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Terrorism Hobbles Business Investment in North, East Africa
Homeland Security News Wire (10/02/13)
Terrorist attacks in Africa have significantly jeopardized investment in its Northern and Eastern regions, particularly from luxury retailers, global investment experts say. Investors may be right to be concerned, especially after the terrorist group al-Shabaab targeted Westgate mall in Nairobi, with the group's leader saying it was attacked specifically "because it it brings in a lot of money and is in the center of the city.” Countries being heavily hit by al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups, including Morocco, Kenya, and Egypt, have dropped in the rankings on A.T. Kearney's global retail development index in recent years. "With Africa’s growth, the important thing holding back global organized retail will be political and business risk,” explained A. T. Kearney senior partner Mike Moriarty. He added that, "The shootings in Nairobi certainly do not diminish the concern of luxury brands and global mass retailers making the significant human and asset investment requirement to be a successful retailer.”
Concerned Employees Can Help Prevent Workplace Violence
Ventura County Star (CA) (10/02/13) Howry, Andrea
One of the best ways to prevent workplace violence is to encourage employees to speak up if they have concerns about a coworker's mental state, according to the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). NCIS has been encouraging employee involvement in violence prevention, but its message has gained new attention since the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. NCIS members at another Navy facility, Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC), report that violent incidents have already been prevented there partly because concerned employees have taken the time to make reports about troubling behavior on the part of their colleagues. “We hope that trend continues,” said Supervisory Special Agent Matthew Clement of NCIS at its NBVC office. Specific NCIS recommendations include asking employees to be on the lookout for major or minor events that might trigger workplace stress or anxiety. Potential offenders may blame others for the situation and may seek recourse through official avenues and fail. Early warning signs that an individual may then resort to violence include obsessive behaviors or speech, particularly in regards to perceived threats, rejection, or abandonment. They may also exhibit poor coping skills and have little social support in or out of the office. Clement stresses that not all employees with these signs are potentially violent, but it is always important to get them the help they need.
Looting Alleged at Ill-Fated Shopping Mall
Wall Street Journal (10/01/13) McGroarty, Patrick
Some business owners at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, suspect that their merchandise was looted by the security forces who were pursuing Islamic militants during the recent four-day standoff at the mall. Dalmas Otieno, an opposition member of the Kenyan Parliament who toured the wreckage of the mall, said that "all the shops were smashed" and that Parliament would be investigating the looting allegations. Likewise, Atul Shah, the managing director of a retailer which had a store inside the mall, noted that evidence of looting was "clearly visible." According to Kenyan officials, the attack ended when five militants were crushed by the rubble of several collapsing floors. While authorities say they have nine suspects in custody, no information about the rescue operation or the alleged attackers' identities have been released, as officials say doing so would compromise the investigation. Officials said that explosives may have been set off by the militants, resulting in the collapse of part of the mall, though it is not clear if rocket-propelled grenades used by the Kenyan army during the rescue mission contributed to the collapse. One of the other lawmakers who toured the mall, Grace Kiptui, said that more needed to be done by the Kenyan government to prevent such attacks from happening, such as increasing the number of police and soldiers on Kenyan streets.
Armed Men Shut Down Libya Gas Facility in Berber Region
BBC News (09/30/13)
A gas facility near the town of Nalut, Libya, has been shut down by armed men. The region where the gas facility is located is mainly inhabited by members of Libya's Berber minority, who are concerned that the process of drawing up Libya's new constitution will leave them marginalized as an ethnic group. As yet, the assembly which will draft Libya's new constitution has not been formed. The group that shut down the facility is made up of protestors who are, according to Salah Ghardaa, the head of Nalut's local council, "fed up with the Libyan Congress' inaction." Many in the region have demanded, among other things, that the native language of the Berbers be recognized in the future constitution. This attack is just one of the latest instances where oil and gas facilities in different parts of the country have been blockaded by various groups since July. Striking workers and guards motivated by a number of grievances, including allegations of corruption and disputes over salaries, are behind many of the blockades.
NFC Access Control: Cool and Coming, But Not Close
Security Director News (09/26/13) Chutchian, Kenneth
Smartphones equipped with Near Field Communications (NFC) capabilities could be a useful tool for businesses looking to improve access control, security experts say. However, there are a few changes that need to be made before NFC-enabled phones can be used to control access to a facility. Dave Holmes, the vice president of mobility and NFC solutions at the California-based secure identification supplier Identive Group, says his company has begun offering more NFC products as well as radio frequency identification and cloud-based identification. Despite Identive's optimism, skeptics say that mobile phone manufacturers, network providers, operations systems managers, and service managers will all need to work together before NFC can become a reality for access control. Experts say that questions those stakeholders need to answer include who has access to the secure elements of an NFC device, who is trusted with the "keys," and who loads them.
Driver Killed After Car Chase from White House to Capitol
Washington Post (10/04/13) Hermann, Peter; O'Keefe, Ed; Fahrenthold, David A.; et al.
