counterterrorism

Information’s Importance As A National Asset

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In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, our government not only needed to improve its counterterrorism intelligence, but also share information better, faster, and smarter. We found that our national security relies on our ability to share the right information, with the right people, at the right time – and we must “enlist all of our intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security capabilities,” as the National Security Strategy states.
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This article was adopted from a blog post written by Kshemendra Paul, program manager for the Information Sharing Environment program.
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On December 19, the President signed the National Strategy for Information Sharing and Safeguarding (NSISS). This new National Strategy is part of a policy continuum that includes Section 1016 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the 2007 National Strategy for Information Sharing, Executive Orders 13587 and 13388, the ISE Presidential Guidelines, and the National Security Strategy. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 31, 2012 at 11:00 AM

NYPD Teams Up With Microsoft On Counterterrorism Tech Initiative

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New York City has entered into what it’s calling a strategic technology partnership with Microsoft Corp. to aggregate and analyze public safety data in real-time, and provide law enforcement officers with a comprehensive view of emerging terrorist threats and criminal activity.

Announced today by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly during a press briefing inside the Lower Manhattan Security Command Center, the new Domain Awareness System will feed real-time data from the city’s existing infrastructure of security cameras, radiation detectors, license plate readers, and 911 calls onto a dashboard of large screen displays located at the command center. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 8, 2012 at 5:25 PM

Resiliency: The Future of Global Cyber Power

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2011 could very well be called “Year of the Cyber Attack” given the thousands of reported and unreported hacking events. There is no doubt cyber threats facing governments and companies have certainly increased, but they’ve been met by host of powerful new ways to respond to them. Like a sickness to the body, industry and government have been working hard to build immunity with varying degrees of success.

Virtualization and cloud strategies now allow large and small companies to manage their data architecture with a flexibility that was impossible a few years ago. New collaboration software allows them to share documents more reliably on secure storage spaces. Modern data centers allow them to make their data continuously available to those who should have access to it, and invisible to those who don’t. The exponential growth of mobile devices drives an exponential growth in security risks. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 18, 2012 at 11:02 AM

Best Of 2011: Is It Time For the Feds to Rein In the NYPD?

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This is one in a series of articles highlighting Breaking Gov’s best stories of the past year. As we reflected on our 2011 coverage of innovation, technology and management amongst the federal agencies and workforce, this was among the stories that stood out as delivering key insight into the top issues facing today’s government community.

When it comes to proactive law enforcement, intelligence and counterterrorism operations, the New York City Police Department is viewed by many of its counterparts as among the most innovative and successful police departments in the nation’s history. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 30, 2011 at 12:00 PM

A Dashboard For Army Cyber Warriors Of The Future

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Not long ago, I was inspired by this past summer’s LandWarNet Conference to develop what I thought the military knowledgebase dashboard of the future might look like. I had heard our senior military leaders call for the Army cyber warrior of the future to defend our nation against the increasing number of cyber attacks — someone who is a real geek, but also capable of the patriotism and discipline required for military life and a high-level security clearance.

My friend and professional colleague, Arun Majumdar, Cutter Consortium, and a panelist at the recent CyberSecurity Conference, brought this point home. He talked about the notion of need for offensive capabilities and the implications of the Stuxnet worm as a well-known example of how an offensive capability can be used to inflict targeted damage on critical infrastructure. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 30, 2011 at 9:01 AM

Administration Releases Plan For Counter Violent Extremism

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The Obama Administration has now released its Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States. This represents a milestone in our nation’s effort to work together collaboratively to keep our communities safe and secure.
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This article originally appeared as a blog post on the Department of Homeland Security’s website.
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At DHS, our approach to countering violent extremism (CVE) emphasizes the strength of local communities. As part of our CVE efforts, DHS works closely with our international, federal, community, state, local, and tribal partners. You can learn more about our work here. (Also see related counterterrorism stories on Breaking Gov). Keep reading →

 /  Published December 15, 2011 at 8:02 AM

Congress Needs To Get The Facts Straight About Information Sharing

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When the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs gathered last week to hear testimony about the state of information sharing across all levels of government, the committee leaders and even some of the expert witnesses pointed to the killings of Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki as two examples of how information sharing across federal agency boundaries has improved.

Wrong. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 20, 2011 at 3:24 PM

Is It Time For The Feds To Rein In the NYPD?

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When it comes to proactive law enforcement, intelligence and counterterrorism operations, the New York City Police Department – the NYPD – is viewed by many of its counterparts as one of the most innovative and successful police departments in the nation’s history.

However, the NYPD has also gained another, more insidious reputation in recent years for what many regard as an unprecedented challenge to privacy and civil liberties in America and what others regard as overreach internationally. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 13, 2011 at 8:01 AM

GAO Finds DHS Data Mining Systems Need Better Privacy Protections, Oversight

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The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) data mining systems need additional oversight, review and evaluation to protect privacy rights, ensure transparency to the public and enable effective counterterrorism efforts, stated the General Accountability Office (GAO) in a report released last week.

Of six component agency data mining systems evaluated, “none performed all of the key activities associated with an effective evaluation framework…Only one program office performed most of the activities related to obtaining executive review and approval,” said the report. “Until such reforms are in place, DHS and its component agencies may not be able to ensure that critical data mining systems used in support of counterterrorism are both effective and that they protect personal privacy.” Keep reading →

 /  Published October 10, 2011 at 2:01 PM

Ten Years After 9/11: Three Eyewitness Perspectives On DHS’s Creation

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About This Program:
In this mini-documentary exclusive for Breaking Gov, award-winning journalist Dan Verton brings us back to the day that changed the world and traces the evolution of the homeland security mission through the eyes of three men who were present at its creation.

This is the story of the birth and evolution of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as told by the nation’s first secretary of Homeland Security, the deputy for counterterrorism on the National Security Council, and the CIA’s deputy director of intelligence, who would go on to become the first Staff Director for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 7, 2011 at 12:01 PM
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