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20 April 2006
Please note that the first part of this newsletter - covering publications and events - can be accessed from here.
Publications
The latest CIP Newsletter is now available. The Newsletter is produced by the Critical Infrastructure Protection Branch in the Commonwealth's Attorney-General's Department. Its articles include:
- Pandemic planning and industry
- Council of Australian Government considers CIP issues
- Security standards and support systems for critical infrastructure
- Enhancing protection of critical infrastructure
- TISN members contribute to computer crime and security survey
- Risk Management and Assessment Workshop for Critical Infrastructure
- Activities across the TISN
To read the CIP Newsletter, click here.
The Kokada Foundation has released its second volume of papers. The volume is a special edition on Effects-Based Strategy. Key papers are:
- Effects Based Strategy: An Underpinning Philosophy for Australia 's External Security?
- Next Generation Strategy: Is EBS Worth Pursuing?
- Strategy with Style: Effects-based planning
- The Strategic Value of Information in EBO
- EBO and Counterterrorism
For information www.kokodafoundation.org
The Department of Parliamentary Services, Australian Parliament House has released a research brief on the 'cleansing' of data from computers in relation to the Andrew Wilkie case.
From June to September 2004, government officials 'cleansed' computers which held copies of an original manuscript by former Office of National Assessments analyst Andrew Wilkie. Wilkie had agreed with the Government's instruction to remove some passages from the manuscript of the book Axis of Deceit after a lawyer hired to vet the book for sensitive content handed it over to the Attorney-General's Department. Recipients of the draft book allegedly consented under some pressure to have their computer hard drive 'cleansed'. The Brief examines the relevant agency powers and finds the use of consent in this incident raises several issues of concern such as bypassing the need for search or computer access warrants, restricting freedom of speech in relation to publishing and the accountability of Australia 's national security officials.
The Brief, called Spy versus spy: Government control of sensitive information , is available from http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/PIWeb/Repository1/Library/PrsPub/N16J60.pdf
Afghanistan and the international and Australian response
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has released a publication titled ' Precarious State : Afghanistan and the international and Australian response'.
The report is authored by Strategy and International Program Director Dr Elsina Wainwright and examines the current situation in Afghanistan , including international security and reconstruction efforts. It analyses NATO's expansion into the south of Afghanistan and in particular the 200-strong Australian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) deployment to the province of Oruzgan , which is due in late July.
TOPOFF 3 Exercise Review
A review of the Top Officials 3 (TOPOFF 3) exercise has been published by the Department of Homeland Security. The comprehensive, government-wide exercise conducted five months before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast revealed gaps in the nation's ability to respond to catastrophic incidents.
It highlighted three principal issues that affect the overall effectiveness of the series. The first concerns the high investment and cost required of participating states and whether or how the federal government should provide funding assistance.
The second issue concerns DHS' reliance on contractor expertise and support. Institutional knowledge of great value would be lost if the current contactor was no longer actively engaged.
Finally, TOPOFF 3 highlighted unresolved issues from previous exercises that problem areas could be identified but the organisation running the exercise had no power in addressing policy defects.
The report is available from http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_06-07_Nov05.pdf
The National Security Strategy
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss/2006/nss2006.pdf
Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States
Statement by Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, USA , Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, to the Senate Armed Services Committee, February 28, 2006
http://www.dia.mil/publicaffairs/Testimonies/statement24.html
Navy Role in Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) - Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service report, February 6, 2006
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22373.pdf
Terrorists and the Internet
Council on Foreign Relations, March 2, 2006
http://www.cfr.org/publication/10005/terrorists_and_the_internet.html
Current Trends in Islamist Ideology
Volume 3: Hudson Institute, 2006
http://www.hudson.org/files/publications/Trends3.pdf
Al-Qaida: Terrorist Selection and Recruitment
RAND , 2006
http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/2006/RAND_RP1214.pdf
A Performance Review of FEMA's Disaster Management Activities in Response to Hurricane Katrina http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_06-32_Mar06.pdf
A World Economic Forum Report has identified the global risks facing the world. The issues of global concern have been grouped in five classes - economic, geopolitical, environmental, societal and technological.
1 Economic
. Oil prices/energy supply
. Asset prices/Indebtedness
. US Current Account deficit and US dollar
. Coming fiscal crises
. China
. Critical infrastructures
2 Societal
. Regulation
. Corporate governance
. Intellectual Property rights
. Organized crime
. Global pandemics
. Slow and chronic diseases (industrialized world)
. Epidemic disease (developing world)
. Liability regimes
3 Environmental
. Tropical cyclones
. Earthquakes
. Climate change
. Loss of ecosystem services
4 Technological
. Convergence of technologies
. Nanotechnology
. Electromagnetic fields
. Pervasive computing
5 Geopolitical
. Terrorism
. European dislocation
. Current and future hotspots
The report is at http://www.weforum.org/pdf/CSI/Global_Risk_Report.pdf
Thursday 20 April 2006 - 5.30 for 6.00pm
Venue: Engineering House, 11 National Cir, Barton
Topic: UAV/UGV/NCW Technologies & Concepts
Speaker: Mr Nick Weber, XTEK Limited
Organised by: Australian Society of Defence Engineering (ASDE)
Mr Nick Weber of XTEK will present a range of unmanned air and ground vehicle (UAV/UGV) technologies and network centric warfare (NCW) integration concepts.
