Reposted from CISA/DHS

This is DHS I&A’s first assessment of Domestic Violent Extremist threats to
US fiber optic cable lines. This assessment seeks to provide law enforcement and public safety partners with an overview of how DVEs could adopt tactics used by criminal actors to damage US critical infrastructure to further their ideological goals. Domestic Violent Extremists (DVEs) have increasingly discussed targeting
terrestrial fiber optic cables across the United States, raising the threat to
fiber-dependent infrastructure sectors. DVEs frequently discuss that fiber optic cables are a preferred target to disrupt critical infrastructure pursuant to their ideological goals of dismantling current societal structures. The spread of the COVID-19 virus prompted increased telework that has persisted, creating dependencies on fiber optic cable networks that were highlighted within information sharing platforms utilized by some Since 2020, DHS and open-source reporting have shown an uptick in DVEs across ideologies sharing simple tactics specifically related to fiber optic cables. In 2024, a blog utilized by some anarchist violent extremists used a military target assessment method to encourage attacking fiber optics as an “easy” target while referencing past attacks. In 2023, a channel frequently used by environmental violent extremists shared five issues of a magazine that critiqued the tactics used in successful previous attacks. In 2022, the Terrorgram Collective publication discussed tactics for targeting fiber cables, including the use of fifirearms, arson, and power tools.
Several discussions in recent years among users of an online forum
frequented by DVEs describe fiber optic cables as low-cost/high-reward targets to disrupt critical infrastructure. These users indicate a preference for fiber optic
cable cuts due to the perceived simplicity and ability to avoid law enforcement
interdiction. Fiber optic cable cuts often cause cascading effects on critical
infrastructure sectors, such as communications, and delay emergency services
from responding to incidents. Across the United States, fiber optic cable cuts have disrupted 911 services and forced police stations to redirect personnel to field emergency calls through non-emergency lines. Individuals from North Carolina, who intentionally cut fiber optic cables in Connecticut, disabled communications and internet-based financial services to thousands of homes and businesses for hours.
While DVEs have focused on opportunistic or simple attacks thus far,
online narratives about fiber optic vulnerability and increased information sharing could inspire DVEs to engage in larger-scale, pre-planned fiber attacks in the Homeland. Recent attacks in France and Germany that used multiple and coordinated cuts to fiber optics surrounding a target area resulted in blackouts and communications stoppages that strained emergency services’ responses. Information shared online about fiber optic systems and media coverage of attacks could inform DVE attack planning and operations. In February 2024, an online user claiming to be a former cable worker provided a detailed description of how a coordinated group of individuals could disrupt communications for an entire city. In 2023, online discussions, in response to news media coverage of recent attacks, dissected attacks in Sacramento, California, from 2014 and examined the nature of the successful attacks to develop methods for making future attacks more severe, indicating potential pre-planning by actors.  DVEs could also draw inspiration from European attacks that disrupted citywide telecommunications and transportation. Violent extremists in France caused massive disruptions to telecommunications by targeting primary fiber optic cables in several regions. In Germany, travelers were left stranded after actors cut fiber optic lines and caused hours-long train stoppages. Possible indicators of pre-operational planning for a large-scale
fiber optic attack include unauthorized surveillance around fiber optic sites,
particularly connection locations; signs of trespassing or digging around known
fiber connection locations; and successful small-scale fiber optic cuts.

