FBI Suspects Terrorists Are Exploring Cyber Attacks

According to a WSJ report today, The FBI is looking at groups suspected of having links to al Qaeda who have shown an interest in mounting an attack on computer systems that control critical U.S. infrastructure.

While there is no evidence that terrorist groups have developed sophisticated cyber-attack capabilities yet, a lack of security protections in U.S. computer software increases the likelihood that terrorists could execute attacks in the future, an official warned.

If terrorists were to amass such capabilities, they would be wielded with “destructive and deadly intent,” Steven Chabinsky, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday.

“The FBI is aware of and investigating individuals who are affiliated with or sympathetic to al Qaeda who have recognized and discussed the vulnerabilities of the U.S. infrastructure to cyber-attack,” Mr. Chabinsky told the committee, without providing details.

Such infrastructure could include power grids and transportation systems.

The control systems of U.S. infrastructure as well as money transfers are now connected directly or indirectly to the Internet. Hackers have been able to penetrate computer systems running components of the U.S. electric grid as well as divert bank transfers.

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Lieberman – Fort Hood Gunman Committed Extremist Terrorism

Sen. Joseph Lieberman,  chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee said Tuesday that the government’s failure to deal with Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s growing radicalism was similar to the intelligence community’s failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks.

Lieberman made his comments after attending a closed-door briefing with administration officials about last week’s massacre at Fort Hood, which killed 13 people. Lieberman didn’t discuss any details of the briefing but said all signs indicate that Hasan committed an “act of Islamic extremist terrorism.”

“There is a similarity to 9/11, which is there was information in different places in our government, which if it had been connected, would have said to people this guy was a real danger,” Lieberman said.

Several people have told The News that Hasan, a psychiatrist, was conflicted about being a Muslim in the U.S. Army, complained that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan constituted a “war on Islam,” and wanted some of his patients to face war crimes charges.

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TSA To Inspect Jet Repair Shops Under New Proposal

Thousands of airplane maintenance shops in the U.S. and abroad would get increased scrutiny to make sure they are not easy prey for terrorists looking to sabotage U.S. jets during routine repairs, a government proposal says.

Some experts and lawmakers have warned for years about potential terrorist saboteurs infiltrating airplane repair shops, and have urged security oversight. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says the greatest danger is posed by repair shops that are on or next to airports because a terrorist could take control of an airplane.

A TSA regulation proposed Monday would for the first time enable the agency to inspect airplane repair shops. If the TSA found a problematic repair shop, the agency would tell the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend the shop’s operating license.

TSA Assistant Administrator Lee Kair said the new requirement “guards against the potential threat of an aircraft being destroyed or used as a weapon.” The agency is soliciting public comments on the proposal and could finalize it later this year.

Airplanes ranging from small recreational planes to wide-body jets are repaired at more than 4,200 shops across the U.S. as well as at 700 shops abroad, in countries such as France, Germany, Singapore, Egypt and Jordan.

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Authorities To Seize Properties Of Group With Alleged Iran Ties

Federal prosecutors in New York took legal steps on Thursday to seize four mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper from a Muslim group suspected of having ties to the Iranian government.

The US government, which has accused Iran of financing terrorism and trying to get hold of nuclear weapons, filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million (£301 million) in assets controlled by a Shia Muslim charity called the Alavi Foundation.

The assets include Islamic centres in New York, Maryland, California and Houston, more than 100 acres of land in Virginia, and a 36-storey office tower in Manhattan.

Prosecutors claimed that the Alavi Foundation and a front company called Assa Corporation illegally funnelled millions of dollars in rental income back to the state-owned Bank Melli in Iran.

The US Treasury has accused Bank Melli of financing Iran’s nuclear programme and it is illegal in America to do business with the bank.

It is very rare for the US government to seize places of worship, but officials have long suspected the foundation was a front for the Iranian government.

The 97-page complaint claimed several very senior Iranian officials, including the deputy prime minister, have been involved in the charity’s business.

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Live – World Response Conference on Global Outbreak

The World Response Conference on Global Outbreak is being broadcast live on National Terror Alert in partnership with HSTV.   Watch Here

The World Response Conference on Global Outbreak is the first practical conference to highlight the first real-time test on global and domestic preparedness in the aspect of prevention, protection, response, and recovery.

The global and national critical infrastructure is threatened by the latest WHO declaration of Pandemic Level Alert Phase 6. WRCGO is a spearhead of convergence to address the leadership roles and responsibilities for an influenza pandemic, to test and exercise the mechanism of coordination, to strengthen the performance monitoring and accountability, between federal, state, and local governments and the private sector in preparing and responding for a pandemic.
Where the future of public health and global security will be decided.

Key discussions will include

• Balancing leadership, authority, & accountability on influenza pandemic
• Assignment of military, courts, & information technology on panflu
• Status update of the 17 critical infrastructure councils
• 2009 h1n1 flu guidance on current investors, policies & regulations
• Peer networking of government, suppliers, contractors

Watch

Lieberman Suggests Army Shooter Was Home-Grown Terrorist

Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday said the shootings at Fort Hood may have been a terrorist attack, and that he would launch a congressional investigation into whether the U.S. military could have prevented it.

