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Volume 23 — Issue 23 | June 8, 2023 |
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The 2021 Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention highlights suicide as a significant public health problem.
First responders, including law enforcement officers (LEOs), firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS) providers, and public safety telecommunicators, face unique occupational stressors and may be at elevated risk for suicide.
A new study published in the Journal of Safety Research, An analysis of suicides among first responders ─ Findings from the National Violent Death Reporting System, 2015–2017, examines the factors contributing to higher suicide rates among first responders. The study uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) combined with occupational data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to draw comparisons between first responder suicides and non-first responder suicides. It also draws comparisons between suicides within specific first responder occupations, including law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, and telecommunicators.
Some notable findings from this research include:
- The NVDRS data indicates that first responders made up 1% of all suicides from 2015-2017.
- When broken down by response discipline, these first responder suicides occurred among law enforcement officers (58%), firefighters (21%), EMS providers (18%), and public safety telecommunicators (2%).
- Compared to suicides of non-first responders, more first responders used a firearm as the method of injury (69% versus 44%).
- Among first responder suicides for whom circumstances were known, intimate partner problems, job problems, and physical health problems were most frequent.
- Some common risk factors for suicide (history of suicidal thoughts, previous suicide attempt, alcohol/substance abuse problem) were significantly lower among first responders when compared to non-first responders.
- Compared to firefighters and EMS clinicians, LEO suicides had slightly lower percentages of depressed mood, mental health problems, history of suicidal thoughts, and history of suicide attempts.
This new study provides a small glimpse into the stressors contributing to first responder suicide and indicates that more detailed research could inform suicide prevention efforts and interventions among the first responder workforce.
This study was a collaborative effort between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Impaired Driving and Occupant Protection, Office of Emergency Medical Services, and National 911 Program; the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and NIOSH.
(Sources: Journal of Safety Research, CDC)
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Wildfire does not obey jurisdictional boundaries. Fires can start and burn across federal, tribal, state, local and private lands. That means wildfires, especially larger or longer-duration fires, are often fought with a combination of agencies, and with firefighters from different training backgrounds and employers.
Along with day job knowledge and individual skills, clearly defined incident position standards and training are critical for the professional wildland firefighter. Wildland fire personnel throughout the nation mobilize to respond to wildfires using National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) positions, which are developed using the principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). This enables consistent and uniform position performance in support of nationally interoperable wildland fire operations.
On May 16, the NWCG announced the award of a contract funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the NWCG’s Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) project.
This contract will allow NWCG to make a crucial investment in the nation’s wildland firefighting workforce by modernizing its interagency training systems. The contract will assist NWCG with building incident position standards, developing an integrated performance-based training system, and aid in modernizing training materials and operational tools to meet NWCG’s mission.
The IPTM effort is focused on the positions in the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1. As each position is analyzed under IPTM, a performance support package will be created. The performance support package will include the incident position description (IPD), incident position standards, a Next Generation position task book (Next Gen PTB), and any related training materials or other supporting products.
NWCG has already begun work on several positions, and 10 more positions are scheduled to start in 2023 with the awarding of this BIL-funded contract. NWCG’s goal is to complete all 100+ NWCG positions within five years.
In addition to modernizing incident positions and Next Generation position task books, this effort will also include steps to streamline training. Under this new system, the field will have the ability to easily let NWCG know when material is out of sync. Another goal is to move as much training to on-the-job training as possible, using incident position standards and the Next Generation position task books. These changes will make this vital performance-based system easier to update and maintain.
NWCG provides national leadership to enable interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners. NWCG members include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Association of State Foresters, U.S. Fire Administration, Intertribal Timber Council, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and Department of Defense along with associate members from the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Wildland Fire and National Weather Service.
Learn more about this multi- year project, Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM), on NWCG’s website.
(Source: NWCG)
On May 25, 2022, on the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd, the White House issued Executive Order (EO) 14074: Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety.
This executive order required that that all federal law enforcement agencies use the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) updated policies as models for their own policies. Some of the policies that were updated related to the use of force, the prohibition of chokeholds and carotid restraints, limitations on the use of no-knock entries, and the appropriate use of body-worn cameras. For a full list of policies the DOJ has updated under EO 14074, see the DOJ’s fact sheet.
