DHS Seeks Partnerships to Increase Information Sharing

In  an increased effort to identify and help reduce possible acts of terrorism, The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to identify communities of interest that don’t fit the normal models found in local government and the private sector (hey, this sounds like us).  The goal is to improve lines of communication between ethnic and faith-based communities and respond to terror threats by adopting procedures used by the Secure Community Network (SCN). The department’s goal is to mimic the SCN platform for national security and preparedness and use it as a means to decrease the number of acts of terrorism by increasing both communications and information sharing.

The DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP) focuses on protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR). The IP works to reduce terror threats and to strengthen national preparedness and response and recovery times, largely through public-private partnerships because most of the national CIKR is privately owned.

William F. Flynn, the IP’s acting assistant secretary, shares that DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano wants to identify “communities of interest that don’t fit that normal model where we have outreach, like through local government and the private sector. She’s taken a personal interest in expanding this initiative.”

SCN is one such group. Because the Jewish community is often a target for terrorists, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations created SCN four years ago to address heightened security concerns. The organization has two purposes: to share information in crisis situations quickly and to improve security awareness of Jewish organizations to protect against terrorism and other threats.

SCN’s national director, Paul Goldenberg, notes, “Our community has seen an unprecedented number of attacks during recent years. DHS recognized that our community was vulnerable and that they should establish formal ties with the Jewish community. They felt training civilians to understand terror threats would help create eyes on the ground for DHS and local law enforcement.”

DHS and SCN have collaborated for four years, with DHS providing “tons of services” to the Jewish community, Goldenberg says.

Flynn adds, “SCN has a great platform to reach a broad audience. They have a pipeline, a technical means of broadly reaching their partners and constituents. That’s very valuable to help push out information. [DHS] has leveraged that relationship. We’ve sponsored security clearances for some of their staff; we’ve provided Web-based training and done webinars for them.”

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DHS Urged To Explore FM Alert System For Cell Phones

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski are being urged by House members  to explore the potential benefits of including FM radio tuners in mobile telephone handsets as part of a national alert system.

The letter notes that the Warning Alert and Response Network Act of 2006 authorized the mobile industry to create an emergency alert system and continues, “It is our understanding that incorporating FM radio tuners in mobile phones could help achieve this goal. Radio’s emergency alert system is a proven, reliable service.”

Hundreds of millions of cellphones worldwide have FM tuners, the lawmakers note, but only a handful of devices available in the U.S. market offer radios. They write, “There is no excuse for American consumers’ access to advanced technology to lag behind that available worldwide.”

The lawmakers say that, with EAS information available via mobile handsets through FM Radio, “Everyone involved, including the American public and public safety officials, as well as the mobile phone and broadcasting industries, stands to benefit.”

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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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HUD and DHS Launch Disaster Recovery Website

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the launch DisasterRecoveryWorkingGroup.gov—a new inter-agency website that will allow federal disaster recovery officials to solicit public comments from state, local and tribal partners and the public.

The new website will be used by the federal government’s newly-formed Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group—co-chaired by Secretary Donovan and Secretary Napolitano—to allow stakeholders to submit ideas for disaster recovery; articulate objectives for recovery assistance going forward; identify examples of best practices; raise challenges and obstacles to success; and share thoughts, experiences and lessons learned.

“It is vital to our success that disaster recovery professionals and stakeholders provide their input as we move forward to improve disaster recovery efforts across the country,” said Secretary Donovan. “This new website will give everyone involved in disaster recovery a voice in shaping how we respond, and then rebuild and revitalize communities in the wake of disaster.”

“Successful recovery relies on effective collaboration with partners from state, local and tribal governments and the private sector,” said Secretary Napolitano. “This new website will support the federal government’s efforts to enhance our nation’s resiliency in the face of emergencies by engaging directly with our stakeholders.”

