InfoGram

June 7, 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 infrastructures. 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.

Responsibility to Report

Any fire or emergency service department that accepts National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) assistance following a cyberattack is more likely to recover quickly and catch those responsible. Once contacted, FBI agents from the NIPC will track entry points, contact ISPs, scrutinize logs, monitor hacking channels, and thoroughly examine each machine that has been hit. Those organizations that have made the call for assistance report they received the help needed and in some cases saw the perpetrators arrested. NIPC agents have investigative skills, forensic knowledge, access to attaches in foreign countries, and established relationships with the big Internet players. They can also build a case by aggregating new victim information with data from other victims. Such criminal acts will not be aggressively prosecuted until "the trickle of reported cases grows to a torrent." NIPC agents also say "the best deterrent for these crimes is the strong message that there are very serious consequences." This can happen only if departments accept the responsibility to report a cyberattack. Reporting information can be seen at the bottom of this and every InfoGram.

Avoiding Viruses

Despite the numerous warnings about new viruses, too many organizations still fail to protect their hard drives and data storage with antivirus software. Therefore, the virus avoidance message is worth repeating here. To deter viruses always run antivirus software. "One virus, just one can destroy every record without anyone knowing until it is too late." In an AntiOnline article, Bill Koelzer advises organizations to acquire quality antivirus software, keep it on and functioning at all times, and update the software daily if possible. He further cautions computer users not to forward virus warnings as 99% are false. Visit the "Hoax pages" of Norton and McAfee to ascertain whether or not a virus alert is legitimate. Finally, Mr. Koelzer suggests that operators disregard "urban legends" because most of them are not true. He wrote that anyone can research the truthfulness of virtually every tale or legend at "UrbanLegends.com." Staying away from false virus alerts and circulating legends can help reduce susceptibility to both old and new viruses.

Hoax Email Warning

A hoax email warning people that their computers might contain a virus has duped many individuals into deleting the "sulfnbk.exe" file from their hard drives last week, according to the 5 June NIPC Daily Report. But now some users are receiving another message with "sulfnbk.exe" in the subject line and this time it may actually contain a harmful virus. Those who received the virus said that launching the attached application lets loose a worm that could do substantial harm to a computer and the machines of everyone on their mailing lists. The "sulfnbk.exe" file is safe and does not contain a virus. Instead, a second attachment in the same email contains the harmful "Magistrate" virus. Most antivirus software detects and destroys "Magistrate" before it harms users' computers, but letting "Magistrate" loose could have disastrous consequences. Although first detected on 13 March, the antivirus vendors still rate "Magistrate" as a high risk virus due to its destructive payload and mass emailing capabilities.

Alternative Electricity Source

Even during power blackouts the Central Park police station in New York City will continue to operate with uninterrupted electricity from a 200 kilowatt fuel cell right outside the building. The fuel cell is about the size of a small delivery truck and produces a reassuring low hum. Fuel cells are one of the cleanest and most efficient technologies for producing electricity. They work somewhat like batteries and emit negligible amounts of pollutants. In this age of rolling blackouts, fuel cells are seen as a very dependable source of backup power, said Michael Saltzman, a spokesman for the New York Power Authority. "The end user has the generator capacity right at their doorstep, so there's no relying on transmission and distribution lines and the user is certain of having reliable power." However, as well regarded as fuel cells are, very few are in use because of their high cost. A 200 kilowatt fuel cell system can cost about $900,000. A diesel generator of similar capacity costs approximately $1000.

Venezuelan Energy Source

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on 2 June that his nation is a safe and secure provider of energy and it is prepared to help the United States meet its energy needs. Because President George W. Bush called for the increase in natural gas consumption, President Chavez said, we plan to increase our gas production to accommodate the potential rise in U.S. demand. "And we are hoping that just like we bring tankers full of crude oil, we will also bring gas here in the coming years." He said Venezuela has more gas reserves than any other Latin American nation and ranks eighth in the world. President Chavez added there is a very serious possibility that we will enlarge the capacity for refining at the Corpus Christi site in Texas, which is owned and operated by a Venezuelan company.

USFACIPC Weekly Lexicon: Cookie

A piece of information sent by a web server to a web browser that the browser software is expected to save and to send back to the server whenever the browser makes additional requests for a certain page.