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"Teen Dead Who Opened Fire on Finnish Classmates, Police Say"
CNN (11/07/07) Eight people were shot and killed Wednesday by an 18-year-old student at Jokela High School in southern Finland, the country's first school shooting since 1989. The shooter killed seven students and the school's headmistress before taking his own life. Police say that the shooter, Pekka Eric Auvinen, had not previously threatened anyone at the school, however the Finnish media reports that Auvinen posted several violent videos on the file-sharing site YouTube, including one the morning of the shooting titled "Jokela High School Massacre - 11/7/2007." Other videos included footage of Auvinen taking target practice with his gun, clips of the Columbine shooting and Waco siege, and video of Nazi-war-criminals. According to police, Auvinen purchased the handgun used in the shootings legally in October 2007, a few months after he turned 18 years old, the nation' age requirement for gun ownership.
(go to web site) "Iraq Plans to Confront Security Firms on Guns"
New York Times (11/08/07) ; Glanz, James A recent initiative by the Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani requiring American security forces to submit to searches by Iraqi forces may agitate tensions between the two peacekeeping groups. U.S. officials in the Green Zone are already reporting instances of Iraqi police officers pulling over vehicles to perform weapons inspections, which Bolani says are to ensure that Americans are following the country's strict weapons restrictions for security agents. The oversight was spurred by the Blackwater incident in September 2007, in which 17 Iraqis were shot and killed by the Western private security firm. Shiite-controlled militias like the Mahdi Army will also be required to register their weapons in a database set up by the Interior Ministry. Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said the Ministry intends to challenge the authority of such sectarian groups, which protect various Baghdad neighborhoods, once the database is completed. Western officials are wary of official government checkpoints, since fake checkpoints are often set up, and other checkpoints frequently are staffed by militia known to participate in sectarian violence. However, Ministry officials say the government will continue to take a strong stand on security, and that options for persecuting Blackwater guards involved in the Sept. 16 shooting are still being explored.
(go to web site) "Union for Security Guards Planning Another Strike"
San Francisco Chronicle (11/09/07) P. D1 ; Raine, George The Service Employees International Union Local 24/7 stated security guards in the San Francisco region could strike as contract negotiations continue to falter. ABM Security Services, AlliedBarton Security Services, Securitas Security Services USA, and Universal Protection Service are those firms caught in the dispute that could affect over 5,000 security guards. The security guards already picketed firms in the financial district in September. The security guards are seeking wage and benefit increase to put them on par with their office building colleagues--janitors, window cleaners, operating engineers, and parking attendants. The previous contract, which expired in June, set wages in San Francisco at a little more than $11 per hour and wages in the East Bay at $9.55 per hour. Employers already offered security guards a 20 percent pay increase over the next five years, plus improvements in healthcare and pension benefits. Negotiations fell apart when employers were unable to specify the sum Kaiser Permanente would charge employers for healthcare under the new plans.
(go to web site) "Bomb Mystery At Palo Verde"
Arizona Republic (11/03/07) P. 1 ; Randazzo, Ryan; Denny, Allison Investigators continue to work to solve the mystery of how a pipe bomb made its way onto the pickup truck headed to Arizona Public Service's (APS) Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station on Friday. Security officials spotted the bomb on the pickup truck bed of contract worker Roger W. Hurd, which resulted in an immediate lockdown of the station and left thousands of employees there for almost seven hours. APS Chief Nuclear Officer Randy Edington said the device, which measured about 5 inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter, would have "done some damage in about a 20-foot radius to people and equipment." Hurd maintains that he was unaware of the pipe bomb and does not know how it got on his truck bed. Maricopa County sheriff's deputies have found nothing over the course of the investigation to contradict Hurd's claim. "We feel the person driving the truck, according to him and the investigation so far, didn't have anything to do with it," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
(go to web site) "No Lights, No Camera, Just Action"
Security Management (11/07) Vol. 51, No. 11, P. 55 ; Phelps, E. Floyd Most companies have emergency response and disaster management plans, however many of them are put away until either someone asks about it or it is actually needed. However, effective emergency plans should be updated and practiced in some form at least once every three months. Although training and testing do not have to take long, there are several different areas of emergency response that must be addressed, including internal and external communications, safety, coordination, and legal concerns. After determining what needs to be tested, a security manager can either develop their own test or hire an outside consultant to do so. While hiring an outside party is easier, developing an internal test is less costly. Managers should form a planning committee consisting of representatives from different departments, who will help determine the format and size of the exercise. At the beginning, companies may want to first plan small exercises that introduce employees to the training in a low-stress environment where the manager makes a presentation and possibly asks the audience questions. Later, companies can move onto full-scale tests that include more people and planning. The planning of full-scale exercises can be made easier by partnering with organizations, such as the state Homeland Security Department or the Red Cross, who can offer valuable advice.