Last month, President Obama asked Secretaries Napolitano and Donovan to co-chair the Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group, comprised of more than 20 federal departments, agencies and offices, to ensure that individuals, communities and the nation’s economy can withstand and rapidly recover from disasters. In order to develop a better national strategy for an effective approach to long-term disaster recovery, the Working Group will:

* Provide operational guidance for Federal, State, Tribal and local authorities to provide for effective and unified disaster recovery. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, detailing recovery management and operational coordination, articulating communications strategies and establishing measurements for success;

* Review disaster recovery programs and the framework of disaster recovery, and identify gaps as well as overlapping and/or conflicting sources of authority for disaster recovery efforts;

* Examine areas for improved interagency planning and collaboration among federal agencies;

* Examine methods to build capacity within State, local and tribal governments as well as within the nonprofit, faith-based, and private sectors; both in recovery operations and in pre-disaster recovery planning; and

* Examine successful practices and lessons learned during previous disaster recovery efforts, with particular attention to catastrophic disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

In addition, Secretaries Donovan and Napolitano will provide the President with recommendations to improve long-term catastrophic disaster recovery and help develop a National Disaster Recovery Framework that will provide detailed operational guidance to recovery organizations under existing authorities.

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Shopping Mall Terror Plot Alleged In Boston Area Arrest

An alleged shopping mall terror plot on U.S. shopping malls has resulted in the arrest of A 27-year-old Massachusetts man according to early reports this morning. The man has been charged with conspiring with others to support and plan terror attacks in and outside the United States according to the reports.

From the Boston Herald

A 27-year-old man from Sudbury has been arrested on charges he planned terrorism attacks inside and outside the United States, including a plot to use automatic weapons to open fire at shoppers and emergency responders in shopping mall attacks, federal prosecutors said today.

Tarek Mehanna, is accused of conspiring with Ahmad Abousamra and others to obtain the automatic weapons needed to carry out a mall ambush in which they planned to open fire at random, said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael K. Loucks.

The plot included plans to fire at emergency responders, but was abandoned because the men could not obtain the weapons, authorities said.

Source – Read Full Article

If this story and the names involved sound familiar …. This may be why.

From The Boston Globe 2008

Statements that Tarek Mehanna allegedly made to the FBI two years ago in the midst of a terrorism investigation came back to haunt him last weekend, when the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy graduate was arrested as he was about to board a Boston flight to start a new job overseas.

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Additional details are available at My Pet Jawa, who also covered the story here.

Possible Explosives Discovered Near OKC Railroad Tracks

UPDATE: NewsOK reports that a man has been arrested in connection with this case and the devices have been confirmed to be hoax devices. Read More

Original Post

NewsOK reports that the Oklahoma City bomb squad, representatives of the BNSF Railway, the FBI and the local unit of the Joint Terrorism Task Force are investigating possible explosive devices discovered near railroad tracks in Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma City bomb squad Sunday night disposed of at least three possible bombs along railroad tracks at SE 34 Street and Shields Boulevard.
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Authorities were at the scene from about 5 p.m. until after midnight. A resident said he saw a man speeding along the 200 block of SE 34 and throwing out several devices, police Lt. Jeff Cooper said.

The resident investigated and called police after finding what looked like bombs near the railroad tracks, Cooper said.

The bomb squad had neutralized three of the devices by 10:30 p.m

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In what is most likely an unrelated incident, there was another report of explosives being discovered in Tecumseh, Oklahoma last week. (approx. 45 miles away)

Explosives were found Wednesday afternoon by Oklahoma road crews working in Tecumseh, police said.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation workers were trimming trees near Highway 177 and Gordon Cooper Drive when a suspicious package was found.

Police examined the package and called the Oklahoma Highway Patrol bomb squad.

Bomb experts detonated it and determined that it did contain explosives.

Source

Explosion Leads To Evacuation of Islamic School in Syracuse

No word yet on the actual cause but authorities say initial reports are that a boiler exploded and it appears to be an accident. Additional details are expected to be released on Monday.

From Syracuse.com

Syracuse authorities are investigating an explosion in the basement of a private Islamic School that forced the evacuation of 75 students this afternoon.

