ARTICLE

February 2004

Security Beat

by Geoff S. Fein

Federal Government Gets ‘D’ in Cyber Security
The House Government Reform Committee gave the federal government a “D” for its efforts to implement cyber security measures. Although the members issued a grade of “barely passing,” it was an improvement from last year’s failing grade.

Of the 24 agencies examined in 2003, 14 received grades below a “C,” while eight others, including the Department of Homeland Security, failed. The Social Security Administration and the Department of Labor received a “B+” and “B” respectively; the National Science Foundation received an “A-” and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission earned an “A,” according to Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., chairman of the committee.

Besides the DHS, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Interior, State, Justice, Energy, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development also received a failing grade.

For the Agriculture, Interior and Justice Departments, this marks the third year in a row they have received a failing grade in computer security.

NASA and the Office of Personnel Management both received a “D-.” The Defense Department, the General Services Administration and the Treasury Dept. all received “Ds.” The Dept. of Transportation received a “D+.”

This is the fourth year that the Committee has graded the government on its cyber security initiatives. In 2001, 15 agencies received failing grades. Last year, 13 failed. No agencies received an “A” in either 2001 or 2002.

This year, only five agencies completed reliable inventories of their information technology assets, leaving 19 without such data, said Putnam.

Agencies that received better grades identified critical infrastructure and mission critical systems. They also had a strong incident-identification and reporting procedures, tight controls over contractors, and strong plans of actions and milestones that served as guides for finding and eliminating security weaknesses, said Putnam.

Putnam expects to hold a hearing on the federal government’s response to cyber security after the Office of Management and Budget releases its own report next month.

DHS Awards Multiple Security Contracts
The Department of Homeland Security announced $179 million in awards for increased port security. The money will go to pay for security planning and projects to improve dockside and perimeter security. Included are 442 projects in 326 locations around the country. Among them will be new harbor patrol boats, surveillance equipment, and command and control facilities.

On December 16, the department’s Transportation Security Administration awarded $7.8 million for airport terminal security enhancements. The awards were given to T.F. Green State Airport, in Rhode Island; Newark International Airport, N.J.; Helena Regional Airport, Mont.; Boston Logan International Airport, Mass.; Pittsburgh International Airport, Pa.; Chicago Midway Airport, Ill.; Denver International Airport, Colo., and Key West International Airport, Fla.

The grants will pay for recent technologies, such as video surveillance for detection of intruders and deployable gates to prevent rogue passengers from getting on aircraft, according to David M. Stone, acting TSA administrator.

On December 18, the department’s Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency gave $173.5 million in grants to state and local governments to enhance preparedness and emergency planning. These awards are part of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Management Performance Grants program. “We’re engaged in a full-scale effort with our state and local partners to address their needs and provide the appropriate funds for preparedness, response, recovery and risk reduction for all hazards,” said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

Companies Selected for Air Defense Program
Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and United Airlines were awarded $2 million each to develop a countermeasure system to defend commercial aircraft against man portable air defense systems (MANPADS).

The first phase of the two-year Department of Homeland Security program requires each company to create a plan adapting military technologies for use on commercial aircraft.

Jack Pledger, director of infrared countermeasure systems business development at Northrop Grumman, said the company began installing a laser-based defensive system on C-17s in May 2003.

“We can take the same concept and adapt it to commercial aircraft,” he said. “It’s ready for transition.”

BAE Systems also has installed infrared countermeasure systems on military and private jets worldwide.

The challenge is to transition to civilian aircraft, said Burt Keirstead, manager for Counter-MANPADS. “We know how to defeat missiles,” he said. “We need to look at ways to improve reliability.”

BAE Systems is partnering with Honeywell and Delta Airlines.

The Transportation Security Administration conducted a vulnerability assessment of major airports in the United States. Although no specific threat against any U.S. airlines exists, DHS wants to help decrease the likelihood of an attack, said Asa Hutchinson, DHS undersecretary for border and transportation security.

Besides providing a design, the three companies will have to address economic, manufacturing and maintenance issues to support a commercial system.

“This will assist us to determine if one or more capabilities are able to thwart MANPADS,” said Charles McQueary, DHS undersecretary for science and technology.

One of the issues to be studied in Phase I is whether countermeasures can be deployed in civilian areas, he added.

According to Penrose Albright, assistant secretary of homeland security, flare based countermeasures, at low altitudes, can cause fires on the ground level. Laser systems also pose problems, he added.

After six months, DHS will select one or two teams to build a prototype under Phase II. The prototype will be installed on a commercial passenger jet, undergo flight testing and receive Federal Aviation Administration certification, said Pledger.

The DHS Counter-MANPADS program received $2 million in fiscal year 2003, $60 million in fiscal year 2004 and will request an additional $60 million in fiscal year 2005.

Efforts Needed to Stop Terrorist Funding
A Council on Foreign Relations task force is recommending that the White House establish a special assistant to the president, as well as lead efforts to create an international organization, to combat terrorist financing.

The measures were among several that are needed to halt donations made to charities that support terrorists as well as money laundering, and trade in precious gems and metals that hide the transfer of funds, the task force said.

Additionally, the group is calling for the implementation of background investigations on institutions, corporations and non-governmental organizations that receive U.S. government grants, to ensure that those funds are not diverted to groups that have ties to terrorists.

“Fundamentally, U.S. efforts to curtail the financing of terrorism are impeded not only by a lack of institutional capacity abroad, but by a lack of political will among U.S. allies,” the task force said. “Some have a history of ignoring the problem, and some simply do not assign the same priority to the issue—or they perceive correctly or incorrectly that U.S. attention to the subject has waned.”

The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan center dedicated to producing and disseminating information on foreign policy choices facing the United States. It established the Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing to examine U.S. efforts.

The 68-page report recommends expanding the U.S. bilateral technical assistance program to help countries in the creation of effective regulatory and enforcement measures for financial institutions and charitable organizations.

Although President Bush’s fiscal year 2003 budget included $4 million for the Treasury Department’s Office of Technical Assistance to provide training and expertise to foreign governments to combat terrorist financing, task force members said the “funding for such efforts should increase at least tenfold.”

The study acknowledges that the creation of the CIA-based Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Group is a good start, but “adequate budgets should be requested and intelligence agencies will need to build up the level of linguistic, financial, and cultural expertise to investigate and combat Islamic terrorist financing effectively.”

Covert action programs to disrupt or dismantle financial institutions, organizations and individuals financing terrorists should be broadened, said the task force. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also should be strengthened.

International efforts to curtail funding of terrorist groups should include tying International Monetary Fund assistance to a nation’s implementation of strict anti-terrorist financing laws.

The World Bank also should provide technical assistance to less developed nations to create anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing that meets international standards, according to the task force.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan need to cooperate with international requests for law enforcement assistance and intelligence requests for information.

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