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On July 19, 2024, CrowdStrike, a U.S. cybersecurity firm, released a software update to their customers. The update caused certain systems to crash, disrupting services across several industries, including airlines, banks, hospitals, government agencies, and public safety systems.
CrowdStrike reported that the incident was caused by “a defect found in a single content update of its software on Microsoft Windows operating systems” and was not a cyberattack. Though the update affected less than 1% of all Windows machines, the impacts were widespread and global.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published an In Focus report shortly after the incident: IT Outage from CrowdStrike’s Update: Impacts to Certain Public Safety Systems and Considerations for Congress.
The incident affected public safety agencies that use CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software on their computer systems. This CRS report focuses on the impact of the CrowdStrike incident on U.S. public safety communications systems and services, such as 911 systems, police and fire agency systems, fire alarms, broadcast networks involved in emergency alerting, and some federal agencies that support public safety and emergency response.
The report discusses how the telecommunications and public safety sectors are attempting to address emerging risks with their evolving technology. These sectors have been migrating to IP-based networks and software-defined networks to enhance network management and performance and enable interconnectivity. This technology migration has enhanced redundancy and resiliency but has introduced new vulnerabilities.
The report makes recommendations for consideration by Congress, such as providing or prioritize funding for critical infrastructure resiliency, including for public safety backup systems. The report also makes recommendations that Congress could address with directives to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Access the report within the CRS’ digital collection at csrreports.congress.gov.
(Source: CRS)
The 2023–2024 academic year was a challenging one for academic, administrative, and law enforcement leaders charged with keeping our college and university campuses safe. Demonstrations on campuses occurred at a level not seen in decades. Campus law enforcement and public safety personnel were tasked with protecting access to public spaces, separating protesters and counterprotesters to avert violence, or both.
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Community Relations Service (CRS) recently released Navigating Conflicts: A Guide for Campus Leaders and Public Safety Personnel. This Guide was developed by CRS, in collaboration with the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and The Ohio State University’s Divided Community Project.
The Guide is published not as an analysis of past conflict on campus or an assessment of leadership response but as a framework to help campus leaders and public safety professionals conceptualize conflict and inform decision-making when it does occur.
The publication includes:
- Explanations of the critical topics of awareness, communication, support, and coordination.
- A toolkit for rapid response to campus conflict.
- An interactive simulation, “Nexera University.”
The CRS and the Divided Community Project are available to college and university communities to provide assistance with any of these resources—including helping facilitate the interactive simulation in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format. Colleges and universities interested in receiving assistance may contact askCRS@usdoj.gov.
Learn more and access the Guide at Justice.gov.
(Source: DOJ)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) National Mitigation Planning Program is hosting a webinar in its “From Policy To Action” series, Putting Plans to Work through Plan Implementation on Thursday, Sept. 5 from 1 - 2:30 p.m. EDT.
The webinar is targeted to anyone involved in hazard mitigation. The webinar covers the benefits of plan implementation and the tools to get there. Participants will learn how to streamline and amplify planning efforts in ways that support the whole community.
The webinar will discuss how a state agency, a Tribal Nation, and a county are each implementing mitigation plans:
- The Ohio Emergency Management Agency shares how their portal is supporting plan and project information.
- Learn how the Oneida Nation took a proactive approach to risk reduction and coordinating with other partners.
- Hear how Dauphin County, Pennsylvania fostered a robust annual review process.
Past webinars in FEMA’s “From Policy to Action” series are available within FEMA’s Mitigation Planning YouTube Playlist. Learn more about Hazard Mitigation Planning at FEMA.gov.
Learn more and register for this webinar at Eventbrite.com.
(Source: FEMA)
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