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Volume 23 — Issue 44 | November 2, 2023 |
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Each year, a significant number of law enforcement officer line-of-duty deaths are traffic-related. While routine traffic stops and other routine roadway operations carry some safety risks, one of the most dangerous activities a law enforcement officer may ever engage in is a vehicular pursuit of a fleeing suspect.
The decision whether to pursue a suspect in a vehicle is a difficult one. It involves balancing the risk of the pursuit with the risk to public safety if the suspect is not apprehended.
Two new reports provide safety guidance for law enforcement agencies related to vehicular pursuits. The reports suggest best practices for minimizing the danger to officers.
The first report, Vehicular Pursuits: A Guide for Law Enforcement Executives on Managing the Associated Risks, was released in September 2023. It was authored by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) COPS Office and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in collaboration with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). The report uses findings from NHTSA research and other credible institutions on crashes and collisions involving police pursuits. The study draws on focus group discussions and a review of 48 agencies’ policies to develop its 65 recommendations. Agencies of all sizes and circumstances can consider these recommendations when developing or refining their vehicular pursuit policies.
The second report, Tire Deflation Devices: Risk Versus Reward - A Ten-Year Examination of Law Enforcement Fatalities, was authored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) in partnership with NHTSA and released in October 2023.
Tire deflation devices (TDDs), often referred to as “stop sticks” or “spike strips,” are rows of spikes deployed by law enforcement across a roadway to safely deflate tires in a predictable and controlled manner in order to end a vehicular pursuit. However, deployment of TDDs carries its own risks to officers.
NLEOMF researchers conducted a review of their Line-of-Duty Death database and found 42 line-of-duty deaths directly linked to the “Placing of Stop Sticks” between 1996 and 2022, which is nearly two deaths each year. The NLEOMF’s report closely examines 17 cases involving police agencies in 14 different states between 2013 and 2022, where a TDD was deployed and an officer was killed. The most common element in all the examined cases was the fact that officers were not adequately protected when they prepared to deploy the TTD and, in some cases, they were completely exposed when attempting to deploy or withdraw the TDDs.
These two reports provide valuable evidence-based insights that law enforcement agencies can use to update training, policies, and best practices to better protect their officers. The COPS Office report on Vehicular Pursuits can be accessed in the COPS Office Resource Center. The NLEOMF’s report on Tire Deflation Devices is available on NLEOMF’s website.
(Sources: DOJ COPS Office, Associated Press, PERF, NLEOMF)
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has posted 12 draft resource typing definitions related to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) resources within the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The 12 draft documents establish the minimum criteria for personnel and vehicles that function as either a single EMS resources, an ambulance ground team, or an ambulance strike team.
These resource typing documents enhance the interoperability and effectiveness of mutual aid by establishing baseline qualifications for NIMS-typed teams. This facilitates the sharing of deployable resources at all jurisdictional levels.
FEMA’s National Integration Center is seeking public feedback on these 12 documents during a 30-day national engagement period. National engagement provides an opportunity to comment on the draft documents to ensure they are relevant to all implementing partners.
For more information and to access the 12 draft documents, visit FEMA.gov. To provide comments on the draft documents, complete the feedback form and submit the form to FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov no later than 5 p.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023.
(Source: FEMA)
FirstNet, the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN), has undergone rapid transformation since the FirstNet Authority contracted with AT&T in 2018 to build the network.
The Band 14 spectrum is licensed by Congress to the FirstNet Authority and is reserved exclusively for use by first responders, allowing FirstNet to provide responders with many dedicated and enhanced communications capabilities. AT&T had a 5-year window between March 2018 and March 2023 to build out Band 14 coverage nationwide. This year, in a March 22 press release, AT&T announced that its Band 14 coverage target was more than 99% complete.
The FirstNet coverage map now includes more than 99% of the U.S. population across most of the continental United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories. In a July 26 statement on its quarter 2 earnings, AT&T announced that the FirstNet network had surpassed 5 million connections.
However, FirstNet’s work is far from over, and its footprint continues to expand to meet the evolving communications needs of first responders.
The current FirstNet buildout covers most ground-based incidents through existing cell infrastructure. However, current cellular mobility systems are designed and built for terrestrial use; they are not optimized to support aerial and maritime environments.
In January 2022, FirstNet Authority established its Public Safety Aviation and Maritime Working Group to explore the broadband needs of responders operating in the air and on the water. The group assembled public safety stakeholders to explore use cases involving fixed-wing and rotor aircraft, maritime vessels, uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), and any other potential future aviation or maritime mission needs.
In October 2023, FirstNet Authority announced the release of a report documenting the results of its engagement with maritime and aviation first responders on their broadband mission requirements. The report, Public Safety Aviation and Maritime Case Study, provides detailed descriptions of current use cases and future desired capabilities for aviation and maritime environments, with a special section dedicated to needs related to UAS. Many specific use cases for broadband connectivity outlined in the report are aligned with two overarching desires identified almost unanimously by the first responders interviewed in this study:
- To provide both aviation and maritime units with enhanced situational awareness.
- To obtain information (e.g., video, photos) from aircraft, UAS, and marine vessels to provide enhanced situational awareness to ground units.
Meeting these two needs would help to create a common operating picture for all those supporting an incident, as well as facilitate more informed, data-driven decision-making.
FirstNet Authority will use this research to work with AT&T to ensure the FirstNet network evolves to address the needs of public safety maritime and aviation environments. Access the case study on FirstNet Authority’s website.