Sen. Lieberman, who heads the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said initial evidence suggested that the alleged shooter, Army Major Nidal Hasan, was a “self-radicalized, home-grown terrorist” who had turned to Islamic extremism while under personal stress.

[...]

Mr. Lieberman, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” cautioned that it remained too early to draw any definitive conclusions. He said his comments were based on “reports that we are receiving” about Mr. Hasan’s actions and comments.

The Army’s top officer, Gen. George Casey, wouldn’t rule out that the shooting was an act of terrorism, but cautioned against speculation at this point. “We all want to know what happened and what motivated the suspect, but we need to … let the investigation take its course,” he told ABC News’s “This Week.”

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Behavior Detection Officers Keeping A Watchful Eye On Airports

Although you probably couldn’t spot one of the if you tried, chances are they spotted you if you were exhibiting suspicious behavior in one of over 160 U.S airports.

To identify dangerous people, the Transportation Security Administration has stationed specially trained Behavior Detection Officers at 161 U.S. airports, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The officers, who can be anywhere from the parking garage to the gate, try to spot passengers with an unusual level of nervousness or stress.

They don’t focus on a person’s nationality, race, ethnicity or gender, said Sari Koshetz, spokeswoman for the TSA.

“We’re not looking for a type of person but at behaviors,” she said.

The program started in Boston in 2003; expanded to Miami in 2006 and then to Fort Lauderdale in 2007. The TSA won’t disclose whether detection officers roam Palm Beach International Airport.

Under the program, a suspicious passenger might be given a secondary screening or referred to police; detection officers don’t have arrest powers.

Last year, officers nationwide required 98,805 passengers to undergo additional screening. Police questioned 9,854 of them; 813 were arrested.

While the TSA doesn’t break down the numbers for individual airports, the officers require dozens of travelers in Miami and Fort Lauderdale to undergo a secondary screening each week.

via Airport officers covertly keep an eye out for suspicious behavior — South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com.

MS-13 Allegedly Put Hit on ICE Agent After Arrests

The New York Daily News is reporting  that El Salvadoran leaders of the MS-13 gang allegedly put out a contract on the federal agent responsible for a crackdown on its New York factions of the group.

The brazen plot to assassinate the unidentified Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was revealed in an arrest warrant for reputed gang member Walter (Duke) Torres. Torres tipped authorities to the plan after he and four other MS-13 members were stopped by NYPD detectives for hassling passersby on Northern Blvd. in Queens last month. He told cops he had information to pass on, and was debriefed Oct. 22 at Rikers Island, where he was being held on a warrant issued in Virginia, according to court papers.

Torres said “the order for the murder came from gang leadership in El Salvador,” ICE agent Sean Sweeney wrote in an affidavit for a new warrant charging Torres with conspiracy. Torres, who belonged to an MS-13 “clique” in Virginia, said he was put in charge, and traveled to New York in August “for the specific purpose of participating in the planning and execution of the murder plot,” Sweeney wrote.

Gang members were allegedly trying to get their hands on a high-powered assault rifle, like an M-16. to penetrate the agent’s bulletproof vest.

Another MS-13 informant told authorities the agent was marked for death because the gang was “exceedingly angry” at him for arresting many members in the past three years, the affidavit states.

The murder was supposed to be carried out by the Flushing clique, according to the informant.

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Seaports Still At Risk of Biological and Chemical Threats

U.S. Customs and Border Protection should consider taking additional steps to counter biological and chemical threats in maritime cargo, according to the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general.

The IG recommends that the agency update its guidance for inspecting sea cargo containers for biological and chemical threats, and assess the benefits of deploying new detection devices in a maritime environment, according to a redacted version of a report released Nov. 2.

CBP is responsible for examining cargo containers entering the country. During a performance audit conducted between November 2008 and March, the IG’s office observed different operating procedures at several ports that were visited, the report states.

As a result, the IG recommended that CBP develop and issue guidance to help ensure its officers use consistent examination processes for all potential threats. The agency agreed with the recommendation and said it was making updates.

Meanwhile, CBP officials said new technologies are being developed and tested to help officers rapidly identify such threats during inspections, according to the report. However, CBP hasn’t formally identified the pathways through which biological and chemical threats are most likely to enter the country, the IG said.

via Read Full Story.

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WRTAC Warns Of Reprisals After Radical’s Islamic Leaders Death

The Washington Times reports Federal officials have issued a warning that the shooting death of a radical Sunni Islamic leader in Michigan last week may engender retaliatory violence against law enforcement officers there as well as in the Washington area, though law enforcement officials played it down as a routine measure.

Gunfire erupted during the arrest of Ummah leader Luqman Abdullah and members of his group after Abdullah pulled a gun and shot and killed an FBI canine, according to a document obtained by The Washington Times from the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center (WRTAC).
FBI agents returned fire at the warehouse in Dearborn, Mich., and killed Abdullah, who was charged with selling stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms.

