Business911 International, Inc.

The DHS is monitoring social networks for security reasons, are you?

This is an interesting article about the DHS monitoring social networks during the 2010 Winter Olympics.  I believe we will see more of this activity since it gives those in public information positions a portal into what may be going on in an area of interest.

The important point here is not that the DHS is monitoring information; it is the opportunity for all of us to develop relationships and areas of interest we can monitor during an incident.  All groups could benefit from sharing information (albeit not always factual) including businesses, schools, churches, and communities.  One great way to share information as an alternate to other methods during an emergency is Twitter or Facebook.

As required by law, the DHS has published a Privacy Impact Statement about its monitoring activity--in this case monitoring social media outlets for security reasons for the Vancouver Winter Olympics.    the full article is available at: http://www.emergencymgmt.com/emergency-blogs/crisis-comm/DHS-Monitoring-Social-Media.html

Southeast Texas Severe Weather Awareness Week - Feb 21-27 2010

Several resources from the National Weather Service and the State of Texas Department of Public Safety.

Intel Chief: U.S. at Risk of Crippling Cyber Attack

FOXNews.com

The United States is at risk of a crippling cyber attack that could "wreak havoc" on the country because the "technological balance" makes it much easier to launch a cyber strike than defend against it, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said Tuesday. See article for details:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/03/intel-chief-risk-crippling-cyber-attack/

Disasters 2.0 Conference Addresses Social Media Use

Interesting article on the mid-west of the United States collaborating among the private and public sector to establish best practices for social media usage in emergecny management.

Full link at: http://www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Disasters-20-Conference-Social-Media-Use.html

Hurricane Ike Buyout Program Finally Under Way - Finally some sanity!

More than a year after submitting its initial application, Galveston County has received a federal grant award to purchase properties on Bolivar Peninsula destroyed by Hurricane Ike in September 2008.
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program allows the county to offer eligible homeowners 75% of the pre-Ike value of their property plus improvements, minus the benefits already paid (such as flood and windstorm insurance).  All transactions are voluntary, and purchased properties must remain undeveloped in perpetuity.  Let's hope this is a trend for the future!

Full article here:  http://www.gcoem.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=293&Itemid=145

Inspiring letter by Admiral Thad Allen to the US Coast Guard on the Haiti response

This letter to "All Hands" at the US Coast Guard, demonstrates once again the the incredible professionalism and spirit of this unit that is always prepared.

Refer to link here: http://coastguardallhands.blogspot.com/2010/01/commandant-all-hands-coast-guard.html

Is social media really that big a deal?

You, or people you know are actively using social media.  I'm often asked why I believe those in infra-structure protection, IT security, and people in general should even be using the technology.  I simply respond it's just one more tool in the toobox, but you should have in the box, and ready to go.

Unless you've been living under a rock, there is no deying the power of such tools.  As we saw in Iran, and we are seeing in Haiti, the use of this technology brings critical information to the airwaves from eye witnesses on the scene.  We have heard stories of applications like Twitter being used to locate hostages, find people trapped in rubble, and we now use Twitter to provide on the ground observations of seismic activity (the USGS TED system).

I'm not saying that there aren't risks of using social media, but they are managable.  Just like I wouldn't put my utility knive back in the tool box with the blade exposed, I shouldn't take unessarry risks using social media.

Ask any Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) person the difficulty of locating people who may be trapped or injured, by "searching" with limited technology and dogs, and compare it to knowing where someone is specifically trapped and the job becomes more rescue than search.

Understanding not eveyone will have cell phones, nor will cellular/texting services always be available we should encourage our public sector agencies to adopt a means to communciate with the citizens during a mass casualty event, in order to reduce the "search" timeline and provide more time for rescue.

Here is link to a blog that describes "Social Media’s True Impact on Haiti, China, and the World"

Ushahidi provides portal for the latest information on Haiti

This open source application is used around the world during a crisis.  Check out the utility of its features at this link on the Haiti Earthquake.  http://haiti.ushahidi.com/

Rescue crews from around the globe train in 'Disaster City' at Texas A&M and TEEX the world leader in disaster training

Texas Task Force 1 - located at Texas A&M University and the Texas Engineering Extension is also ground zero for the world's premier disaster/search and rescue training facility.  This video provides a brief glimpse of this state of the art, world class training facility.

 http://video.foxnews.com/v/3968289/rescue-crews-train-in-disaster-city

Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones

Disturbing report on data security.  While many are looking for a mushroom cloud, the terrorists are using simplle tools to gain access, to cause or potentially cause disruption to our lives and critical infrastructures.  See this article from the Wall St. Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126102247889095011.html