Public Safety personnel are urged to use caution when sharing information via social media. With recent officer-involved shootings around the country, those who support attacks against public safety affiliates can gain access to information shared online and may use it to condone violence.
This Reference Aid is intended to provide information on malicious terrorism hoaxes that will continue to challenge first responder resources throughout the Homeland and territories. This Reference Aid is provided by I&A, DIAC, NCRIC, NVRIC, and NJ-ROIC to support their respective activities, to provide situational awareness, and to assist federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government counterterrorism and law enforcement officials and first responders with recognizing the indicators and implications of malicious terrorism hoaxes. The use of hoax calls may also be used as a technique to lure authorities to a particular location for the purpose of conducting a potential attack, but is not discussed in this article, as luring is viewed as its own distinct tactic.
A bulletin issued in December 2014 by the Virgina Fusion Center (VFC) warned law enforcement and first responders that emergency vehicles could be targeted by violent protesters seeking to retaliate against the perceived surveillance of their activities. The bulletin, which is titled “Malicious Activists May Promote Harm to Emergency Management Vehicles Observed During Violent Protests,” draws its conclusion that “violent or malicious activity” could be directed toward emergency vehicles “operating near protest areas” based primarily upon comments to a post on Reddit and a protest guide posted anonymously on Pastebin.
The Virginia Fusion Center (VFC) has observed via open sources that actors affiliated with the Anonymous hacktivist movement released a video which purportedly identifies a Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) vehicle as a tool for law enforcement wiretapping efforts by police and fusion center personnel in Chicago, Illinois. The VFC is sharing this information for situational awareness, as emergency management vehicles operating near protest areas may be targeted by precipitating violent or malicious activity.
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide awareness and a basic understanding of the “Hidden Internet” to investigators in the field, as well as provide some examples of how the Hidden Internet can be exploited by criminal elements. While the term “Hidden Internet” can be used in a broader context and refer to other internet terms such as the “Deep Web” or “Deepnet,” for the purpose of this bulletin the term “Hidden Internet” will refer to the hidden services provided by the TOR project to internet users, specifically relating to the Silk road website and use of Bitcoins.
Court documents related to the U.S. government’s efforts to force Lavabit LLC, an encrypted email provider used by Edward Snowden, to hand over encryption keys to decode all secure traffic flowing through the site. The documents were originally obtained and released by Kevin Poulsen of Wired.com after being unsealed by a judge on October 2, 2013.
Criminal complaint against Amine El Khalifi, a Moroccan man accused of attempting to bomb the U.S. Capitol building. The complaint was filed February 17, 2012.
Virginia Department of Transportation – http://www.flickr.com/photos/vadot/ Virginia Department of Emergency Management – http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaemergency/ DigitalGlobe – http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalglobe-imagery/ Tim and Renda – http://www.flickr.com/photos/timandrenda/ MGShelton – http://www.flickr.com/photos/melindashelton/ LakeMartinVoice – http://www.flickr.com/photos/lakemartinvoice/ GAiN USA – http://www.flickr.com/photos/gainusa/
Initial News sources had reported that the Baltimore Police Department had responded to a call for service for a single male shooter at the Johns Hopkins hospital located in Baltimore, MD. Initial reports indicated that a doctor was shot by the unknown suspect and was in critical condition. The suspect suspect was believed to be barricaded on the eighth floor of the Nelson Building on the Johns Hopkins Hospital Campus. There are reports that the shooter could be barricaded in the room with a relative. Baltimore Police Department reports that only certain areas of the hospital campus are cordoned off. Baltimore Police Department officers are on the scene, the suspect is not in custody, and the Baltimore Police is reporting that the situation is contained. The areas of the Hospital not cordoned off are operating normally.
On September 15, 2010 we received a notice from an unknown Security Officer at the Virginia Fusion Center requesting that we immediately remove all documents issued by that entity from our site. In early February, we received a notice from a Special Agent Richard A. Havasy Jr. that requested we remove a “Law Enforcement Sensitive” copy of the Virginia Fusion Center’s report on the Bloods street gang. Since then, we have published two more reports from the Virginia Fusion Center, including a “For Official Use Only” Education Facilities Threat Assessment and a “Law Enforcement Sensitive” report on the Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) street gang.
Virginia Fusion Center (VFC) Overview Brief, April 22, 2009.
The purpose of this Threat Assessment is to convey potential threats to educational facilities and related assets in the Commonwealth of Virginia in order to prevent terrorist and insider attacks as well as to increase awareness regarding available threat information. It is anticipated that this assessment will assist homeland security personnel in understanding the potential vulnerabilities to public and private schools, colleges, and universities in order to further assist in responding effectively to an educational facility-related incident. This assessment describes insider threats as well as those posed by domestic extremist and international terrorist groups.
In the month of February, we have received multiple notices from U.S. Intelligence Fusion Centers requesting the removal of documents from our archive. The notices originated from the following entities:
1. Virginia Fusion Center
2. Rocky Mountain Information Network
The Bloods street gang has become one of the most violent and notorious criminal organizations, spreading its influence in the U.S. from coast to coast. A traditionally African American gang, Bloods membership today includes Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asians. Blood members are involved in a variety of criminal activities including murder, assault, robbery, and narcotics distribution. Nationally, gang membership in the Bloods has been estimated between 15,000 and 20,000 members.1 Blood sets range from highly organized and structured groups similar to the Italian Mafia to loosely organized cliques with little discipline and loyalty. The Bloods have grown in popularity over the years thanks in part to the proliferation of music, movies, and television shows glorifying the “gangsta” lifestyle as well as social networking sites and the vast amount of information on the gang available on the Internet. Current intelligence gathered by the Virginia Fusion Center and other law enforcement agencies indicates the Bloods are a significant criminal threat to the Commonwealth and will continue to grow in numbers and operational scope.
The Mount Weather Special Facility is a Continuity of Government (COG) facility operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The 200,000 square foot facility also houses FEMA’s National Emergency Coordinating Center. The site is located on a 434 acre mountain site on the borders of Loudon and Clarke counties, approximately 48 miles west of Washington, DC in Bluemont, Virginia. The above ground support facilities include about a dozen buildings providing communications links to the White House Situation Room.
BILDERBERG MEETINGS
Chantilly, Virginia. USA
5-8 June 2008
CURRENT LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Support U.S. national military objectives by providing trained and equipped units for immediate mobilization. Support of the Governor by providing trained personnel and unit equipment capable of deploying to protect life and property, and maintain peace, order, and public safety.
The Commonwealth of Virginia’s Pandemic Influenza Plan addresses the Commonwealth’s response to and recovery from a pandemic influenza in a comprehensive and coordinated manner to ensure essential services across all sectors of state government can be maintained throughout the event period, which may last as long as 18-24 months. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) developed an Influenza Pandemic Plan (Health Component) in 2002, which was subsequently updated in 2006 and 2007.
An office building complex in suburban McLean, Virginia is the home of the CIA, one of the major intelligence organizations in the world, and a centralized hub for the (nearly) full spectrum of intelligence assets operated by the United States and cooperating governments, corporations, and organizations. The number of employees and the budget of the CIA is officially classified, though it is estimated (2003) that there are around 20,000 employees (not including contractors), working with around $3 billion per year.