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Case Study: Uncontrolled Oleum Release
"This case study examines an oleum release that occurred on the afternoon of Saturday, October 11, 2008, in Petrolia, Pennsylvania. During a transfer operation, an oleum (fuming sulfuric acid) process tank overflowed, filled an exhaust ventilation system, and released the oleum into a storage building. The oleum release created a cloud of sulfuric acid mist that filled the building. The sulfuric acid cloud flowed out to the facility grounds and beyond the fence line into the surrounding community. Plant personnel evacuated the facility and community emergency responders ordered the evacuation or shelter-in-place of about 2,500 residents from the towns of Petrolia, Bruin, and Fairview."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2009-09
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Societal Implications: Selected Readings
"These selected readings provide participants in the building process at the local, State, and regional levels with information on the most significant societal implications of adopting new or improved seismic regulations for new buildings. Included are papers on the estimated impact of the NEHRP [National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program] Recommended Provisions on design and construction costs, seismic hazards in various areas of the U.S., seismic safety codes, current seismic hazard mitigation practices and programs, and recent seismic safety policy research. The book also contains an extensive bibliography, a list of information sources, and a glossary of terms."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
1985-06
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Exploration of the Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Along with Other Assets to Enhance Border Protection
"Border protection is a vital national security issue for most countries. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for protecting the borders of the U.S. from terrorism, human and drug smuggling and illegal migration. The U.S. CBP improves manpower, technology and infrastructure along the border through various projects. In this study, part of the Tucson sector in Arizona is modeled in an agent-based model (MANA) to explore the effects of using a hand-launched, mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (miniUAV) along with other assets, such as Border Patrol (BP) agents, surveillance towers, the Predator B, seismic sensors and communication centers. The results from the runs of different scenarios, created by a Nearly-Orthogonal Latin Hypercube (NOLH) design, are analyzed using comparison tests, linear regression, and regression trees. As a result, the use of miniUAVs is found to be beneficial in capturing the illegal entrants in this analysis and thus could potentially provide more secure borders. Adequate manpower, in this case BP agents, and a reliable communication web to compose a Common Operational Picture (COP) emerge as the most important factors regarding border protection in this analysis."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Yildiz, Bahri
2009-06
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FEMA: Answers to Questions About Substantially Damaged Buildings
"The enforcement of the substantial improvement requirement as defined in the NFIP [National Flood Insurance Program] regulations (44 Code of Federal Regulations, 59.1) frequently becomes a major concern for local officials after a community has experienced serious damages as a result of a flood or other disaster. In particular, many questions are asked by community officials concerning permits issued for the repair of damaged structures. The purpose of this document is to answer many of the questions regarding FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] regulations and policy on substantial improvement as it applies to damaged structures."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
1991-03
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H1N1 Flu: A Guide for Community and Faith-Based Organizations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control have published this guide as a resource for H1N1 flu preparedness for community and faith-based organizations in the United States. "To help keep communities healthy during the upcoming flu season, it will take all of us-community and faith-based organizations, government, businesses, and schools-working together. The federal government alone cannot prepare for or respond to the challenge of the 2009-2010 flu season. Leaders and members of community and faith-based organizations (CFBOs), people like you, know their communities well. As trusted leaders, you can communicate important health information in an effective and motivating manner. You know the people in your community who are most vulnerable and hard-to-reach. Organizations like yours are uniquely positioned to help keep people healthy during the 2009-2010 flu season. […] Since there is a great deal of variation among CFBOs, different parts of this document will be more relevant to your organization than others. Use this guide to help inform your response to both 2009-2010 seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu. Remember to be creative as you design a response plan that is relevant and useful to the people you serve."
United States. Department of Health and Human Services; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2009
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To the Congress of the United States [September 10, 2009]
This is a September 10, 2009 White House press release regarding President Barack Obama's statement on the continuation of the national emergency with respect to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
United States. Office of the White House Press Secretary
2009-09-10
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Optimal Transmitter Placement in Wireless Mesh Networks
"Wireless mesh networks are systems of wireless access points interconnected in a mesh to provide digital services to client devices via radio transmission. We consider the challenges of quickly and optimally designing a wireless mesh network. We focus on maximizing client coverage area by choice of access point locations, subject to constraints on network service, quantity and technical capabilities of access points, environmental information, and radio propagation over terrain. We create a nondifferentiable, non-convex, nonlinear optimization problem to quantify the value of a given network, and use a sampling algorithm to quickly find very good solutions. We conduct field tests using commercial equipment in real-world scenarios, and conclude our technique can provide working wireless mesh network topologies. Our techniques and associated decision support tool can be used by humanitarian assistance or disaster relief personnel and combat communications planners to quickly design wireless mesh networks. The decision support tool runs on a laptop computer, accepts map data in a generic file format, creates network topologies for virtually any type of terrain and mesh access point device, and does not require any additional software or solver licenses."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Nicholas, Paul J.
