| This week's sponsor is Appian. |  | Webinar: Integrated mobility: Moving beyond one-off apps for the government worker
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2pm ET /11am PT Mobile development is taking hold across government. But when it comes to enterprise applications, how can an agency foster the creation of a broader mobile ecosystem that supports the government worker or soldier? Register Today to Learn More! |
Also Noted: TSA security fee on airline tickets rises Monday; Can $104 million fix DHS's cyber workforce problems? and much more...  Follow @fiercehs on Twitter
More News From the FierceGovernment Network:
1. Texas search-and-rescue group can resume drone usage after court order
2. US government conducts largest cyber-defense exercise to protect critical infrastructure
3. House appropriations provision would cancel IRS executive bonuses
| This week's sponsor is Fidelis Security. |  | Webinar: Advanced Threats: Latest Attacker Techniques and Enterprise Strategies to Defeat Them
Tuesday, July 29th, 1pm ET / 10am PT - Full Panel Confirmed!
IT security has traditionally been good at protecting the perimeter to keep attackers out of the enterprise, but not so good at finding those that have already penetrated the perimeter and taken root in the corporate system. This webinar will examine the latest advanced techniques attackers use to evade detection, infiltrate the network and extract valuable data. Register Today! |
Today's Top News 1. Report: Explosion of electric grid-connected devices will complicate security
The proliferation of smart-grid technology and the integration of more devices into the electric grid system will only add to the complex security matters facing the grid in the United States, says a report from the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. The center is a nonpartisan policy organization based in Washington, D.C., whose lengthy report (pdf) resulted from a year-long effort to investigate the security issues facing the grid. It's one thing for utility operators to secure their own industrial systems and the meters they install and administer. However, as the report notes, "the future portends a proliferation of commercial and household devices that will connect to utility systems. Utilities, the manufacturers of these devices, and consumers will share responsibility for ensuring the security of these devices and their connection to the grid," the report adds. As more devices connect to the grid, cyber adversaries will have more vectors to attack the grid itself, meaning the vast number of manufacturers behind those devices will have to agree on or comply with security standards, the report says. The advent of more Internet-connected devices such as appliances in homes will also raise new questions about privacy, an issue often entwined with cybersecurity. Aside for exploring the security issues that currently or could soon vex the electric grid, the report offers a range of recommendations for actions that government and the private sector could take. Several endorse common refrains in the security world, such as recommending that electric grid operators take a risk-based approach to security and that Congress pass cybersecurity information sharing legislation. One novel recommendation would have government employees and private sector utility personnel switch places under an exchange program. "Ultimately, trust cannot be legislated. Building relationships between government officials handling security information and utility officials responsible for security can improve the knowledge base and communication procedures regarding grid security issues," the report says. For more:
- download the report, "Securing the U.S. Electrical Grid: Understanding the Threats to the Most Critical of Critical Infrastructure, While Securing a Changing Grid" (pdf) Related Articles:
Electric grid security standards too broad, says trade group
DOE: Energy sector should pare down IT components, access
Tomorrow's Internet less resilient, says report Read more about: electric grid, Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress
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| This week's sponsor is PGi. |  | Webinar: Consumerization and the CIO
Tuesday, July 29th, 2pm ET / 11am PT
From devices to services to apps, end users have a lot of choices - and those choices are bleeding into enterprise IT faster than ever. How do these changes affect IT strategy, budget and infrastructure? Register Today! |
2. Cities, feds grapple with inadequate border-crossing infrastructure
Port of entry infrastructure along the U.S. borders has struggled to keep up with the needs of cross-border trade and travelers, lawmakers and federal officials testing during a House hearing. In some cases, the infrastructure is simply outdated—some land ports of entry are more than 50 years old. However, "even those constructed as recently as 15 years ago require renovation or replacement to meet present-day security standards" adopted after the 9/11 attacks, said John Wagner, the head of Customs and Border Protection's Office of Field Operations, at the July 16 House Homeland Security subcommittee on border and maritime security hearing. The 9/11 attacks led not only to new security standards but also an overhaul of the federal agencies with roles along the border. Wagner noted that most ports of entry "were built to support the distinct and independent operations of pre-DHS components," including the now-defunct Customs Service and Immigration and Naturalization Service. In cases where CBP has chosen ports of entry to upgrade, the execution has not followed soon enough, said Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), who chairs the subcommittee. A project to expand the port of entry on the U.S. side of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Mich.—which is in Miller's district and also one of the busiest border crossings between the United States in Canada—has been in the planning stages for more than a decade, Miller said. She noted that buildings on the expansion site were demolished years ago, while the city waits for the federal government to deliver on its plan to expand its customs plaza. While limited resources have prevented CBP from upgrading ports of entry to keep up with growing trade and security needs, a handful of cities have taken part in a pilot program to supplement federal efforts with their own resources. El Paso, Texas, has given around $400,000 of its own money to CBP to alleviate pedestrian, vehicle and commercial traffic along border crossings in the city. The money funds overtime pay for CBP officers during peak travel times, in order to keep more lanes open. Oscar Leeser, the mayor of El Paso, who testified at the hearing, said he hoped the success of the pilot program would lead to a national rollout. For more:
