The theme for the second week of National Preparedness Month (NPM) is “Make a Plan to Prepare for Disasters.” To help its partners understand and begin planning and preparing, FEMA has posted a series of tips and resources on its NPM webpage. These include information on how to make an emergency plan, sign up for alerts and warnings in your area, learn about evacuation zones, and make and practice emergency plans.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has created Complex Coordinated Attack Action Guide to enhance public and private sector stakeholders’ understanding of this complex threat. A Complex Coordinated Attack (CCA), also known as a Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attack, is a violent assault or series of assaults by one or more individuals or groups using one or more type of weapons with the intent to inflict harm on large numbers of people. This product includes potential indicators, tactics and techniques, and suggested mitigating steps for CCAs.
September 7, 2019
As of 8 am ET today, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported tropical storm force winds were occurring over portions of southeastern Massachusetts. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for portions of Massachusetts and Maine, where areas are receiving or expected to receive tropical storm-force winds, heaving rainfall, and storm surge.
FEMA has released an updated “Devolution Plan/Annex Template and Instructions” document, a component of its “Continuity Resource Toolkit” that is intended for use by the continuity planning community. The updated document incorporates the concepts found in FEMA "Federal Continuity Directive 1 and Continuity Guidance Circular” into a template for individuals tasked with the creation of continuity plans that support their organization’s continuity program.
The National Counterintelligence Center and the National Insider Threat Task Force (NITTF) have launched “National Insider Threat Awareness Month” during September 2019. Throughout the month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and other federal agencies will hold events to emphasize the importance of safeguarding the nation from insider threats and to share best practices for mitigating those risks.
As discussed in previous Security and Resilience Updates, September is National Preparedness Month (NPM), a time when the federal government and its partners promote family and community disaster and emergency planning. Each week of NPM has a theme. The theme for the first week, “Save Early for Disaster Costs,” encourages having sound financial defenses against disasters. To help its partners understand and begin implementing these measures, FEMA has posted a series of tips and links to resources on its NPM webpage.
The New York Times has published an article on five takeaways Florida has accumulated from its past experiences with hurricanes. In one excerpt, Florida Power & Light had to rethink how it delivered electricity after 2004 and 2005, when seven hurricanes hit the state. One of these was Hurricane Wilma, a Category 3 storm that necessitated replacing tens of thousands of power polls and left some customers without power for as long as two weeks. Concrete power poles have replaced many older wooden ones.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reminds its partners that September is National Preparedness Month (NPM), which promotes family and community disaster and emergency planning. This year’s theme is “Prepared, Not Scared.” Although most people understand that being prepared is essential to getting through an emergency such as a natural disaster, there is less awareness about the necessity of cybersecurity preparedness.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released the CISA Strategic Intent document, framing the new agency’s mission to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from physical and cyber threats. The document details CISA Director Christopher Krebs’ strategic vision and operational priorities and will serve as the interim strategy as the agency develops a longer-term strategic plan.
In comments made at Auburn University on Friday, Brian Harrell, assistant director for infrastructure security at DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), emphasized the need for critical infrastructure to be built and managed with resilience in mind so that attacks don’t take down these important systems. “Resilience is key,” Harrell stressed, adding that “we should make the assumption that one day we’re going to be attacked,” whether by natural or manmade forces.
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