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Volume 24 — Issue 18 | May 2, 2024

National Policing Institute recommends actions for law enforcement safety on roadways

A significant number of law enforcement officers are injured or killed in motor vehicle collisions and struck-by incidents each year. From 2009 to 2023, 773 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in roadway-related incidents.

Law enforcement culture, particularly the normalization and acceptance of voluntary risk-taking, can result in officers taking unnecessary risks when driving and working on or near a roadway. Dangerous behaviors—including not wearing a seat belt, reflective vest, or body armor, driving at excessive speeds, and driving while fatigued or distracted—are major risk factors for officer-involved motor vehicle collisions and struck-by incidents.

The National Policing Institute (NPI) recently released a brief, The Role of Law Enforcement Culture in Officer Safety During Driving and Roadway Operations. Given the significant number of officers who are injured or killed in these types of roadway-related incidents each year, the National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety Program (NLERSP) team sought to examine how law enforcement culture may be contributing to these behaviors and provide law enforcement leaders with guidance on how to shift organizational culture to improve roadway safety.

This brief offers a review of available literature related to law enforcement culture and roadway-related incidents. It also captures the findings from a focus group comprised of law enforcement executives, supervisors, trainers, and officers who identified several actionable steps agencies can take to address roadway-related safety risks.

While changing culture in law enforcement is not easy, the highly successful crash prevention program implemented by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, whose case study is featured in this brief, demonstrates that it is possible.

This brief was developed as a collaborative effort between the NPI’s National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety Program (NLERSP), the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Officer Robert Wilson III Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) Initiative, and the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.

Access the brief on NPI’s website.

(Source: NPI)

Highlights

National Policing Institute recommends actions for law enforcement safety on roadways

Hawaii Attorney General releases Lahaina Fire Comprehensive Timeline Report

50th EMS Week – “Honoring our past. Forging our future.”

Arson Awareness Week: Protecting Houses of Worship - Fire as a Weapon, webinar May 6

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.

Hawaii Attorney General releases Lahaina Fire Comprehensive Timeline Report

On April 17, Hawaii’s Attorney General released the Lahaina Fire Comprehensive Timeline Report, the first phase of an independent analysis conducted by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes. The report chronologically details the major events and response efforts related to the catastrophic fire that struck Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 8–9, 2023.

This first report focuses on the events that occurred prior to, during, and immediately following the Lahaina fire, such as preparedness efforts, weather and its impact to infrastructure, and other fires occurring on Maui for the time beginning at 2:55 p.m. HST on August 8, 2023, and concluding at 8:30 a.m. on August 9, 2023. Data from the three other Maui fires is also included in specific sections to give context to the situation in Lahaina.

This report pieces together a detailed timeline of preparedness efforts, fire progression, evacuation activities, emergency response, and fire suppression actions based on a comprehensive array of data sources including radio communications and transcripts, video, images (still images or image capture from digital videos), emergency logs, technical discussions with authorities and residents, text and phone logs, email records, automatic vehicle location applications, social media posts, witness accounts, and corroborated personal experiences. Mapping and analysis illustrate how the fires moved from the wildland into Lahaina’s neighborhoods, rapidly transforming from a grassland fire into an urban conflagration.

Learn more in FSRI’s April 17 news release. Access the phase 1 report, minute-by-minute timeline, fire progression animation, maps, and more on the State of Hawaii Department of the Attorney General's website.

(Sources: State of Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, FSRI)

50th EMS Week – “Honoring our past. Forging our future.”

Since 1974, National EMS Week has recognized the important contributions emergency medical services (EMS) professionals make in providing for the health and safety of those in their communities. The week seeks to honor and focus attention on the incredible impact that EMS professionals and physicians make every day.

This year is the 50^th anniversary of the first National EMS Week, which will be observed May 19-25, 2024. This year’s theme is “Honoring our past. Forging our future.”

EMS is usually all about the moment. But the past holds immense lessons—whether it’s the experience of the people who train us or the struggles and triumphs from EMS’s earliest days.

The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) have partnered to lead annual EMS Week activities. NAEMT and ACEP have organized the following daily themes for the week:

• Sunday, May 19 – Health, Wellness and Resilience Day.
• Monday, May 20 – EMS Education Day.
• Tuesday, May 21 – Safety Tuesday.
• Wednesday, May 22 – EMS for Children Day.
• Thursday, May 23 – Save-A-Life Day (CPR & Stop the Bleed).
• Friday, May 24 – EMS Recognition Day.
• Saturday, May 25 – EMS Remembrance Day.

The National EMS Week website at EMSWeek.org contains a planning checklist and downloadable logos, tools, and resources designed to help agencies organize, plan, and celebrate EMS Week in their own neighborhoods and communities.

In addition to the informational and promotional resources at EMSWeek.org, NAEMT has a themed infographic, Big Moments in EMS History, and a great list of ideas for celebrating EMS Week.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program will observe “EMS for Children Day” on Wednesday, May 22. This day is an opportunity to highlight the distinctive physiological and psychological aspects of caring for children and to raise awareness about improving specialized care for children in pre-hospital and acute care settings.