2009-06
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National Emergency Medical Services Education Standards: Emergency Medical Technician Instructional Guidelines
In this document, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) presents their guidelines for the training of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). Guidelines on mass casualty incidents due to terrorism and disaster are found on pages 211-212. While much of the document only applies to EMTs, the guidelines on pages 211-212 are identical to those the NHTSA provides for the training of Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs), Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMTs) and Paramedics (as of January 2009).
United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
2009-01
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National Institutes of Health: Completion of Comprehensive Risk Management Program Essential to Effective Oversight, Report to the Ranking Member, Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate
"The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the primary federal agency for supporting medical research. The Office of the Director (OD) is the central NIH office responsible for setting policy and overseeing NIH's 27 institutes and centers (IC). Allegations involving one institute raised questions about areas of oversight by the OD. In light of these questions, GAO examined how NIH makes extramural research funding decisions and OD monitoring of this process, the design of selected internal controls over NIH's travel and personnel appointment processes, and the design of NIH's new risk management program and the program it is replacing. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed relevant NIH policies, procedures, and supporting documentation. GAO also selected 3 institutes that varied in size for in-depth reviews. To help improve oversight, GAO made three recommendations to the Director of NIH: monitor the extent to which IC directors use discretion in funding decisions, add key components to the Enterprise Risk Management Program, and ensure implementation of the program. HHS disagreed with the first recommendation, partially concurred with the second recommendation, and identified a final date for implementation of the program."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2009-09
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Department of State: Additional Steps Needed to Address Continuing Staffing and Experience Gaps at Hardship Posts, Report to the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate
"The Department of State (State) has designated about two-thirds of its 268 overseas posts as hardship posts. Staff working at such posts often encounter harsh conditions, including inadequate medical facilities and high crime. Many of these posts are vital to U.S. foreign policy objectives and need a full complement of staff with the right skills to carry out the department's priorities. As such, State offers staff at these posts a hardship differential-an additional adjustment to basic pay-to compensate officers for the conditions they encounter and as a recruitment and retention incentive. GAO was asked to assess State's progress in addressing staffing gaps at hardship posts since 2006 and the effect of any remaining gaps, and the extent to which State has used incentives to address staffing gaps at hardship posts. GAO analyzed State data; reviewed relevant documents; met with officials in Washington, D.C.; and conducted fieldwork in five hardship posts. GAO recommends the Secretary of State take steps to minimize the experience gap at hardship posts by making the assignment of experienced officers to such posts an explicit priority consideration, and develop and implement a plan to evaluate incentives for hardship post assignments. State generally agreed with our findings and recommendations."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2009-09
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Defense Contracting Integrity: Opportunities Exist to Improve DOD's Oversight of Contractor Ethics Programs, Report to Congressional Requesters
"Until recently, ethics programs and practices of defense contractors were self-policed. Given the significant sums spent to acquire goods and services, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended twice starting in December 2007 to first mandate and later amplify contractor ethics program rules. Before FAR changes were finalized in December 2008, Congress required GAO to report in 2009 on the ethics programs of major defense contractors. This report describes the extent that contractors had ethics programs before the finalization of the FAR rules that included practices consistent with standards now required by the FAR and assesses the impact the new FAR rules have on Department of Defense (DOD) oversight of contractor ethics programs. To do this work, in September 2008 GAO surveyed all 57 contractors-those receiving more than $500 million in 2006 DOD contract awards-and interviewed DOD contractor oversight agency officials on the impact of the new FAR rules on oversight. GAO recommends four actions aimed at improving oversight of ethics programs during contract administration and DOD hotline poster requirements for contractors to ensure that whistleblower protections are communicated. DOD concurs with GAO's recommendations."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2009-09
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Department of State: Comprehensive Plan Needed to Address Persistent Foreign Language Shortfalls, Report to the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate
