DAILY BRIEF Number: DOB02-030 Date: 02 April 2002 NEWS
Private Industry Offers Proposals for War on Terrorism The U.S. Office of Homeland Security and other federal organizations have been inundated with proposals from high-tech companies on how to better fight terrorism. Howard Schmidt, vice-chairman of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, says that while the office does not want to spend all of its time vetting new ideas, it also does not want to pass over a helpful proposal. Some of the proposals include systems to track hijackers' movements by monitoring both their residences and credit card purchases; the development of simulations of Middle East cities to train soldiers before they are deployed; a "risk management system" to calculate the odds of someone being a terrorist; and, a "biomail" system that could alert postal service employees to the presence of dangerous agents. President Bush's 2003 federal budget presents opportunities for IT companies specializing in information security, with US$52 billion to be spent on the protection of government computer systems. (Source: Newsbytes, 1 April 2002) http://www.newsbytes.com/ Australian Government Creates IT Security Task Force Daryl Williams, Australia's Attorney-General, has formed a task force to look into safeguarding the country's largely privately-owned critical IT infrastructure, according to an Australian media report. The task force met last week to discuss ways to protect vital services from damage and disruption due to terrorism or natural disasters. Vital services include banking and finance, telecommunications, transport, power and water. Mr. Williams stressed that, while federal and territorial governments are responsible for the protection of physical infrastructure, the responsibility "does not rest with the Federal Government alone." (Source: news.com.au, 2 April 2002) http://www.news.com.au/ Comment: Australian Government interest in the protection of its national information infrastructure dates back to the late 1990s. The Attorney General's first report on the issue, dated December 1998, can be found at: http://www.law.gov.au/publications/niireport/niirpt.pdf IN BRIEF Fire Toppled Twin Towers Burning aviation fuel played a critical role in the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, according to conclusions reached in a Federal Emergency Management Agency report. The South Tower, which was hit 15 minutes later than the North Tower, collapsed first because the aircraft that crashed into it was moving 160 km/h faster than the first aircraft. Fireproofing in the North Tower had also been upgraded on most of the floors hit by the plane. (Source: The Ottawa Citizen, 30 March 2002) http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ Oil Rigs Need Monitoring: Environmentalists With another offshore oil development project going ahead, environmentalists claim it is time to look at how offshore rigs are monitored and argue that an independent environmental observer should be on board production vessels. (Source: CBC Newfoundland & Labrador, 1 April 2002) http://stjohns.cbc.ca/ Comment: Husky Energy, with its partner Petro-Canada, announced last week that it will go ahead with its White Rose development on the Grand Banks. The new oil field is expected to yield 200-250 million barrels of oil over a 10 to 15-year period starting in 2005. Old Viruses Still Top Charts Two computer worms that hit the top ten lists last summer were still making news in March, according to several anti-virus companies. MessageLabs, Trend Micro and Kaspersky Labs placed the SirCam and Nimda viruses at or near the top of their list for the month. Home computer users not keeping current with new anti-virus programs were partly to blame for the continued success of old viruses, according to company officials. (Source: zdnet.co.uk, 2 April 2002) http://www.zdnet.co.uk/ Possible Spread of CWD Deer carrying the chronic wasting disease (CWD), a form of mad cow disease, may have been illegally exported from Saskatchewan, according to an official at the province's Department of Environment and Resource Management. There is concern that the disease, which could be dangerous to humans if meat from an infected animal is eaten, could spread to other parts of North America. CWD was identified at an Alberta elk ranch last week, and all 72 animals on the ranch were destroyed. (Source: CBC News, 1 April 2002) http://cbc.ca/news/ CYBER UPDATES See: What's New for the latest Alerts, Advisories and Information Products Threats No updates to report at this time. Vulnerabilities Grey Magic Software reports on a vulnerability that has been found in Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE5+); prior versions may be vulnerable as well. By exploiting this vulnerability in conjunction with other tools, an attacker may be able to determine whether a user has specific programs installed. http://security.greymagic.com/adv/gm003-ie/ SecurityFocus reports on a vulnerability found in LogWatch 2.1.1 that could allow a local user to gain unauthorized root access. http://online.securityfocus.com/archive/1/264336 Tools No updates to report at this time. CONTACT US For additions to, or removals from the distribution list for this product, or to report a change in contact information, please send to: Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For urgent matters or to report any incidents, please contact OCIPEP’s Emergency Operations Centre at: Phone: (613) 991-7000 Fax: (613) 996-0995 Secure Fax: (613) 991-7094 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For general information, please contact OCIPEP’s Communications Division at: Phone: (613) 991-7066 or 1-800-830-3118 Fax: (613) 998-9589 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Site: www.ocipep-bpiepc.gc.ca Disclaimer OCIPEP publications are based on information obtained from a variety of sources. The organization makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy, reliability, completeness and validity of the contents in its publications. However, it cannot guarantee the veracity of the information nor can it assume responsibility or liability for any consequences related to that information. It is recommended that OCIPEP publications be carefully considered within a proper context and in conjunction with information available from other sources, as appropriate. IWS INFOCON Mailing List @ IWS - The Information Warfare Site http://www.iwar.org.uk
