InfoGram 20-09: May 21, 2009

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.

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Staying Safe in Confrontations

In an article posted online at FireRescue1 News, "Confrontations with the Public: How to Stay Safe," Linda Willing discussed how first responders can deal with confrontational, unstable people when both on and off the incident scene. The author, a 20-year veteran of the emergency services, indicates that something must be done to maintain control of the situation and keep yourself and others safe from angry and possibly dangerous individuals. She offers the following guidelines, which were abridged by the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) for the convenience of Emergency Services Sector departments and agencies:

• Immediately acquire backup of another uniformed official. Never try to resolve such situations alone.
• Remain calm and avoid speech or mannerisms that could aggravate the interaction.
• Offer your name, obtain the person's name, and use the individual's name in the conversation.
• Use active listening techniques to clarify the angry person's grievance and to stabilize the situation.
• Assume that the person may be physically or mentally ill, armed, and potentially dangerous.
• Observe the physical characteristics of the individual and any vehicle he/she is driving.
• Contact the local police department if the situation is not quickly settled.
• Report the confrontation to higher authorities regardless of the outcome.

To read the entire article at FireRescue1 containing greater details, see the following link:
http://www.firerescue1.com/Columnists/Linda-Willing/articles/497591-Confrontations-with-the-Public-How-to-Stay-Safe.

Rogue Anti-Virus Software

In its May newsletter, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) cautioned that personal computer (PC) users at home and work might see an advertisement or pop-up message offering to clean a PC of supposedly infected files. The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned that these messages are often attempts by malevolent persons or organizations to install malicious software (i.e., malware) such as a Trojan horse, keylogger, or spyware. This software is referred to as rogue (i.e., fake) anti-virus malware.

Rogue anti-virus software performs many different actions, including installing files to monitor computer use, steal credentials, install backdoor programs, or adding a botnet. The malware might even use a work site computer as a vehicle for compromising other systems in the workplace network, which could be potentially disruptive to the operations of emergency departments and agencies.

To avoid an infection by rogue anti-virus software, the MS-ISAC recommends the following best practices in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Alliance:

• Don't click on pop-up ads that advertise anti-virus or anti-spyware programs.
• Use and regularly update firewalls, anti-virus, and anti-spyware programs.
• Properly configure and patch operating systems, browsers, and other software programs.
• Turn off ActiveX and Scripting in case of inadvertent browsing of a malicious site.
• Keep backups of important files.
• Regularly scan and clean your computer.

See the following websites for additional details to protect computers and associated networks:

• www.msisac.org/awareness/news
• www.staysafeonline.info/content/free-security-check-ups

ESS Response, Safety and Survival

Incident responses can expose Emergency Services Sector (ESS) personnel to unanticipated hazards associated with structures, access, contents, and systems (e.g., stored chemicals, building access, and utility shut-offs). The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) examined resources that offer suggestions to improve safety and survival for responders confronted by the unknown or unexpected.

Among the resources is the FacilitiesNet website that includes an emergency preparedness section of downloadable articles, guides, and podcasts. In one of the site's recent articles, "Prepare for Emergencies by Networking with First Responders," a chief of emergency services for a commercial facility, who also serves as a municipal fire chief, offers suggestions about how facility managers can prepare to assist responders and improve outcomes:

• Meet with local emergency response agencies periodically to update them on facility systems and hazards.
• Educate yourself about the operations, equipment, and expected level of support from responder organizations in terms of your facility.
• Consider offering training time so local emergency agencies can practice at your facility, and/or host a regional drill.
• Know how to locate and operate building system controls, locations of utility shut-offs, etc., and ensure that someone knowledgeable about the facility is prepared to meet arriving responders.
• Make sure responders have important information (e.g., aerial maps of building with hydrant locations labeled) in case of after-hours/weekend incidents.
• Ask what information in what format would help responders if they have mobile display terminals.
• Mount a key vault for responders on the outside of the facility that holds all necessary keys, building plans, MSDS sheets, and information on shutting off systems.
• Realize that facility managers answer to the Incident Commander. Leave rescue or suppression operations to the experts.

FacilitiesNet resources are seen at http://www.facilitiesnet.com/emergencypreparedness/default.asp. The EMR-ISAC also explored "Emergency Responders Guide for Emergencies Involving Electricity and Gas," written by PECO Energy (22 pp., 2.3 MB). The guide reviews information helpful when responders are on scene at emergencies where natural gas or electric utilities are involved before utility company workers arrive. The PDF document can be downloaded at http://firefighterclosecalls.com/fullstory.php?85809.

A number of utilities-based courses for the ESS (such as Public Works/WMD, Disaster Management/Electric Power) are available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Training and Exercise Integration/Training Operations (TEI/TO) at https://www.firstrespondertraining.gov/TEI/tei.do?a=home.

Hurricane Preparedness Week

The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center reminds the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) that Hurricane Preparedness Week begins next Monday, 25 through 30 May. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 2009 forecast predicts 9 to 14 named storms, with 4 to 7 becoming hurricanes, and 1 to 3 reaching Category 3 or more on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

NOAA's forecast is based on a continuation of the ongoing high-activity era that began in 1995, and is expected to continue for another decade or two. However, NOAA points out that there is a chance weak El Nino conditions could develop this summer over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, a factor that tends to suppress hurricane development in the Atlantic. Cooler-than-normal surface waters in the eastern tropical Atlantic could also tamp down hurricane development there if those conditions persist.

"This outlook is a guide to the overall expected seasonal activity. However, the outlook is not just about the numbers, it's also about taking action," said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. "Prepare for each and every season regardless of the seasonal outlook. Even a near- or below-normal season can produce landfalling hurricanes, and it only takes one landfalling storm to make it a bad season."

The EMR-ISAC understands that with more than 35 million Americans living within the regions most vulnerable to hurricane conditions, forecast information and preparedness tools are necessities for ESS departments and agencies. NOAA's seasonal hurricane outlook does not project when and where storms may hit, because landfall is dictated by weather patterns in place at the time a storm approaches. However, for each storm, NOAA's National Hurricane Center forecasts how weather patterns affect the storm track, intensity, and landfall potential. NOAA has launched an experimental email forecast advisory system. To subscribe and to use other NOAA hurricane resources, such as a list of real-time weather sites, go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml. Community hazard vulnerability information is available at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/prepare/online.shtml. Department of Homeland Security hurricane resources can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/gc_1224786766297.shtm.