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From the Los Angeles Times

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Virtual war a real threat

The U.S. is vulnerable to a cyber attack, with its electrical grids, pipelines, chemical plants and other infrastructure designed without security in mind. Some say not enough is being done to protect the country.

by Ken Dilanian, Washington Bureau

March 28, 2011

Reporting from Washington

When a large Southern California water system wanted to probe the vulnerabilities of its computer networks, it hired Los Angeles-based hacker Marc Maiffret to test them. His team seized control of the equipment that added chemical treatments to drinking water — in one day.

The weak link: County employees had been logging into the network through their home computers, leaving a gaping security hole. Officials of the urban water system told Maiffret that with a few mouse clicks, he could have rendered the water undrinkable for millions of homes.

"There's always a way in," said Maiffret, who declined to identify the water system for its own protection.

The weaknesses that he found in California exist in crucial facilities nationwide, U.S. officials and private experts say.

The same industrial control systems Maiffret's team was able to commandeer also run electrical grids, pipelines, chemical plants and other infrastructure. Those systems, many designed without security in mind, are vulnerable to cyber attacks that have the potential to blow up city blocks, erase bank data, crash planes and cut power to large sections of the country.

Terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda don't yet have the capability to mount such attacks, experts say, but potential adversaries such as China and Russia do, as do organized crime and hacker groups that could sell their services to rogue states or terrorists.

U.S. officials say China already has laced the U.S. power grid and other systems with hidden malware that could be activated to devastating effect.

"If a sector of the country's power grid were taken down, it's not only going to be damaging to our economy, but people are going to die," said Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), who has played a lead role on cyber security as a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Some experts suspect that the U.S. and its allies also have been busy developing offensive cyber capabilities. Last year, Stuxnet, a computer worm some believe was created by the U.S. or Israel, is thought to have damaged many of Iran's uranium centrifuges by causing them to spin at irregular speeds.

In the face of the growing threats, the Obama administration's response has received mixed reviews.

President Obama declared in a 2009 speech that protecting computer network infrastructure "will be a national security priority." But the follow-through has been scant.

Obama created the position of federal cyber-security "czar," and then took seven months to fill a job that lacks much real authority. Several cyber-security proposals are pending in Congress, but the administration hasn't said publicly what it supports.

"I give the administration high marks for doing some things, but clearly not enough," Langevin said.

The basic roadblocks are that the government lacks the authority to force industry to secure its networks and industry doesn't have the incentive to do so on its own.

Meanwhile, evidence mounts on the damage a cyber attack could inflict. In a 2006 U.S. government experiment, hackers were able to remotely destroy a 27-ton, $1-million electric generator similar to the kind commonly used on the nation's power grid. A video shows it spinning out of control until it shuts down.

In 2008, U.S. military officials discovered that classified networks at the U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, had been penetrated by a foreign intelligence service using malware spread through thumb drives.

That attack led to the creation in 2009 of U.S. Cyber Command, a group of 1,000 spies and hackers charged with preventing such intrusions. They also are responsible for mounting offensive cyber operations, about which the government will say next to nothing.

The head of Cyber Command, Gen. Keith Alexander, also leads the National Security Agency, the massive Ft. Meade, Md.-based spy agency in charge of listening to communications and penetrating foreign computer networks.

Together, the NSA and Cyber Command have the world's most advanced capabilities, analysts say, and could wreak havoc on the networks of any country that attacked the U.S. — if they could be sure who was responsible.

It's easy to hide the source of a cyber attack by sending the malware on circuitous routes through computers and servers in third countries. So deterrence of the sort relied upon to prevent nuclear war — the threat of massive retaliation — is not an effective strategy to prevent a cyber attack.

Asked in a recent interview whether the U.S. could win a cyber war, Alexander responded, "I believe that we would suffer tremendously if a cyber war were conducted today, as would our adversaries."

Alexander also is quick to point out that his cyber warriors and experts are legally authorized to protect only military networks. The Department of Homeland Security is charged with helping secure crucial civilian infrastructure, but in practice, the job mostly falls to the companies themselves.

That would've been akin to telling the head of U.S. Steel in the 1950s to develop his own air defenses against Soviet bombers, writes Richard Clarke, who was President George W. Bush's cyber-security advisor, in his 2010 book, "Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It."

The comparison underscores the extent to which the U.S. lacks the laws, strategies and policies needed to secure its cyber infrastructure, experts say.

"If we don't get our act together, the consequences could be dire," said Scott Borg, who heads the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit, which analyzes the potential damage from various scenarios.