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Reposted from  CISA

Welcome to the first issue of “New and Noteworthy,” an update on the
current efforts underway to update the National Cyber Incident
Response Plan (NCIRP) 2024. This publication will keep key partners
informed on the planning process, plan development, and stakeholder
engagement efforts in support of the NCIRP 2024. This “New and
Noteworthy” edition provides a brief overview of the NCIRP, information
about the NCIRP Core Planning Team (CPT), and related engagement
and outreach activities that have happened to ensure the NCIRP 2024
reflects input from relevant stakeholder groups and is more operational
and actionable.
Through the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is
leading the national effort to update the NCIRP. CISA established JCDC to bring together public and private partners to
plan for, exercise, and execute joint cyber defense operations and coordinate the response to significant cybersecurity
incidents. Updating the NCIRP is foundational to the continued unity of effort that JCDC is advancing. This month’s “New
and Noteworthy” provides a brief overview of the NCIRP and the efforts underway to make it more operational and
actionable, related engagement and outreach activities, as well as an overview of the broad group of stakeholders who
represent the varied elements of national cyber response, and the ongoing joint planning to ensure the new version of the
NCIRP reflects input from relevant stakeholder groups. We call this group of stakeholders our Core Planning Team (CPT)
which is a diverse and essential group of individuals who play a crucial role in our NCIRP 2024 planning process.
NCIRP Background and Overview:
The NCIRP was initially developed and written to align with Presidential Policy Directive 41 (PPD-41) on U.S. Cyber
Incident Coordination and describes how the federal government, private sector, and SLTT government activities will
organize to manage, respond to, and mitigate the consequences of significant cyber incidents. The NCIRP leverages
principles from the National Preparedness System (NPS) to articulate how the nation responds to and recovers from
significant cyber incidents. Due to the evolving cyber threat landscape—including increasing risks to critical infrastructure
and public services—the need to update the NCIRP has never been greater.
CISA is working with JCDC participants and other partners to gather input and feedback that will be considered for the
NCIRP 2024. The NCIRP 2024 update is one of the JCDC 2024 Priorities, which calls for bringing together government
and the private sector to prepare for major cyber incidents.
Making the NCIRP More Operationally Actionable:
The NCIRP 2024 will incorporate lessons learned since the 2016 release, include contributions from public-private
partners who play a critical role in national cyber incident response, and establish a foundation for continued
improvement of the nation’s response to significant cyber incidents. The NCIRP 2024 will also address Strategic Objective
1.4 of the 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy, which calls for updating federal incident response plans and processes.

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Reposted from CISA

The Vehicle Incident Prevention and Mitigation Security Guide offers a recommended framework of Plan-Prevent-Protect for critical infrastructure owners and operators, as well as those responsible for pedestrian safety in proximity to those sites, against vehicle threats. Featuring an introductory overview of the vehicle incident threat environment, the Guide outlines options for planning—which includes conducting a risk assessment, creating an emergency operations plan, connecting with professional security subject matter experts, and exploring funding opportunities for mitigations. Recommendations for preventive measures include implementing safe crowd management and traffic management principles, being aware of concerning behaviors in individuals and suspicious vehicle activity, establishing a strong culture of reporting and staff training, and using a layered approach to security. Protection includes implementing appropriate and appropriately installed active and passive barriers and understanding industry standards for perimeter protection devices.

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Reposted from CISA 

 

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Reposted from UNESCO

In 2024, UNESCO celebrates the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the first international legal framework entirely dedicated to the protection of movable and immovable heritage.

UNESCO

13 May 2024 - 15 May 2024

EVENT

UNESCO International Conference “Cultural Heritage and Peace: Building on 70 years of the Hague Convention”

13 May 2024 - 5:00 pm - 15 May 2024 - 1:30 pm

Location

The Hague, Netherlands

Rooms :

The Hague

Type :

Cat IV – International Congress

Arrangement type :

In-Person

Add to calendar

On this occasion, the International Conference “Cultural Heritage and Peace: Building on 70 years of the Hague Convention”, will be organized by UNESCO and hosted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in The Hague on 13 - 15 May 2024, at the historical location and date of its signature.

This landmark event will gather specialists involved in the protection of cultural property as well as the global community, to collectively reflect on the achievements, challenges and lessons learned in the implementation of this international normative instrument. It will also serve as a unique global platform for UNESCO and its partners to enhance advocacy efforts and work towards universal ratification to build and foster the foundations of respect, diversity and peace.

Protecting cultural property, whether during peacetime or an armed conflict, means safeguarding the memories of peoples and societies, and passing down the diverse fabric of humanity to the generations to come. Instruments such as the 1954 Convention contribute to building and cementing a foundation of peace.

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Reposted from NYTimes

The first burglary was in 1999 at Keystone College in Factoryville, Pa. One of the gang, authorities said, sneaked onto the campus, smashed some glass display cases and walked off with memorabilia, including a baseball jersey once worn by Christy Mathewson, the legendary pitcher. The Everhart Museum in Scranton was next, six years later. An Andy Warholsilk screen print and a painting attributed to Jackson Pollockwere taken. Then the pace picked up.

The Space Farms: Zoo & Museum. The Lackawanna Historical Society. RingwoodManor. The Sterling Hill Mining Museum. The United States Golf Association Museum and Library. The list goes on. 
Over the course of almost two decades, the crew showed up at 12 small,
low-profile museums that often lacked elaborate security systems, stripping
them of cherished items, including treasured heirlooms from America’s
sporting past, authorities say. Just a partial list includes — from the National Museum of Racing and Hallof Fame — the 1903 Belmont Stakes trophy. From the International Boxing Hall of Fame, middleweight Tony Zale’s from the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center, seven of Berra’s championship rings, his 1954 and 1955 M.V.P. plaques, and nine of his 10 World Series rings. The only Berra World Series ring not stolen was the one he wore on his finger. “These kinds of artifacts tell people the story of who we are, and the connect us to the past in a way that really nothing else can,” said Eve Schaenen, executive director of the Berra Museum. “And now they’re gone.”
 
