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Bay Area FBI Fields Cyber-Terror Concerns
by Liza Porteus
The San Francisco Division of the FBI is doing its part to protect the nation's computer systems from terrorist attacks, an agency official testified this week.
Larry Mefford, associate special agent-in-charge of the division, testified Tuesday before a House Governmental Reform Subcommittee on Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations field hearing in San Francisco. Subcommittee Chairman Steve Horn, R-Calif., and Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., held the hearing to assess the role of the federal government in helping state and local agencies in the Bay area to prepare for a terrorist attack.
Since Sept. 11, the San Francisco division has assigned 30 agents to the FBI's Counterterrorism Program to address various terrorist threats, Mefford said. He said the FBI plans to have joint terrorism task forces (JTTF) in each of its 56 field divisions by the end of 2003. There are 44 established JTTFs that combine FBI and local law enforcement resources. The state Justice Department's California Anti-Terrorism Information Center (CATIC) has been integrated into the San Francisco JTTF. Created after Sept. 11, the CATIC collects information from law enforcement agencies and aggregates it into a central database accessible to authorized state, local and federal law enforcement personnel.
The San Francisco division also developed a secure JTTF Web site, Mefford said, to disseminate sensitive material to JTTF members and threat advisories, case updates and articles are available for review. He said the Web site likely would serve as a model for other JTTFs.
Mefford said other FBI initiatives such as the National Infrastructure Protection Center and the InfraGard are playing important roles in protecting the nation's critical infrastructures. The FBI in January sent an advisory via the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System regarding possible attempts by terrorists to use U.S. municipal and state Web sites to obtain information on local energy infrastructures, water reserves and nuclear and gas facilities.
"Computer intrusions not only may be used to gain illegal entry into government or military agencies, but also have a significant impact on the business community and U.S. economy," Mefford said.
"I am hopeful that information we have obtained ...will send a strong message to the leaders in Washington that we must work together to pass a strong, comprehensive bill to bolster the ability of state and local government to respond to a crisis," Honda said.
Mefford recently was appointed head of the FBI's new Cyber Division.
Reid To Serve $1.5 Million To Agassi Prep School
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will visit the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy Thursday to announce federal funding for high-technology education in Nevada charter schools. Reid was able to secure $1.5 million for the Charter School Foundation included in the fiscal 2002 Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill. The money will be used for computers, software and other high-tech equipment. It also will be earmarked for teaching children how to use the technology. The Agassi academy specializes in helping at-risk students from single-parent or low-income households get into college. Tennis star Andre Agassi, for whom the school is named, also will attend the event.
Warner Makes E-Inroads
Virginia Gov. Mark Warner has declared April "Electronic Filing Month" and is urging state residents to utilize the Virginia Department of Taxation's free Internet filing service, iFile. Ninety percent of taxpayers who filed their returns by paper in the last filing season are eligible to use iFile. Already this year, 598,800 Virginians have filed their income tax returns electronically, compared with 416,413 at this same time last year. The deadline for filing income tax returns in Virginia is May 1.
Warner also last week announced the availability of an Internet-based "Blue Book," a comprehensive listing of elected officials, state agencies, board and commission members and local government information. It also lists judicial officials, members of the Virginia congressional delegation and general information on the state. The report will be updated regularly online.
And Tuesday, Warner announced the launch of "Live Help," a real-time, live assistance program constituents can access via the state's homepage. Internet users can submit questions and receive real time responses from staff of the Virginia Information Providers Network, manager of the Virginia Internet portal, on government and community issues.
Mill Town Turns To Tech
Researchers and residents of Lowell, Mass., on April 9 and 30 will conduct an experiment to test a new method for assessing the potential environmental, economic and civic impacts of technological choices on a community. Supported by the National Science Foundation and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, about 60 people will spend two days analyzing what life in Lowell could be like in 20 years, based on scenarios of technological choices the city could make to provide adequate transportation, housing, energy, water and waste management. The group will generate an action plan for how best to promote a vibrant civic life and strong democratic values, while also supporting a healthy economy and environment. The participants will present their recommendations May 1.
e-Health On My Mind In Georgia
The Georgia Electronic Commerce Association's (GECA) e-Health Working Group is gearing up for the year ahead. Jeff Muscarella, chief operating officer and vice president of business development for enLeague Systems, was named as co-chairman of the group to help craft a 2002 agenda.
The working group has a new agenda this year, starting with following its new mission statement and objectives. Objectives include: promote unbiased discussion and understanding of health care and technology initiatives; provide a forum for representatives of providers, payers, businesses and federal, state and local governments to meet and exchange views on the impact of policy and technology on health care; and foster relationships with health care and technology groups to advocate Georgia public policy initiatives.
Minnesota Techies Target IT Consulting Bill
The Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) last week sent a letter to the House Conference Committee on the omnibus supplemental budget balancing bill and urged members to repeal the moratorium on consulting services, which restricts state consulting contracts. MHTA members are concerned that the law would "seriously impact the ability of state agencies to manage their information technology investments and result in interruptions in the provision of future services to our citizens," MHTA President Kate Rubin wrote in the letter to House appropriators.
Rubin argued that the moratorium threatens the ability of Minnesota to manage IT systems that provide services such as benefits distribution, tax and revenue processing and financial management of state resources. The moratorium also limits the ability of the state to utilize grants from the federal government and other funding sources, according to MHTA, and "seriously infringes" on the ability of the executive branch to manage state government operations.
Rubin noted in the letter that local firms such as Target, Honeywell, 3M, Wells Fargo and Medtronic make extensive use of IT consulting firms, and that the legislation "fails to recognize the significant value that IT firms provide to the state of Minnesota."
North Carolina CIO Steps Down
North Carolina Chief Information Officer Ronald Hawley will retire from his post May 1 to take a job with Search, a California-based organization that seeks to improve the criminal justice system through the use of information and identification technology. The Raleigh News Observer interviewed Hawley, who said, "I'm excited about this opportunity," and reported that Search Executive Director Gary Cooper had been talking with Hawley since October about the position.
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