InfoGram

April 19, 2001

NOTE: This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency services sector with news and information concerning the protection of their critical information systems. For further information please contact the U.S. Fire Administration's Critical Infrastructure Protection Information Center at (301) 447-1325 or email at usfacipc@dhs.gov

Critical Infrastructure Protection Grants Program

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites proposals from eligible organizations for funding projects under the Critical Infrastructure Protection Grants Program (CIPGP). The objective of the CIPGP is improvement of the robustness, resilience, and security of information in all the critical infrastructures. This will be accomplished by funding research leading to commercial solutions to those information technology (IT) security problems central to critical infrastructure protection that are not being adequately addressed. A secondary objective of the CIPGP is to cultivate a security-capable and security-conscious community. Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, other nonprofits, commercial organizations, and state and local governments. Proposals must be received by June 15, 2001. For further information contact: Donald G. Marks; National Institute of Standards and Technology; 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8930; NIST North, Room 682; Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930; telephone: 301) 975-5342; email: cip@nist.gov.

Wireless Industry Faces 9-1-1 Deadline

Wireless carriers face a fast-approaching government deadline to add location information capability to their systems. In 1996, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules setting October 1, 2001, as the deadline for implementing this capability for cellular phone users. However, no major carrier has yet to do so. Although many are pressing regulators for more time to complete the costly overhaul, public safety officials say they cannot wait any longer. "There is a public expectation that people can be found if they make a 9-1-1 call from their cell phones," said William Hinkle, director of the Hamilton County Communications Department in Ohio. "We are concerned about any additional loss of life." About 45 million Americans made 9-1-1 calls from their wireless phones last year, according to Hinkle, who works on the issue for the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials. "Without location information," public safety officials say they are "leaving those in emergencies at greater risk."

"Matcher Worm"

The Federal Computer Incident Response Center (FedCIRC) has reported the presence of a new electronic mail worm named w32.matcher. Matcher is an email worm written in Visual Basic. It was first discovered on April 18, 2001. The text of the email, which comes with the subject line "Matcher," promises that the Matcher.exe program will find you a match in love, but when run, instead makes a few subtle changes to the computer and then resends itself to everyone in the Microsoft Outlook/Express address book. It will continue to send emails in an infinite loop. As a result, mail servers might be overloaded with the worm's messages. Though the worm will not damage an individual user's computer, it may pose problems for organizations, said Susan Orbuch, senior director of communications at Trend Micro. "In an organization, it has the potential to overwhelm an email server," thereby crashing it, she warned.

Think You Have a Virus or Worm?

AntiOnline.com recently advised that you should run a virus scan immediately if your computer is doing any of the following:

• Files disappeared from your hard drive without explanation.
• The modification or creation dates on your files don't seem accurate.
• The size of files or programs increased greatly without explanation.
• The RAM is nearly full and you are not sure why.

If any of these symptoms are present, then AntiOnline experts recommend updating your virus program, scanning for viruses, and running a maintenance check on your system for other errors.

Terrorism Threat Advisory

The Terrorism Research Center believes there is an increased likelihood of a domestic terrorism event during the period of 19 April to 16 May 2001. The probability of an attack between these dates increases due to the anniversary of the law enforcement raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, the devastation of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the Earth Liberation Front communiqu' calling for a day of action, and the planned execution of Timothy McVeigh. While the Terrorism Research Center knows of no specific indication of an imminent terrorist attack, it recommends U.S. federal facilities, military bases, state and local government entities, and private organizations exercise heightened vigilance during this period.

The ability of a suitably organized, trained, and equipped entity to access, penetrate, or alter government or privately owned information or communication systems and/or to disrupt, deny, or destroy all or part of a critical infrastructure.