InfoGram 15-12: April 11, 2012

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.

Receive InfoGrams and Bulletins by Email

National Level Exercise (NLE) 2012: Simulated Cyber Incident

(Source: DHS/FEMA)

The National Level Exercise (NLE), formerly Top Official (TOPOFF), is a congressionally-mandated planned preparedness exercise held every year to give all levels of government a way to test their plans and skills in a realistic environment.  The NLE 2012 will be based on a cyber event, and will involve FEMA Regions I, II, III, and V, as well as the infrastructures of Information Technology, Communications, Water, and Mass Transit/Rail.  This is the first time a cyber event will be simulated in an NLE. 

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) found that NLE 2012 consists of four major exercises, including a capstone exercise in June.  This year’s NLE examines national response plans and procedures including the National Response Framework (NRF), NRF Cyber Incident Annex and Interim National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP).  The NLE 2012 Fact Sheet (PDF, 85 Kb) states: “Unique to NLE 2012 will be an emphasis on the shared responsibility among all levels of government, the private sector and the international community to secure cyberspace and respond together to a significant cyber incident.”

For more information on NLE 2012, please contact the National Exercise Division: NEP@dhs.gov. Private sector organizations interested in participating in NLE 2012 should review the Private Sector Participant Guide and return the Participant Registration Form via email to Private.SectorNLE@dhs.gov no later than May 4, 2012.

Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Training

(Source: NSI)

The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) has released five new online suspicious activity reporting (SAR) training programs for first responders.  Joining the original program for Law Enforcement Line Officers, these new training programs are targeted towards Private Sector Security, Fire Service/EMS, Probation/Parole/Corrections officers, Public Safety Telecommunications, and Emergency Management.

The free online training program is “designed to increase the effectiveness of state, local, and tribal law enforcement and public safety professionals and other frontline partners in identifying, reporting, evaluating, and sharing pre-incident terrorism indicators to prevent acts of terrorism.”

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) found that each training program gives an overview of the NSI program as well as specific examples from leaders in the focus area.  The NSI was developed with civil liberties and privacy in mind, and requires that participating Fusion Centers adopt the NSI Privacy Protection Framework (PDF, 259 Kb). An audio roundtable about some of the more in-depth aspects of NSI and its development was recently produced by DomPrep.

North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza Newly Revised

(Source: Department of Health and Human Services)

During the North American Leader’s Summit at the beginning of April, Canada, Mexico, and the United States jointly released the North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza (NAPAPI) (PDF, 659 Kb). The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) noted that this Plan is revised from the 2007 version, and incorporates lessons learned during the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic.

A recent press release from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) describes NAPAPI as “a framework for the health, agriculture, security, and foreign affairs sectors of all three countries to collaborate on pandemic preparedness and response.”  The plan balances each country’s existing emergency management national policies and discusses emergency response partnerships that exist and how to strengthen them for a more coordinated response.

The NAPAPI discusses how best to deal with: the problems caused by different types of travel between countries, implementing restrictions on travel and trade, and minimizing traveler screenings while still reducing the spread of disease.  In addition, the plan discusses the impact a pandemic could have on critical infrastructures, specifically on the workforce necessary to maintain vital systems.

CSB Releases Volume 2 of Its Safety Video DVDs

(Source: CSB)

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) announces the release (PDF, 116 Kb) of the latest of its DVD series of safety video compilations.  The Volume 2 DVD includes:

• “Fatal Exposure: Tragedy at DuPont,” detailing 3 accidents within 33 hours at the DuPont plant in West Virginia
• “Experimenting with Danger,” which discusses hazards at chemical laboratories in academic institutions
• “Iron in the Fire,” discussing three iron dust fires at the Hoeganaes plant in Gallatin, TN, in 2011

All DVDs produced by the CSB are free and available through a request form on the CSB website.  “Safety Videos Volume 1” will also continue to be distributed upon request.  Volume 1 is a 2-disc set that contains 25 safety videos produced from 2005 to 2011.  The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned that over 100,000 Safety Video DVDs have been distributed to date.

In addition, the CSB posts their videos on YouTube and have over 1.3 million combined online downloads and streams of their videos.  Those interested can also subscribe to the CSB YouTube video feed.