CRIME NIPC Daily Report - 13 May 02

From: George Heuston (GeorgeH@private)
Date: Mon May 13 2002 - 11:40:46 PDT

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    US prepares for terror attack in food. Since the terrorist attacks, 
    bioterrorism has become the federal government's number one priority. 
    The subject includes food security -- protecting the nation's food 
    supply from a bioterrorism attack. To respond to this potential threat, 
    the Food and Drug Administration is expected to use $98 million of its 
    $1.727 billion proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2003 specifically for 
    food security. Since January 10, the FDA has hired 250 food safety 
    inspectors whose jobs it will be to monitor the food distribution 
    process, including checking every single step in food's progress from 
    the farm to someone's dinner plate. These inspectors will be responsible 
    for going through food safety checklists, for both imported and domestic 
    products, to ensure food never gets into the wrong hands or deviates 
    from its scheduled distribution. (UPI, 12 May)
    
    Government watchdogs say security on biological agents, nuclear 
    materials lax since 11 September.  Investigators reviewing federal 
    safeguards against terrorism found lax oversight at hundreds of 
    Agriculture Department laboratories where dangerous viruses are stored 
    and the Energy Department failed to closely track nuclear material sent 
    abroad decades ago. Department officials acknowledged some problems and 
    said they have acted on recommendations by the agencies' inspectors 
    general. Inspectors, in visits to 124 department labs, found security at 
    nearly half needed improvement. Labs often had no alarm systems, 
    security fences or surveillance cameras, and though lab directors knew 
    they needed upgrades, improvements were slow due to budget constraints. 
    In its formal response to the findings, the Agriculture Department said 
    it was working to improve security and inventory its biological agents. 
    (Associated Press, 12 May)
    
    High-tech US security center to open.  A new facility to monitor 
    terrorist threats and coordinate responses will become operational in 
    the next few weeks, connecting for the first time nearly all federal 
    agencies with state and city authorities using state-of-the-art 
    technology.  The Homeland Security Coordination Center will be home to 
    more than 100 workers, who will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a 
    week.   "By the time we get done - this is still a work in progress - 
    we'll be able to connect with just about every conceivable public 
    institution in the country," said Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, 
    who led reporters on a tour of the new facility. The Threat Monitoring 
    Center will be manned by representatives of more than a dozen federal 
    agencies, among them the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau 
    of Investigation, the departments of Energy, Transportation and State 
    and the National Security Agency. (Washington Times, 9 May)
    
    Using web sites to plan terrorist attack.  The White House National 
    Infrastructure Protection Board told attendees of the CyberCrime2002 
    conference that the Internet was not developed with security in mind, 
    but with the focus on information sharing and collaboration. While the 
    FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center warned that content and 
    information posted to Web sites should be examined to determine if 
    terrorists could use the info against company or country. A 
    demonstration at the conference showed how Philadelphia's critical 
    infrastructure could be affected by using information gathered from the 
    city's Web site. (Newsday, 9 May)
    
    Bug watch: The boy who cried worm.  Hoaxes can be just as damaging to 
    resources and reputations as real viruses.  Hoaxes may not carry the 
    payloads of the real thing, but they can cause the same amount of 
    inconvenience in terms of compromised reputation and clogged mail 
    servers.  Hoaxes can also emulate real viruses in the way they spread.  
    Although incapable of self-propagation, they spread because innocent 
    users mistakenly believe they are doing their friends a favor by passing 
    on the warning.  Many hoaxes have spread further and longer than actual 
    viruses.  The inconvenience becomes worse still as recipients start to 
    panic. Normal working patterns are disrupted and helpdesks become 
    swamped with
    unnecessary cries for help.  In the case of the virus hoax - where a 
    detection routine cannot be written - common sense and a suspicious 
    attitude are the most important and effective weapons against falling 
    for the ruse. (Vnunet.com, 9 May)
    



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