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"Suicide Attack Strikes Once Peaceful Northern Afghanistan"
Christian Science Monitor (11/07/07) ; Boone, Jon Security officials are puzzling over the Nov. 6, 2007, suicide bombing attack in northern Afghanistan that injured or killed up to 100 people, including five members of Parliament. The incident has been described by observers as the most serious attack in the country since the Taliban's fall in 2001. Several of the targeted Parliamentarians were former members of the Taliban opposition group Northern Alliance and were potential Taliban targets, including Sayed Mustafa Kazimi, a spokesman for the United National Front and former commerce minister for Afghanistan. An official from the U.S. military says the recent attack mirrors other Taliban attacks, but Western observers in Afghanistan doubt the Taliban's involvement, since the insurgent group has tended to target certain individuals or groups, not innocent civilians. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahed denies the group's involvement, but security officials in the region fear that the attack's unlikely location, in the usually peaceful northern region of Afghanistan, reflects terrorists' growing defiance of the Afghan government and other military forces.
(go to web site) "Yemeni Court Convicts 32 al-Qaeda Suspects"
USA Today (11/07/07) Thirty-two al-Qaeda suspects in a Yemeni court were given prison sentences of up to 15 years for planning suicide attacks on oil and gas hubs in the regions of Marib and Hadaramout. Of the 36 Yemenis in custody, four were acquitted, and the remaining 32 were convicted of "forming an armed gang aimed at carrying out sabotage attacks" in September 2006. Six co-conspirators, reputed to be the ringleaders, are still wanted by authorities and were tried in absentia, each receiving between 10 and 15 years in prison. One of the primary suspects, Abu Bakr al-Rubaei, told authorities that he and the rest of the group intended to focus their terrorist attacks on Western interests and the homes of diplomats. Though Yemen has participated in the U.S.-directed war on terrorism since 9/11, diplomats have questioned the country's ability to control tribal regions.
(go to web site) "Italian Police Arrest 20 Across Europe in Suspected Suicide Bomb Plots in Iraq, Afghanistan"
Seattle Times (11/06/07) ; Barry, Colleen Italian police publicized the arrests of 20 suspected terrorists with ties to an Islamic cell that recruits and trains suicide bombers for attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq. Italian police apprehended 11 suspects in northern Italy, while nine others were arrested in France, Britain and Portugal. Most of the suspects are Tunisians. Several of those apprehended were in possession of al-Qaida training manuals for crafting explosives and poisons. Before the Europe-wide sweep, Italian investigators had intercepted phone calls from some of the suspects, who discussed sending suicide bombers to Iraq. The phone calls also included directions for the jihadist fighters to shave off their beards prior to traveling. Police also suspect the Milan-based cell of aiding the escape of a Tunisian who planned a failed attack in Italy in 2006. The suspects have been charged for crimes ranging from falsifying documents to association with a terrorist organization.
(go to web site) "US Arrests 23 Illegal Immigrant Workers At Chicago's O'Hare"
Dow Jones Newswires (11/07/07) Twenty-three illegal immigrants have been arrested and charged with employing false security badges to work in crucial sections of Chicago O'Hare International. The individuals were employed by Ideal Staffing Solutions Inc., whose office manager and corporate secretary were arrested as well. The firm contracted work for carriers, including United Airlines, KLM, and Qantas. A large part of the investigation focused on the airport security badges provided by Chicago Department of Aviation, with agents discovering that 110 of the 134 badges dispensed to Ideal Staffing employees did not match the people who possessed them.
(go to web site) "At Least 4,000 Suspected of Terrorism-Related Activity in Britain, MI5 Director Says"
Washington Post (11/06/07) ; Sullivan, Kevin Around 2,000 terrorism suspects are being monitored by British authorities, and an equal number of individuals are suspected of also being involved in insurgent or malicious activity, according to remarks from MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans in a rare public address. Britain's Security Service has recorded a rise in the number of terrorism-related arrests, including foiled plots to bomb international jets and detonate car bombs in public places, but attributes this growth in part to heightened security efforts. Evans and Prime Minister Gordon Brown both underscore the threat of Islamic terrorist activity in the country, and Evans has named al-Qaeda as one group with a "clear determination to mount terrorist attacks against the United Kingdom." The MI5 head says while the attacks are mainly carried out by Britons, citizens are being influenced and trained by militant groups in Pakistan and Somalia. Evans adds, however, that non-extremist agents from Russia and China also pose a threat to the country by attempting to steal civilian and military technology, and by placing undercover operatives within Britain.
(go to web site) "Student Arrested in Bomb Threats"
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (GA) (11/06/07) ; Franklin, Harry The man suspected of making five false bomb threats to Columbus State University was recently arrested by police, who also charged the man with one count each of carrying a weapon to school, possession of a firearm in commission of a crime, and obstruction of a police officer. University police were able to locate the caller after another bomb threat was called in on Nov. 5, 2007 and, in an undercover operation, authorities arrested Lawrence E. Price, a 45 year-old biology student at the university. Authorities seized several guns and rifles from Price's vehicle but found no evidence of explosives in his car or on school property. Two previous bomb threats in the past two weeks had prompted the campus police to contact the Columbus Police Department, the Muscogee County Sheriff's Office, the county's bomb squad, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for assistance with the covert operation.