The problem, though, is "there's nothing that everyone agrees on," said James Lewis, cyber-security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

For example, Lewis and other experts believe the government should mandate cyber-security standards for water systems, electric utilities and other crucial infrastructure. Some contend that major U.S. Internet service providers should be required to monitor patterns in Internet traffic and stop malware as it transits their servers.

But both ideas are viewed with suspicion by a technology industry that wants the government out of its business, and by an Internet culture that sees such moves as undermining privacy.

"There are a whole lot of things that can't be legislated," said Bob Dix, vice president of government affairs for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Juniper Networks Inc., which makes routers and switches.

Yet Washington may be reaching a moment when the seriousness of the threat trumps political resistance. Sources familiar with the negotiations say the White House has promised Senate leaders that it will offer its own cyber-security legislation in a month. But any proposal that calls for far-reaching regulations would face an uphill battle.

CIA Director Leon E. Panetta told Congress recently that he worried about a cyber Pearl Harbor. Yet many who follow the issue believe that's what it will take to force Americans to awaken to the threat.

"The odds are we'll wait for a catastrophic event," said Mike McConnell, former director of National Intelligence and cyber-security specialist, "and then overreact."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cyber-war-20110328,0,7118331,print.story

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Vacaville man injured by explosive device hidden in newspaper

An explosive device wrapped in a newspaper exploded in a residential neighborhood in Vacaville on Sunday, seriously injuring a man and forcing the evacuation of more than a dozen homes.

The explosion on Cashel Circle occurred about 10:20 a.m. when the unidentified man went to his driveway to retrieve the Sunday paper, said Mark Mazzaferro, a spokesman for the city, about midway between San Francisco and Sacramento.

The man was airlifted to a local hospital and his condition was unknown, Mazzaferro said. It was unclear whether the victim was targeted or whether it was a random attack. There was also no information on the type of device used.

Authorities evacuated 12 to 14 homes in the surrounding cul-de-sac, while investigators from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives and a bomb squad from nearby Travis Air Force Base searched for more explosives.

Police detectives were also canvassing the community for information on anyone acting suspiciously Saturday night or Sunday morning, Mazzaferro said. Residents within a one-mile radius of the explosion were advised not to approach any suspicious packages.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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From the New York Times

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Documents Reveal Pressure to Comply With Program to Deport Immigrants

Federal immigration officials, frustrated by the refusal of Chicago and Cook County to join a controversial program aimed at deporting immigrants with criminal records, pressed Mayor Richard M. Daley and Sheriff Tom Dart in an aggressive campaign to obtain participation from reluctant police authorities, according to internal documents.

Last spring, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials tried to put the program, Secure Communities, in effect in Cook County without clear consent from the sheriff's office. Their advisers proposed asking Rahm Emanuel, then White House chief of staff, to use his Chicago connections to intervene with unresponsive local leaders.

Chicago and Cook County were among several localities nationwide that refused to enroll in the program, which involves sharing fingerprints of anyone arrested with the Department of Homeland Security. Chicago and Cook County cited so-called sanctuary ordinances that prohibit local officials from involvement in immigration enforcement.

The Secure Communities program is in effect in more than 1,000 jurisdictions in 40 states, including Illinois. The federal agency plans to take it nationwide by 2013 and says it does not need local approval to do so.

E-mails and other documents — obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, an immigrant-rights group — show that immigration officials saw Chicago and Cook County among the cities to be test cases for whether localities are allowed to opt out of the program.

Secure Communities is meant to find and deport illegal immigrants found guilty of serious crimes. But the immigration agency's statistics through February 2011 show that 32 percent of immigrants put into deportation proceedings in Illinois had no criminal convictions. Nationwide, 28 percent had no criminal record.

“The original concept was to get the really bad people out of the country, but are those the only ones you're getting?” Mr. Dart said. “I could never get a straight answer. If it's getting murderers and rapists, we're all for that, but if you're talking about people pulled over because their license plate isn't up to date — my staff kept coming back to me saying we never got clarification.”

Brian Hale, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an e-mail that the agency did not need permission from state or local authorities to carry out Secure Communities. The idea to involve Mr. Emanuel, he said, came from contractors working for the agency and did not reach top ICE officials. He said that ICE was not aware of any contact with Mr. Emanuel.

The e-mails show disagreement within the agency over whether state and local governments can refuse to participate. Local sanctuary ordinances do not bar participation, some argued, because Secure Communities requires local officials only to share fingerprints but does not require them to question or detain suspected illegal immigrants.

