Southern California 'Fusion' Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Center

Southern California Opens 'Fusion' Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Center

Thursday, July 27, 2006

By Michael Paranac /FOX Noise

To defend Southern California more effectively from terrorist attacks, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on Thursday launched the area's first "fusion" command center.

The Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC), based in Norwalk, Calif., is designed to provide a common information and intelligence-sharing network for local police and federal agents in seven counties working to infiltrate or expose terrorist operations. It will combine information from the Los Angeles Police Department, FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"It brought all of our capabilities and expertise together instead of doing it through telephone calls and e-mails," said Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Robert Fox.

"It's really unique that we have so many players coming together," Willie T. Hulon, FBI executive assistant director, said at the center's opening Thursday. "This will be a model for the rest of the country."

Memex is the Virginia-based company that created the search software used by the new L.A. fusion center. It allows the JRIC to gather, collate, track, analyze and disseminate intelligence information in real time, including counterterrorism tips and leads.

"One of the primary things we’ve done with the multi-agency approach is collecting all tips and leads into a single center to provide searching and cross-referencing with other databases within the whole system," Mike Himley, western general manager of Memex, told FOXNews.com. "Instead of the old manual processes, everything's more automated."

Memex has been in business for 20 years. Scotland Yard has been using its technology for more than a decade, and some other U.S. agencies are also utilizing it. The company hopes to put its software to use in other cities' fusion centers in the future.

"We're enthusiastic to try to share information," Himley said.

The Memex system works to reduce search time by allowing investigators to research and locate an entity by clicking through one unifying intelligence system. Agencies can share leads and are able to conduct more efficient searches when trying to locate or apprehend a suspect.

Without this search capability, Himley said, the investigator may have to make phone calls to various other agencies or sift through mounds of paper documents. A search concerning a suspicious rental truck can be completed in seconds instead of hours, Himley continued.

"The mission here is to look at counter-terrorism operations. [The system] significantly speeds up intel reports, it helps them move faster," he said.

While similar centers exist in other areas around the country, the Los Angeles center is staffed by 62 personnel from more than 15 other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security. The center will be responsible for a region spanning seven counties which is also home to some 18 million residents. Roughly $6 million has been invested in the operation.

"No place is going to be better prepared to defend against terrorism," Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton said.

In related news, DHS announced on Thursday that analysts from the Office of Intelligence Analysis will work with state and local authorities on fusion centers in New York City, Los Angeles, Reisterstown, Md., and Baton Rouge, La. to help facilitate the fast-flow of information and intelligence on all types of hazards.

"One of the the department's top priorities is to work with state and local authorities and share information that helps to connect the dots on emerging threats," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement. "There is no more effective way to connect the dots than by having our personnel sitting in a chair next to their local counterparts, providing them with information they need to make timely and informed decisions on how best to protect their community."

Thirty-eight fusion centers can be found around the country. DHS has so far provided $380 million to state and local governments to support the facilities.

Campers at Henry Coe park find human remains

San Jose Mercury News

March 28, 2007

Campers at Henry Coe State Park on Monday stumbled across the remains of what appears to be a man who went missing in 2005, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. Ed Wise said today.

The bones clung to the edge of a steep ravine about an hour-and-a-half hike from the park's entrance. Investigators found a rifle and clothing near the remains, Wise said.

The campers reported their find to park rangers around noon on Monday. Rangers, in turn, called deputies.

While items at the scene lead investigators to believe the remains belong to a man who went missing in 2005, Wise said authorities are waiting for results of DNA tests before identifying the man.

Google Pack Adds Free Security Apps

Ok whats the catch?
The Google Pack version of Symantec's Norton Security Scan is designed to remove all existing viruses, Trojans, and worms found on a user's PC and provide tips on how to improve PC security. Meanwhile, the free Google Pack edition of PC Tools' Spyware Doctor offers on-demand spyware detection and removal as well as real-time protection.

Google on Tuesday made moves to beef up its Google Pack service. The free collection of software applications now includes antivirus, antimalware, and antispyware tools.

Google Pack provides basic virus protection from Symantec's Norton Security Scan, which offers automatic security Relevant Products/Services updates and scheduled scanning. No subscription fee is required. The company also added PC Tools' Spyware Doctor Starter Edition, an antispyware utility that offers scheduled scanning, threat removal, active protection, and automatic updates.

The new additions are in line with Google Pack's aim to make it easier for users to find, install, and update software. A Google Updater keeps the programs up to date.

"It is almost always a benefit to security to have that kind of defense in-depth. Having this sort of free security products through Google is a great benefit for users," said Jen Albornoz Mulligan, an analyst at Forrester Research. "This offering is impressive."

Demonstrated Need

Google is responding to a demonstrated need. According to Symantec's most recent Internet Security Threat Report, home users or "the everyday Internet user" made up the most highly targeted sector, accounting for 93 percent of all targeted attacks.

The Google Pack version of Norton Security Scan is designed to remove all existing viruses, Trojans, and worms found on a user's PC and provide tips on how to improve PC security. Norton Security Scan replaces Norton AntiVirus 2005 Special Edition, which was part of the initial lineup of software when the Google Pack first launched in 2006.

Meanwhile, the free Google Pack edition of PC Tools Spyware Doctor offers on-demand spyware detection and removal as well as real-time protection. Users can choose to upgrade to the full version, which features the File Guard module.

With so many different vendors offering security, some might wonder whether you can install too much of a good thing. Indeed, downloading too many different security applications could slow a PC, Mulligan said, and there is a limited benefit to having multiple services running at the same time. "Symantec and McAfee share a lot of their information and oftentimes scan for the same threats," she added. "But if it doesn't slow your computer down then there's no real downside."

Social-Networking Play?

In a customized social networking-style play, Google also added the Photos Screensaver, which allows users to turn their screen into a digital picture frame of sorts, to display photos from family and friends or images from other photo-sharing sites.

"Now you can turn your computer into a digital picture frame that displays pictures from photo feeds -- continuously updated streams of photos from the Web. Many of your favorite photo-sharing sites support them already, so it's easy to keep in touch with your friends and family this way," Google Product Manager Jesse Savage wrote in the company's official blog.

Google Pack's growing lineup of free products also includes Google Earth, Google Talk, Picasa, Google Desktop, and the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. Google also has packed in third-party applications, such as Mozilla's Firefox browser and Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Google Pack Beta is available in 12 languages, runs on Window XP and Vista, and supports Internet Explorer 6.0 and Firefox 1.0 and higher.


Original story Link here at sci-tech-today.com