It was too early to determine if the explosion was intentionally set, authorities said.

“It would be crazy for me to say what happened here right now,” said fire investigator Joe Galloway. “We’re doing a very thorough investigation.”

School officials said they were aware of no threats and had no reason to believe the explosion was anything but an accident.

Initial reports were that the boiler had exploded, but firefighters still need to sift through the large amount of debris to figure out what happened, Galloway said. Police consulted the FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives because the school is considered a place of worship.

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FBI Investigates Car Filled With Explosives in New Haven

Police have arrested a man in New Haven Connecticut after they discovered his vehicle was filled with explosives, guns, pipe bombs and propane tanks, according to news reports.

The suspect has not been identified.

Around 11:30 p.m., police said that a car was found with explosives at the intersection of Grand Ave and Clinton Ave.

From Fox News

FBI New Haven spokesman William Reiner told FOXNews.com that the bureau is now helping local police in the probe, but declined to elaborate.

Cops pulled over a motorist driving a car full of pipe bombs, rifles and a propane tank in New Haven about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to FOX 61.

A bomb squad was called in and a silver Mercedes was towed away. There have been no reports of injuries.

Authorities closed off a four-block area because of the danger posed by the explosives, but did not evacuate.

Source

Report: N.Y. Men Under Heavy Surveillance in Terror Probe

Additional associates of alleged terror suspect Najiabullah Zazi are under heavy surveillance, according to law enforcement officials in a Fox news report. Authorities have said three unnamed people traveled from New York City to suburban Denver over the summer and used stolen credit cards to help Zazi buy products containing hydrogen peroxide and acetone, common ingredients for homemade bombs. The three returned to New York at some point but haven’t been accounted for publicly, nor have the “others” who court papers say joined Zazi on a trip to Pakistan last year.

Investigators are said to still be looking for additional accomplices and expect to make more arrests according to one official who declined to discuss details as to when that might happen or how many additional suspects may be involved.

Officials add that the men under surveillance are no longer considered a threat because the plot was thoroughly disrupted. The  report states that both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation continues.

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Napolitano Emphasizes Shared Responsibility for Readiness and Resilience

Secretary Janet Napolitano today marked the conclusion of National Preparedness Month by delivering a speech emphasizing America’s shared responsibility for preparedness and stressing the important role that individuals play in building a national culture of readiness and resilience.

“When families are prepared—when communities stand together and stand tall—so does our nation,” said Secretary Napolitano. “United, we send a powerful message to those that seek to do us harm: we cannot be broken, we are America—strong and resilient.”

Secretary Napolitano delivered the speech at the American Red Cross Hall of Service in front of more than 300 volunteers and employees representing the Red Cross, DHS Citizen Corps, and local and regional emergency management agencies from around the National Capital Region—as well as employees of DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“America’s history is not written by the tragedies that have befallen us, but by how we responded to them,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Since our earliest days, every time we have been challenged or have seen tragedy, Americans have shown a sense of purpose and resilience.”

During her remarks, Secretary Napolitano recognized Citizen Corps and Red Cross volunteers who donate their time and energies to train others in critical readiness and emergency response skills while contributing to a culture of preparedness.

“We should measure our nation’s security not just by the borders we strengthen and the laws we enforce, but also by the strength and resilience of the communities we build,” said Secretary Napolitano.

Secretary Napolitano’s remarks on preparedness today build on previous speeches outlining her approach to counterterrorism, delivered in New York City in July, and border security, delivered in Texas in August—and reflect her commitment to ensuring readiness and resilience among all citizens.

DHS Secretary Napolitano To Give Major Preparedness Speech

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will deliver a major speech on national preparedness today at 2:00pm ET. The speech will be streamed live at www.dhs.gov.

In the speeech Secretary Napolitano will thank all of our Citizen Corps volunteers, the Ready Campaign, national partners, and the thousands of others in the National Preparedness Month Coalition for all their hard work.
She’ll also challenge our country to see preparedness as a shared responsibility, and urge Americans to build a year-round culture of readiness and resilience in our communities.