In the fall, four men charged with taking some part in the burglaries are
scheduled to go on trial in Pennsylvania, where they live. Another five
people have pleaded guilty. All nine, authorities say, avoided arrest for
some portion of 19 years as museum directors across five states woke up to
find smashed glass and things missing.
Stolen items included, clockwise from top, “Upper Hudson” by Jasper Cropsey
taken from Ringwood Manor; Roger Maris’s Hickok Belt from the Roger Maris
Museum; a gold nugget from the Sterling Hill Mining Museum.Credit...via
Ringwood Manor, West Acres Development LLP, and Sterling Hill Mining Museum. With so many heists going unsolved for so many years, one might imagine thethieves as some sort of a world-savvy, blueprint-studying, techno-literate crew so often seen in movies. But in court records and interviews, they
come across as more 7-Eleven than Ocean’s Eleven. Prepared? Yes. Sophisticated? No.  Sometimes they just hit houses. One favorite burglary tool was an ax, according to court records. They drove cross country to rob the Roger Maris Museum in North Dakota, rather than take a plane.
 “These guys were not world-class criminals,” said Michael Wisneski, an
official with the Everhart museum who described the thieves as schlubby.
“They were operating out of the North Pocono School District.” Most upsetting to many people is how little care was shown for the objects that were taken. A Jasper Cropsey painting from 1871 was torched. The crew did not even try to sell some of the high-profile sports memorabilia. Instead, gold and silver items like Berra’s rings, Maris’s M.V.P. plaque and the Belmont Stakes trophy were melted down and hocked as raw metals, according to court papers.
 
One of those arrested is accused of using some of the stolen gems to make
himself a scepter. “They could have done a smash and grab at a strip mall jewelry store andcome away with more gold,” said Lindsay Berra, the granddaughter of Yogi. When the accused crew members were finally named in an indictment lastJune, federal prosecutors laid out the inventory of what had been taken. It included stolen paintings, at least five 19th-century firearms, a Tiffany lamp and sports memorabilia that included more than 30 golf and horse
racing trophies. Prosecutors valued the lot at $4 million. Most of the
objects have not been recovered. “This was a group of dishonest people that saw easy marks,” said WilliamKroth, executive director of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum. He called them “low life grifters.”
The Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center suffered the loss of multiple items
once owned by Berra, including nine of his 10 World Series rings. They were
melted down for their metal. Credit...Steve Crandall/Getty Images
‘A Violation of Trust’ Michael Wisneski of the Everhart Museum remembers the morning in 2005 when he woke up and turned on the local television news. To his surprise, the reporters were in the parking lot of his museum, talking about a break-in. When he arrived at the building, he found the back door smashed in, the Warhol and Pollock gone. “It felt like somebody broke into your house,” he said. “It was a violation of trust or of security.”
 
According to authorities, Thomas Trotta, 48, of Moscow, Pa., had used a
ladder to smash the door of the museum. Of the nine people later arrested, Trotta was the one relied on to ventureinto the museums to take things, according to court papers. But he was helped in meaningful ways, authorities say, by Nicholas Dombek, 53, who has known Trotta since they were teenagers. After Trotta was arrested, he accused Dombek of being the ringleader, according to court papers. But Dombek’s lawyer, Ernest D. Preate Jr., said in an interview that Trotta was the ringleader, and he described his client as a handyman, not a
mastermind, who did not even operate a computer.
 
Trotta’s lawyer, Joseph R. D’Andrea, declined to comment.
Thomas Trotta, who is identified in court papers as the person who
personally, entered the museums and stole items. He has pleaded guilty to
theft of a major artwork. Credit...via Pennsylvania Department of
Corrections Dombek, who has pleaded not guilty, is from Thornhurst, a rural patch of Pennsylvania, where he lives on a street that carries his family name. His father and his brother were both science teachers, but Dombek never
graduated from high school, and in a 2019 court hearing testified that he
was in financial straits and was two months behind on his mortgage. Still, he was not without ambition and, according to a search warrantaffidavit, Trotta told investigators that Dombek had constructed something like a chemistry lab in his garage. Dombek himself spoke during the court hearing of hoping to cure cancer by tinkering with the chemical properties of water.
 
