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Volume 22 — Issue 29 | July 21, 2022

Forest Service releases 2021 Annual Report: A Nation in Wildfire Smoke

Each year, smoke from wildfires results in significant impacts to air quality, harming public health, firefighter health, and affecting roadway and aviation safety. To help address this complex and growing issue, the United States Forest Service (USFS) leads the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program (IWFAQRP).

As part of this program, USFS provides Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) to Incident Management Teams (IMTs) for wildfire response. These individuals are technical specialists who are experts in air quality and smoke dispersion science.

During wildfire events when smoke is a concern, IMT’s can request ARAs to deploy fine particulate smoke monitors, predict smoke timing and movement with modeling tools, forecast air quality for areas of concern, advise IMTs, coordinate with local and state air regulators, and inform the public. An ARA works with multiple agencies to address public health concerns, smoke risk to transportation safety, and firefighter exposure.

Each year, IWFAQRP releases a report on the activities of its program. Notable highlights from the 2021 Annual Report include:

• Wildfire smoke was more widespread throughout the nation in 2021 than in 2020, due to long range transport, longer duration wildfires, and smoke from wildfires in Canada.
• ARAs responded to requests for assistance at 101 onsite deployments and 12 remote deployments across the country.
• The Fire and Smoke Map at fire.airnow.gov, a partnership between USFS and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), went from beta to operational. This dashboard provides quick access to wildfire information, fine particulate concentrations (PM_2.5) in the air, and smoke trend information for the entire continental U.S.
• Carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring was enhanced in 2021 through a partnership with EPA to expand air monitoring capabilities for wildfires. CO monitoring revealed higher levels that were farther from fires than expected (not just near the fire line), raising concerns about firefighter safety and fire camp CO sources such as generators.
• Smoke exposure can increase vulnerability to and worsen symptoms of COVID-19. IWFAQRP developed a Smoke-COVID dashboard for ARA wildfire use, to understand risks of smoke to communities with high levels of COVID-19 and help prescribed burners make informed decisions on projects.
• IWFAQRP is improving the prescribed fire planning horizon out to 7 days with the WRF Dashboard, using Remote Automatic Weather Stations (RAWS) and the latest meteorological models.

To learn more about wildfire impacts on air quality in 2021, read the IWFAQRP’s 2021 Annual Report: A Nation in Wildfire Smoke. To learn more about the IWFAQRP and its role in addressing risks of wildfire smoke to firefighters and the public, visit its website at wildlandfiresmoke.net. 

(Source: USFS IWFAQRP)

Highlights

Forest Service releases 2021 Annual Report: A Nation in Wildfire Smoke

Critical shortage of dextrose is forcing EMS to adapt protocols

Public Safety Medal of Valor nominations due August 8

EMI offers virtual train-the-trainer opportunities for NIMS ICS Position-Specific courses

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.

Critical shortage of dextrose is forcing EMS to adapt protocols

A critical shortage of dextrose solutions in prefilled syringes and IV fluid bags is currently forcing emergency medical services (EMS) to adapt their protocols.

Dextrose solutions in various concentrations are used in many medical applications. In emergency medicine, they are a staple in the EMS drug box, and are commonly used to treat hypoglycemia. Dextrose administration can restore blood sugar levels quickly.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reporting shortages of dextrose in 5%, 10%, 25%, and 50% solutions.

A recent article in EMS1 states that manufacturing capacity to support these dextrose products is not expected to improve for some time. There is potential for shortages of these products to worsen if anything else disrupts the supply.

Glucagon administered as an intramuscular injection was historically used in EMS for hypoglycemic patients, although it is expensive and more difficult to administer than dextrose. Most EMS agencies no longer have this medication in their protocols. Nevertheless, during this critical dextrose shortage, glucagon could be a viable alternative to treat hypoglycemia. However, glucagon is also currently in short supply.