A range of concepts including HURT - heterogeneous urban RSTA (reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition) and Blue Force Tracking (BFT) will be presented with video. HURT concepts and technologies are an NCW approach to multiple UAV tasking and control that allows UAVs to conduct wide-area surveillance while dispatching individual vehicles upon soldier request for close-up reconnaissance imagery.
Silent operating aerial reconnaissance (SOAR) gun-launched unmanned aerial vehicle (GLUAV) systems and concepts will also be presented.
XTEK Limited is Australia 's largest Homeland Security Company and major regional supplier of EOD robots, search equipment, high risk response, and surveillance and counter-surveillance equipment. Unmanned robots include a range of iRobot's Packbot soldier UGVs and Aerovironment's small and micro UAVs.
RSVP: blowe@engineersaustralia.org.au or phone 6273 1314
Thursday 25th & Friday 26th May 2006, Singapore
Trade Controls Asia is an expansion of the renowned Global Trade Controls conference which takes place in London every November.
This new event will focus on 'hands-on' subjects for trade controls professionals and features leading experts from Asia, Europe and the USA , both from government and industry.
Delegates will receive in-depth information on current international regulations, including the scope of trade and multilateral controls, embargoes and sanctions, encryption controls, re-export controls, technology transfer, corporate compliance and supply chain security.
Jason Brown of ADI Limited is a key speaker in this conference which ensures Australian issues are discussed at the event.
The event programme can be viewed at www.lloydslistevents.com/lt1072
Amlec House Pty. Ltd., in association with Global Security Week, September 4 - 10, is proud to host a one-day international conference on the critical issue of Regional Security for Western Australia and South East Asia on Friday 8 September 2006 at the Novotal Langley Hotel , Perth .
The conference will assemble experts from within the region to discuss and raise awareness of security challenges facing us today, particularly the threat of terrorism, avian bird-flu and natural disasters. What are the strategies and solutions required locally and which are currently being put in place to deal with these significant risks?
The conference, incorporating a panel forum will provide a unique opportunity, rarely provided in Perth , to hear and consider expert opinion and then discuss with the panel the issues of most concern and interest.
Keynote speakers include:
- Associate Professor Dr. Kumar Ramakrishna, a Jemiah Islamiah specialist from the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technology University , Singapore .
- Professor Bill Hutchinson, IBM Chair in Computer and Information Security from Edith Cowan University,
- Dr. Alexey Muraviev, Defence and Strategy Studies from Curtin University of Technology; and
- Mr. David Caporn, WA Police Assistant Commissioner, Counter Terrorism and State Protection.
For further information visit www.amlechouse.com
The conference will be held at the University of New South Wales on 31st May- 1st June 2006. The Theme this year is "fences or flowers". We think of institutions as secure and fenced in, but we are surrounded by flower beds and operate at threat levels which are higher than we have ever faced.
Subjects to be covered include:
- Risk Management in a Research Environment
- Contract Security from a provider perspective
- Contract Management Adding Value
- Environmental Criminology
- Smart cards and how they will affect tertiary users
- Incident Control System and how it works
- Large scale medical incidents in a Tertiary Environment
- Business Continuity Planning
http://www.integritystudios.com.au/2006smc/
Thursday 27th - Friday 28th April 2006:
9.30am - 5.00pm
PICT, Macquarie University
Level 1, Dow Corning Building , 3 Innovation Rd , Macquarie University , North Ryde
This course is for anyone who travels to areas of medium and high risk - whether it is a terrorist or a crime hotspot. This practical course also supports employer's duty of care through ensuring participants develop an knowledge and understanding of:
- Security Threat Assessments
- Operational skills to enable preparation of personal 'Precautionary' Threat Assessments in regard to proposed destination and itinerary venues
- 'Dynamic' Threat Assessment principals to apply as you move about your destination
- Specific security threats and vulnerable situations when traveling
- Effective mitigators for threat reduction.
- Observation, communication and perception skills to enhance awareness and personal security
- Common weapons used in assaults
- Improvised Explosive Devices (I.E.D's)
- Improvised Dispersal Devices (I.D.D's)
- Common weapons used in armed assaults
- Procedures to Improve overall security awareness
Information: email: mwright@access.mq.edu.au Cost: $1,089 (including GST)
9-11 May 2006
National Convention Centre Canberra ACT
www.ag.gov.au/sig
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