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Security Managemant Update
Security Guard Details Night He Let Thieves Into Gardner Museum
CBS Boston (03/21/13) Sisk, Bobby
Richard Abath was on duty at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 23 years ago this month when two thieves disguised as police officers gained entry to the building, subdued him and another security guard, and made off with nearly half a billion dollars in famous paintings by artists like Degas, Vermeer, and Rembrandt. Abath was initially concerned he would be considered a suspect in the heist because he was the one who let the thieves into the building, and in an interview with CNN he expressed this fear. Neuropsychologist Joe Tecce at Boston College analyzed the interview and found Abath's body language and mannerisms to be that of a victim rather than a perpetrator. "No, I don't see any evidence of lying. I see evidence of his being evasive," said Tecce. "His message is one of I'm a victim. His message is one of I'm not a criminal and therefore his decision to talk on T.V. will project the appearance of somebody who was taken advantage of ... " On March 18, the anniversary of the crime, the FBI said it knew who the thieves were and that it had tracked the art from Boston to Connecticut to Philadelphia. The bureau said those responsible were part of a criminal organization that tried to sell some of the pieces in Philadelphia 10 years ago.
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Taser-Wielding Security Guard Arrested After Confrontation
Yahoo! News (03/21/13) Krumboltz, Mike
A security guard in Atlanta, Ga., has been arrested and charged with battery following an incident where he tackled a customer. Metro Mall Security guard Darien Long said he had previously instructed the customer not to return to the mall, but Atlanta police said Long did not elaborate on the story further. The tackling incident comes after Long was told he would be losing his job for what he claimed were financial reasons. Long previously garnered fame following an incident where he discharged his taser into an unruly female customer. A video of the event went viral online, leading to the creation of a fundraising campaign that raised $20,000 to get Long better equipment. As of March 22, Long was being held in Fulton County jail on a $2,000 bond.
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Bills Seek to Boost Game Security With More Police
Associated Press (NY) (03/19/13)
The Buffalo Bills football team and Erie County, N.Y., plan to more than double the number of law enforcement officers they have on duty during games days, ideally bringing in 128 additional county sheriff's deputies or officers from other agencies to patrol inside the stadium. The team will pick up the cost of the increased security, which might also include private security guards hired by the team. This increase in security comes as part of the team's recently negotiated 10-year, $271 million lease for Ralph Wilson Stadium, which was approved March 18 by National Football League owners at league meetings held in Phoenix, Ariz. The team said it is aiming to make the stadium more family-friendly following years of complaints about raucous fans.
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U.S. Prods Iraq to Stop Arms Going to Syria
Wall Street Journal (03/25/13) Solomon, Jay; Bradley, Matt
On a recent one day visit to Baghdad, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned the Iraqi government must work to cut off the flow of Iranian arms to Syria or risk losing American aid. The U.S. warning comes as significant pressure to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and serves as a gauge of his willingness to confront Iran over its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to U.S. officials. Iraqi officials offered no public comments following Kerry's challenge to the country, and no Iraqi officials stood beside him as he spoke at his Baghdad news conference. In his conference, Kerry told reporters Iranian arms supplies are helping fuel the ongoing civil war in Syria, a war that threatens to spread conflict to Iraq. Kerry explained Iranian airplanes were transiting Iraqi airspace to deliver their arms cargo to Syrian security forces. Iranian officials meanwhile maintain the over flights are only for the purpose of delivering humanitarian supplies to the war-torn region. "I made it very clear to the prime minister that the over flights from Iran are, in fact, helping to sustain President Assad and his regime," Kerry said. "I also made it clear to him that there are members of Congress and people in America who are increasingly watching what Iraq is doing."
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Why Is Homeland Security Stockpiling Guns And Ammunition?
Albany Tribune (NY) (03/24/13)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced plans to purchase 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over the next five years. Several members of Congress have already questioned the Department's decision to stockpile weapons as well as ammunition, even as most agencies are tightening their belts to deal with the ongoing sequester. Thus far, they say DHS has yet to provide a satisfactory answer. Most recently, 14 House members have written to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano inquiring about the issue. It appears the ammunition will be used primarily by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but others are being allocated to the Social Security Administration, which is not part of DHS. Additionally, the agency has acquired a number of decommissioned Mine Resistant Armored Protection vehicles, leading critics to wonder whether they are being prepped for use in the United States.
