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Volume 24 — Issue 32 | August 15, 2024

Safety resources for workers assisting with hurricane response and recovery

With peak Atlantic hurricane season approaching, disaster response and recovery workers may benefit from a refresher on how to keep themselves safe while responding to hurricanes and floods and conducting related cleanup activities.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Training Program (WTP) provides a National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Health Training. This Clearinghouse offers many resources focused on the safety of disaster response and recovery workers, including emergency responders, skilled support personnel, homeowners, and business owners.

The resources on the Clearinghouse’s Hurricanes & Floods page are aimed at protecting the health and safety of those responding to the aftermath of a hurricane or a flood. Awareness-level courses and training materials cover hurricanes, floods, debris removal, urban flooding, hazardous materials training and work zone safety during cleanup operations, and more. The page links to additional resources from several other agencies related to worker safety and disaster response.

Visit NIEHS’ Hurricanes & Floods page to access this resource collection. Visit NIEHS’ Responder & Community Resilience Page for additional resources supporting the mental health and resiliency of disaster responders.

(Source: NIEHS)

Highlights

Safety resources for workers assisting with hurricane response and recovery

DHS S&T releases Emergency Management of Tomorrow Research: Landscape Assessment

SAFECOM releases Considerations for Public Safety Cloud Computing Adoption

Webinar: U.S. Fire Administration’s Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center

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.

DHS S&T releases Emergency Management of Tomorrow Research: Landscape Assessment

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) released a report, Emergency Management of Tomorrow Research: Landscape Assessment.

The report offers a summary of peer-reviewed research in emergency management (EM) from 2018 to 2023. The report was compiled in support of the Emergency Management of Tomorrow Research (EMOTR) Program, which is administered by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with support from DHS S&T.

The purpose of this report was to identify current EM research, elicit capability needs from EM practitioners, and identify where technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), may benefit the future of EM and emergency operations centers. As part of the EMOTR Program, the findings of the report will support DHS S&T in exploring future investment options for technology used by emergency management practitioners.

Some notable findings of the report include:

• A need persists to improve existing information management systems, particularly during large-scale events with multi-jurisdictional responses that require the activation of mutual aid agreements.
• Information technology professionals are missing or underrepresented in the emergency operations center.
• PNNL identified several research areas of high interest among academic institutions, national laboratories, and research centers, where opportunities for research collaboration may exist: social media analytics, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML), community resilience, satellite technology, emergency response solutions to power grid issues, evacuation response, Smart City applications and informatics ecosystems, and critical infrastructure damage assessments.

Access the report in the DHS Publications Library.

(Source: DHS)

SAFECOM releases Considerations for Public Safety Cloud Computing Adoption

Cloud computing offers myriad benefits to public safety organizations, though adoption of such technology may not be as easy as it seems. SAFECOM has released Considerations for Public Safety Cloud Computing Adoption to assist public safety practitioners in asking the key consideration questions.

Composed of questions in a checklist format, the document guides practitioners through determining 1) needs and scope, 2) requirements, and 3) a questionnaire to solicit key information.

While not all suggested considerations may apply to individual circumstances, they stimulate thought and initiate conversation with peers, leaders, and decision-makers. These considerations could assist public safety organizations at any stage of cloud adoption to ensure that their selection is operable, secure, resilient, and compliant with rules and regulations.

Stakeholders are encouraged to share this publication announcement with their respective networks. Please contact safecomgovernance@cisa.dhs.gov with questions and inquiries. Visit cisa.gov/public-safety-cybersecurity for additional public safety-specific cybersecurity and resiliency guidance.

(Source: CISA)

Webinar: U.S. Fire Administration’s Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center

CISA hosts a quarterly webinar series on Emergency Services Sector Resilience for homeland security, public safety, emergency management and emergency response personnel. The series is facilitated by CISA’s Emergency Services Sector Management Team and focuses on topics of interest to ESS stakeholders.

The next webinar in the series is scheduled for Wednesday, August 28, at 1 p.m. EDT. The webinar will feature this newsletter’s own Emergency Management and Response – Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC).

The EMR-ISAC is managed by the U.S. Fire Administration, and works with CISA, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and the National Counterterrorism Center to advance information sharing and initiatives on behalf of the emergency services sector.

The EMR-ISAC administers the Emergency Services (ES) community on the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN). With more than 3,000 active users, HSIN-ES has become an information clearinghouse for emergency services professionals across the United States. Whether they need information about a significant incident, or are researching a potential threat to their jurisdiction, emergency services leaders know they can turn to HSIN-ES to get answers.

The EMR-ISAC publishes the weekly InfoGram to 186,000+ members of the Emergency Services Sector from federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations. Each edition contains timely and relevant information regarding responder safety, awareness, planning, prevention, education, training, and funding opportunities affecting emergency services sector personnel nationwide.

Join the webinar to learn more about the EMR-ISAC and the services it provides. No advanced registration is required to join this webinar. To participate, save the date of Wednesday, August 28, at 1 p.m. EDT and go to CISA’s HSIN Connect Room at the scheduled time to join: https://share.dhs.gov/emrisac/.