"Proficiency in foreign languages is a key skill for U.S. diplomats to advance U.S. interests overseas. GAO has issued several reports highlighting the Department of State's (State) persistent foreign language shortages. In 2006, GAO recommended that State evaluate the effectiveness of its efforts to improve the language proficiency of its staff. State responded by providing examples of activities it believed addressed our recommendation. In this report, which updates the 2006 report, GAO examined the extent to which State is meeting its foreign language requirements and the potential impact of any shortfall, assessed State's efforts to meet its foreign language requirements and described the challenges it faces in doing so, and assessed the extent to which State has a comprehensive strategy to determine and meet these requirements. GAO analyzed data on State's overseas language-designated positions; reviewed strategic planning and budgetary documents; interviewed State officials; and conducted fieldwork in China, Egypt, India, Tunisia, and Turkey. To address State's persistent foreign language shortfalls, GAO recommends that the Secretary of State develop a comprehensive, strategic plan that links all of State's efforts to meet its foreign language requirements. State generally agreed with GAO's recommendations."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2009-09
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Biosafety Laboratories: BSL-4 Laboratories Improved Perimeter Security Despite Limited Action by CDC, Statement of Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director, Forensic Audits and Special Investigations, Testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, September 22, 2009
"Biosafety laboratories are primarily regulated by either the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), depending on whether the substances they handle pose a threat to the health of humans or plants, animals, and related products, respectively. Currently, all operational biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) labs are overseen by HHS's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). BSL-4 labs handle the world's most dangerous agents and toxins that cause incurable and deadly diseases. This testimony summarizes GAO's previously issued reports on perimeter security at the nation's BSL-4 laboratories that were issued in September 2008 (GAO-08-1092) and July 2009 (GAO-09-851). Specifically, this testimony describes the findings and recommendation on key perimeter security controls at five of the nation's operational BSL-4 labs, CDC efforts to address our recommendation, improvements that have been made to the perimeter security controls at the two labs found to be deficient, and other observations about the BSL-4 labs GAO assessed."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Kutz, Gregory D.
2009-09-22
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High-Containment Laboratories: National Strategy for Oversight Is Needed, Statement of Nancy Kingsbury, Ph.D., Managing Director, Applied Research and Methods, Testimony before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, September 22, 2009
This document contains the testimony of Nancy Kingsbury of the U.S. General Accountability Office before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on September 22, 2009 on the topic of the need for a national strategy for oversight at high-containment laboratories in the United States. "We are pleased to be here to discuss our report on a national strategy for high-containment laboratories that deal with dangerous pathogens-also known as biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratories and biosafety level-4 (BSL-4) laboratories-in the United States, which was released yesterday. The number of high-containment laboratories working with dangerous biological pathogens have proliferated in recent years. In 2007, we reported on several issues associated with the proliferation of high-containment laboratories in the United States, including risks posed by biosafety incidents that have occurred in the past. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's allegation in August 2008 that a scientist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases was the sole perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks raised additional concerns about the possibility of insider misuse of high-containment laboratory facilities, material, and technology. The public is concerned about these laboratories because the deliberate or accidental release of biological agents can have disastrous consequences by exposing workers and the public to dangerous pathogens. Highly publicized laboratory errors and controversies about where high-containment laboratories should be located have raised questions about whether the governing framework, oversight, and standards for biosafety and biosecurity measures are adequate."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Kingsbury, Nancy
2009-09-22
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Empirical Evaluation of a Model of Team Collaboration Using Selected Transcripts from September 11, 2001
"The extraordinary events that occurred on the morning of September 11, 2001, left Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers in New York, Boston, Washington, and Cleveland and their colleagues at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), without precedent as to how to respond to the hijacking of four American commercial airliners. Despite the chaos and confusion, the two agencies put forth a joint effort in order to decide when and how to scramble fighter aircraft to escort the airliners. The collaboration that occurred between the agencies was recorded in radio transcripts between NORAD and FAA air traffic controllers. The goal of this thesis is to utilize the September 11, 2001, NORAD/FAA channel three transcripts to offer a real-world example of how a team works together on a one-of-a-kind problem. Further, transcript of recorded audio were coded and analyzed in an effort to empirically validate the Office of Naval Research model of team collaboration. The model focuses on individual and team cognitive processes used during team or agency collaboration with the goal of understanding how individuals and teams work together in order to reach a decision."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Place, David S.; Grubbs, Gregory A.