The dextrose shortage is currently one of the most critical shortages for EMS, but many other important rescue medications are also in shortage right now, and drug shortages are an ongoing challenge for EMS. An ideal emergency medical system would establish a secure supply of emergency medicines to ensure their availability and affordability. However, until such a system is achieved, EMS agencies are forced to adapt and use what is available to them.

EMS1 recommends that EMS agencies develop programs that can address these shortages by managing protocols so that alternative drugs or formulations can be used, performing active stock management, and making various other improvements to logistics and EMS management.

Read the full list of EMS1’s recommendations to help EMS agencies adapt to the dextrose shortage and drug shortages in general.

(Source: EMS1)

Public Safety Medal of Valor nominations due August 8

The Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is currently accepting nominations for the 2022 Public Safety Medal of Valor.

Every day, public safety officers risk their lives to protect America’s citizens and communities. To honor that commitment, Congress passed the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001, which created the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest national award for valor that can be received by a public safety officer.

Each year, the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor is awarded by the President or Vice President of the United States to a public safety officer who has exhibited exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind, and unusual swiftness of action, regardless of his or her own personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect human life.

For the purpose of this award, a public safety officer is defined as a person serving a public agency, with or without compensation, as a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or emergency services officer. The term “law enforcement officer” includes a person who is a corrections or court officer or a civil defense officer.

This past May, Medals of Valor for 2021 were awarded to nine police officers and six firefighters. Among last years’ recipients were a deputy sheriff who risked his life to rescue someone who had fallen through ice into a lake, and a fallen firefighter who rushed into a burning nursing home multiple times to carry out residents who couldn’t escape in their wheelchairs and walkers.

For more information on the program, past recipients, and instructions on how to submit a nomination, see the BJA’s Public Safety Medal of Valor page. This year’s nominations are for events that took place between June 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022. Nominations are due by Monday, August 8, 2022.

(Source: BJA)

EMI offers virtual train-the-trainer opportunities for NIMS ICS Position-Specific courses

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Emergency Management Institute (EMI) has released its 2023 NIMS ICS Position-Specific Train-the-Trainer (TtT) Virtual “K” Course Schedule.

EMI provides training for all positions in the National Incident Management System’s (NIMS’) Incident Command System (ICS). Participants who complete a course in EMI’s NIMS ICS All-Hazards Position-Specific (AHPS) Training Program are required to gain a certificate of training and the credentials to function in an ICS Organization, such as an Incident Management Team (IMT), as a member of the Command, General Staff or as a Unit Leader. Most AHPS courses in the series are between 2 and 5 days in length and are offered both in person and virtually.

EMI’s virtual train-the-trainer series provides courses to train those who are already certified members of an ICS Organization to become instructors of the NIMS ICS All-Hazards Position-Specific courses. Each of these train-the-trainer courses in the “K” series are between 2 and 5 days in length. All are delivered in an instructor-led virtual format with video conferencing by EMI.

The intended audiences for these virtual train-the-trainer courses are emergency responder personnel from state, local, tribal, territorial, federal, or other agencies who may be designated as members of an ICS organization or IMT. Candidates must be fully qualified and credentialed in the position, with a minimum of 3 years credentialed incident management organization (team) experience and have a significant instructional delivery background. Participants will be required to perform a teach-back of an assigned unit from the target curriculum. They must also pass two exams.

See EMI’s EMIGram to learn more about these train-the-trainer opportunities, including the complete schedule for courses running from October 2022 through September 2023, course series description, prerequisites, selection criteria, and information on how to apply. These courses are listed in the National Training and Education Division’s National Preparedness Course Catalog, where you can find information on each position-specific course. Visit EMI’s website to learn more about EMI’s NIMS ICS All-Hazards Position-Specific Training Program.

