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Volume 23 — Issue 2 | January 12, 2023

New online course: Personal Protective Equipment for Roadway Incident Response

In the last three years, 202 emergency responders were struck and killed by vehicles operating at a roadway incident scene, according to the Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI). The number of injuries is unknown.

Working at roadway incidents is hazardous. In a 2020 survey of the fire service conducted by ERSI, 62% of respondents ranked the life safety hazard of working at roadway incidents as somewhat more or much more hazardous than structure fires.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a key factor in mitigating these risks. Yet many responders do not consistently and correctly wear appropriate PPE at roadway incidents.

To help address the issue, ERSI just released a new training module on its Responder Safety Learning Network (RSLN) entitled Personal Protective Equipment for Roadway Incident Response.

The new training module discusses PPE requirements, how to select PPE, and how to correctly and consistently wear PPE to mitigate the hazards of working roadway incidents. PPE at roadway incidents usually includes high-visibility apparel and head protection but may include other types of PPE depending on the situation. The module also discusses the importance of habit and culture in ensuring correct and consistent PPE use.

This training is self-paced and estimated to take about one hour to complete. Participants who complete the skills check at the end of the module will earn a certificate of completion. The course also includes many resources for further information on this topic.

An account with RSLN is required to access the course. RSLN membership is free, and members can access all available training and features. Once logged in, visit the Personal Protective Equipment for Roadway Incident Response page to take the course.

(Source: ERSI)

Highlights

New online course: Personal Protective Equipment for Roadway Incident Response

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

U.S. Senate report identifies failures in federal pandemic preparedness and initial COVID-19 response

FEMA releases new independent study course: Preparing the Nation for Space Weather Events

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.

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, and it happens in our own communities. There are many myths and misconceptions about what human trafficking is and who is most vulnerable, which is why raising awareness and recognizing the indicators are critical first steps to combat these crimes and save lives.

First responders are in a unique position to help due to the many ways they interface with the public.

The following are resources for first responders from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’) Blue Campaign to help in recognizing and reporting suspected human trafficking and assisting human trafficking victims:

• A Victim Identification Pamphlet and a Victim Support Pamphlet targeted to law enforcement, first responders, and health professionals are available in many language translations. A First Responder Indicator Card provides the classic presentations found in trafficking victims in a concise, pocket-sized reference.
• For campus law enforcement and public safety officials, a 7-page Human Trafficking Response Guide and a Campus Law Enforcement Pocket Card provide the indicators of human trafficking among student populations and information about how trauma can affect the victim behavior you may be witnessing.

Awareness training is also available to first responders, law enforcement, and disaster responders:

• Human Trafficking Awareness for First Responders, an 11-minute training video from the United States Fire Administration (USFA) for the fire service and emergency medical services (EMS) providers.
• IS-1152: Blue Campaign First Responder Training, a one-hour independent study course from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Emergency Management Institute (EMI).
• What EMS Needs to Know about Human Trafficking, a free online course targeted to EMS providers from the Institute for Family Violence Studies at Florida State University (FSU).
• Human Trafficking Awareness Training, a 1-day in-person training program from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).
• Combatting Human Trafficking in Tribal Communities, a 51-minute training video for law enforcement from DHS’ Blue Campaign.
• Campus Law Enforcement Training, two short videos from DHS’ Blue Campaign, adapted from the information in the Campus Law Enforcement and Public Safety Officials Human Trafficking Response Guide.
• IS-1151: Blue Campaign Disaster Responder Training, a 20-minute independent study course from FEMA’s EMI, targeted to disaster response personnel who may observe human trafficking activity following a disaster.

In observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, DHS’s Blue Campaign will be offering several webinars on Recognizing and Responding to Human Trafficking this month.

You can visit DHS’ Blue Campaign website and follow @DHSBlueCampaign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information on Campaign efforts throughout the year. You can report suspected human trafficking to local law enforcement, Federal law enforcement at 1-866-347-2423, or to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

(Sources: DHS, FEMA, FLETC, FSU, USFA)

U.S. Senate report identifies failures in federal pandemic preparedness and initial COVID-19 response

The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, a U.S. Senate committee tasked with oversight of DHS, released a report last month, Historically Unprepared: Examination of the Federal Government’s Pandemic Preparedness and Initial COVID-19 Response.

This new 242-page report details the findings of the Committee’s two-year investigation into the federal government’s initial response to COVID-19 from December 2019 through March 2020, as the virus quickly spread throughout the country.

During the investigation, the Committee conducted over 90 interviews with dozens of senior officials responsible for coordinating the nation’s initial COVID-19 response, including doctors, academics, and public health associations, as well as current and former officials within federal government agencies. Interviews were conducted with officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Defense (DOD), DHS, FEMA, Department of State, and the White House.

The report’s executive summary provides an overview of federal actions between December 2019 and March 2020. It derives 17 recommendations from the 17 findings of the Committee’s investigation. These recommendations are intended to improve the nation’s preparedness to respond to future pandemics.

The findings and recommendations are focused on the federal government’s capabilities and shortcomings in areas such as:

• Level of funding for public health preparedness.
• Initial detection and surveillance, and the intelligence used to determine the threat level to the United States.
• Testing and diagnosis capacity.
• Public health data collection and reporting methods.
• Sustaining the medical supply chain.
• Securing and dispersing emergency funding.
• Initial executive decision-making surrounding control of the virus’ spread.
• Communication with the public.
• Pandemic federal leadership structure.