The U.S. Capitol was put on lockdown Thursday afternoon after a driver attempted to breach security there and near the White House. The incident began after 2 p.m., when a woman identified as Miriam Carey attempted to turn into a blocked entryway near the White House. Secret Service officers yelled at Carey to try to get her to stop, and also attempted to place a moveable barrier in front of her car. Carey ultimately hit the barrier and a Secret Service officer before speeding off in the direction of the Capitol. Police were able to stop Carey at a small traffic circle near the Capitol, though she once again sped off. One eyewitness said that police fired between six to eight shots after Carey sped off a second time. Carey's car ultimately got stuck on a median near the Capitol after she attempted to make a U-turn. Another eyewitness said that officers five to six additional shots while the car was stuck on the median. Carey, who police said was not armed, was killed. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said that authorities do not know why Carey attempted to breach security at the White House and the Capitol, though she did say that it did not appear to be an accident. Police have also said that there is no indication that Carey was part of a larger threat.
Intelligence Chiefs: Shutdown Threatening National Security
Wall Street Journal (10/02/13) Gorman, Siobhan
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified at a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that the federal government shutdown is compromising national security. Clapper warned that the shutdown "seriously damages" the intelligence community's ability to protect the nation and its citizens as well as its ability to support the military, to support diplomacy and to support our policymakers. He added that the danger would grow over time, with the risks increasing each day that the shutdown continues. Beyond that, Clapper noted that the combination of unpaid leave from the budget sequester earlier this year and the shutdown could place many intelligence workers in a financial bind, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by foreign intelligence services. More than 70 percent of civilian employees of U.S. intelligence agencies have been furloughed under federal guidelines. He said that counseling services would be set up to help government intelligence employees manage their finances. Clapper commented that he agreed with lawmakers that broadening exemptions from the shutdown to include intelligence personnel would be wise. Lawmakers from both parties at the hearing jumped on the issue, saying the national security implications of the shutdown underscore the need to bring an end to the impasse.
Finding a New Head of Homeland Security is Proving to Be More a Real Challenge
Washington Post (10/01/13) Kamen, Al
So far no replacement has been found for former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and no new nomination for the post is imminent. There is speculation that the two top White House picks for the position turned down the job. It has been a challenge to find the right candidate, as those monitoring the search say the White House would like to have a minority or a women fill the position, to boost the cabinet's diversity. In addition, since Janet Napolitano left, Rand Beers has been the acting secretary and Rafael Borras the acting deputy secretary, leaving the top two posts in the department filled by individuals who have not been confirmed by Congress. The challenge of filling the positions has been made more difficult with the trouble that Alejandro Mayorkas, the White House's pick to be deputy secretary, has run into on Capitol Hill. Senators have expressed concern about an inspector general's investigation of Mayorkas' actions as commissioner of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and his nomination to the position seems to have stalled as a result. Though a bipartisan group of former security officials has written a letter praising Mayorkas, but its not clear if that letter will convince lawmakers to support his nomination.
Qaeda Plot Leak Has Undermined U.S. Intelligence
New York Times (09/30/13) Schmitt, Eric; Schmidt, Michael S.
Counterterrorism analysts have detected a significant decline in the use of a major communications channel by al-Qaida terrorists following reports last month that the U.S. had intercepted messages between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula head Nasser al-Wuhayshi. Officials are working to find new ways to monitor the conversations and electronic messages of al-Qaida terrorists, but have found that the leak has caused more immediate damage to American counterterrorism efforts than the documents disclosed by Edward Snowden. Senior officials noted that while Snowden's disclosures have had a broader impact, and have damaged some diplomatic ties, they did not result in terrorists moving away from electronic communications. In contrast, "there has been a real decrease in quality" of communications that have been intercepted, said one U.S. official, since the communications intercepts were revealed in early August. There is some concern that the level of intercepted communications will continue to drop as terrorists find new ways to communicate. Terrorists have been encouraged to avoid using Skype and to instead use specific online programs like Mujahedeen Secrets 2 or more recently released software from the Global Islamic Media Front, the propaganda arm of al-Qaida and other Islamic terrorist groups.
Before Kenya Attack, a Warning on Terrorism
Wall Street Journal (09/30/13) Vogt, Heidi; McGroarty, Patrick
The Kenyan government apparently received intelligence reports warning of threats to the Westgate mall in Nairobi a year before it was attacked by al-Shabaab militants last week. A September 21, 2012 briefing stated that, "Suspected al-Shabaab operatives are in Nairobi and are planning to mount suicide attacks on undisclosed date, targeting Westgate mall." No evidence for the suspicions was given. Another threat assessment was also issued in February that indicated al-Shabaab might be planning to mount attacks similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Other warning signs were missed within the mall itself, with Kenyan officials discovering that a vehicle filled with explosives had been parked in the mall basement for over a month before the attack. Tony Sahni, who oversaw private security at the Westgate mall for the security company Securex, also explained that some of the ammunition stocked by the attackers likely came through tenants' elevators, which are not checked by the guards. The mall had about 40 unarmed guards stationed at entrances and indoor common areas.
