Security Management News & Analysis

DHS Needs to Do More to Spur Supply Chain Resiliency

By Matthew Harwood — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:33:56 -0400

Maritime security stakeholders and homeland security experts briefed Congress this week on public and private efforts to make the nation's supply chain more resilient to man-made or natural catastrophes, such as Hurricane Katrina.

The hearing was the second in a series on the country's ability to recover from a catastrophic event. Wednesday's hearing was before the House’s Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.

Bill Would Give DHS Control of Foot-and-Mouth Research

By Matthew Harwood — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:48:16 -0400

A controversial proposal to move research into highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease from an island off the East Coast into to the continental United States looks to have legs, according to the Associated Press.

The Pharming Threat Grows

By Matthew Harwood — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:58:27 -0400

If you're among the growing number of people that use the Internet to manage their finances, the Press Trust of India (PTI) is warning you to beware of "pharming."

What's pharming, you ask? Former Security Management Associate Editor Peter Piazza explained this "new" scam way back in 2005.

European Union to Extend the Life of Its Internet Security Agency

By Matthew Harwood — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:41:06 -0400

European Union lawmakers will probably extend the life of its Internet security agency as worries rise over cyberattacks, but some lawmakers argue the agency, as presently constituted, can not handle that duty, reports Reuters.

U.S. Must be More Resilient to Disasters and Terrorism, Experts Explain

By Matthew Harwood — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:02:55 -0400

Critical infrastructure sector representatives and homeland security experts advised lawmakers today on how the United States can strengthen the resilience component of its homeland security strategy to mitigate the affect of successful terrorist attacks and other disasters.

Business Executives are "Big Phish" to Hackers

By Matthew Harwood — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:25:01 -0400

Hackers have devised a new phishing scam where they play Ahab to U.S. corporate executives' Moby Dick.

The scam, according to Agence France Presse, has a novel name.

Internet security insiders refer to the attacks as "whaling" because they use social-engineering trickery involved in "phishing" but target individual "big phish" instead of casting nets in a sea of Internet users.

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Locked in Combat

By John Barham, International Editor — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:34:59 -0400

Record oil prices are affecting stability and security around the world in some unexpected ways and not always for the better.

In Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, rising oil incomes have led to what one analyst calls an “unfortunately sustainable stalemate” between government forces and well-armed rebels. Neither is strong enough to crush the other, and neither feels under any pressure to concede ground.

DHS Invests in Hi-Tech Antiterrorism Buoys

By Matthew Harwood — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:36:59 -0400

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investing in a network of hi-tech buoys to monitor the U.S. coastline and warn homeland security officials of suspicious boats heading towards shore, reports USA Today.

REAL ID, WHTI Opponents' Concerns Persist

By Matthew Harwood — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:49:24 -0400

State officials, federal lawmakers, civil libertarians and business leaders formed a chorus of criticism against plans to require secure U.S. driver's licenses and travel documents within the Western Hemisphere on Wednesday before members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Air Marshals' Names Found on No-Fly List

By Matthew Harwood — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:36:07 -0400

Federal air marshals' assigned to protect flights since 9-11 have sometimes found their names on the no-fly list and, in some instances, denied boarding privileges, according to The Washington Times.

Terrorism Fatalities Up in 2007

By Matthew Harwood — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:41:14 -0400

Terrorism fatalities rose worldwide in 2007, according to the State Department's annual terrorism report. The agency attributes the trend to terrorist activity in Iraq, the resurgence of al Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal areas, and increasingly skilled suicide bombers.

Report: U.S. Cigarette Smuggling Still Funds Terrorism

By Matthew Harwood — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:26:13 -0400

A new report from the Republican staff of the House Homeland Security Committee says federal and state governments, especially New York's, must do more to combat cigarette smuggling because its profits fund terrorist entities abroad.

"Recent law enforcement investigations ... have directly linked those involved in illicit tobacco trade to infamous terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and al Qaeda," states the report.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Under Denial-of-Service Attack

By Matthew Harwood — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:37:42 -0400

A denial-of-service attack has been jamming up the Web sites of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty since Saturday, reports the Associated Press.

The attacks seem to be aimed at the network's Belarus site, but a number of the network's other stations have been affected as well, according to the network's Web site.

Intelligence Chiefs Learn From Experience

By John Barham, International Editor — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:55:26 -0400

Security professionals as well as intelligence officers have had plenty to learn from the debacle over the search for Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, as a rare seminar given by two of the men closely involved in one of America’s greatest intelligence failures showed.

Virtual Kidnappings Scare Up Ransoms in Mexico

By Matthew Harwood — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:54:59 -0400

There's a new emerging criminal trend in Mexico, according to The New York Times, which uses the real fear of kidnapping to dupe unsuspecting victims to give up cash and valuables in return for their loved ones, who are actually safe and sound.

Called "virtual kidnapping," criminals use telephones or cellphones to extract a quick ransom from victims before they learn the kidnapping of their loved one is a hoax.