InfoGram 21-07: May 31, 2007

This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the Emergency Services Sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. For further information, contact the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) at (301) 447-1325 or by email at emr-isac@fema.dhs.gov.

OPSEC and CIP Dependency for Mission Assurance

Mission assurance during and after man-made and natural disasters is the "bottom line" for the departments and agencies of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) - failure is not an option. To enhance mission accomplishment in an all-hazards environment, the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) recommends the application of Operations Security (OPSEC) and Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP). These two distinct, but related disciplines protect ESS critical information, activities, and infrastructures from compromise, degradation, or destruction.

OPSEC and CIP are important to ESS leaders, owners, and operators because both disciplines determine what really needs protection in a time-efficient and resource-restrained manner. OPSEC clarifies the minimum organizational information and activities that must be protected from adversary surveillance, collection, and use. The key to effective OPSEC is to ascertain the specific critical information and activities that truly require protection.

CIP verifies only those internal organizational infrastructures that must be protected from exploitation and devastation by all hazards. The major ingredient to successful CIP is the identification of the few particular critical infrastructures that must remain intact and operational to ensure department or agency survivability and continuity.

There are several areas where the emergency services are vulnerable to the scrutiny of domestic and transnational terrorists. According to counterterrorism specialists, adversarial collection behaviors focus on matters pertaining to personnel, equipment, systems, structures, operations, plans, and training. Among these are the people, things, and systems that typically comprise the internal critical infrastructures of an ESS organization. This reality substantiates the dependency of any CIP measures on the quality implementation of OPSEC. Hence, the EMR-ISAC asserts that a department or agency cannot productively practice CIP without also practicing OPSEC for mission assurance.

Emergency Vehicle Thefts

According to recent news reports, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the theft of two ambulances "because of possible homeland security concerns." Initial police statements indicated that "both full-sized vans were left with the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked." Although the vehicles were later found undamaged, the thieves did escape with universal keys that could be used to open some other ambulances. At the time of the reports, an inventory was being conducted considering that each van contained high-value technical equipment and medications.

In previous cases where the perpetrators were found and apprehended, investigators concluded that the ambulance thefts were not related to terrorism. Nevertheless, the possibility still exists that individuals may attempt to use stolen emergency vehicles to conceal their real identity and blend with first responders at the scene of an incident. After gaining unauthorized access to the site with real or imitation ambulances, the terrorist options are many and frightening.

The Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reminds Emergency Services Sector personnel that the thefts of emergency vehicles, equipment, uniforms, badges, etc., continue to occur throughout the United States. This fact necessitates that ESS departments and agencies actively enforce theft prevention measures. It is also important to learn how terrorists can use pilfered items to deceive emergency responders and make them the secondary target.

University of Maryland Terror Database

The University of Maryland recently announced that the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) made its Global Terrorism Database (GTD) publicly available for the first time. The GTD provides a unique service for understanding the big picture, while adding depth to the challenge of comprehending risk in the context of terrorism threats. Unlike other event databases, the GTD includes systematic data on international as well as domestic terrorist incidents that occurred since 1970.

Upon initial review, the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned that the GTD covers about 80,000 incidents and provides one of the few data sources for risk analysis of such scope and detail. For each entry, the GTD presents information regarding the date and location of the incident, the weapons used and nature of the target, the number of casualties, the identity of the perpetrator if known, and more.

The START Center offers the GTD to personnel at all levels of government and the private sector engaged in preventing or protecting against terrorism. However, the EMR-ISAC suggests the GTD may have value for emergency managers and first responders in their efforts to increase awareness of terrorist violence, how that violence affects local critical infrastructures, and how it can be more readily defeated.

Governor's Guide to Homeland Security

Emergencies and disasters take many forms, including natural disasters, technological and infrastructure failures, terrorist attacks, etc. A well-planned and well-implemented response to all hazards is vital to the safety of citizens and the continuity of services. The recently released guide for state governors focuses primarily on the preparedness and response actions of a state's emergency management program.

Published by the National Governors Association, A Governor's Guide to Homeland Security (PDF, 1.6 Mb, March 2007) was written to provide governors with an overview of their homeland security roles and responsibilities and to offer guidance on how to approach issues such as mutual aid, information sharing, obtaining assistance from the military, and protecting critical infrastructures. The Guide draws heavily on the experiences of governors who have managed during catastrophes and on the lessons learned since the September 11 attacks.

The Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) examined the "Governors Guide," and found content with sufficient relevance and applicability for regional, local, and tribal leaders in the businesses of government, emergency management, and emergency response.