While the mandates of EO 14074 apply only to federal law enforcement agencies and efforts to implement EO 14074 are still ongoing, many of the lessons learned at the federal level can provide guidance and best practices to inform state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) agencies’ policies.
A White House Fact Sheet released on May 25, 2023, on the one-year anniversary of EO 14074, summarizes accomplishments made so far and calls out specific efforts under this EO that are intended to support SLTT law enforcement, including several publications just released in May 2023.
These include:
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Grantmaking – Both the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will give priority consideration to discretionary grant applicants that adopt policies consistent with those in the Executive Order. The DOJ began incorporating these funding incentives in fiscal year (FY) 2023 and DHS will begin to do so in FY 2024.
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Accreditation Standards – The DOJ created accreditation standards to encourage SLTT law enforcement agencies to adopt policies consistent with those in the Executive Order.
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Officer Wellness – The DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a report outlining best practices for SLTT law enforcement agencies regarding officer wellness. The two agencies will soon publish a second report on preventing law enforcement suicide. Both reports are based on engagement with dozens of stakeholder groups.
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Guidelines for Emergency Responses to People with Behavioral Health or Other Disabilities - HHS and DOJ jointly developed guidance regarding emergency responses to calls and interactions with people in behavioral or mental health crisis or persons who have disabilities.
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Notifications of Deaths in Custody – The DOJ published guidance for SLTT law enforcement agencies on best practices for notifications to families of individuals who die in law enforcement custody, including timely and appropriate notification of, and support to, family members.
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Studying the Impact of Use-of-Force Incidents on Communities - HHS published a report examining the effects of use of force by law enforcement officers on individual and community physical, mental, and public health.
All DOJ publications related to EO 14074 are available on the Justice Department’s website. You can find all EO 14074 policy documents for DHS law enforcement agencies on DHS’ website.
(Sources: White House, DOJ, DHS)
Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) released a new online course last month, Search and Rescue Tactics in Single-Family Single-Story Residential Structures. This free, self-paced course was developed with support from FSRI’s Study of Fire Service Residential Home Size-up and Search & Rescue project technical panel.
The course is designed to provide information and insights for firefighters conducting search and rescue. It shares tactical considerations stemming from FSRI research that can be employed to minimize occupant and firefighter exposures during search and rescue operations in single-family, single-story residential structures.
After taking this course, firefighters will be able to:
- Identify how isolation impacts firefighter and occupant survivability during various search and rescue operations.
- Describe how the timing of suppression impacts search and rescue operations and firefighter and occupant survivability.
- Explain how search and rescue operations may be influenced by differing occupant removal situations.
FSRI has also developed supplemental materials to enable firefighters to continue the conversation at the station. Crews can utilize these resources to take a deeper dive into the research, discuss ways to integrate considerations into training and fireground operations and conduct their own time-to-task drills.
The new online course is available through the FSRI Fire Safety Academy. The Fire Safety Academy is FSRI’s learning management platform for access to interactive, online courses and tracking of successful course completion. The FSRI Fire Safety Academy is designed for the fire service, but registration is open to everyone at no cost.
To learn more, see FSRI’s announcement of the course launch or view the short introductory video. Visit the course page in the FSRI Fire Safety Academy to take the course.
(Source: UL FSRI)
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CISA and FBI release advisory on CL0P ransomware gang exploiting MOVEit vulnerability
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) on June 7 with recommended actions and mitigations to protect against and reduce impact from CL0P Ransomware Gang exploiting MOVEit vulnerability (CVE-2023-3436).
According to open-source information, CL0P Ransomware Gang, also known as TA505, began exploiting a previously unknown structured query language (SQL) injection vulnerability (CVE-2023-34362) in Progress Software's managed file transfer (MFT) solution known as MOVEit Transfer beginning in May 2023. Internet-facing MOVEit Transfer web applications were infected with a specific malware used by CL0P, which was then used to steal data from underlying MOVEit Transfer databases.
