The Latest from National Terror Alert Response Center

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• NLE – National Level Exercise Terror Drill Begins Today
  
• Homeland Security Council Urges Nuclear Attack Response
  Planning
  
• Have a Voice In Homeland Security Objectives and Policy
  
• Homeland Security Issues Vulnerability Notice – Adobe
  Flash
  
• Counter-terrorism Investigators Find Alleged Identity Theft
  Ring
  
• Canada May Be Terror Target

NLE – National Level Exercise Terror Drill Begins Today Posted: 27 Jul 2009 02:14 AM PDT US law enforcement agencies led by the Department of Homeland Security has started a process for a major anti-terrorism exercise to test its capabilities to combat attacks on the country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will launch the Congressionally mandated five-day National Level Exercise 2009 (NLE 09) on Monday that will be directed by the White House and coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It aims to promote intelligence and information sharing between and among federal, state and international participants — Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the Navajo Nation — in the wake of a fictional terrorist attack somewhere outside the United States. It will be the “first major exercise conducted by the United States government that will focus exclusively on terrorism prevention and protection, as opposed to incident response and recovery,” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said in a statement. NLE – National Level Exercise Terror Drill Begins Today This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Homeland Security Council Urges Nuclear Attack Response Planning Posted: 27 Jul 2009 12:31 AM PDT The recently released Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, developed by the White House Homeland Security Council, stresses that it’s “incumbent upon all levels of government” to prepare “through focused nuclear attack response planning.” Mayors, governors, emergency managers and first responders will be the first to deal with the consequences, and according to that same guidance, “local and state community preparedness to respond to a nuclear detonation could result in life-saving on the order of tens of thousands of lives.” Ready or Not?, a yearly analysis of preparedness for health emergencies that’s released by the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health, found that “surge capacity remains the largest threat to the nation’s ability to respond to a major catastrophe.” Local, and specifically, regional abilities to care for the wounded will be vital just after a nuclear terrorist attack. Unfortunately many communities haven’t gotten the point. Two assumptions prevail at the local level: 1.) Any nuclear explosion will completely destroy a major city; and 2.) The military is the only organization capable of responding. These ideas are fueled by Cold War-era memories in which the threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union meant thousands of bombs would fall on U.S. cities. However, scenarios involving a nuclear terrorist attack, though horrible beyond comprehension, are not in the same league. Undoubtedly the federal government would eventually take charge of response efforts and military aid would be required. Yet as overwhelming as it would be for local and state resources, they would be all that’s available in the first hours and days following an explosion. So what should local officials do? Read Full Article By Arnold Bogis This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Have a Voice In Homeland Security Objectives and Policy Posted: 27 Jul 2009 12:19 AM PDT Homeland Security Review QHSR The first Homeland Security National Dialogue goes live on August 3rd and that’s only one week from today. Your feedback will help form our nation’s homeland security goals and objectives and determine the ways in which we achieve them. YOU can have a voice in shaping Homeland Security policy for the next four years. An email we received last week stated that 1700 stakeholders have already signed up. We estimate that between 100 and 200 members of our Homeland Security Response Network and National Terror Alert have already responded, but we can do more. Now is the time to make sure that you and others in our network bring their best ideas and proposals to the table. Please take a moment right now to help spread the word: Share this page and information with five friends or colleagues whose ideas and perspectives should be part of this discussion. Post a message or link on your blog, newsletter, corporate intranet, or e-mail list. Use one of these links to spread the word to those in your social networks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-8Jg1Bz0mY&feature=player_embedded Register to participate. Your participation, and that of stakeholders like you around the nation, will inform this important review of our nation’s homeland security strategy and priorities. The National Dialogue is a conversation between you, other Homeland Security stakeholders, and DHS on an innovative web-based platform. The National Dialogue is an iterative process, building on your input over the course of three dialogues. Each of the three dialogues will involve discussions on six topics being reviewed by DHS: Counterterrorism and Domestic Security Management Securing Our Borders Smart and Tough Enforcement of Immigration Laws Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters Homeland Security National Risk Assessment Homeland Security Planning and Capabilities This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Homeland Security Issues Vulnerability Notice – Adobe Flash Posted: 26 Jul 2009 09:54 PM PDT Adobe Flash contains a vulnerability that may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system. Adobe Flash Player, Reader, Acrobat, and other products that include Flash support are affected. By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment) or a PDF file, an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. Until Adobe is able to offer a patch (expected later this week) US-CERT is recommending you disable Flash or selectively enable Flash content. US-CERT Vulnerability Note Cnet has more – Adobe investigating zero-day bug in Flash Researchers on Wednesday said they have uncovered attacks in the wild in which malicious Acrobat PDF files are exploiting a vulnerability in Flash and dropping a Trojan onto computers. The situation could affect tons of users since Flash exists in all popular browsers, is available in PDF files, and is largely operating system-independent. Any software that uses Flash could be vulnerable to the attack, according to Symantec. Adobe Reader is vulnerable because its Flash interpreter is vulnerable, said Paul Royal, principal researcher at Purewire, a Web security services provider. This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Counter-terrorism Investigators Find Alleged Identity Theft Ring Posted: 26 Jul 2009 04:47 PM PDT On a spring day last year, a Pakistani man came to Shamsha Laiwalla looking for help. He told her he had recently jumped off a cargo ship docked in the Port of Los Angeles and was now looking to buy a new identity. On the surface, Laiwalla was not an obvious go-to person. She owns a seemingly innocuous vehicle registration company — one of the thousands in California that take care of DMV-related tasks for people willing to pay for the convenience. For years, however, the 44-year-old Pakistan native has offered customers a startling menu of illegal services as the architect of an extensive fraud ring involving several DMV employees she regularly paid to produce licenses and other documents, according to Los Angeles police and federal officials. The names of at least some of her alleged clients have surfaced in ongoing federal investigations into national security issues, said LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Downing. The Pakistani man was, in fact, an undercover detective in the Los Angeles Police Department’s counter-terrorism bureau, which is headed by Downing. For $3,500, Laiwalla told the detective, she could get a valid California driver’s license with his photo, an expertly forged birth certificate and a Social Security card, police say. All the documents would bear his new name, Francisco Gonzalez Rios. via Counter-terrorism investigators find alleged identity theft ring – Los Angeles Times. This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Canada May Be Terror Target Posted: 26 Jul 2009 04:39 PM PDT Hezbollah may be collecting intelligence in Canada as it prepares to retaliate against the West if Iran’s nuclear program is attacked, according to recently declassified intelligence reports. The Canadian government reports say Hezbollah has been “rearming and recruiting” for another war with Israel, as well as readying to strike Western targets in the event Iran’s nuclear sites are destroyed. “Hezbollah’s military wing is responsible for planning and executing terrorist acts and collecting intelligence,” says one of the reports. “Hezbollah members may reside in Canada to undertake activities such as intelligence collection.” Hezbollah is an influential player in Lebanese politics, but also a terrorist group banned under Canadian law because of its record of car bombings, hijackings and kidnappings in the Middle East, Europe and South America. via Canada may be terror target. This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

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