Tag: homeland security

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Cybersecurity bill could ‘sweep away’ internet users’ privacy, agency warns

big-brother-poster

Sam Thielman

Homeland Security admits Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act raises concerns while corporations and data brokers lobby for bill as it returns to Senate

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday said a controversial new surveillance bill could sweep away “important privacy protections”, a move that bodes ill for the measure’s return to the floor of the Senate this week.

The latest in a series of failed attempts to reform cybersecurity, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (Cisa) grants broad latitude to tech companies, data brokers and anyone with a web-based data collection to mine user information and then share it with “appropriate Federal entities”, which themselves then have permission to share it throughout the government.

Minnesota senator Al Franken queried the DHS in July; deputy secretary of the department Alejandro Mayorkas responded today that some provisions of the bill “could sweep away important privacy protections” and that the proposed legislation “raises privacy and civil liberties concerns”.

Much of the attention on Cisa has been directed at companies such as Google, Facebook and Comcast, which have large hoards of internet user behavior. But arguably more important are data brokers. Among the groups lobbying for the passage of Cisa are Experian, which tracks consumer trends using information from loyalty cards and other sources and licenses the information to help target advertising; Oracle, whose Data Cloud product works similarly; and Hitrust, which aggregates healthcare information.

The paragraph generating the most concern can be found in section 4 of the bill: “[a] private entity may, for cybersecurity purposes, monitor A) the information systems of such a private entity; B) the information systems of another entity, upon written consent of such other entity […] and D) information that is stored on, processed by, or transiting the information systems monitored by the private entity under this paragraph.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/03/cisa-homeland-security-privacy-data-internet

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Ridgewood Police Participate in Community Policing /Homeland Security Public – Private Partnership initiative

Ridgewood_Police _theridgewodblog

06/01/15

Ridgewood NJ , As part of our Community Policing /Homeland Security Public – Private Partnership initiative, the Ridgewood Police Department in conjunction with NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness hosted a Security Awareness program on Wednesday 5/27/15.

The program, Security Awareness and Vigilance for Everyone (S.A.V.E.) brought together approximately 55 law enforcement, public safety and security personnel from the region. The training is designed to enhance the capabilities of security and public safety personnel responsible for protecting specific areas of infrastructure by providing behavior assessment screening training.

It is a goal of our department to develop and enhance community security & safety through the integration of these public/private partnerships and joint trainings into our overall community policing and homeland security activities.

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DHS Chief Promises Improvements After Show Blasts ‘Dysfunctional’ Department

medium

By Eric Katz
April 6, 2015

The Homeland Security Department is a bloated bureaucracy, too large and disparate to effectively manage as one entity.

Such was the takeaway from a report on 60 Minutes, the famed news magazine program on CBS. The report focused on a series of interviews with DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who defended the department and the progress it has made to better coordinate its 240,000-person workforce and its array of components.

“Johnson’s department has never been more central to the War on Terror,” 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl said. “But it has come under almost constant criticism for, over the years, weak management and low morale.”

She added Johnson faces a “management nightmare,” as DHS agencies and sub-agencies have no clear common functionality binding them together.

“This department is a disparate amalgam of things that don’t fit together very well,” said Clark Ervin, the former DHS inspector general. “Making the department work, making it more effective and efficient, economical, is a security issue. To the extent the department isn’t optimally performing, that is a security deficiency.”

The report spent little time explaining how DHS came together in its current form. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, the George W. Bush administration and lawmakers determined domestic security efforts were spread too far apart in the sprawling federal bureaucracy, and bringing them together would improve coordination of protection efforts. No matter the origins, 60 Minutespostulated DHS’ structure was unsustainable.

https://www.govexec.com/federal-news/fedblog/2015/04/DHS-Chief-Promises-Improvements-After-Show-Blasts-Dysfunctional-Department/109378/?oref=recentposts

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U.S. Congress questions plan to admit Syrian refugees

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imgres-1

U.S. Congress questions plan to admit Syrian refugees

BY MARK HOSENBALL

WASHINGTON Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:03pm EST

(Reuters) – The Republican-led House Committee on Homeland Security is challenging an Obama administration plan to admit Syrian refugees to the United States, saying it could allow potential terrorists to sneak into the country.

