WikiLeaks: Assange Serves as a Reminder to All Computer Users

The WikiLeaks phenomenon has wide-reaching implications for ALL computer users, whether you're a Fortune 500 company or someone who uses online bill pay for your personal expenses. The following video contains tips to help you protect your computer.

The Psychological and Emotional Response to a Crisis

When disasters strike, treating the physical wounds is of the utmost importance. However, psychological trauma from catastrophes is important to consider and treat during and after a crisis.

Thank you to Jonathan Bundt, from Masa Consulting, for the following information.

Three New Terror Reports & Warning from Attorney General

A suspicious device in the Rome metro, a "credible" but not yet operational threat to food supply in US hotels and 12 arrested in a terror plot in Britain are just a few of the news reports of recent terror threats.  Also in an interview with ABC News, Attorney General Eric Holder said the terrorism "threat is real, the threat is different, the threat is constant."


As risk managers, we need to understand this threat and how best to prevent or respond to it.  Almost more importantly, however, we need to communicate what we can do to reduce this risk: Hold the hype and heavy on the practical:


The Department of Homeland Security's "See something, say something" campaign is a good start.  If you see someone behaving oddly, particularly in a large, public place, or near critical infrastructure, trust your gut:  

• Report crimes or dangerous situations immediately to local authorities (911 or your local number).
• Report suspected terrorism or criminal activity to the FBI online
• To provide information on select major cases, call the FBI’s Major Case Contact Center at 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324)

   

How to Prepare Your Family for an Emergency

How would you protect your family during a disaster? From a house fire to a terror attack, the following advice can help you and your family stay safe during most emergencies.

Thanks to ECHO Minnesota's Lillian McDonald for the following information.

How to Get Involved with InfraGard

InfraGard works best when more people are actively engaged in the system. Thanks to the Internet, actively engaging is easy to do. The following video provides short descriptions of the many ways you can connect with InfraGard online.

(The following is a list of links from the video: InfraGard.net MNInfraGard.us InfraGardmnmembers.ning.com crisis-watch.us @MNInfraGard)

Weekly Safety, Security and Preparedness Tips

Happy Holidays!

To help you, your family and your organization stay safe this holiday season, the Minnesota chapter of InfraGard will be posting weekly video tips and information on it's YouTube channel and right here on the blog. The first video posted below is a short introduction to the video series - the second is the first installment of the series.

What do you think? Any thoughts on the tips suggested above? Do you have any of your own to share? Let us know in the comments below or visit us on Twitter.

See Something - Say Something

Do reports about terrorism leave you wondering, "what can I do"?  For every terrorist attack, there are many points in the planning where you can detect, and help law enforcement disrupt, the next attack.  "See Something, Say Something" sums it up, but there is much more.  Read about the “Eight Signs of Terrorism”, here...

November meeting recap with a focus on Stuxnet

Experts in information security from Wells Fargo and the University of Minnesota talk about Stuxnet - the "newest flavor" of malware that poses a serious cyber security risk to nearly all of us.



Stay tuned to this blog and the Minnesota InfraGard YouTube Channel for more on the latest security-related information. On the channel, we'll soon be posting weekly updates, tips and other useful information to prepare and protect yourself from all threats, natural and human-made.

Welcome to the Northern Lights Coalition

InfraGard Minnesota Members Alliance in partnership the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Forum, Safeguard Iowa and others are working together to protect the critical infrastructure of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

This collaborative effort has three primary goals; 1) better understand the threat and potential impact of terrorism and other threats to critical infrastructure, 2) identify gaps and opportunities in information-sharing and emergency response, and 3) identify and implement long-term opportunities to reduce vulnerability, coordinate response, collaborate on preparedness and maximize limited resources. These goals support the National Infrastructure Protection Plan.