- visit the hearing webpage (webcast and prepared testimonies available) Related Articles:
DHS: Efforts underway to ease travel to US, improve visitor experience
CBP approves unmanned pedestrian border crossing in Texas Read more about: CBP, Candice Miller
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3. Trio of Democrats urges DHS watchdog to investigate Motorola practices
Three top House Democrats are urging the Homeland Security Department inspector general to investigate questionable tactics by Motorola related to sales of public safety communications equipment to government agencies. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) called for the investigation in a letter (pdf) dated July 15. Waxman is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, while Eshoo and DeGette hold that position on two Energy and Commerce subcommittees. The controversy surrounding Motorola stems from seven articles that McClatchy's Washington bureau published in March about the company's government contracts. For instance, one article found that a state agency in Kansas awarded Motorola a $50 million contract without letting other companies bid for the work, as required under state law. Instead, the agency simply made the contract an amendment to a contract that it formed with the company 14 years earlier. While scrutiny over Motorola's actions relate to state and local government contracts, a considerable amount of their public safety funding comes from DHS grants. The letter to the DHS inspector general says, for example, that a regional authority in California that tried to force participating jurisdictions to purchase pricey Motorola equipment had received several grants under the Urban Area Security Initiative, a DHS grant program. "If the allegations in the McClatchy articles are true, millions of federal tax dollars may have been wasted, and millions more are at risk," the letter says. The three members of Congress who sent the letter requested a number of details from the inspector general, including a list of all DHS grants to state and local governments that have paid for Motorola equipment, and if they followed competitive bidding procedures before awarding contracts to Motorola. Additionally, they asked the IG to investigate whether DHS grants paid for changes to Motorola contracts that raised the company's prices after the original agreements were struck. The company allegedly had a pattern of bidding low to win contracts and then raising its prices later through contract modifications. The three lawmakers also inquired as to whether the guidance that DHS gives grant recipients advises them against the use of proprietary features in public safety equipment. A county in California bought Motorola equipment whose proprietary features prevented it from being interoperable with equipment from other companies. "We are concerned that the state and local jurisdictions discussed in the McClatchy articles, as well as many other jurisdictions, may have squandered federal grants, provided in part by DHS, as a result of questionable practices by Motorola," the letter says. For more:
- download the letter (pdf) Related Articles:
Whistleblower reveals NOAA misused Hurricane Sandy relief money
DHS IG nominee ready to face 'warring camps' Read more about: California, Motorola
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4. Terrorism analyst: Lone-wolf narrative overstated
Intelligence agencies and analysts have far overestimated the threat posed by so-called "lone wolf" terrorists, a prominent Spanish terrorism analyst said July 15 during a talk at the Brookings Institution. Fernando Reinares, a professor at King Juan Carlos University in Madrid who studies global terrorism, drew that conclusion in writing a new book about the March 2004 train bombings in Spain that killed 191 people and injured 1,800 others. Reinares drew on police sources from seven countries, intelligence sources from 10 countries, and documents from investigations to form his account of the lead-up to the 2004 attack. "After 9/11, we got it wrong, with respect to [the] al Qaeda threat and jihadist threat," Reinares said at the Brookings event. He added, "I still don't understand why it became so popular to say" after 9/11 that the global terror threat was mostly from individuals and that al Qaeda became more of an amorphous network than an organized group. "Even the intelligence community thought that way," he said. In researching his book, Reinares said he found evidence that al Qaeda members in Pakistan made the decision to attack Spain, and that the plot grew during a meeting in Turkey with al Qaeda members from a number of countries. Previously, investigators had concluded that the terrorist cell in Spain behind the attack was inspired by al Qaeda but lacked operational ties. Reinares said he has observed a tendency among intelligence services to rush to the conclusion that jihadist attacks have had no connection to the central al Qaeda organization. "We are overestimating, maybe because it is fashionable to do so, the threat coming from … independent jihadist individuals," he said. "They don't want to become lone wolves. What they want to is become part of that big thing which is taking place," because they value leadership and strategy that organized groups offer, he added. A focus on dismantling terrorist cells, instead of seeking to prevent attacks by individuals, can deal jihadists a bigger blow, he suggested. For more:
- visit the event webpage (webcast available) Related Articles:
11 of 20 most active terrorist groups in 2011 linked to al Qaeda
The appeal of lone wolves to terrorist organizations
Study: Al Qaeda's innovation was largely bottom-up Read more about: al Qaeda, Pakistan
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Also Noted > TSA security fee on airline tickets rises Monday. Article (USAToday)
> Can $104 million fix DHS's cyber workforce problems? Article (FedTech)
> Rick Perry in Iowa: If feds fail to act on border security, I will. Article (The Des Moines Register)
> UN Security Council demands Gaza cease-fire, stops short of calling for Israel pullout. Article (Fox News)
> Congressmen demand answers from DHS over new USIS contract. Article (FedNewsRadio)
And Finally... Virginia man claims kingdom so his daughter can be a princess. Article (CBS News) > Integrated mobility: Moving beyond one-off apps for the government worker - Wednesday, July 23rd 2pm ET/11am PT Mobile development is taking hold across government. But when it comes to enterprise applications, how can an agency foster the creation of a broader mobile ecosystem that supports the government worker or soldier? This webinar will address common pitfalls and strategies for overcoming them as well as application governance and project management. Register Today!
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