DHS poised for mock terror attacks

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0505/web-cooper-05-06-03.asp

By Judi Hasson 
May 6, 2003

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The information technology team at the Homeland 
Security Department (DHS) will be working around the clock next week 
to monitor an exercise simulating a terrorist attack on Seattle and 
Chicago, the department's chief information officer said today.

Steve Cooper said his team of top-level IT officials would be looking 
for any cybersecurity lapses and actions that should have been taken 
but were not.

"We'll be watching for lessons learned: Is there something we missed? 
Do we need to fill a gap?" he told Federal Computer Week at the 
semiannual CIO Summit, sponsored by FCW Media Group.

The five-day exercise, known as TopOff 2 (Top Officials 2), will begin 
May 12. It will include DHS and the State Department working in 
conjunction with federal, state, local and Canadian officials. The 
exercise will analyze the response to a terrorist attack.

The operation includes a sequence of events that would happen in a 
terrorist campaign with weapons of mass destruction. The operation 
will simulate a radiological device explosion in Seattle and a covert 
biological attack in Chicago, and evaluate how authorities respond to 
these incidents.

Some 25 agencies and the American Red Cross will be involved in the 
exercise, DHS Secretary Tom Ridge said May 5 in discussing the event.
 
 

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