(Source: EMI)

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

CISA updates advisory on cyber actors continued exploitation of Log4Shell in VMware Horizon systems

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has updated the joint CISA-United States Coast Guard Cyber Command (CGCYBER) Cybersecurity Advisory AA22-174A: Malicious Cyber Actors Continue to Exploit Log4Shell in VMware Horizon, originally released June 23, 2022. The advisory now includes IOCs provided in Malware Analysis Report (MAR)-10382580-2. CISA and CGCYBER encourage users and administrators to update all affected VMware Horizon and Unified Access Gateway (UAG) systems to the latest versions. If updates or workarounds were not promptly applied following VMware’s release of updates for Log4Shell, treat all affected VMware systems as compromised. See the joint advisory for more information and additional recommendations.

(Source: CISA)

Quantum Cryptography and the Health Sector

The modern world is entirely dependent on information technology, and information technology is entirely dependent on cryptography. Cryptography is ubiquitous in many aspects of our lives, and its widespread failure would be impactful. This presentation will review the basic concepts behind quantum cryptography and will analyze their impact on cybersecurity in the health sector, along with recommended actions.

See the full Threat Brief from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3).

(Source: HHS HC3)

CISA released Security Advisory on MiCODUS MV720 Global Positioning System (GPS) Tracker

CISA has released an Industrial Controls Systems Advisory (ICSA) detailing six vulnerabilities that were discovered in MiCODUS MV720 Global Positioning System Tracker. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow a remote actor to exploit access and gain control the global positioning system tracker. These vulnerabilities could impact access to a vehicle fuel supply, vehicle control, or allow locational surveillance of vehicles in which the device is installed.

CISA encourages users and technicians to review ICS Advisory ICSA-22-200-01: MiCODUS MV720 GPS Tracker for technical details and mitigations and the Bitsight Report: Critical Vulnerabilities in Widely Used Vehicle GPS Tracker for additional information.

(Source: CISA)

Cyber criminals create fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications to defraud US investors

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning financial institutions and investors about cyber criminals creating fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications (apps) to defraud cryptocurrency investors. The FBI has observed cyber criminals contacting US investors, fraudulently claiming to offer legitimate cryptocurrency investment services, and convincing investors to download fraudulent mobile apps, which the cyber criminals have used with increasing success over time to defraud the investors of their cryptocurrency. The FBI has identified 244 victims and estimates the approximate loss associated with this activity to be $42.7 million. The FBI encourages financial institutions and their customers who suspect they have been defrauded through fake cryptocurrency investment apps to contact the FBI via the Internet Crime Complaint Center or their local FBI field office.

See the full Private Industry Notification from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

(Source: FBI IC3)

Threat integration: Lessons of indicator & incident exchange

Within the United States, there are 20 industry-centric Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs), numerous other sharing alliances, and commercial vendors that curate and manage threat feeds. The Center for Internet Security (CIS) has a combined 18 years of experience running the Multi-State and Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (MS- and EI-ISACs). CIS maintains the largest cyber threat database specific to U.S. State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) governments and the election community, enriched by threat intelligence from various sources, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) division and other federal agencies within the broader Intelligence Community (IC).

CIS has learned some lessons along the way that can help organizations make the best use of this threat intelligence.

(Source: CIS)

Thousands of websites run buggy WordPress plugin that allows complete takeover

Wordfence disclosed the flaw almost three months ago, and in a new advisory this week warned that criminals are increasing attacks — the WordPress security shop claims it blocked an average of 443,868 attack attempts per day on its customers' sites. Traced as CVE-2021-24284, the vulnerability targets Kaswara Modern WPBakery Page Builder Addons and, if exploited, it would allow criminals to upload malicious JavaScript files and even completely take over an organization's website.

Software developers never patched the bug, and the plugin is now closed, which means that all versions are susceptible to an attack. The bug hunters estimated between 4,000 and 8,000 websites still have the vulnerable plugin installed, and noted that while 1,599,852 unique sites were targeted, a majority of those weren't running the plugin.

All versions are susceptible and there is no patch, so now is a good time to remove this add-on.

(Source: The Register)

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.

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