Recently in POLICY Category

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to hold public meetings in Washington D.C. in January and February 2009 to solicit feedback on a voluntary preparedness program for the private sector.

The department is setting up a voluntary private sector preparedness accreditation and certification program known as "PS-Prep," DHS announced in a Dec. 24, 2008 notice in the Federal Register.

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Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program Resource Center

The December 31, 2008 issue of Time.com has an interesting article on the application of the military for disaster response in the U.S.  Current plans are that by 2011 the Department of Defense will have 20,000 uniformed troops expressly trained to assist in national disaster rapid response. READ MORE

OPINION:  This is a very complex and important issue and concerns much more than the application of military personnel.  For example, the implementation of the DHS National Applications Office continues to be stalled because of Congressional concerns over privacy and civil liberties.  Although recent changes in policy are primarily the result of the events of September 11, 2001 and the failures during the Hurricane Katrina response the issues involved date back to the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old law that specifically bars the President from using the U.S. military for law enforcement in the United States.  It is interesting to note that some of these technology policy issues were addressed over ten years ago in the Disaster Information Task Force report whose recommendations included the "Formulation of a policy environment that fosters interagency cooperation through integrated strategic planning and coordination of disaster information budget initiatives and promotes public/private partnerships. Develop a sustainable plan for timely access to classified data and derived products."

The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Update is a stand-alone document that provides a brief overview of the most significant and relevant issues or changes to the NIPP since its release in June 2006. Because significant program changes were identified in late 2007 and realized in early 2008, a separate 2007 Update was not released. This document presents both 2007 and 2008 updates to the NIPP. DOWNLOAD

DHS & FEMA have also released a revised National Incident Management System (NIMS) - the national standard for incident management.  NIMS establishes standardized incident management processes, protocols, and procedures that all federal, state, tribal and local responders will use to coordinate and conduct response actions. 

The revisions expand on the original version released in March 2004 by clarifying existing NIMS concepts, better incorporating preparedness and planning and improving the overall readability of the document. The revised document also differentiates between the purposes of NIMS and the National Response Framework (NRF) by identifying how NIMS provides the action template for the management of incidents, while the NRF provides the policy structure and mechanisms for national-level policy for incident management.  DOWNLOAD

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Princeton, NJ, and its Cyber Security Standard Drafting Team, have announced the release of phase one of proposed revisions to eight Critical Infrastructure Protection reliability standards for industry comment and review.

NERC PRESS RELEASE

PROPOSED STANDARDS

The Internet Security Alliance (ISAlliance) is proposing a new model for protecting and defending critical technology systems and information. "The Cyber Security Social Contract." policy recommendations are intended for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress.

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) have issued the Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism 2008 report.

This report, the sixth annual edition, finds that on some levels, significant progress has been made in the nation's preparedness. However, this year, TFAH found that cuts in federal funding for state and local preparedness since 2005, coupled with the cuts states are making to their budgets in response to the economic crisis, put that progress at risk.  READ MORE

DHS is required by the Congress in Section 804 of the 9/11 Commission Act, entitled the Federal Agency Data Mining Reporting Act, to summarize related activities and principles for implementing privacy protections in research projects conducted by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the Department's primary research and development arm.

The 2008 Report to Congress - Data Mining: Technology and Policy from the DHS Privacy Office is now available. DOWNLOAD REPORT

In prepared remarks for the 115th International Association of Chiefs of Police conference , FBI Director, Robert S. Mueller III, highlighted the need for all levels of government to share intelligence to accomplish their law enforcement and counterterrorism missions. READ MORE

Copy of Director Mueller's speech from FBI web site ...

The Government Accountability Office has found that the Homeland Security Department has not fully dealt with all the legal, privacy and civil liberties issues associated with its program to create a clearinghouse for civilian agencies to get intelligence satellite imagery. READ MORE

GAO Report