The internal documents are dated between August 2009 and October 2010. A February 2010 draft report, prepared by the Secure Communities office in Washington, suggested appealing to Mr. Emanuel to intervene if local officials “continue to refuse to attend briefings or join in a dialogue about the benefits of S.C.”

A spokesman for Mr. Emanuel would not comment on whether ICE contacted him while he was at the White House. As mayor, the spokesman said, Mr. Emanuel will adhere to Chicago's sanctuary ordinance.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement signs agreements with state police agencies, then seeks to enroll that state's county and city law enforcement agencies in Secure Communities.

The Illinois State Police joined the program in November 2009, and since then the program has been put in effect in 26 of 102 Illinois counties, including all the counties bordering Cook. The internal documents describe this strategy as forming a “ring” around a “resistant site.”

On April 28, 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent an e-mail to Mr. Dart's office saying the Secure Communities program would be activated May 5.

Mr. Dart's chief of staff at the time, Bill Cunningham, acknowledged the request, by e-mail. He mentioned the sanctuary ordinance but cited federal law that prevented local governments from interfering with immigration enforcement. “The system can be activated without our approval,” he wrote.

Even after John Morton, assistant secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, traveled to Chicago on May 19 to meet with Mr. Dart and Mr. Daley in an apparent effort to secure their cooperation, Chicago and Cook County did not adopt the program.

Then, on May 27, the Illinois State Police told the federal agency to back off. The state police's legal department did not view Mr. Cunningham's comment as consent, according to an e-mail.

“This is not good, not good at all!” the Secure Communities regional coordinator, an agency contractor named Dan Cadman, wrote in an internal e-mail. “Time perhaps for a full court press?” Mr. Hale said Mr. Cadman's contract was terminated on Friday.

Immigration and F.B.I. officials met Aug. 27 and decided the F.B.I. would “reach out to personal contacts” in Chicago and Cook County about Secure Communities. But in November, the office of Gov. Pat Quinn ordered the state police not to allow any more counties to enroll, pending a review of how the program was being carried out. Mr. Hale said the agency was still planning to put the program in effect here.

Immigration-rights advocates say the agency overstepped its bounds. “They were basically conspiring to make it appear Cook County had no choice,” said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which obtained the documents from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

Alderman Roberto Maldonado (26th Ward), who spearheaded the county sanctuary ordinance during his time as county commissioner, said Secure Communities “would violate the spirit” of the sanctuary ordinance.

“They just come in here like Rambos and do what they want,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/27cncimmigration.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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From Google News

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Japan quake dead and missing over 28,000

THE number of confirmed dead and people listed as missing from the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's northeast coast has topped 28,000, the National Police Agency says.

The agency - which collects data from the prefectures affected - said today that 10,901 had been confirmed dead and 17,649 listed as missing as of 5pm (AEDT) as a result of the March 11 catastrophe.

A total of 2776 are listed as injured.

The quake has become Japan's deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 142,000 people.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and have taken shelter in emergency facilities.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/japan-quake-dead-and-missing-over-28000/story-e6frf7jx-1226029595490

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Groups target states' illegal-immigration bills

After Arizona last year passed its immigration enforcement bill, which would have given police officers more powers to enforce immigration laws, legislators in dozens of states filed similar legislation. A complex web of Hispanic groups, business associations, farm bureaus, civil rights organizations and lawyers has crafted a state-by-state attack against such proposals and is starting to see results.

The latest victory came March 17 when the Arizona Senate rejected the five bills that also would have barred illegal immigrants from buying or driving cars or getting marriage licenses.

"After what happened last year, many expected there was going to be an across-the-board wave of these bills and they would be slam-dunks," said Clarissa Martinez of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group. "But legislatures are realizing that it's a risky proposition."

Several states are considering bills that would mirror Arizona's S.B. 1070, which would have required all state law enforcement officers to determine the immigration status of people stopped, detained or arrested for another offense if there was a "reasonable suspicion" that they were in the U.S. illegally. A federal judge halted the core aspects of the law, and that ruling is on appeal.

Different versions of the Arizona law have passed the Mississippi Legislature; similar bills have been passed by the Kentucky and Indiana state senates; and legislators in Utah, Oklahoma and other states continue studying the proposal.

Michael Hethmon, general counsel for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, which helped Arizona defend its law last year and has advised more than 12 states on similar proposals this year, said it was unrealistic to think dozens of those laws could pass this year. He said state laws generally take years to enact.

"The process is building momentum," Hethmon said.

In several states, the bills have been killed. Arizona-style bills failed in Colorado, Kentucky, South Dakota and Wyoming, according to the National Immigration Forum, which opposes such legislation.

