Infrastructure protection

Topoff 4 Exercise underway
DHS-coordinated excercise involves 22,000 participants in Guam, Oregon, and Arizona from all levels of government, nationally and internationally, as well as the private sector in a full-scale simulated response to radiological dispersal device
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Michigan neighborhood, schools evacuated in wake of chmeical spill
About 500 gallons of hydrochloric acid leaked into a containment area at a metal finishing services plant; 3,000 residents, two schools, trailer park evacuated; rain could complicate clean-up efforts
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U.S. worried about proposed Yemen-Djibouti bridge
An engineering company owned by Osama bin-Laden’s half-brother announced it was planning to build the world’s longest bridge: A 17-mile span connecting Yemen and Djibouti; U.S. worries it will faciliate terrorist activity in the Horn of Africa
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SCADA protection should remain in private hands
Critics say that DHS’s plan to join with NSA to take the lead in protecting SCADA not only raises privacy concerns, but would be ineffective
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DHS bulletin delivery mishap causes consternation
A DHS contractor pushes “Reply All” button and flood government and business mail servers with more than two million messages; personal information compromised
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Australia launches ambitious critical infrastructure protection plan
The Australian government joins with industry to launch a comprehensive program to improve national responsiveness to major critical infrastructure disruption
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Rio Grande levees offered as alternative to border fence
Rebuilding the Rio Grande levee system would cost about $200 million; building a 700-mile fence on parts of the U.S.-Mexico border would cost from $3 billion to $30 billion; Texans say restoring the levees would be more effective, too
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U.S. government to scrutinize 3Com deal
Bain Capital and Chinese company Huawei Technologies are set to acquire 3Com for $2.2 billion; Huawei is close to the Chinese government, and Chinese military hackers broke into Pentagon computers this summer; mitigation clauses may be imposed
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Bain's 3Com deal: More questions than answers
Bain is paying a premium for 3Com, hoping that its Chinese acquisition partner would help the 3Com make money in the Chinese market; here we hope that Huaweis’ 20% stake would give it enough of an incentive to help Bain do so — provided the U.S. government approves the deal
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Cyber attack exercise reveals power-grid vulnerability
A staged cyber attack on a power plant causes generator to self-destruct; experts fear that bigger, coordinated attacks could inflict widespread damage to U.S. electric infrastructure which may take months to fix; economic price tag price tag may reach $700 billion
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Climate change burdens insurance industry
Climate changes cause ever-more-severe fires, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters; these disasters accounted for 88 percent of all property losses paid by insurers from 1980 through 2005; it is only going to get worse, and insurance companies had better prepare
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Barrier offers protection against maritime attacks
California company develops sturdy protective barrier to protect navy ships and critical infrastructure assets such as liquid natural gas facilities, bridges, water intakes for desalinization plants, and more
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Shadowy Marxist groups poses threat to Mexican economy, state
The EPR has committed at least eighty-eight kidnappings in Mexico since 1999, collecting millions of dollars in ransom; the group is now using these funds in a terror campaign aimed to undermine the Mexcian economy and state
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October is national cybersecurity month
A consortium of government agencies and private industry sponsors have designated October 2007 as National Cyber Security Awareness Month
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Militants again threaten Nigeria's oil industry
Niger delta militants call off four-month cease fire after one of their leaders is arrested; bombings of oil facilities and abductions of foreigner workers have cut Nigeria’s oil production by 25 percent compared to two years ago
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