Adobe Admits 2.9M Customer Accounts Have Been Compromised
ZDNet (10/03/13) King, Rachel
Adobe announced Oct. 3 that it has been the target of a major security breach in which the sensitive and personal data about approximately 2.9 million of its customers was put at risk. According to Brad Arkin, the senior director of security for Adobe products and services, consumer information including customer IDs and encrypted passwords was accessed. Source codes for Adobe products such as Adobe Acrobat, ColdFusion, and the ColdFusion Builder were accessed as well, Arkin said. He noted that as far as the source code is concerned, there is no "increased risk to customers as a result of this incident." In addition, Arkin noted that while sensitive information was removed, investigators do not "believe the attackers stole decrypted credit or debit card numbers" from Adobe's systems. Adobe will be resetting the passwords on all breached Adobe customer accounts, and will send e-mails to all affected users. Those customers whose credit or debit card information was exposed will also be notified, and the company has promised to offer these customers the option of enrolling in a one-year complimentary credit monitoring membership where available.
How Vigilance Saved a Startup From a Sophisticated Robbery
ZDNet (10/02/13) Lee, Michael
The steps that an online casino took to respond to a recent cyberattack are instructive for other companies seeking to better protect their intellectual property, personal information, or other sensitive data. IT personnel at Bitcoin Video Poker noticed that there was a problem when the site's server was recently knocked offline for several hours before restarting. The company's administrators subsequently examined the running processes on the server and determined that the outage was not the result of a network issue but rather a cyberattack that seemed to target the Bitcoin wallet that the site uses to store funds. Observers say that the company's high level of vigilance in examining its server logs was one factor in preventing the attack from succeeding. Another security measure that prevented the attack from succeeding, observers say, is Bitcoin Video Poker's use of encrypted partitions. The bitcoin wallet information was contained in one of these partitions, which did not automatically mount after the attackers broke in and rebooted the server. Because the partition did not automatically mount after the server was rebooted, and because the attackers were unable to obtain the key to remount the partition, the attack was unsuccessful in stealing funds from Bitcoin Video Poker's Bitcoin wallet.
Shutdown Could Test IT Security at Federal Agencies
Computerworld (10/01/13) Vijayan, Jaikumar
If the government shutdown lasts more than a few days, it could test the ability of federal agencies to protect their information systems against security threats. Over the past few days, several agencies have released contingency plans showing that they will have to heavily scale down their IT teams to maintain, manage, and protect IT infrastructure during the shutdown. "I believe that most CIOs will have their security and network analysts deemed 'essential,' and they will be on a heightened [state] of awareness," says former federal CIO Karen Evans. The contingency plans that federal agencies have set up should be adequate for a few days but not for an extended period of time, according to Purdue University's Eugene Spafford.
Hackers-for-Hire Group Targeting Government Assets, Report Says
Government Computer News (09/30/13) Jackson, William
Symantec's recent analysis of attacks against high-value targets, including government agencies and contractors, has revealed a large and sophisticated organization of professional hackers for hire. The China-based Hidden Lynx group is at least four years old and has been involved in several high-profile campaigns, including Operation Aurora, which attacked numerous high-tech companies and government contractors. Symantec researchers say although many of the breaches have been reported, a single professional organization has not been documented as being highly involved with all of them. The Hidden Lynx organization is comprised of 50 to 100 individuals, divided between two operational teams using various Trojans. One team uses Backdoor.Moudoor, the other Trojan Naid, according to a Symantec white paper. Researchers believe that a specialized organization is likely behind the attacks due to the variety of types of information apparently targeted.
U.S. Says Iran Hacked Navy Computers
Wall Street Journal (09/28/13) Barnes, Julian E.; Gorman, Siobhan
U.S. officials report that hackers working for the Iranian government gained access to unclassified computers used by the Navy. The most recent of these intrusions occurred on Sept. 15, right before the Navy upgraded its cybersecurity. Iranian hackers previously targeted U.S. banks and energy companies, but this is one of the first attacks on the U.S. military. The Navy says the computers in question are used for e-mail and for its intranet. No valuable data is believed to have been accessed or stolen. However, officials say that the attacks show Iran poses as serious threat to U.S. cybersecurity. Officials speculate that Iran's growing capabilities are due to connections with Russian cybercriminals, potentially with the blessing of the Russian government. Iran, while not commenting on the attacks, points out that a computer virus developed by the U.S. and Israel called Stuxnet was used to sabotage its nuclear program. How President Obama will choose to respond to these latest intrusions remains unclear, but sources say he is waiting to see how renewed negotiations over Iran's nuclear program proceed.
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