Tag: USA

Become a Certified ISO 22301 Lead Auditor

Can you continue your operations even with your key location unavailable?

You are invited to join us in Dallas, TX for the ISO 22301 Lead Auditor training and certification on 10-14 June.

Develop the expertise to perform a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) audit by applying widely recognized audit principles, procedures and techniques. During this training, you will also acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to plan and carry out internal and external audits in compliance with ISO 19011 and ISO/IEC 17021-1 certification process.

Click here for more registration and information
Advertisements

ISO training and certification with ContinuityLink – Register today



Are you earthquake prepared?

Wednesday morning a large earthquake hit Southern California — initial reports saying it had a 6.4 magnitude and could be felt in Las Vegas.

Are you earthquake prepared Washington Emergency Management photo

Washington Emergency Management (WEM) took the opportunity to remind folks on how to be prepared for an earthquake.

If you feel an earthquake, drop, cover and hold, WEM said in a tweet. If you feel shaking and you’re near the coast, get to high ground right away. WEM says to assume a tsunami is on the way and don’t wait for sirens to get higher.

Read entire post Are you earthquake prepared? | KOMO News

Detroit’s urban beekeepers are transforming the city’s vacant lots

Detroit natives Timothy Paule and Nicole Lindsey witnessed first-hand the negative effects the housing crisis had on their city. With roughly 90,000 vacant lots, neighborhoods have been destabilized and communities abandoned with little action being taken, in their view, to fix the root of the problem.

When Paule became sick one recent winter and developed a really bad cough that neither medicine, home remedies or a trip to the doctor could cure, he visited a local store where the owner introduced him to the benefits of raw honey. He explained to Paule that his supply came from a beekeeper. That led to an aha moment for Nicole Lindsey.

Read entire post Detroit’s urban beekeepers are transforming the city’s vacant lots | National Geographic

How Washington DC boosts resilience through data

When Harrison Newton was running the branch of the Washington, D.C., Department of Energy and Environment that deals with indoor environmental health, he would sometimes get frustrated. His team would often become aware of problems like children becoming sick with asthma due to where they were living. But the power to do something about those problems frequently resided elsewhere within the city’s bureaucracy.

How Washington DC boosts resilience through data 1
The federal city was selected in 2016 by the Rockefeller Foundation to become part of its global network of 100 resilient cities around the world. Through its 100 Resilient Cities program, the foundation provides technical and financial support to the cities to develop and implement resilience strategies.

“The more connectivity between different parts of the city government there is around policy goals, the better the outcome for residents.”

“We, within the Department of Energy and Environment, were not the agency with the authorities to repair those conditions,” says Newton, D.C.’s deputy chief resiliency officer. “That could potentially rely on grants or programs from the Department of Housing and Community Development. It relied potentially on enforcement action by regulatory agencies.”

That need for cross-departmental action and coordination taught him a powerful lesson, Newton says: “The more connectivity between different parts of the city government there is around policy goals, the better the outcome for residents.”

Read entire post How Washington, D.C., Boosts Resilience Through Data | Shaun Waterman | StateTech

Los Angeles targets 100% electric vehicles in the city by 2050

Last month, he introduced the city’s own version of the Green New Deal, which establishes goals of a zero carbon grid, zero carbon transportation, zero carbon buildings, zero waste, and zero wasted water by 2050.

Citing the environmental disasters the city has faced in recent years, the mayor explains in the 150-page plan that “the scale of our ambitions must meet the magnitude of this crisis.”

“With flames on our hillsides and floods in our streets, cities cannot wait another moment to confront the climate crisis with everything we’ve got”

“Politicians in Washington don’t have to look across the aisle in Congress to know what a Green New Deal is — they can look across the country, to Los Angeles,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti in a news release. “With flames on our hillsides and floods in our streets, cities cannot wait another moment to confront the climate crisis with everything we’ve got. L.A. is leading the charge, with a clear vision for protecting the environment and making our economy work for everyone.”

Read entire post Los Angeles Targets 100% Electric Vehicles In The City By 2050 | Liane Yvkoff | Forbes

Lawmakers propose cyber training for congress

A bipartisan bill proposed last week by New York representatives Kathleen Rice (D) and John Katko (R), who co-sponsored the act, requires members of Congress to receive annual cybersecurity and IT training. The Congressional Cybersecurity Training Resolution of 2019 adds to the existing requirement that House employees receive annual training by mandating that the House members themselves also receive cybersecurity and IT training, according to The Hill.