(Sources: FirstNet Authority, AT&T, IWCG’s Urgent Communications)
This past September, FEMA observed National Preparedness Month to encourage everyone in America to prepare for disasters and emergencies that could happen anywhere and at any time. The focus this year was on preparing older adults and their caregivers ahead of disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods.
FEMA will host a webinar focused on disaster resources for caregivers on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, from 1-2:30 p.m. EST. The event will provide an opportunity for FEMA, the private sector, academia and nonprofit partners to engage with each other and enhance their mutual understanding of disaster assistance resources, capabilities and mechanisms that support caregivers.
Co-hosted by FEMA’s Voluntary Agency Liaisons and the DHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the webinar will include:
The webinar will be held via Zoom. Visit the Zoom registration page to sign up. See FEMA’s Oct. 31 Bulletin to learn more about the speakers and event details.
(Source: FEMA)
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Federal Partnership for Interoperable Communications (FPIC) releases The Transition to Advanced Encryption Standard White Paper
The Federal Partnership for Interoperable Communications (FPIC) is a Technical Advisory Resource to the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center (ECPC) Steering Committee and has a collaborative relationship with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA’s) SAFECOM-National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) Joint Technology Policy Committee.
FPIC’s mission is to address communications interoperability among the public safety community at all levels of government to foster intergovernmental cooperation and identify and leverage common synergies.
On Oct. 27, CISA announced FPIC’s release of a white paper, The Transition to Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The white paper can be used by public safety agencies to better understand the vulnerabilities to sensitive information from continued use of the Data Encryption Standard (DES) and non-standard algorithms. It provides an overview of actions and next steps being taken to support state, local, tribal, territorial (SLTT) agencies transition to Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) capabilities.
The document also provides background information on the Criminal Justice Information Service (CJIS) Policy, and the Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) Program. Agencies can also find background information about CJIS policies and resources, like the PCII Program, to better protect critical infrastructure and information.
To learn more about FPIC, Encryption in P25, and the P25, please visit cisa.gov/safecom/fpic or contact FPIC@cisa.dhs.gov.
(Source: CISA)
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CISA announces new release of Logging Made Easy
On Oct. 27, CISA announced a new release of Logging Made Easy, a Windows-based, free and open log management solution designed to help organizations more effectively use available security data to detect and address cyber threats.
In April 2023, CISA assumed Logging Made Easy from the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (UK-NCSC). Following a period of transition and enhancement, it is now available with step-by-step installation instructions for both legacy and new users.
For more information, visit CISA’s new Logging Made Easy webpage.
(Source: CISA)
Cloudflare sees surge in hyper-volumetric HTTP DDoS attacks
DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks are a type of cyberattack that involves directing large volumes of garbage traffic or large numbers of bogus requests to targeted servers hosting apps, websites, and online services to overwhelm and make them unavailable to legitimate visitors.
A Cloudflare report shared with BleepingComputer reveals that, during Q3 2023, the internet company mitigated thousands of hyper volumetric HTTP DDoS attacks. Cloudflare says the number of hyper-volumetric HTTP DDoS attacks recorded in the third quarter of 2023 surpasses every previous year, indicating that the threat landscape has entered a new chapter.
(Source: Bleeping Computer)
HC3 Analyst Note: 8Base Ransomware
8Base is not a ransomware operation, but a data-extortion cybercrime operation. They quickly became a notorious actor on the cyber threat landscape due to the significant number of victims claimed on their data leak site. While operating largely under the radar for the past year, 8Base resurfaced and was attributed to a massive spike in activity in May and June 2023. Notably, 8Base, alongside Cl0p and LockBit, were responsible for 48% of all recorded cyberattacks in July 2023 alone.
A recent attack on a U.S.-based medical facility in October 2023 highlights the potential threat of the ransomware gang, 8Base, to the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) sector. What follows is an overview of the group, possible connections to other threat actors, an analysis of their ransomware attacks, their target industries and victim countries, impacts to the HPH sector, MITRE ATT&CK techniques, indicators of compromise, and recommended defenses and mitigations against the group.
Read the full Analyst Note from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3).
(Source: HHS HC3)
Dallas County cyberattack did not encrypt files but hackers claim to have stolen sensitive data
An international cyber hacker group is threatening to publish sensitive information it claims it stole from the Dallas County computer system unless the county pays a ransom by Friday. County officials confirmed a cyber incident was detected on Oct. 19. Unlike a ransomware attack where files are encrypted, this attack did not encrypt any data—meaning the county's computer system can still operate as normal. However, the threat of publishing any potential stolen data can be used to extort payment.
The county hired outside cybersecurity experts to help contain it and officials said it prevented any files from being encrypted. The hacker organization, Play, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Since June 2022, the group has been linked to hundreds of cyberattacks. Most recently, the group has been targeting government institutions.
(Source: CBS News Texas)
Boeing confirms cyberattack, global services disrupted
Boeing confirmed a cyberattack is impacting its global services division, five days after a prolific Russia-affiliated ransomware group claimed responsibility for an attack against the multinational aerospace company. Some parts of company’s global services site are currently down.
Boeing declined to confirm the identity of the threat actor, the nature of the attack or if a ransom has been paid. The company has yet to file a disclosure about the incident with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The group taking credit for the attack, LockBit, is a financially motivated threat actor the Justice Department once described as “one of the most active and destructive ransomware variants in the world.” LockBit listed Boeing on its leak site on Friday and threatened to leak “sensitive data” if Boeing did not meet its deadline to make contact by Thursday.
(Source: Cybersecurity Dive)
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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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