In a letter sent to the White House, Michael McCaul, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee and Peter King and Candice Miller, who chair subcommittees, said the administration’s plan “raises serious national security concerns.”

The letter, dated Wednesday, said the United States lacks the resources to fully investigate the backgrounds of refugees fromSyria, a base for Islamic State militants, before they are admitted to the country.

Anne Richard, an Assistant Secretary of State, said on Dec. 9 that the United States resettled nearly 70,000 refugees from nearly 70 countries in 2013 and that the administration’s refugee plans would lead to “resettling Syrians as well.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/us-usa-syria-refugees-idUSKBN0L22WX20150129

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U.S. utility’s control system was hacked, says Homeland Security

Hacked

U.S. utility’s control system was hacked, says Homeland Security

By Jim Finkle

BOSTON (Reuters) – A sophisticated hacking group recently attacked a U.S. public utility and compromised its control system network, but there was no evidence that the utility’s operations were affected, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS did not identify the utility in a report that was issued this week by the agency’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, or ICS-CERT.

“While unauthorized access was identified, ICS-CERT was able to work with the affected entity to put in place mitigation strategies and ensure the security of their control systems before there was any impact to operations,” a DHS official told Reuters on Tuesday.

https://news.yahoo.com/u-utilitys-control-system-hacked-says-homeland-security-224253314–finance.html

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Homeland Security Exercise Targets “Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny”

240314dhs

Homeland Security Exercise Targets “Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny”

Leaked documents reveal plan to counter online dissent during martial law

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
March 24, 2014

Leaked Homeland Security documents obtained by Infowars reveal details of a joint DHS/FEMA national exercise set to take place this week, one of the components of which revolves around an effort to counter online dissent by a group called “Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny,” which is disgruntled at the imposition of martial law after an earthquake in Alaska.

The document again underscores the federal government’s obsession with characterizing libertarians and conservatives as some kind of extremist radical threat.

The document (PDF) was leaked by an individual affiliated with Stewart Rhodes’ Oathkeepers organization and passed on to Infowars. It is entitled National Exercise Program – Capstone Exercise 2014 – Scenario Ground Truth.

The document is intended for “U.S. Department of Homeland Security Trusted Agents Only” and is “disseminated only on a
need-to-know basis.” Even the role players involved in the exercise itself are prohibited from seeing the files.

https://www.infowars.com/homeland-security-exercise-targets-free-americans-against-socialist-tyranny/

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Homeland Security blocks road salt delivery for New Jersey

soupnazi

no salt for you

Homeland Security blocks road salt delivery for New Jersey 

NJ salt shortage continues

Posted: Feb 17, 2014 5:57 PM ESTUpdated: Feb 18, 2014 9:07 AM EST
By ADRIENNE SUPINO,

The salt shortage persists in New Jersey. Officials have failed to get permission for a barge with 40 tons of salt to set sail for the tristate region

Angel Morales, a resident of Jersey City says her car just won’t go anywhere.

“Look, you see I went up and I started sliding back,” she said.

N.J. officials were hoping a barge with 40 tons of salt would arrive from Maine.  But the vessel wasn’t flying the American flag and officials couldn’t get clearance from Homeland Security to come to the Port of Newark.

The problem is because of the 1920 federal Maritime Act. It prevents foreign vessels from moving cargo from one U.S. port to another. It was designed to protect the U.S. shipping industry from foreign competition.

Read more: https://www.myfoxny.com/story/24746649/nj-salt-shortage-continues#ixzz2tggIY7aJ

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If You See Something, Say Something

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If You See Something, Say Something

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (OHSP) is committed to engaging the citizenry of New Jersey as part of the State’s homeland security and counter-terrorism efforts.

The SAFE-NJ App is free and is available in iTunes and Google Play. The SAFE-NJ App enables citizens and visitors to:

Automatically dial the 1-866-4-SAFE-NJ terrorism tip line

Enter details about an incident; who, what, when, where, and why

Capture a photo from the App or use one that already exists on the device

Automatically find and use the device’s location or enter an address

Report detailed subject and vehicle descriptions

Include contact information or remain anonymous if preferred

Go to iTunes or Google Play and search for “SAFE-NJ”. You can download and install the app for free. Please remember that the SAFE-NJ App is live and any report submitted will be considered live.

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