(Source: CISA)
CISA warns of hurricane/typhoon-related scams
CISA urges users to remain on alert for malicious cyber activity following a natural disaster such as a hurricane or typhoon, as attackers target potential disaster victims by leveraging social engineering tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Social engineering TTPs include phishing attacks that use email or malicious websites to solicit personal information by posing as a trustworthy organization, notably as charities providing relief. Exercise caution in handling emails with hurricane/typhoon-related subject lines, attachments, or hyperlinks to avoid compromise. In addition, be wary of social media pleas, texts, or door-to-door solicitations related to severe weather events.
CISA encourages users to review the Federal Trade Commission’s Staying Alert to Disaster-related Scams and Before Giving to a Charity, and CISA’s Using Caution with Email Attachments and Tips on Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks to avoid falling victim to malicious attacks.
(Source: CISA)
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CISA and partners release joint Guide to Securing Remote Access Software
On June 6, CISA, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) released the Guide to Securing Remote Access Software. This new joint guide is the result of a collaborative effort to provide an overview of legitimate uses of remote access software, as well as common exploitations and associated tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and how to detect and defend against malicious actors abusing this software.
CISA encourages organizations to review this joint guide for recommendations and best practices to implement in alignment with their specific cybersecurity requirements to better detect and defend against exploitation. Additionally, please refer to the additional information below on guidance for MSPs and small- and mid-sized businesses and on malicious use of remote monitoring and management software in using remote software and implementing mitigations.
(Source: CISA)
Malicious actors manipulating photos and videos to create explicit content and sextortion schemes
The FBI is warning the public of malicious actors creating synthetic content (commonly referred to as "deepfakes") by manipulating benign photographs or videos to target victims. Technology advancements are continuously improving the quality, customizability, and accessibility of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled content creation. The FBI continues to receive reports from victims, including minor children and non-consenting adults, whose photos or videos were altered into explicit content. The photos or videos are then publicly circulated on social media or pornographic websites, for the purpose of harassing victims or sextortion schemes.
Read the full Public Service Announcement (PSA) from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
(Source: FBI)
Microsoft Is bringing OpenAI’s GPT-4 AI model to US government agencies
Microsoft Corp. will make it possible for users of its Azure Government cloud computing service, which include a variety of US agencies, to access artificial intelligence models from ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
Microsoft, which is the largest investor in OpenAI and uses its technology to power its Bing chatbot, plans to announce Wednesday that Azure Government customers can now use two of OpenAI’s large language models: The startup’s latest and most powerful model, GPT-4, and an earlier one, GPT-3, via Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service.
The Defense Technical Information Center — a part of the Defense Department that focuses on gathering and sharing military research — will be experimenting with the OpenAI models through Microsoft’s new offering, a DTIC official confirmed.
Microsoft already offers OpenAI models to its commercial clients, with the Azure OpenAI service growing rapidly in recent months. Microsoft said in May it had 4,500 customers for the service, a jump from 2,500 the previous quarter, including Volvo AB, Ikea, Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Shell Plc. The initiative announced Wednesday is the first known effort by a major company to make the chatbot technology widely available to the US government.
(Source: Bloomberg via Yahoo! finance)
The bold plan to create cyber 311 hotlines
Local businesses and other small organizations are facing an onslaught of cyberattacks, but federal agencies like the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are stretched too thin to help them all implement basic security measures. To fill this gap, public and private universities are launching cybersecurity centers modeled on law school legal clinics to train students as digital security consultants.
With national agencies focused on more serious threats to critical infrastructure, university clinics could be the future of cyber defense at the local level.
In just a few months, the newest of these clinics will launch as a pilot project at the University of Texas at Austin, joining other schools that have formed a consortium to share ideas and lessons learned.
The idea for the UT-Austin project emerged from discussions in CISA’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, a group of experts from the private sector, academia, civil society, and local government. During conversations about a university running a municipal cyber helpline, Austin quickly emerged as the ideal candidate, thanks to its already popular 311 service and the support of two committee members: Steve Adler, who was then Austin’s mayor, and Chesney, an influential UT faculty member.
CISA director Jen Easterly has championed the project and recently told the advisory committee that her agency will consider launching a nationwide cyber 311 system after evaluating Austin’s new clinic and similar efforts.
(Source: Wired)
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