InfoGram

December 19, 2002

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.

Large-Scale State Bioterrorism Exercise

Last month, the state of Arizona conducted one of the largest bioterrorism exercises in the nation in an effort to test its ability to receive the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile (NPS). The NPS consists of large quantities of antibiotics, medical supplies, and equipment which are stockpiled at 10 locations throughout the country. At a governor's request, the stockpile can be deployed rapidly. When an exercise is conducted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a smaller version of the actual NPS, specifically designed for training.

The multi-level, multi-agency event involved entities that are tasked with the responsibility of providing emergency response services to the public in the event of a catastrophic bioterrorism event. Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, Catherine Eden, said that the participating partners were eager to test their ability to respond to a large-scale event and to learn where their planning efforts would be successful and where they needed to be improved.

Tucson and Mesa tested their Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) plans by setting up simulated mass dispensing sites and having volunteer "victims" receive mock medications. Mesa also included a real testing of procedures for mass immunization by inoculating more than 3,000 high school students who needed tetanus vaccines. This activity tested the ability of multiple agencies to manage a large number of people and coordinate logistical issues.

The Director of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management, Michael P. Austin, believes that the exercise was a demonstration of excellent cooperation between the fire service and emergency managers. "Money for first responders is great," he said, but Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) assumes that outside help will be needed. States play a critical role in coordinating statewide assets before federal assets can arrive."

Alternative Communications for CIP

In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist incidents, licensed operators of amateur radio stations, also known as "hams," played a public service role by setting up radios at the Pentagon and near Dulles International Airport so that they could communicate when the phone network was jammed and cell phones went dead from too much traffic.

The ranks of hams have diminished, largely because younger people find that using the Internet is easier, but there is a growing role for the amateur radio operators: their service in providing communications during emergencies. In the first days after the terrorist incidents, the radio frequencies on which they operated were not subject to the same frustrating chaos that froze telecommunications lines. Loudoun County, Virginia, home to Dulles International Airport, gives the radio operators space at the county's emergency management center, and county officials are revising their emergency management plan to delineate the role of ham radio operators during a crisis. In July, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national ham radio organization, received a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to train ham radio operators to respond in emergencies.

The CIPIC suggests that given the potentially important public service role of hams, local and county emergency managers might consider identifying the radio operators in their jurisdictions and enlisting their support for future emergency operations.

Information about amateur radio activities, courses, licensing, and public support is available at the following URL: http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html

Hackers, Virus Writers Attack Via Holiday Messages

The CIPIC has been advised that this season is an especially opportune time for hackers and virus writers to send seemingly innocuous holiday greeting e-cards that could allow malicious content to enter and leave an information infrastructure before a system administrator realizes that a network has been violated.

NewsFactor Network warns that first responder and emergency organizations that use the Internet should start to block or quarantine all non-work-related electronic messages, inbound and outbound, paying particular attention to messages that contain web links or attachments, and should educate employees by providing guidelines about accessing the Internet safely.

First responder and emergency departments that use the Internet are cautioned that web-based email accounts, for example, tend to bypass existing email filtering tools and that the most effective way to deal with a festive influx of unsolicited emails is to apply the same level of vigilance year round.

More Stolen Equipment

A volunteer fire department in Glynn County, Georgia, is the latest to have some of its equipment stolen.

Axes, two-way radios, a hydraulic power unit, and an array of forced entry equipment were among the items removed from four fire trucks. A Hineville, Georgia, newspaper reported that there were no signs of forced entry into the fire department. Unlike the equipment thefts reported in earlier InfoGrams (19 September and 5 December 2002), in which the motive for stealing equipment was for the purpose of resale, a fire department spokesperson stated that whoever took the equipment may use it to commit a crime. Most of the equipment taken was for forced entry, so "They can open any door and any lock," the spokesperson said, adding that many items that could have been sold for a profit were left untouched. All of the department's equipment is insured, but personnel are in the process of strengthening the department's physical security.

The CIPIC suggests that this incident of equipment theft by outsiders reinforces the need for heightened awareness of physical infrastructure vulnerabilities and strengthened security.