Use of Internet in emergency operations

Question # 1

Although emergency planning and operations have been conducted without a real consideration of integrating Internet into emergency operations, recent developments in Internet and computer technology have made it possible to change the ICS to allow for stronger (an assumption) external control of all types of emergencies.

There are obvious advantages and disadvantages to using Internet during emergencies. One problem is that the Internet was not developed with security in mind. There is no governing body on the Internet to ensure compliance with security measures. Although freedom from authority fosters innovation, it has an adverse effect on security.

The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in February 2000 illustrate how lax individual security can affect Internet security. Attackers used intermediary sites to launch attacks on the targeted sites. These activities were not transparent to the intermediate sites. Consequently, the intermediate sites did not realize they needed to implement security measures to prevent the attackers from using them to attack the targeted sites; further, they had no motive, other than general good will, to close the vulnerabilities on their sites that facilitated the DDoS attacks.

Without some central authority to ensure full implementation of security measures, each organization is more or less on its own and can be at the mercy of other organizations whose concern about security is far less than their own, or maybe even nonexistent. For local and state emergency response agencies to trust the Internet with their most sensitive data, additional precautions must be taken to ensure the right people are accessing the emergency response networks and that only authorized users can read transient data.

• Based on this brief discussion, do you believe that the significant use of Internet in emergency operations will be limited until they can be conducted safely on the Internet?

Question #2

Discussion: National Response Framework, 2nd Edition

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Go to https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1466014682982-9bcf8245ba4c60c120aa915abe74e15d/National_Response_Framework3rd.pdf

Read page i: “Executive Summary,” and page 1: “Introduction.” There are 5 objectives of the NRF. Pick one and elaborate; provide examples.