DHS Link

Digital Fingerprints Detail Alleged Terror Suspects Trail

Details from the digital fingerprints left behind by alleged terror suspect  Najibullah Zazito provided much of the evidence authorities needed to make the arrest according to an article on ZDnet.  The report explains how the FBI was able to use the digital path left behind to track down the evidence that ultimately led to Zazi’s indictment.

From ZDnet

As you read the indictment and order for permanent detention you can almost picture the various connected databases and monitoring techniques at work. Simply put, Internet surveillance and information technology sleuthing played a big role in the Zazi case. FBI agents arrested Zazi in Colorado.

Jeffrey Knox, an assistant U.S. attorney, tells the tale in the permanent detention document.

Here’s a look at the key linchpins where IT crossed paths with detective work.

The Customs databases…

Zazi flew from Newark Liberty International Airport to Peshawar, Pakistan on Aug. 28, 2008.   Something triggered in a database, given that Zazi, 24, was going to Peshawar, known as a terrorism hotbed.

Pakistan email accounts…

Here’s where the surveillance kicked in. Knox notes in the order for detention:

Zazi is associated with three email accounts (”Email Account 1,” “Email Account 2″ and “Email Account 3″) that were active during his time in Pakistan. One of the accounts is directly subscribed to Zazi, and all three accounts contain slight variations of the same password. The government will establish at trial that these accounts were used in furtherance of Zazi’s efforts to manufacture explosive devices. Among other things, during a consent search of two of the three accounts, agents found jpeg images of nine pages of handwritten notes containing formulations and instructions regarding the manufacture and handling of different kinds of explosives. Based on email header information, these images had been emailed to Email Accounts 2 and 3 in early December 2008, while Zazi was in Pakistan. As discussed below, the same notes were transferred onto Zazi’s laptop computer in June 2009.

Customs databases again…

Zazi flew back to the U.S. via JFK International Airport in Queens on Jan. 15, 2009.

You are your Internet search history..

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Homeland Security Launches Final Phase of National Dialogue – QHSR

It’s live! The third and final phase of the National Dialogue on the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) began today, and will run through next Sunday, October 4th. Over 26,000 people nationwide have participated in the discussion on Homeland Security policy and strategy, but even more are needed. The QHSR is now nearly finished, and the DHS wants your feedback on the final goals, objectives, and outcomes.

Your participation will help impact homeland security operations and policy from the federal to the local level for the next four years.

In this final phase of the Dialogue, you can:

• Read and review the final goals, objectives, and outcomes developed by DHS for each of the four mission areas
• Submit your feedback on the final products of each mission area
• Rate, comment, and tag others’ responses to ensure the best ideas “rise to the top”

I’ll be participating in a Department of Homeland Security Blogger’s Round Table on Wednesday to discuss this final phase and I’ll post additional comments after the meeting. In the meantime I want to encourage each of our readers to get involved. This is your last chance to make your voice heard, don’t miss this opportunity.

Go to DHS QHSR Website

Self-Storage Association Issues Terrorism Alert to Facilities

The Self Storage Association (SSA), in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week formally alerted its 6,000 membercompanies, its affiliated state associations and their thousands of member companies and thousands of individual facility managers of the potential for illegal use of self storage units in connection with terrorism.

These alerts were disseminated nationally and posted on the SSA member-only web site in the wake of recent arrests in Colorado and New York.

Investigators believe that alleged terrorists could store illegal materials or assemble them in self storage rental units as part of a domestic terrorism plot. Authorities have requested that anyone suspecting terrorist, suspicious or illegal activity contact the Joint Terrorism Task Force in their area, the FBI, and/or local law enforcement authorities immediately.

The SSA has participated on the DHS Commercial Facilities Subsector Coordinating Council of the Infrastructure Protection Task Force, along with leaders from other real estate and commercial facility industries that may also be potential terrorism targets or otherwise be in a position to recognize and thwart suspicious activity.

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