OSC Guardian - Safety Advice

OSC GUARDIAN - SAFETY ADVICE
www.OramSecurity.com

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The thin Blue Line suffered more losses in 2010 than 2009.

The FBI releases its statistics for police officers feloniously killed in the line of duty last year. "According to preliminary statistics released today by the FBI, 56 of our nation’s law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty during 2010," according to the press release. "By region, 22 victims were killed in the South, 18 in the West, 10 in the Midwest, three in the Northeast, and three in Puerto Rico. The total number of officers feloniously killed in 2010 was eight more than the 48 officers slain in 2009."

Are we getting our moneys worth from Homeland Security?

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security spend too much of their time answering to too many congressional committees. "The department, cobbled together quickly out of 22 other agencies after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, answers to 108 congressional committees, subcommittees, caucuses and the like, about four times as many as the departments of State and Justice combined," reports the Associated Press. "Officials and staff spent about 66 work years responding to questions from Congress in 2009 alone. That same year, Homeland Security officials say they answered 11,680 letters, gave 2,058 briefings and sent 232 witnesses to 166 hearings. All this at a cost to taxpayers of about $10 million."

Monday, May 16, 2011

New Security Enhancements at Facebook

Facebook announced several security enhancements last week including a new two-factor authentication system and a partnership with a service that can help users avoid clicking on risky or malicious links.
With the optional new Login Approvals service, users will be required to enter an additional code, sent to them via text message, when logging in from a new or unrecognized computer or device. Once the code is entered, users then have the option to save the device to their account so that it no longer requires additional authentication, according to a Facebook blog announcing the new measures.
Users will also see when attempts have been made to access their account from an unrecognized device, but no code was entered, according to the post. If users don’t recognize the login attempt, they’ll be able to change their password “with the knowledge that while someone else may have known [the] login credentials, he or she was unable to access your account.” Login Approvals can be enabled through the “Account Security” section of the account settings page, according to the post.
One aim of the new service was to balance security and usability, according to a separate Facebook blog post. Two-factor authentication sometimes requires users to download applications or to purchase physical tokens, it states. “These are good approaches, and we're considering incorporating them in the future, but they require a lot from the user before being able to turn on the feature. To have the biggest impact and provide this added security to the most people, we decided on SMS.”
Facebook also announced a partnership with Web of Trust (WOT), which ranks Web sites based on feedback provided by WOT community members. The tool, which contains rankings of millions of sites, can help reduce the risk of phishing, spam, scams, and other threats, according to the Facebook post announcing the security enhancements.
Facebook already has a system that automatically scans links to determine whether the Web sites associated with the links are “spammy” or contain malware, according to the post. In the coming months, the company will “increase [its] coverage even more by working with other industry leaders.”

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Lone Wold Terrorists threat to US.

♦ A joint U.S. Department of Homeland Security/FBI bulletin sent to state and local law enforcement agencies says that lone individuals who favor al-Qaida's extremest ideology are most likely to attack inside the United states in the short-term. The bulletin warns that these individuals are "unburdened by organizational constraints that can slow operational decisions by established terrorist groups," says CNN. The bulletin asks local law enforcement to be especially watchful for suspicious activity.
♦ A new report from the Institute for Homeland Security Solutions at RTI International reveals that while it may be the lone wolves who are most likely to attack, it's the average Joes who are most likely to stop them. Researchers from the Institute for Homeland Security Solutions and the RAND Corporation analyzed 68 potential cases of terrorism in the United States from 1999 to 2009.The findings included that "the general public helped foil nearly a third of those attacks, largely by tipping off law enforcement officers. The tips were of a substantial nature; people noticed genuinely threatening actions that many citizens would not see."

Monday, May 9, 2011

Americans’ security concerns rose again this year.

Americans’ security concerns rose again this year with fears over terrorism and identity theft topping the list. In the U.S. Unisys Security Index, anxiety over security was at its highest level since the survey began in 2007. National security is the main worry with two-thirds of Americans seriously concerned over war and terrorism. However, the safety of infrastructure is also an issue. Approximately 59 percent of those surveyed were seriously concerned about the bridges, power plants, and pipelines.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Possible Implications Regarding the Death of Usama Bin Ladin

The following information is being provided to you by the Department of Homeland Security in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Intelligence Community (IC) assesses the death of al-Qa‘ida leader Usama Bin Ladin could result in retaliatory attacks in the Homeland and against US and Western interests overseas. Attacks might originate with al-Qa‘ida Core elements in the tribal areas of Pakistan, with one of their affiliates overseas, and/or with individuals in the homeland sympathetic to the cause but lacking a formal group association. We have no indications of advanced al-Qa‘ida Core plotting efforts in the Homeland, but the case of now-detained al-
Qa‘ida operative Najibullah Zazi—who, along with two associates, planned to attack the New York City subway in 2009 using homemade explosives—demonstrates that unidentified operatives could advance plotting in the homeland.

We have no indications of advanced al-Qa‘ida Core plotting efforts in the Homeland, but the case of now-detained al-Qa‘ida operative Najibullah Zazi—who, along with two associates, planned to attack the New York City subway in 2009 using homemade explosives— demonstrates that unidentified operatives could advance plotting in the homeland.  Bin Ladin’s death may provide justification for radicalized individuals in the United States to rapidly mobilize for attacks here. Although soft targets will—as they have in the past—remain attractive to homegrown extremist, official targets such as government installations, military personnel and facilities, and senior government officials may gain greater prominence.

Overseas, the strongest reaction is expected to be in South Asia but will likely occur to differing degrees worldwide, including Europe. Other high-risk regions include those where al-Qa‘ida’s affiliates and allies have operational strongholds, including the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Bin Laden dead, but attacks may increase.

Osama Bin Laden’s death will not signal the end of al Qaeda attacks and might create tensions between the United States and Pakistan. These are just two of the predictions surfacing after Bin Laden’s death at the hand of U.S. troops in Pakistan. Reuters journalists suggest that al Qaeda members are vowing retaliation for Bin Laden’s death on Internet forums—a main way that radical Islamists communicate, according to the article. A story in the New York Times suggests that U.S.-Pakistani relations may deteriorate in light of the fact that Bin Laden was discovered in Pakistan in a city that also houses Pakistani troops.