Dombek’s garage became an informal headquarters where the group planned
break-ins, Trotta told investigators according to court papers. It was
there that Dombek constructed a collapsible ladder and other tools for
Trotta to use at heists, afterward using the space to melt down stolen
memorabilia, according to court papers.
Image Nicholas Dombek, who authorities have charged in the museum burglaries. Each museum was studied before a break-in to determine access, security measures and what looked good to steal, investigators said in court papers. During one scouting trip, Dombek tested the thickness of a display case at the golf museum in New Jersey by scratching the glass with a coin, the
papers said. Trotta would sometimes wear a disguise, dressing as a firefighter when the stole from the Roger Maris Museum, and as a Hasidic Jew when they went to break into the Harvard Mineralogical & Geological Museum, the indictment said. (The theft was called off because a particular diamond they hoped to steal was no longer on display.) The other accomplices are accused of playing a variety of roles: sometimes as getaway drivers, sometimes as transporters of stolen materials after the
burglary. At the Berra Museum, the thieves cut the glass to gain entry, and were able to elude security cameras during one of the larger hauls, according to
museum staff. “They knew exactly where to break in,” Schaenen said. “They had a method toit.” The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y., had a motion sensor but no cameras in place when the thieves arrived in 2012. It lost 14 trophies and afterward, Janet Terhune, the executive director, said she
called the staff of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in
Saratoga to warn them to increase their security. Both museums upgraded
their protection. It didn’t matter.  The next year, Trotta smashed glass displays in Saratoga with a center-punch tool and grinder and took off with five trophies, according to court records.
 
Brien Bouyea, the communications director for the Saratoga museum, said the
institution had a solid security system in place at the time of the thefts.
“The smash-and-grab style of the robbery, however, narrowly beat the police response time,” he said. The Lackawanna Historical Society in Pennsylvania lost a Tiffany lamp in a 2010 burglary. Credit...via The Lackawanna Historical Society
A Fateful Traffic Stop Even with the snow blanketing Route 307 outside Scranton early on the morning of March 4, 2019, the maroon Pontiac was swerving too much.

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Reposted from ArtForum

Land artist Mary Miss has filed suit against the Des Moines Art Center to stop the institution from tearing down her Greenwood Pond: Double Site, 1989–96, an outdoor installation commissioned by the museum for its permanent collection in 1994. Citing the work—a series of structures adjacent to a lagoon—as a danger to the public and the cost of repairing it as beyond its means, the museum had planned to begin removing it on April 8.

In commissioning the work, the Art Center had contracted with Miss to “reasonably protect and maintain the project against the ravages of time, vandalism and the elements.” However, Greenwood Pond, which is made of treated metal, wood, mesh, and concrete, had deteriorated in recent years under the museum’s stewardship. In her suit, filed on April 4 in US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa’s Central Division, the artist accused the museum of failing to properly care for the work. She asserted that the museum’s dismantling of Greenwood Pond would violate the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, which gives artists the right to “prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature.” The work is thought to be the first urban wetland project in the United States. Miss is seeking a temporary restraining order against the museum until the matter can be resolved in court. A hearing is set for Monday.

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Reposted from EMR-ISAC

In recent testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) discussed how fast fire can progress within a typical modern structure and how little time there is to escape. Today’s structure fires can go from a small flame to flashover in just 3 to 5 minutes, partly due to the synthetic materials used in modern furnishings and interior finishes. Additionally, lithium-ion batteries are becoming increasingly common household items used in consumer electronics, power tools, micromobility devices, and electric vehicles. When these batteries burn, the time from the first sign of smoke until thermal runaway and explosion can be as little as 15 seconds. Public awareness of common fire risks is critical to saving lives and drastically reducing property loss. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issues voluntary and mandatory standards that consumer products must meet to be considered safe. CPSC also directly informs and educates consumers about safety risks from products already on the market. The fire service can help by reporting unsafe products to the CPSC and by sharing CPSC’s fire safety messages with their community. Just last month, the CPSC released several alerts about consumer products posing fire hazards:

• Insignia air fryers and air fryer ovens. Best Buy has recalled more than 187,400 of its Insignia air fryers due to overheating, which could lead to fire, burn, or laceration hazards as components of the fryers may melt, break, or shatter under heat.