(go to web site) "TSA Tips Off Its Own Tests"
Associated Press (11/04/07) ; Sullivan, Eileen In April 2006, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official alerted airport security staff of an upcoming secret test of the effectiveness of airport screeners. The TSA routinely sends undercover agents into airports to determine if the security is effective enough to prevent terrorists from sneaking a potential hazard onto a plane. However, on Apr. 28, 2006, Mike Restovich of the TSA's Office of Security Operations sent an email to airport staff warning them of a test that was going to be run. The message included descriptions of the undercover agents and instructed officials to make sure their staff scrutinized the date on the boarding pass, which the operatives had altered. TSA officials have opened an investigation of the incident, which has elicited complaints from legislators. "Any effort to undermine the integrity of covert testing of TSA's screening checkpoints is unacceptable," says U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.)
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"Al Qaeda Hacker Attack Scheduled to Begin November 11th"
InformationWeek (11/01/07) ; Claburn, Thomas DEBKAfile, an Israeli news site, asserts that Western, Israeli, Jewish, Shiite, and Muslim apostate Web sites will be attacked by al Qaeda hackers beginning on Nov. 11. DEBKAfile claims that Bin Laden's "cyber legions" are getting even with Western surveillance systems that have persistently and effectively suppressed Al Qaeda's Web presence. The Department of Homeland Security emphasizes that DEBKAfile's report does not represent an official U.S. alert, though the agency intends to seriously investigate the threat, as it does all threats. Although Forbes and Wired News have praised DEBKAfile for its journalism in the past, others debate the trustworthiness of the source. Nonetheless, software called Electronic Jihad 2.0 is obtainable online, and the most recent version of the software facilitates a distributed denial of service attack. Though the idea of Al Qaeda being involved in a cyberattack is worrisome, the menace is no more perilous than everyday security risks facing Internet users, says Marc Zwillinger, a former cybercrime prosecutor with the Department of Justice. In addition, modern networks are better equipped to handle denial of service attacks than networks from several years ago, he says.
(go to web site) "'Suicide Nodes' Defend Networks From Within"
New Scientist (11/01/07) ; Marks, Paul University of Cambridge researchers have developed a computer defense system that mimics how bees sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the hive. The approach starts by giving all the devices on a network, or nodes, the ability to destroy themselves, and take down any nearby malevolent devices with them. The self-sacrifice provision provides a defense against malicious nodes attacking clean nodes. "Bee stingers are a relatively strong defense mechanism for protecting a hive, but whenever the bee stings, it dies," says University of Cambridge security engineer Tyler Moore. "Our suicide mechanism is similar in that it enables simple devices to protect a network by removing malicious devices--but at the cost of its own participation." The technique, called "suicide revocation," allows a single node to quickly decide if a nearby node's behavior is malevolent and to shut down the bad node, but at the cost of deactivating itself. The node also sends an encrypted message announcing that itself and the malevolent node have been shut down. The purpose of the suicide system is to protect networks as they become increasingly distributed and less centralized. Similar systems allow nodes to "blackball" malicious nodes by taking a collective vote before ostracizing the malicious node, but the process is slow and malicious nodes can outvote legitimate nodes. "Nodes must remove themselves in addition to cheating ones to make punishment expensive," says Moore. "Otherwise, bad nodes could remove many good nodes by falsely accusing them of misbehavior."
(go to web site) "The Air Force's Cyber-Corps"
National Journal (10/27/07) Vol. 39, No. 43, P. 56 ; Munro, Neil U.S. officials say that in recent months foreign government-backed hackers have stepped up their attempts to infiltrate or hurt American and other allied information networks. Responses to the many intrusions against some of the 650,000 computers involved in U.S. Air Force operations are handled by the Network Warfare and Ops Squadron, which uses an arsenal of software to counter each attack, no matter how seemingly trivial. Most of the members of this squadron are private contractors, and a new corps of cyber-warriors must be trained to take up the slack. This is the objective of the Air Force Cyberspace Command, which will be organized under the leadership of Maj. Gen. William Lord. He says the new command must also be prepared to take the cyber-battle to the enemy by infiltrating or crippling enemy networks, should it receive a presidential directive to do so. The command headquarters will likely be comprised of several hundred personnel managing perhaps 20,000 Air Force staffers, which will include lawyers, software specialists, behavioral scientists, and electronic-warfare and satellite experts, Lord says. The unit will provide prowess to the Pentagon's combat commands rather than guide combat operations. The command will also benefit the Air Force by enabling it to better compete with the other armed services for funding and prominent roles in future cyber-warfare commands, says FTI managing director Mark Rasch.
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