2009-06
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Secretary Napolitano Applauds President Obama's Intent to Nominate Alan Bersin as CBP Commissioner [September 22, 2009]
"Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today applauded President Obama's intent to nominate Alan Bersin--currently serving as DHS Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs--as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner. 'Under Alan's leadership over the past several months, we have forged new international and domestic partnerships along our borders to strengthen security,' said Secretary Napolitano."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Press Office
2009-09-22
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Secretary Napolitano and USCIS Director Mayorkas Launch Redesigned USCIS Website [September 22, 2009]
"Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Chief Performance Officer Jeff Zients today launched a redesigned USCIS website--available in English and Spanish--a major effort which fulfills President Obama's pledge to offer enhanced navigation tools for the public to access immigration information and review case status. 'Transparency and openness are critical to effective immigration and citizenship policies,' said Secretary Napolitano. 'USCIS' new website provides the public with the latest tools--from text messages to emails--to improve responsiveness and access to immigration services.'"
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Press Office
2009-09-22
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Guidelines for Secure Use of Social Media by Federal Departments and Agencies
"The use of social media for federal services and interactions is growing tremendously, supported by initiatives from the administration, directives from government leaders, and demands from the public. This situation presents both opportunity and risk. Guidelines and recommendations for using social media technologies in a manner that minimizes the risk are analyzed and presented in this document. The decision to embrace social media technology is a risk-based decision, not a technology-based decision. It must be made based on a strong business case, supported at the appropriate level for each department or agency, considering its mission space, threats, technical capabilities, and potential benefits. The goal of the IT [Information Technology] organization should not be to say 'No' to social media websites and block them completely, but to say 'Yes, following security guidance,' with effective and appropriate information assurance security and privacy controls. The decision to authorize access to social media websites is a business decision, and comes from a risk management process made by the management team with inputs from all players, including the CIO [Chief Information Officer], CISO [Chief Information Security Officer], Office of General Counsel (OGC), privacy official and the mission owner. The use of social media and the inherent cybersecurity concerns form a complex topic that introduces additional vulnerabilities, targeted by an advanced threat, requiring updated sets of controls."
Chief Information Officers Council (U.S.)
2009-09
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President Obama Lays Out Strategy for American Innovation [September 21, 2009]
"Since taking office, President Obama has taken historic steps to lay the foundation for the innovation economy of the future. The Obama Innovation Strategy builds on well over $100 billion of Recovery Act funds that support innovation, additional support for education, infrastructure and others in the Recovery Act and the President's Budget, and novel regulatory and executive order initiatives. It seeks to harness the inherent ingenuity of the American people and a dynamic private sector to ensure that the next expansion is more solid, broad-based, and beneficial than previous ones. It focuses on critical areas where sensible, balanced government policies can lay the foundation for innovation that leads to quality jobs and shared prosperity." The strategy has three parts including: invest in the building blocks of American innovation; promote competitive markets that spur productive entrepreneurship; and catalyze breakthroughs for national priorities.
United States. Office of the White House Press Secretary
2009-09-21
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Secretary Napolitano Announces More Than $380 Million in Preparedness Grants Funded by the Recovery Act [September 23, 2009]
"Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced more than $380 million in grants--funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)--to pay for fire station construction and port and transit security initiatives nationwide while creating jobs and stimulating local economies. 'Infusing these Recovery Act dollars into local projects across the country will strengthen the nation's preparedness while helping to reinvigorate America's economy,' said Secretary Napolitano. 'These grants will enhance the resiliency of our critical infrastructure and improve our emergency response capabilities by supporting risk-based initiatives integral to our national security.'"
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Press Office
2009-09-23
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Guidelines on Firewalls and Firewall Policy
"This document provides an overview of firewall technologies and discusses their security capabilities and relative advantages and disadvantages in detail. It also provides examples of where firewalls can be placed within networks, and the implications of deploying firewalls in particular locations. The document also makes recommendations for establishing firewall policies and for selecting, configuring, testing, deploying, and managing firewall solutions. This document does not cover technologies that are called 'firewalls' but primarily examine only application layer activity, not lower layers of network traffic. Technologies that focus on activity for a particular type of application, such as email firewalls that block email messages with suspicious content, are not covered in detail in this document."
National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.)
