Public Law 106-553 provides funding for TOPOFF, and Senate Report 106-404 outlines the concept. Responsibility for the TOPOFF Domestic Counterterrorism National Exercise Series transferred from the Department of Justice to the Department of Homeland Security on March, 1 2003 with transfer of the Office for Domestic Preparedness. A national, biennial Domestic Counter Terrorism Exercise Series.
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Homeland Security
TOPOFF 3 Private Sector Integration Concept of Operations
T3 provides private sector organizations and associations with an opportunity to test their emergency response and business continuity plans in conjunction with Federal, State, and local response agencies. As the largest national Full-Scale Exercise (FSE) in history, last year’s TOPOFF 2 exercise engaged more than 8,500 participants. With private sector participation, T3 promises to be larger in scope and complexity.
Department of Homeland Security
TOPOFF 3 AAR Private Sector Annex
Private-sector organizations participated in the Top Officials (TOPOFF) 3 (T3) exercise as partners with Federal, State, and local (FSL) government entities to test their combined ability to prepare for and respond to simulated biological and chemical terrorist attacks in Connecticut and New Jersey. The private sector’s participation in the exercise was extensive. Over 140 private sector organizations—representing critical infrastructure sectors, industry associations, public works, faith-based organizations, and multinational non-governmental organizations—played from 450 locations across the United States.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Office of Health Affairs Overview Briefing
The FY 2007 DHS Appropriations Bill authorized the CMO and listed 5 core responsibilities:
– Serve as Secretary’s principal medical advisor
– Coordinate DHS biodefense activities
– Ensure internal/external coordination of DHS’ medical preparedness activities
– Serve as primary DHS point of contact for Federal/state/local/tribal governments and the private sector on medical and public health issues
Department of Homeland Security
National Population, Economic, and Infrastructure Impacts of Pandemic Influenza
The attack rate is the proportion of the population who become infected with a disease during a defined period of time. In the Fear-40 and Antiviral scenarios, greater than 20 percent of the U.S. population becomes symptomatic, leading to approximately 1.2 to 1.5 million deaths.
Department of Homeland Security
TOPOFF 4: Private Sector Player Handbook
The Top Officials (TOPOFF) exercise is a congressionally mandated national counterterrorism exercise series comprised of a cycle of building block activities designed to strengthen the nation’s capacities to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from large-scale terrorist attacks.
Department of Homeland Security, Oregon
TOPOFF 4: Rapid Screening Point Responder Guide
The Rapid Screening Point (RSP) Exercise is a component of the TOPOFF (“T4”) full-scale exercise (FSE) in the Oregon venue. An RSP is a temporary facility for high production screening of individuals with non-acute symptoms who are potentially ill or exposed to a harmful substance.” This Participant Guide contains excerpts from the Exercise Control Plan that are relevant to Responder Participants. It was drafted by James Spitzer, Emergency Preparedness Manager for the Multnomah County Health Department, in consultation with planners from other participating organizations.
Department of Homeland Security
Mail and Package Handling Facilities: Vulnerabilities and Protective Measures
These objectives describe the kinds of information that terrorists monitor when planning an attack. Identity of places where further surveillance can take place. Identity of places where countersurveillance can be detected.
Department of Homeland Security
Infrastructure Protection Report: Amusement, Theme, and Water Parks
Theme parks are amusement parks in which the rides, attractions, shows, and buildings revolve around a central theme or group of themes. A traditional (unthemed) amusement park would likely have the same vulnerabilities as a theme park of the same size.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) Ongoing Terrorist Interest in Homemade Explosives
In light of the ongoing investigation in New York City, DHS and the FBI believe it is prudent to remind our state and local partners about the variety of domestically-available materials that could be used to create homemade explosives, which have been utilized in previous terrorist attacks.
Department of Homeland Security
Infrastructure Protection Report: Stadiums and Arenas
There are more than 1,300 stadiums and arenas in the United States. They are located in every region and state; in most, if not all, major municipalities; in many smaller localities; and often on university and high school campuses. Arenas and stadiums range in size from on-campus field houses and high school football stadiums that can accommodate a few hundred people to downtown sports arenas, large indoor/outdoor stadiums, and automobile racetracks that can accommodate over 100,000 spectators.
Department of Homeland Security
Infrastructure Protection Report: Mail and Package Handling Facilities
The Postal and Shipping Sector receives, processes, transports, and distributes billions of letters and parcels annually. It consists of both private and public components. The Postal and Shipping Sector is mainly composed of four large integrated carriers. These carriers, operating 93% of the sector’s assets, systems, networks, and functions, are the United States Postal Service (USPS), United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (UPS), Federal Express (FedEx), and DHL International (DHL).