EMSC will host a webinar, Prehospital Pediatric Airway Management: The Past, Present, and Future, on Wednesday, May 22, from 5-6:30 p.m. EDT. The session will cover historical milestones, current practices, and future advancements shaping pediatric airway management in EMS.

(Sources: EMSWeek.org, NAEMT, ACEP, EMS.gov, EMSC)

Arson Awareness Week: Protecting Houses of Worship - Fire as a Weapon, webinar May 6

Arson Awareness Week will be observed May 5-11, and this year’s theme is “Protecting Houses of Worship – Fire as a Weapon.”

Each year from 2020 to 2022, an estimated average of 1,300 fires in places of worship were reported to fire departments in the U.S. These fires resulted in an estimated annual average of $74.6 million in property loss. The leading cause of fires in places of worship was cooking (33%), but intentional actions accounted for an additional 15%.

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) will co-host a webinar with representatives from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday, May 6 at 2 p.m. EDT, Protecting Houses of Worship from Arson.

Briefings will include a historical review of attacks on houses of worship using fire as the weapon; a threat and intelligence review of current threat actors, targets, and trends; and a discussion on preventing, protecting, mitigating, and response and recovery for arson events involving houses of worship. There will be a question-and-answer period following the briefings.

Visit USFA’s website for more information about Arson Awareness Week and to register for the webinar. Follow and share information on social media about Arson Awareness Week with the hashtag #AAW.

(Sources: USFA, NVFC)

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

White House releases new National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure

On April 30, the White House released the National Security Memorandum (NSM) on Critical Infrastructure and Resilience. This memo builds on the important work that CISA and agencies across the federal government have been undertaking in partnership with America’s critical infrastructure communities for more than a decade.

It also replaces Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21), which was issued more than a decade ago to establish national policy on critical infrastructure security and resilience. The threat environment has significantly changed since then, shifting from counterterrorism to strategic competition, advances in technology like Artificial Intelligence, malicious cyber activity from nation-state actors, and the need for increased international coordination.

This change in the threat landscape, along with increased federal investment in U.S. critical infrastructure, prompted the need to update PPD-21 and issue the new memo.

The NSM articulates how the U.S. government will protect and secure critical infrastructure by collaborating with key stakeholders, while highlighting CISA’s role as National Coordinator for Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience.

Visit cisa.gov/NSM to learn more.

(Source: CISA)

DHS publishes guidelines and report to secure critical infrastructure and weapons of mass destruction from AI-related threats

On April 29, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) marked the 180-day mark of President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14110, Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by unveiling new resources to address threats posed by AI: (1) guidelines to mitigate AI risks to critical infrastructure and (2) a report on AI misuse in the development and production of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN).

These resources build upon the Department’s broader efforts to protect the nations’ critical infrastructure and help stakeholders leverage AI, which include the recent establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board. This new Board, announced last week, assembles technology and critical infrastructure executives, civil rights leaders, academics, state and local government leaders, and policymakers to advance responsible development and deployment of AI.

To read the DHS safety and security guidelines for critical infrastructure owners and operators, please visit: Safety and Security Guidelines for Critical Infrastructure Owners and Operators.

To read the DHS report on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats, please visit: FACT SHEET: DHS Advances Efforts to Reduce the Risks at the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Threats.

To learn more about how DHS uses AI technologies to protect the homeland, visit Artificial Intelligence at DHS.

(Source: DHS)

Okta warns of "unprecedented" credential stuffing attacks on customers

Okta warns of an "unprecedented" spike in credential stuffing attacks targeting its identity and access management solutions, with some customer accounts breached in the attacks. Threat actors use credential stuffing to compromise user accounts by trying out in an automated manner lists of usernames and passwords typically purchased from cybercriminals.

In an advisory on April 27, Okta says the attacks seem to originate from the same infrastructure used in the brute-force and password-spraying attacks previously reported by Cisco Talos.

Okta also provides in its advisory a list of more generic recommendations that can help mitigate the risk of account takeover. These include passwordless authentication, enforcing multi-factor authentication, using strong passwords, denying requests outside the company's locations, blocking IP addresses of ill repute, monitor and respond to anomalous sign-ins.

(Source: Bleeping Computer)

Cyberattack in Kansas City wipes out crucial DOT highway signs ahead of severe weather

On a day with many dangerous severe storms in the forecast, critical information on Kansas City's highway traffic system has faded to black, leaving thousands of drivers in the dark.

A cyberattack forced the city's traffic information system, known as KC Scout, to take immediate action Thursday and shut down all its systems as a protective measure.

As a result, real-time cameras and information boards were not functioning on Saturday when all modes of severe weather, including potentially strong tornadoes and large hail, were possible.

(Source: Fox Weather)

SF’s brand new 911 call center resorts to pen and paper after computer crash

Less than a day after San Francisco held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate its new headquarters for emergency call dispatchers, a computer system crash forced staffers to record crucial information on pen and paper.

Early Thursday morning, the computer system crashed for roughly two and a half hours, according to a source with knowledge of the incident. A department spokesperson confirmed the incident happened between the hours of 4 and 7 a.m.

The spokesperson said the computer-aided dispatch system, or CAD system, is at the end of its life. The city has selected a vendor for its replacement.

(Source: San Francisco Standard)

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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