“The chief administrative officer shall carry out an annual information security training program for members (including the delegates and resident commissioner), officers, and employees of the House,” the act states.

“We strongly encourage support for the Congressional Cybersecurity Training Resolution,” said Jack Koziol, CEO and founder at Infosec. “Cyber-criminals are responsible for hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of damage to the global economy and undermine democracy around the world.”

Read entire post Lawmakers propose cyber training for congress | Kacy Zurkus | InfoSecurity

Washington introduces ‘resiliency’ plan to protect against 21st-century threats

The initiatives are part of the city’s “Resilient D.C.” strategy, a 160-page plan that is the culmination of the city’s two-year planning process.

The D.C. plan sets four goals: leveraging technology, fostering inclusive growth, mitigating the effects of climate change and improving public health.

Kevin Bush, who serves as D.C.’s chief resilience officer through a Rockefeller Foundation grant, told StateScoop that he designed the technology component of the resilience strategy — which includes 16 of the document’s 68 total goals — to enable the city to leverage, rather than “just respond to” technological advancements.

Read entire post Washington introduces ‘resiliency’ plan to protect against 21st-century threats | Ryan Johnston | StateScoop

Surviving the Storm – Life Below Zero

Life Below Zero follows six people as they battle for the most basic necessities in the state with the lowest population density in the United States. Living at the ends of the world’s loneliest roads and subsisting off the rugged Alaskan bush, they battle whiteout snow storms, man-eating carnivores, questionable frozen terrain, and limited resources through a long and bitter winter.

Some of them are lone wolves; others have their families beside them. All must overcome despairing odds to brave the wild and survive through to the spring. And when spring arrives in Alaska, rising temperatures bring mounting challenges as they work to prepare for yet another winter.

Maine becomes the first state to ban Styrofoam

The law, which will go into effect January 1, 2021, prohibits restaurants, caterers, coffee shops and grocery stores from using the to-go foam containers because they cannot be recycled in Maine.

The law prohibits restaurants, caterers, coffee shops and grocery stores from using the to-go foam containers because they cannot be recycled

Maine has become the first state to take such a step as debate about banning plastic bags or other disposable products is spreading across the nation.

While states like New York and California have banned single-use plastic bags, others such as Tennessee and Florida have made it illegal for local municipalities to regulate them.

Read entire post Maine becomes the first state to ban Styrofoam | Gianluca Mezzofiore | CNN

Change at 100 Resilient Cities program won’t affect city’s equity efforts, official says

“There might eventually be fewer networking opportunities with 100 Resilient Cities and fewer opportunities to consult with 100 Resilient Cities staff, but the impact will be negligible now that the city has our own strategy and staff integrated into city operations,” said Michelle Brooks, spokeswoman for the Mayor’s Office.

The 100 Resilient Cities program was established in 2013 to provide financial and technical assistance to help cities implement strategies to tackle the social, economic and physical challenges of the 21st century.

Tulsa was selected to be part of the 100 Resilient Cities program in 2014. In early 2016, former Mayor Dewey Bartlett hired a chief resilience officer to focus on disaster management. After taking office in December 2016, Mayor G.T Bynum shifted the focus of the program to racial disparities and equity, and hired DeVon Douglass to be the city’s chief resilience officer.

Read entire post Change at 100 Resilient Cities program won’t affect city’s equity efforts, official says | Kevin Canfield | Tusla World

Cybercriminals spoof major accounting and payroll firms in tax season malware campaigns

In monitoring tax-related malicious activity, researchers found that threat actors have been using the financial malware TrickBot to impersonate companies, including ADP and Paychex.

“These campaigns attempted to deceive recipients into believing they were emailed by large accounting, tax and payroll services firms and carried malicious Microsoft Excel attachments,” IBM’s John Zorabedian, Dr. Martin Steigemann and Ashkan Vila wrote in today’s blog post.

“The size of the spoofed firms suggests the criminals are likely to have some success in snagging individual users and businesses that are customers of these well-known companies.” All three of the sample emails that were analyzed were written in English, indicating that the attackers were targeting victims in the United States.

Read entire post TrickBot used in tax season email spoofing | Kacy Zurkus | InfoSecurity