Department of Homeland Security
(U) Cyber Security Volume I Number 10
The Cyber Security Monitor is published by the DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A)/Critical Infrastructure Threat Analysis Division (CITA), with input from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US–CERT) at the National Cyber Security Division. CITA is the threat analysis component of the Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center.
Connecticut, Department of Homeland Security
Hartford Urban Area Security Strategy
This Urban Area Security Strategy (UASS) describes the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) Region 3 strategy for developing capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from natural or man made events (all hazards). It will specifically address how activities implemented under the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) will support terrorism preparedness by building or enhancing the necessary capabilities.
Intelligence Fusion Centers
New Jersey ROIC: Indicators of Criminal and Terrorist Activities ~ Storage Facilities
On April 16, 2008, authorities arrested Roger Von Bergendorff for possession of the deadly biological toxin ricin after searches of three storage lockers he rented in Utah revealed traces of ricin, laboratory equipment, chemicals, and castor beans (the ingredient from which ricin is derived), as well as a drawing of an injection device. When Bergendorff fell critically ill in February in a Las Vegas hotel room, authorities discovered vials containing enough ricin to kill more than 500 people.
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//FOUO) International Terrorists Remain Focused on Targeting Luxury Hotels
The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the FBI are releasing this Joint Homeland Security Note to raise security awareness regarding terrorist interest in targeting luxury hotels.
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//FOUO) Potential Threats to Popular Sport and Entertainment Venues
The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the FBI are releasing this Joint Homeland Security Note to raise security awareness regarding terrorist interest in targeting sport and entertainment venues.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Federal Medical Readiness Responsibilities and Capabilities
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the responsibility to prevent, protect, respond to, and recover from major terrorist attacks or natural disasters, but currently lacks a clearly-defined and unified medical capability to support this mission. Additionally, it lacks the capability to properly support DHS personnel operating in field units and hazardous conditions by providing little or no medical support.
Intelligence Fusion Centers
GISAC Fire, Haz Mat, and EMS Intelligence Bulletin
A news article from July 18, 2009 highlights a new medication has been developed which reportedly can protect people exposed to normally lethal doses of radiation from a nuclear or a “dirty” bomb.
The article cited tests involving 650 monkeys exposed to radiation equivalent to that recorded during the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster in 1986, 70 per cent died while the rest suffered serious maladies, the newspaper Yediot Achronot said yesterday.
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Homeland Security Advisory System Increased to Orange for Mass Transit and Passenger Rail
Federal Departments and Agencies, State Homeland Security Advisors, Security Managers, State and Local Law Enforcement, and Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs). Secondary release, dissemination or sharing of this product is authorized by Federal Departments and Agencies within their respective departments and agencies, and by State Homeland Security Advisors within their state and local jurisdictions to authorized homeland security partners, that have an official valid need-to-know.
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
London Terrorist Attacks: Implications for the Homeland
We have been concerned over the past few years that an attack on the scale of the London or Madrid attacks could be undertaken in the Homeland, have been actively working to prevent such an attack, and have issued Information Bulletins on this subject. The 7 July terrorist operations in London using apparent improvised explosive device (IED) attacks against public transportation systems involved one of several types of terrorist operations we have been concerned about in the post-September 11th environment.
Department of Homeland Security
Protective Security Advisor Analyst Brief
Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP):Lead the coordinated national effort to reduce the risk to our critical infrastructures and key resources (CIKR) posed by acts of terrorism, and strengthen national preparedness, timely response, and rapid recovery in the event of an attack, natural disaster, or other emergency.
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security
DHS/CBP Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)
Provides Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), operations, maintenance, technical support, pilots, and sensor operators to surveil the Southwest border of the United States. Over the next several years UAV border surveillance will improve sensor/video surveillance capabilities of the current, monitored base system through persistent 24 hours per day / 7 days per week surveillance; integrate new surveillance technologies (aerial sensor suites), and increase interoperability with other law enforcement agencies and initiatives.
Department of Homeland Security
Catastrophic Incident Supplement to the National Response Plan
This Catastrophic Incident Supplement provides the operational framework for implementing the strategy contained in the National Response Plan Catastrophic Incident Annex, and is effective upon issuance.
Department of Homeland Security
FY 2006 Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) Award for the Las Vegas Area
DHS defines risk by three principal variables: threat, or the likelihood of a type of attack that might be attempted, vulnerability, or the likelihood that an attacker would succeed with a particular attack type, and consequence, or the potential impact of a particular attack. The risk model used to allocate HSGP funds includes both asset-based and geographically-based terrorist risk calculations. DHS combines these complementary risk calculations to produce an estimate of the relative risk of terrorism faced by a given area.