To learn more about this webinar and share with colleagues, see CISA’s downloadable webinar flyer.

For more information or to seek additional help, contact the Emergency Services Sector Management Team at EmergencyServicesSector@cisa.dhs.gov.

(Source: CISA)

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

New guidance aims to make FedRAMP ‘a security-first program,’ OMB official says

As IT professionals across the federal government process the long-awaited FedRAMP modernization guidance released last month, one of the key figures behind the document is calling attention to its emphasis on “real-world threat assessment.”

The director of technology modernization and data at the Office of Management and Budget, said during an Advanced Technology Academic Research Center event last week that the prioritization of threat assessments is part of an overarching strategy to position FedRAMP and its updated guidance as “a security-first program.”

“You’ll see [specifically] a couple mentions to red-teaming,” she said, as well as “security reviews that can happen sort of at the request of the FedRAMP board, potentially in light of particular events or even emerging threat vulnerabilities.”

The goal with those security-focused callouts is to instill federal agencies with confidence in meeting the document’s cybersecurity requirements, while also leaning into “adaptability” and “taking advantage of the unique capabilities of cloud.”

(Source: FedScoop)

NIST: New White Paper Series - Applying 5G Cybersecurity and Privacy Capabilities

5G technology for broadband cellular networks will significantly improve how humans and machines communicate, operate, and interact in the physical and virtual world. 5G provides increased bandwidth and capacity, and low latency.

To help, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has launched the Applying 5G Cybersecurity and Privacy Capabilities white paper series.

The series targets technology, cybersecurity, and privacy program managers within commercial mobile network operators, potential private 5G network operators, and organizations using and managing 5G-enabled technology who are concerned with how to identify, understand, assess, and mitigate risk for 5G networks.

In the series, NIST provides recommended practices and illustrate how to implement them. All of the capabilities featured in the white papers have been implemented in the NCCoE testbed on commercial-grade 5G equipment.

NIST NCCoE has released the first two papers in the series: Applying 5G Cybersecurity and Privacy Capabilities: Introduction to the White Paper Series  and Protecting Subscriber Identifiers with Subscription Concealed Identifier (SUCI).

NIST NCCoE is accepting public input on the series until September 16, 2024.

(Source: NIST)

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP): A Quest for Data Control

The Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS®) Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) team at the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®) assesses that apps owned by the People's Republic of China (PRC) pose a threat to users because of the PRC's ability to leverage these apps for data collection and malign influence operations.

Data control is central to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) quest for digital and technological dominance on the world stage. This pursuit is supported by PRC laws granting the CCP the authority to collect data from Chinese companies. Given the popularity of these apps globally, and especially among American users, the CCP likely views the data stored within apps like TikTok, Shein, and Temu as an important resource for their data control goals.

Overall, the PRC likely views the expansion of Chinese-owned apps in the United States as an opportunity to develop new malign influence effort launch points and to harvest data across a range of industry verticals.

Before installing TikTok, Temu, Shein, or another Chinese-owned app, individuals and organizations should review the privacy policies to understand the types of data each app collects and conduct a risk assessment.

Read the CTI’s full threat assessment in its Aug. 14 blog.

(Source: MS-ISAC)

FBI shuts down Dispossessor ransomware group's servers across U.S., U.K., and Germany

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday announced the disruption of online infrastructure associated with a nascent ransomware group called Radar/Dispossessor.

The effort saw the dismantling of three U.S. servers, three United Kingdom servers, 18 German servers, eight U.S.-based criminal domains, and one German-based criminal domain. Dispossessor is said to be led by individual(s) who go by the online moniker "Brain."

"Since its inception in August 2023, Radar/Dispossessor has quickly developed into an internationally impactful ransomware group, targeting and attacking small-to-mid-sized businesses and organizations from the production, development, education, healthcare, financial services, and transportation sectors," the FBI said in a statement.

As many as 43 companies have been identified as victims of Dispossessor attacks, including those located in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Honduras, India, Peru, Poland, the U.A.E., the U.K., and the U.S.

(Source: The Hacker News)

‘Foreign cyberattack’ hits US city as local police claim bank accounts have been hacked: Report

A foreign cyberattack has reportedly hit the city of Columbus, Ohio. The attack has disrupted various city servers and appears to have compromised data, reports the Colombia Dispatch. The ransomware group Rhysida says it’s behind the hack, listing a trove of new data for sale on the dark web.

Although officials have released few details on the attack, the Columbus Division of Police First Assistant Chief says early signs show significant damage was done. The head of Columbus City’s police union Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, says his crew is being hit with apparent identity theft. An investigation is underway to determine whether it’s connected to the massive city infrastructure breach.

(Source: The Daily Hodl)

Police systems and online utility payments remain down after North Miami cyberattack

On Sunday, Aug. 4, North Miami detected a breach in its cybersecurity system, leading officials to close City Hall that Tuesday. It reopened Monday morning under usual business hours but with limited services. While many services and operations remained operational last week, several services remain delayed or altered.

While emergency services never went down, Galvin said computerized car systems for police are still not working, forcing officers to resort to radio communication to communicate addresses.

(Source: Miami Herald via Yahoo!News)

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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