Scarfone, Karen; Hoffman, Paul
2009-09
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Getting the People Part Right: A Report on the Human Resources Dimension of U.S. Public Diplomacy
"Public diplomacy-the effort to understand, inform and influence foreign publics in support of foreign policy objectives-has never been more important to the security of our nation than it is today. The challenges confronting U.S. public diplomacy (PD) are varied and there is no single easy fix for them. Getting the human resources dimension of public diplomacy right, however, can go a long way toward enhancing the overall effectiveness of our nation's outreach to the world. This report casts a spotlight on this important basket of issues and offers some concrete recommendations for improvement."
United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
2008
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Strategic Communication Science and Technology Plan: Current Activities, Capability Gaps, and Areas for Further Investment
"Strategic Communication (SC) and Public Diplomacy (PD) are now receiving increasing attention and support across the US government. Programs to understand, inform, engage and influence the attitudes and behavior of foreign opinion leaders and publics generally reside within the State Department and, until 1999, the United States Information Agency. But these efforts are enhanced by complementary programs, skills, capabilities, and resources residing in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Combatant Commands, US Agency for International Development, US Army Corps of Engineers, and numerous industry and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A broad set of information-based initiatives, projects and activities are underway that while separately managed and executed, can collectively comprise a nascent Strategic Communication portfolio for the US government. These efforts are being carried out today at the strategic, operational and tactical levels and in all corners of the globe. […] This plan meets the congressional NDAA direction and describes current efforts within the Department of Defense, the military services, the combatant commands and other agencies on SC. In total, these efforts could be linked together to form the foundation of an S&T thrust for strategic communication. The report also includes a macro-analysis of capability gaps that are not being addressed by ongoing initiatives and lays out potential areas for future S&T investment."
United States. Department of Defense
2009-04
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United States National Central Bureau of INTERPOL
This U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General report addresses the United States National Central Bureau (USNCB) of INTERPOL. "Our objectives for this audit were to evaluate the USNCB's efforts to ensure sharing of INTERPOL information among federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies; review the USNCB's processes for the exchange of INTERPOL information to ensure that requests for assistance and information were handled in an appropriate, efficient, and timely manner; review the USNCB's controls over INTERPOL case information; and examine the USNCB's organizational role and strategic priorities to ensure that they are in line with DOJ priorities. […] To evaluate the USNCB's processes and controls over the exchange and integration of information, we reviewed the USNCB's policies and procedures for maintaining data within its case management system, and we performed various tests on domestic and foreign law enforcement agency notices and diffusions. We also reviewed records from automated domestic data systems to determine if INTERPOL information was included in the databases in a timely manner and whether the information was accurate, complete, and consistent."
United States. Department of Justice. Office of the Inspector General
2009-09
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High-Containment Laboratories: National Strategy for Oversight Is Needed, Report to Congressional Requesters
"U.S. laboratories working with dangerous biological pathogens (commonly referred to as high-containment laboratories) have proliferated in recent years. As a result, the public is concerned about the oversight of these laboratories. The deliberate or accidental release of biological pathogens can have disastrous consequences. GAO was asked to determine to what extent, and in what areas, the number of high-containment laboratories has increased in the United States, which federal agency is responsible for tracking this expansion and determining the associated aggregate risks, and lessons learned from highly publicized incidents at these laboratories and actions taken by the regulatory agencies. To carry out its work, GAO surveyed and interviewed federal agency officials, (including relevant intelligence community officials), consulted with experts in microbiology, reviewed literature, conducted site visits, and analyzed incidents at high-containment laboratories. GAO is recommending that the National Security Advisor name an entity charged with government-wide strategic evaluation of high-containment laboratories and the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Agriculture address specific oversight issues regarding high-containment laboratories. The Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Agriculture agreed with our recommendations relevant to them."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2009-09
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Flood Insurance: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of the WYO Program, Report to the Ranking Member, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
"Since 2004, private insurance companies participating in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Write-Your-Own (WYO) program have collected an average of $2.3 billion in premiums annually and, of this amount, have been paid or allowed to retain an average of $1 billion per year. Questions have been raised about FEMA's oversight of the program in light of the debts FEMA has incurred since the 2005 hurricanes. GAO placed NFIP on its high-risk list and issued several reports addressing the challenges the program faces. This report addresses the methods FEMA uses for determining the rates at which WYOs are paid, its marketing bonus system for WYOs, its adherence to financial control requirements for the WYO program, and alternatives to the current system. To do this work, we reviewed and analyzed FEMA's data and policies and procedures and obtained the views of select WYOs and flood insurance experts. GAO makes recommendations to improve oversight of the WYO program. They include reviewing data on WYO companies' expenses, targeting incentive bonuses in line with NFIP goals, and providing more comprehensive oversight of program requirements and procedures. FEMA agreed with our recommendations regarding NAIC data, the incentive structure, and program oversight, but not the transparency of WYO payments. We continue to believe that FEMA could better leverage actual expense data."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2009-08
