chain is vital to the security of our critical infrastructure. The ICT is vital to communities for critical functions such as generating electricity, operating hospitals, and supplying clean water.
Much of the U.S. ICT supply chain resides in private industry, especially within the software development industry. For an adversary, targeting the ICT supply chain through third-party vendors and suppliers is one way to target the government as well as critical infrastructure.
This April, CISA recognizes National Supply Chain Integrity Month. CISA has partnered with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and other government and industry partners to promote a call to action for a unified effort across the country to “Fortify the Chain.”
CISA’s themes for each week in April are:
- Week 1: Power in Partnership – Fortify the Chain!
- Week 2: No Shortages of Threats – Educate to Mitigate.
- Week 3: Question, Confirm, and Trust – Be Supplier Smart.
- Week 4: Plan for the Future – Anticipate Change.
Throughout the month of April, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will promote resources, tools, and information, including those developed by the public-private ICT Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) Task Force, to help organizations integrate supply chain risk management (SCRM) into their overall security posture.
To learn more about how CISA is enhancing supply chain resilience and to view online resources, visit CISA.gov/supply-chain-integrity-month. You can visit ODNI’s Supply Chain Risk Management page for additional resources.
(Sources: CISA, ODNI)
There are many sobering lessons to be learned from the February 2021 Texas power outage.
As Winter Storm Uri moved through the state, it brought multiple days of freezing temperatures and ice. The storm, along with many compounding factors, led to forced blackouts impacting at least 10 million people. The freeze also left more than 12 million without potable water for days – nearly half the population of Texas. More than 250 people died from causes related to cold exposure.
While the electric power generation issues faced by Texans during the week of February 14, 2021, were largely brought on by weather-related mechanical failures, the roots of the problem can be traced back to failures to understand and resolve preparedness gaps.
The Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center (HDIAC) hosted a webinar on March 16, entitled “Preparedness Lessons Learned from the 2021 Texas Power Failure.” The recording of this webinar and presentation slides are now available on HDIAC’s website.
Many analyses of this incident published since February 2021 focus on the economic issues, such as the lack of financial incentives to undergo the enormous costs associated with hardening Texas’ energy infrastructure for those “black swan” events of extreme cold.
This presentation offers an analysis from an emergency manager’s point of view. It provides a high-level briefing on the near collapse of the Texas grid during the week of February 14, 2021, highlighting just how close to catastrophic failure the grid was during this time. The presentation clarifies some common misconceptions about what caused the incident, reviews threats and vulnerabilities to the power grid system, and suggests changes for the future in emergency planning and public policy to prepare for long-term, widespread power outage events.
The presentation was given by an Emergency Preparedness/Homeland Security Planner for the Houston-Galveston Area Council of Governments who is responsible for assisting jurisdictional leaders in a thirteen-county region of Texas with developing disaster preparedness, response, and recovery plans and capabilities for a wide-range of threats.
You can view the webinar recording on HDIAC’s website. Those interested in learning more about this presentation topic can email contact@hdiac.org.
(Source: HDIAC)
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