U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Warns Nuclear Plants of Online Virus Threat

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday that it has issued a warning to nuclear power plant operators about threat of possible computer system failures caused by Internet viruses (see GSN, Aug. 15).

The NRC learned of the vulnerability of plant computer networks to Internet viruses in January, when the Microsoft SQL Server worm caused two systems at the closed Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio to be made unavailable for several hours, according to a commission press release.  Public safety was not affected during the incident, the commission said (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission release, Sept. 2).

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States and Localities Receive $1.4 Billion to Improve Bioterrorism Preparedness

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department has released $1.4 billion to states, territories and three metropolitan areas to help increase preparedness to respond to terrorism incidents and other emergencies, Secretary Tommy Thompson said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 21).

The department said $870 million will be issued to help improve public health systems to address biological terrorism and similar emergencies and $498 million will go toward helping states develop surge capacity to deal with mass casualty events (U.S. Health and Human Services Department release, Sept. 2).

According to the Associated Press, Connecticut will receive more than $18 million of the new funds.  Of that amount, $11.9 million will go for bioterrorism response funding and more than $6 million will go toward helping hospitals and health care facilities deal with casualties (Associated Press, Sept. 3).  Wisconsin will receive more than $25 million to improve preparedness for a biological attack and other emergencies (Associated Press II, Sept. 3).

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Terrorism Intelligence Not Effectively Shared, GAO Says

By David McGlinchey
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — Almost two years after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a broad spectrum of U.S. security officials said that information on terrorist threats is still not being shared effectively, according to a General Accounting Office survey (see GSN, Aug. 14).

“No level of government perceived the process as effective, particularly when sharing information with federal agencies.  Information on threats, methods and techniques of terrorists is not routinely shared; and the information that is shared is not perceived as timely, accurate or relevant,” the report says.

The survey reveals that officials at all levels were dissatisfied with the amount of intelligence they are receiving.  Almost every city surveyed said that they needed information on the movement of known terrorists, but only 15 percent of respondents said that they received this intelligence.

A congressional report issued in July criticized intelligence efforts prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including interagency cooperation and information sharing.  The Homeland Security Department has also been criticized for its color-coded terrorism alert program.  Local officials have said that the alert system does not provide any detailed information to organize effective antiterrorist measures.

The GAO said, however, that the department is working on several initiatives to enhance information sharing.  In a July response to the GAO, a senior homeland security official agreed that keeping state and local agencies informed is a “priority.”

“Not surprisingly, however, after just five months in operation, the department is still formulating internal and external interfaces and protocols on many aspects of the complex issue of information sharing,” wrote Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Gordon England.

According to England, federal officials are in the process of “providing secure telephones to the governors and security clearances to the homeland security advisors in every state.”

In the absence of an effective, national information system, some states and agencies are developing their own ad hoc solutions, according to the report.  California, for example, has established its own statewide antiterrorist information center to disseminate intelligence to local authorities.

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U.S. Companies Say New Customs Proposal Would Increase Costs, Delays

Cargo companies have complained that a proposal to require advance notification of shipments entering the United States would lead to long delays at U.S. borders and higher costs for consumers, Scripps Howard News Service reported yesterday (see GSN, July 23).

In July, the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Customs and Border Protection Bureau proposed new regulations that would establish timeframes for transmitting advance information on cargo shipments.  Under the proposal, shipments arriving by truck would have to transmit information 30 to 60 minutes before arriving in the United States, those arriving by train would have to transmit information two hours before arrival and those arriving by air would have to do so four hours before arrival.  Air shipments originating in destinations close to the United States would have to transmit information before takeoff.

Customs and Border Protection, which is set to issue final regulations Oct. 1, has received more than 120 comments on the proposal, according to Scripps Howard.  Many of the comments have complained that the bureau has underestimated the costs of the new regulations.  In addition, the American Trucking Association expressed concern that a bureau automated filing system would not be created by next spring as expected (James Brosnan, Scripps Howard News Service, Sept. 1).

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