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Disruptions: F.A.A. May Loosen Curbs on Fliers' Use of Electronics
New York Times (03/24/13) Bilton, Nick
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) might soon allow airline passengers to use electronic devices like tablets and e-readers during takeoff and landing, a move that comes in response to what FAA officials say is increased pressure from consumers to allow the use of reading devices on planes. The anonymous FAA officials say this change would not include cellphones. Passengers have been increasingly asking for firm scientific evidence as to why electronic devices cannot be powered on when an airplane takes off or lands, and the FAA has yet to provide such evidence. The agency last year announced the creation of a working group to analyze the issue, consisting of people from various industries including Amazon, Boeing, and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The group will release its official findings by July 31. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has been a champion of allowing the use of electronic devices ever since she found out pilots and flight attendants are allowed to use iPads while the plane was taking off or landing. "The idea that in-flight use of electronic devices for things like reading a book poses a threat to the safety of airline passengers is baseless and outdated," McCaskill said.
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Report: Man Found in Cockpit at Philly Airport
Associated Press (03/22/13)
A 61-year-old French man dressed in a white shirt with and Air France logo and a black jacket with epaulets on the shoulders was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport and charged with impersonating a pilot after officials found him in the jump seat behind a pilot on a U.S. Airways flight scheduled for takeoff. The man, Philippe Jernnard, was carrying a counterfeit Air France crew member identification card when he was apprehended and became irate as he was escorted from the plane, according to police. Jernnard has been arraigned on state charges, but police said he would likely face federal charges as well. The FBI has confirmed it is investigating the situation.
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U.S. Homeland Security to Monitor More Private Civilian Web Traffic and Email
Hot Hardware (03/23/13) Colaner, Seth
The U.S. government will expand it Internet traffic-scanning program to include more private sector workers like those working at larger banks, utility companies, and "key transportation" companies, according to a report by Reuters. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will send data to telecommunications companies and cyber security firms for processing. These companies will then put together some of the statistics and report back to the government on any potential cybersecurity or cyberespionage threats. "That allows us to provide more sensitive information," a senior DHS official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "We will provide the information to the security service providers that they need to perform this function." Using tech companies as information analyzers could help keep some of the more sensitive public information from the government.
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Recent Reports of DHS-Themed Ransomware
U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (03/22/2013)
The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) recently received reports of U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-themed ransomware that locks a victim's computer and demands a payment to unlock. The malware claims to be from both DHS and the National Cyber Security Division, and users targeted by the ransomware receive an email message saying their computer has been suspended until they pay the fine. CERT recommends affected users seek out a security expert to remove the malware from their computer or perform a clean install of their operating system. CERT and DHS warn users not to click on or submit information to suspicious web pages, not to click on links in unsolicited email messages, use caution when opening email attachments, keep their antivirus software up-to-date, and research how to avoid email scams and other phishing attacks.
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With Shared Infrastructures, Security Must Move With the Data
Government Computer News (03/18/13) Yasin, Rutrell
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Anil Karmel recently discussed the security implications of the federal government's plan to close data centers and move toward shared IT infrastructures. Karmel says the federal government's plan to close 1,200 data centers by 2015 will enable federal agencies to co-locate workloads owned by different individuals and stakeholders within the same organization. In order to secure these workloads, federal agencies will need to adopt a more data-centric approach to security. Karmel says this means security must be "baked in, not bolted on, at all the different layers of compute, network, storage, and the hypervisor." Karmel also notes IT administrators will need to a put a set of software-defined security controls around information that needs to be safeguarded. In addition, Karmel discusses efforts at both NNSA and the Department of Energy (DOE) to enforce security rules regardless of where a workload moves. He says security rules move across both physical and virtual infrastructures, which provides administrators with a single place where they can enforce security controls across DOE and national laboratory environments.
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