The full report [PDF, 11MB] supports the 17 findings and recommendations with an in-depth assessment, informed not only by the extensive interviews, but also by a comprehensive review of federal statutes, presidential directives, preparedness plans, watchdog reports, Congressional testimony, and many other documents that were relevant to identifying needed federal reforms.

Read the Committee’s news release to learn more and to access the full report.

(Source: U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee)

FEMA releases new independent study course: Preparing the Nation for Space Weather Events

Space weather - winds and magnetic waves that move through space - can sometimes reach Earth or Earth's upper atmosphere. When this happens, space weather can adversely affect critical technological systems like satellite-based positioning and navigation, high frequency radio communications, and the electric power grid.

Much of the space weather that reaches Earth is generated by our sun, which goes through solar cycles that are about 11 years long. Each cycle is marked by a solar maximum and a solar minimum. At the solar maximum, the sun’s activity peaks and sun’s magnetic poles reverse. This peak can be measured by the number of sun spots observed on the sun’s surface. This is followed by a solar minimum when the sun is least active, which marks the beginning of the next solar cycle.

We are now in Solar Cycle 25 with the next solar maximum expected in 2025. In 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initially predicted that Solar Cycle 25 would have average activity. However, since this prediction was made, the Sun has been more active than anticipated, and with more solar activity comes an increased likelihood of disruptive space weather events on Earth, like radio blackouts, geomagnetic storms, or solar radiation storms.

Since space weather has the potential to significantly disrupt critical infrastructure, emergency preparedness for space weather events is important. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Emergency Management Institute (EMI) recently launched a new online course: IS-66: Preparing the Nation for Space Weather Events.

This 2-hour independent study course is appropriate for emergency managers at all levels. It covers:

• The types of events that present potential dangers.
• The types of systems that may experience disruptions.
• Case studies with examples of historical space weather events and their impacts.
• Information on the activities and analysis that go into developing and producing Space Weather Forecast products.

The course builds on FEMA’s 2019 Federal Operating Concept for Impending Space Weather Events, a 65-page guide supporting the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan, which was released by the White House in 2019. The 2019 FEMA guide is intended to be used in the development of operational plans to prepare for, protect against, and mitigate the effects of impending space weather events.

After completing this course, emergency managers will better understand how to identify risks to their organization, implement mitigation actions and develop contingency operating plans in the event of a disruptive space weather event.

To learn more and to take the course, visit the course page on EMI’s website.

(Source: FEMA, NOAA, NASA)

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

NCSC-UK releases guidance on using managed service providers for administering cloud services

The United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK) has released a blog post, Using MSPs to administer your cloud services, that provides organizations security considerations for using a third party, such as a managed service provider (MSP), to administer cloud services. Contracting with an MSP for cloud service management has become an increasingly appealing option for organizations.

The post discusses the trade-offs involved as well as specific security checks organizations should make to confirm the MSP’s ability to defend against cyber threats. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) encourages organizations using MSPs for administering cloud services to implement the guidance NCSC-UK provides in the blog post.

(Source: CISA)

CISA orders agencies to patch Exchange bug abused by ransomware gang

CISA added two more security vulnerabilities to its catalog of exploited bugs on Jan. 10.

The first is a Microsoft Exchange elevation of privileges bug tracked as CVE-2022-41080 that can be chained with the CVE-2022-41082 ProxyNotShell bug to gain remote code execution. The exploit used in the attack, dubbed OWASSRF by CrowdStrike security researchers who spotted it, was also shared online with some of Play ransomware's other malicious tools. This will likely make it easier for other cybercriminals to create their own custom exploits or adapt Play ransomware's tool for their own purposes, adding to the urgency of updating the vulnerability as soon as possible.

The second vulnerability CISA added to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog is a privilege escalation zero-day (CVE-2023-21674) in the Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC), tagged as being exploited in attacks and patched by Microsoft during this month's Patch Tuesday.

(Source: Bleeping Computer)

Car hackers discover vulnerabilities that could let them hijack millions of vehicles

In total, a group of ethical car hackers discovered at least 20 vulnerabilities within the application programming interfaces, or APIs, that automakers rely on so technology inside cars can interact. The vulnerabilities affected Ford, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari and others.

The vulnerabilities could let attackers remotely track, stop, or control a car — even an entire fleet of emergency vehicles. Another could give hackers access to some 15.5 million automobiles, allowing them to send commands to control braking systems.

Software vulnerabilities inside cars have been a long-standing concern, including vulnerabilities in GPS systems, motions sensors, keyless systems, and operating systems. One significant issue is that some automakers are relying on third-party API software instead of building the technology in-house.

(Source: CyberScoop)

A government watchdog spent $15,000 to crack a federal agency’s passwords in minutes

A government watchdog has published a scathing rebuke of the Department of the Interior’s cybersecurity posture, finding it was able to crack thousands of employee user accounts because the department’s security policies allow easily guessable passwords like 'Password1234'.

The report by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior, tasked with oversight of the U.S. executive agency that manages the country’s federal land, national parks and a budget of billions of dollars, said that the department’s reliance on passwords as the sole way of protecting some of its most important systems and employees’ user accounts has bucked nearly two decades of the government’s own cybersecurity guidance of mandating stronger two-factor authentication.

The inspector general’s office said it launched its investigation after a previous test of the agency’s cybersecurity defenses found lax password policies and requirements across the Department of the Interior’s dozen-plus agencies and bureaus.

(Source: TechCrunch)

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

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