Strong concern that the monstrous and deadly extremist organisation, Al Qaeda, was plotting to attack the US rail sector has led the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue intelligence message on May 5 to its federal, state, local and tribal partners to place them on alert about the potential Al Qaeda contemplation said to have been hatched in February 2010 against the U.S. rail sector.
Vigilance learnt that for the same reason, the Transportation Security Administration will issue a bulletin to rail sector stakeholders.
Press Secretary, Matt Chandler said: “We have no information of any imminent terrorist threat to the U.S. rail sector, but wanted to make our partners aware of the alleged plotting; it is unclear if any further planning has been conducted since February of last year.”
Chandler stressed that this alleged Al Qaeda plotting is based on initial reporting, which is often misleading or inaccurate and subject to change.
Said he: “We remain at a heightened state of vigilance, but do not intend to issue an NTAS alert at this time. We will issue alerts only when we have specific or credible information to convey to the American public. Our security posture, which always includes a number of measures both seen and unseen, will continue to respond appropriately to protect the American people from an evolving threat picture both in the coming days and beyond.”
Since last Sunday, Vigilance gathered that the DHS and its partners have taken a number of actions, including but not limited to: reviewing protective measures for all potential terrorist targets, including critical infrastructure and transportation systems across the country; deploying additional officers to non-secured areas at our nation’s airports; and identifying any new targeting rules that should be instituted to strengthen the ways we assess the risk of both passengers and cargo coming to the United States.
Urging vigilance amongst the American public, Chandler said: “As always, we urge our state, local, tribal and private sector partners, as well as the general public, to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to federal, state or local law enforcement."
Also, on The Blog @ Homeland Security posted by Stop.Think. Connect entitled: “Beware of Osama Bin Laden Email Phishing Schemes”, the DHS warned:
The death of Osama bin Laden has garnered attention and interest around the world. Unfortunately, major news events like this one often bring a wave of phishing scams designed to collect your personal or financial information without your knowledge.
Phishing scammers use email or malicious websites to solicit information by posing as a trustworthy source. For example, a scam may send an email that looks like it’s from a reputable news organization with links to photos or video when, in fact, it takes you to a malicious website or downloads harmful viruses onto your computer.
The Department’s Stop. Think. Connect. campaign reminds all Internet users to be vigilant whenever they’re online, and to use caution when opening emails that purport to show images related to bin Laden’s death. The same caution should be used with emails about the Royal Wedding or other recent major news events.
In addition to phishing, scammers may also post fake images online that can lead you to an infected website. At least two domains were found to be serving up fake antivirus rogueware called "Best Antivirus 2011" on searches for "Osama bin Laden body" on a Google image search in Spanish, according to reports.
By clicking on these links or websites, you are putting your computer and your personal information at risk.
The National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) offers the following advice to protect yourself from phishing schemes:
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Keep software up to date - Many operating systems offer automatic updates. If this option is available, you should enable it.
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Save and scan any attachments before opening them - If you have to open an attachment before you can verify the source, take the following steps:
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Be sure the signatures in your anti-virus software are up to date (see Understanding Anti-Virus Software for more information).
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Save the file to your computer or a disk.
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Manually scan the file using your anti-virus software.
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Turn off the option to automatically download attachments - To simplify the process of reading email, many email programs offer the feature to automatically download attachments.
View emails in “Plain Text” – many email applications have options to view emails in “Plain Text”, which will restrict link functionalities and other unnecessary, but potentially dangerous, features in emails.
In addition, the Department Stop.Think.Connect. campaign reminds all Americans that whenever you’re online, it’s important to:
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Stop before clicking on images or opening suspicious email from sources or website you don’t know.
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Think about who sent you the email before opening any attachments or clicking links. Be wary of unsolicited attachments, even from people you know. Above all trust your instincts.
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Connect and use the Internet with the confidence of knowing you have taken the steps to protect your computer.