-----Original Message----- From: NIPC Watch Sent: 9/26/01 9:48 AM Subject: NIPC Daily Report, 26 September 2001 NIPC Daily Report 26 September 2001 NOTE: Please understand that this is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any verification of the information contained in the report nor does this constitute endorsement by the NIPC or the FBI. Significant Changes and Assessment - NTR Private Sector - NTR Government - On 24 September, Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, unveiled legislation he said would encourage private businesses to share with the government information that could help prevent future terrorist attacks, both online and offline. The Critical Infrastructure Information Security Act (CIISA), which is co-sponsored by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., allows private companies to share information with13 federal agencies without fear that the information would be disclosed to the general public through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Bennett said that the nation's critical infrastructure includes financial services, telecommunications, transportation, energy, emergency services and "government essential services whose disruption or destruction would greatly impact the economy and national security." The bill specifically would allow non-public industry information to be used in the federal government for security analysis, and to determine whether warnings should be issued to businesses and the general public, all without requiring that information to be subject to FOIA disclosure. (Source: Newsbytes, 25 September) Hackers, virus-writers and web site defacers would face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole under legislation proposed by the Bush Administration that would classify most computer crimes as acts of terrorism. The Justice Department is urging Congress to quickly approve its Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), a twenty-five page proposal that would expand the government's legal powers to conduct electronic surveillance, access business records, and detain suspected terrorists. The proposal defines a list of "Federal terrorism offenses" that are subject to special treatment under law. The offenses include assassination of public officials, violence at international airports, some bombings and homicides, and politically-motivated manslaughter or torture. Most of the terrorism offenses are violent crimes, or crimes involving chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. The list also includes the provisions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that make it illegal to crack a computer for the purpose of obtaining anything of value, or to deliberately cause damage. Likewise, launching a malicious program that harms a system, like a virus, or making an extortionate threat to damage a computer are included in the definition of terrorism. (Source: Bugtraq, 23 September) Military - NTR International - British Airways (BA) denied suggestions that it might pull out of Gatwick Airport. It may, however, have to sell some of its valuable property assets to raise cash if the market for air travel continues to deteriorate in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the US. BA announced an additional 5,200 job losses last week on top of 1,800 previously announced. It also decided to mothball 20 aircraft as it seeks to rein back capacity. The airline declined to comment on how busy its existing flights are ahead of its regular monthly traffic figures to be released next week. Meanwhile, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the chairman of EasyJet, says in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, that he expects up to six European airlines to file for bankruptcy in the next six months. (Source: Independent.co.UK, 24 September) U.S. SECTOR INFORMATION: Electrical Power - For decades, security at the 103 US nuclear power reactors has focused on guarding against commando raids, internal sabotage or possibly a truck bomb. Since the World Trade Center attack, the plants have moved to an unprecedented alert. Government regulators and industry executives acknowledged 24 September that even today's safeguards may be inadequate to protect against the kind of suicide mission using fuel-laden jetliners that marked the recent attacks in New York and Washington. "We have never had reason to examine the fact that someone would use a large commercial airliner (in an attack) and deal with the threat it might present if it came in at high speed," Richard Meserve, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said in an interview. "It does change the equation," he continued, adding that the 11 September attacks have prompted an across the board review of what kinds of threats reactor operators should be capable of addressing. (Source: Associated Press, 25 September) Transportation - NTR Telecommunications - In the bleak economic outlook following the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, the chatter of cell phones is one of the few bright spots. People have been inspired to get mobile phones on account of poignant stories of the victims of the attacks calling loved ones from doomed airliners and the burning World Trade Center. While some say the upsurge is probably just temporary, industry forecasters see it turning up the volume for an industry already set for growth. Nextel spokeswoman Audrey Schaefer said it was too early to tell whether sales were getting a boost after the tragedy, but evidence suggests there is a growing appreciation for mobile phones. (Source: Reuters, 22 September) Water Supply - NTR Emergency Services - NTR Banking and Finance - NTR Gas and Oil Storage Distribution - NTR Government Services - NTR
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