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Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General: Transportation Security Administration Privacy Stewardship
The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS-OIG) states the following in regards to this report: "This report addresses the Transportation Security Administration's plans and activities to instill and promote an effective culture of privacy in compliance with federal privacy laws and regulations. It is based on interviews with employees and officials of relevant agencies and institutions, direct observations, and a review of applicable documents. [...] We performed an audit of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) privacy stewardship. Our audit objective was to determine whether TSA's plans and activities instill and promote a privacy culture and comply with federal privacy laws and regulations. As part of this audit, we surveyed 2,285 TSA employees on their knowledge of the Privacy Act, the proper handling of personally identifiable information, privacy incident response, and privacy stewardship. The results of this survey are discussed throughout the report. Appendix A provides our purpose, scope, and methodology."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General
2009-08
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Homeland Defense: Greater Focus on Analysis of Alternatives and Threats Needed to Improve DOD's Strategic Nuclear Weapons Security, Report to Congressional Requesters
"A successful terrorist attack on a facility containing nuclear weapons could have devastating consequences. GAO was asked to compare the Department of Defense's (DOD) and Department of Energy's (DOE) efforts to protect the nation's nuclear weapons where they are stored, maintained, or transported. This report compares the nuclear weapons security policies and procedures at DOD and DOE, and the extent to which cost-benefit analyses are required, compares DOD and DOE efforts to assess threats to nuclear weapons, and identifies total current and projected funding requirements for securing nuclear weapons, including military construction costs. GAO analyzed DOD and DOE nuclear weapons security policies and procedures; visited sites that store, maintain, or transport nuclear weapons; and analyzed funding data for fiscal years 2006 through 2013. This report is an unclassified version of a classified report issued in May 2009. GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense improve DOD's process for evaluating and selecting among alternative security measures, improve installation commanders' ability to assess threats, and improve visibility and accountability over Air Force nuclear weapons security funding. DOD partially agreed with the recommendations in this report, noting several actions in process or needed to address the recommendations."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2009-09
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Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General: Improved Management and Stronger Leadership Are Essential to Complete the OneNet Implementation (Redacted)
The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS-OIG) states the following in regards to this report: "This report addresses the strengths and weaknesses of DHS' management of its wide area network, known as OneNet. It is based on interviews with selected officials and contractor personnel, direct observations, vulnerability assessments, and a review of applicable documents.[...] We are making nine recommendations to the Under Secretary for Management and Chief Information Officer. DHS concurred with five recommendations and has already begun to take actions to implement them. The resolved recommendations will remain open until DHS provides documentation to support that the implementation of all planned corrective actions is complete. The remaining unresolved recommendations will require additional discussion between our offices before disposition. DHS' response is summarized and evaluated in the body of this report and included, in its entirety, as Appendix B."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General
2009-09
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NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards: Release 1.0 [DRAFT]
"Under the Energy Independence and Security (ESA) of 2007, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is assigned 'primary responsibility to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of Smart Grid devices and systems...' There is an urgent need to establish these standards. Deployment of various Smart Grid elements, such as smart meters, is already underway and will be accelerated as a result of Department of Energy (DOE) Investment Grants. Without standards, there is the potential for these investments to become prematurely obsolete or to be implemented without necessary measures to ensure security. Recognizing the urgency, NIST developed a three-phase plan to accelerate the identification of standards while establishing a robust framework for the longer-term evolution of the standards and establishment of testing and certification procedures. […] This report is the output of Phase I. It describes a high-level reference model for the Smart Grid, identifies nearly 80 existing standards that can be used now to support Smart Grid development, identifies 14 high priority gaps, plus cyber security, for which new or revised standards are needed, documents action plans with aggressive timelines by which designated Standards Development Organizations are tasked to fill these gaps, and describes the strategy being pursued to establish standards for ensuring cyber security of the Smart Grid."
National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.)
2009-09