• Honeywell System Sensor L-series low frequency fire alarms and strobes The sounders and strobes can malfunction and cause the fire alarm system to fail to alert consumers of a fire. Honeywell is recalling about 29,000 units.

• Elide fire extinguishing balls. CPSC is warning consumers about the risk of burns and smoke inhalation associated with the use of Elide brand fire extinguishing balls. These products can fail to extinguish a fire, which could lead to serious injury and death.

• EVERCROSS EV5 Hoverboards. CPSC has received one report of a fire, resulting in substantial property damage to a residential building in New York City in May 2023. The company has not agreed to recall these hoverboards or offer a remedy to consumers. CPSC urges consumers to immediately remove the lithium-ion battery packs from the hoverboards and dispose of them following local hazardous waste disposal procedures.

Fire and public safety departments, especially code officials and anyone involved in fire prevention education, should share this information with their community through all means available. Follow CPSC’s social media feeds or sign up to receive email notifications for future product recalls and alerts. Unsafe products can be reported to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.

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Reposted from EMR-ISAC

Mutual aid agreements establish the terms under which one party provides resources — personnel, teams, facilities, equipment and supplies — to another party. These agreements can support all mission areas; they can be established before, during or after incidents; and they can be between all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. Mutual aid does not include direct federal assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just released an updated guidance document, National Incident Management System for Mutual Aid (Guideline). The Guideline supports the Resource Management component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) by providing guidance on different types of mutual aid agreements, the key elements of a mutual aid agreement and the key elements of mutual aid operational plans used for implementation.

Since the Guideline was last updated in 2017, it has been expanded to incorporate national stakeholders’ new best practices, strategies, and resources for mutual aid agreements, including:

• Impacts and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic on mutual aid operations.
• Acknowledgement of legal liabilities for parties in a mutual aid agreement.
• Additional special considerations for underserved communities.
• Additional emphasis on the importance of a common operating picture.
• Guidance for virtual mutual aid delivery in order to provide support in alignment with FEMA lifelines.

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Reposted from Tim Richardson

Who was the hardest working person you have ever known?

Hands down, the hardest working person I have ever known was a man with only an 8^th grade education named Morris Bunton. I first experienced his amazing work ethic when I worked for him as a young teen picking oranges in the hot, humid Florida summers. We would leave his home long before the sun came up and sometimes not return until dusk. I worked alongside my brother for 2-3 weeks every summer to earn money for summer camp. We were paid 50 cents a box and I don’t think I ever made more than $20 in a day. It remains the hardest work I have ever done, and Morris did it every day alongside us. After multiple freezes damaged his fruit trees, Morris sold his grove. Throughout his life, he worked in farming and owned several businesses. Then he patented a high efficiency solar water heater and sold, built, and installed them himself. During my college years, I helped him with this business too.

In his early 70’s, Morris was diagnosed with cancer. He read everything he could on cancer, paying particularly close attention to how peak health and eating well could extend one’s life. He also researched and tried alternative treatments. A life-long meat and potatoes eater, Morris radically changed his diet and eliminated beef, replacing it with small portions of chicken or fish once every third day. He juiced fresh fruits and vegetables. Ultimately, he extended his life far longer than the doctors predicted. He continued working even as cancer began to destroy his body. Six months before his death, he was still climbing on top of homes to install his solar water heaters. My grandfather, Morris Bunton, died when he was 84 years old leaving behind a legacy of hard work and determination.

I have never met anyone who had physical stamina and determination like my grandfather. While he often worked 6 days a week harder than anyone half his age, he rested every Sunday. Even when I was there working alongside him during the summers, we worked every day but Sunday.

Throughout his life, my grandfather exemplified the following values:

• Risk taking. He owned several businesses continuously reinventing himself over many years. Don’t follow the status quo. Life is easier when you do but more rewarding when you take calculated risks. This was a constant throughout his life.
• Continuous learning. Even though he only had an 8^th grade education, my grandfather was always studying and learning something new. There is power in learning. Commit to life-long learning. Find a subject that interests you in which you know little about and immerse yourself in learning about it.
• Results oriented. When you work hard, you get results – period. Be the hardest working person on your team, in your business, or in your volunteer organization. As trite as it sounds, the dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.
• Rest and renewal. While he worked hard 6 days a week, he never worked on Sundays. You can’t sustain high quality work without taking time to rest and in today’s hustle culture it’s more difficult than ever to have it. Give yourself a weekly break. Try to take a regular Sabbath.

The example that Morris Bunton demonstrated influenced me greatly. I hope his example can influence you too.

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