A variety of tactics were used to stop the bills:

"Mississippi is very difficult because there is a very entrenched, white-supremacist sentiment here," said Bill Chandler, executive director of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, which works with the local chapter of the NAACP to fight anti-immigration bills. "African Americans saw what was happening to Latinos as the same thing that happened to their families."

Those who sponsor strict anti-immigration bills say it's unfair to label them as racists.

"It was asked to me point-blank, 'Why do you hate Mexicans?' " said Colorado state Rep. Randy Baumgardner, a Republican who filed an Arizona-style bill. "I don't hate Spanish people."

Baumgardner said such bills are necessary because illegal immigrants are getting jobs ahead of Americans and legal immigrants who need work and they are further draining diminished state budgets through the services they receive in schools and hospitals, for example.

Like other state legislators, Baumgardner pulled his bill last month when he realized how much it would cost to implement and defend against lawsuits.

"I thought the bill was a good piece of legislation," he said. "I just didn't want to burden the people of Colorado" with legal costs.

The lawsuits would definitely come. A group of lawyers who sued Arizona last year over its law continues to monitor all anti-immigration legislation.

Cecilia Wang, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project, said it's ready to sue but would prefer to avoid that.

Lawsuits are "expensive for us, too, and divert us from doing other things," she said. "But we're ready and prepared to respond in any state that passes one of these laws."

http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=Groups+target+states%27+illegal-immigration+bills+-+USATODAY.com&urlID=449730112&action=cpt&partnerID=1660&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2011-03-28-stateimmigration28_ST_N.htm

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Dorothea Puente, boarding house operator who killed tenants, dies at 82

Dorothea Puente, who was serving life sentences in state prison when she died at 82, was arrested in 1988 and accused of killing tenants at her boarding house to take their money and collect their Social Security checks.

by Rich Connell, Los Angeles Times

March 28, 2011

Dorothea Puente, a notorious, grandmotherly Sacramento boarding house operator convicted in the 1990s of killing her tenants, died Sunday in a state prison in Chowchilla. She was 82.

Puente died of natural causes at the Central California Women's Facility, said Paul Verke, a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman. She was serving life-without-parole sentences for two first-degree murder convictions and a concurrent 15-years-to-life sentence for a second-degree murder conviction, Verke said.

Her macabre story, including allegations that she buried several victims in the yard of her Victorian-style home a few blocks from the Capitol, made headlines across the country.

At 64, Puente was tried for nine murders after police unearthed seven bodies around her home. Two more bodies, including that of a former boyfriend found in a box in the Sacramento River, were discovered later. After a five-month trial, jurors deadlocked in 1993 on six of the murder charges.

The investigation began in 1988 after a social worker looking into the disappearance of a mentally disabled man became suspicious of Puente's unlicensed boarding home. During Puente's trial, which was moved to Monterey County because of media coverage, prosecutors said police had been told months earlier that Puente was killing people and burying them. But the tip was discounted because it came from a heroin addict facing other charges.

Puente preyed on what investigators called "shadow people" — the elderly, alcoholics and the disabled. Though there were no witnesses to the slayings, prosecutors said Puente was one of the most "cold, calculating" female serial killers the country had ever seen. They claimed she used drugs to overdose her victims and then collected their money and Social Security checks.

She took in $87,000, prosecutors claimed, and spent it on a face lift, among other things.

Puente was on parole at the time of her crimes for an unrelated earlier conviction related to using drugs to rob elderly victims. She was arrested in 1988 in Los Angeles, where she had fled when the bodies were discovered. A man she met in a bar recognized her and turned her in. Puente reportedly befriended him after learning he was collecting disability checks.

Puente denied killing the victims, saying they died of natural causes. Her attorney portrayed her as the product of a troubled childhood.

There were conflicting accounts of her childhood, with various reports indicating she was one of seven or one of 18 children. She was scarred by her parents' alcoholism during her early years in Southern California. Her mother was a prostitute who died when Puente was 10, and her father sometimes held a gun to his head and threatened to kill himself in front of his children, The Times reported at the time. After her mother's death, she moved through several homes. According to witnesses at the trial, she was sexually abused while at an orphanage. At 16, she married, had two children and gave them up for adoption. At 19, she was a widow convicted of forging checks in Riverside.

Puente's attorney said his client didn't report her tenants' deaths because she was afraid of violating her parole by running a boarding house that catered to the elderly and infirm.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-0328-dorothea-puente-20110328,0,1915490.story

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