“Abdullah’s death and associated arrests may foster resentment, violent rhetoric, and threats from Ummah adherents,” said the raw intelligence document issued by the WRTAC.

“Because of the group’s anti-law enforcement sentiments, law enforcement officers should be particularly mindful of this change in the threat environment and the possibility for retaliation,” the WRTAC said.

As for implications in the D.C. area, the WRTAC said that “Ummah sympathizers or other similar groups may be operating in the National Capital Region. Officers should be alert for possible retaliatory actions as a result of the FBI Detroit raid.”

Supervisory Special Agent Katherine W. Schweit of the FBI’s Washington office declined to comment or even confirm the contents of the document.

But, speaking in general terms, she said, “Any time an incident occurs elsewhere in the country, information is provided to all state, federal and local offices to provide them with the status, and urging them to be cautious regarding similar incidents.”

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1,600 Are Suggested Daily For Watch List

The Washington Post reported that during a 12-month period ending in March of this year, 1,600 people were recommended daily by the U.S. intelligence community to be put on the list due to ‘reasonable suspicion.’  It’s important to know,  each nomination does not necessarily represent a new individual, but may instead involve an alias or name variant for a previously named to the watchlist.

Newly released FBI data offer evidence of the broad scope and complexity of the nation’s terrorist watch list, documenting a daily flood of names nominated for inclusion to the controversial list.

During a 12-month period ended in March this year, for example, the U.S. intelligence community suggested on a daily basis that 1,600 people qualified for the list because they presented a “reasonable suspicion,” according to data provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee by the FBI in September and made public last week.

FBI officials cautioned that each nomination “does not necessarily represent a new individual, but may instead involve an alias or name variant for a previously watchlisted person.”

The ever-churning list is said to contain more than 400,000 unique names and over 1 million entries. The committee was told that over that same period, officials asked each day that 600 names be removed and 4,800 records be modified. Fewer than 5 percent of the people on the list are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Nine percent of those on the terrorism list, the FBI said, are also on the government’s “no fly” list.

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Deadline Looming – How Will Airline Cargo Get Screened

Here’s the dilemma. By next August, every piece of freight that is shipped aboard a commercial airline will be required to be screened for bombs just as luggage already is. The catch? There are not enough screeners to scan the thousands of tons of cargo that will need to be scanned.

Airlines, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and shippers that use the cargo holds of passenger planes face an Aug. 3 deadline to create a system of private cargo screeners to make sure cargo doesn’t carry bombs or other explosives.

It’s no small challenge. On virtually every flight, airlines stuff the holds of passenger planes with everything from North Atlantic lobsters to delicate computer chips. As much as 10 million pounds of cargo up to 500,000 boxes are shipped on passenger planes every day, and Orlando International Airport is one of the nation’s busiest air freight hubs.

Until recently, almost none of it went through security.

Shippers and federal authorities are meeting in Orlando this week to review what must be done to get enough companies certified in time to beat the August deadline.

And the industry has a lot of work to do, said Marc Rossi, a branch chief for the TSA’s Certified Cargo Screening Program.

“There will not be enough (certified screeners) to meet the demands of the supply chain, not at the current rate of certification. …,” he said. “That’s millions of pounds (of cargo) that don’t have a solution, projected out.”

The problem is that most freight flown on passenger planes comes pre-packaged on pallets or in large cargo bins. But federal law calls for every little box to be individually screened by either humans, X-ray machines, explosive-detection equipment or trained dogs.

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Security Checks Friday for MARC Commuter Train Stations

If you commute using Maryland’s MARC commuter trains, you’ll notice increased security on Friday. The Maryland Transit Administration Police will launch a program of random security checks at MARC commuter train stations, using bomb-sniffing dogs to screen passengers’ luggage and packages to detect explosives.

The MTA warned riders that delays could occur and urged passengers to allow extra time to board trains on the Penn, Camden and Brunswick lines.

Lt. Col. John E. Gavrilis, chief of the MTA police, said the tighter security is not a response to a specific threat but part of a general effort to “target-harden” Maryland transit facilities. He said the effort will begin at MARC stations but would eventually extend to the Baltimore Metro and light rail stations.

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The Threat of Homegrown Terrrorism

Lydia Khalil, a former counterterrorism analyst for the New York Police Department, and a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations looks at homegrown terrorism, recent plots and arrests and what they may signify.

The apprehension last week of Sudbury native Tarek Mehanna is the fifth terrorism-related arrest in the United States in as many months, putting homegrown radicalism back on the radar screen. But many question whether individuals like Mehanna are the “real deal.’’ Do they really pose a significant terrorist threat or are they acting out but lack the capability to inflict any real damage? How dangerous are homegrown radicals? Will the United States, like Europe, become more susceptible to native radicals rather than terrorist plots hatched abroad from organized groups like Al Qaeda?

Terrorism specialist Marc Sageman claims that we are facing a “leaderless jihad.’’ Al Qaeda central is not the driving force of terrorism as an operational machine but rather its ideology serves as an inspiration for self-organizing local groups to carry out their own attacks.

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