Steady, reliable communications are a necessity for public-safety agencies. From having reliable coverage in an area to always being able to relay important messages and information to emergency responders and/or the citizens they protect, agencies need up-to-date, functional communications systems.
Topics: Land Mobile Radio, Radio coverage
There is cause for rejoicing in the public-safety community due to the recent consent decree issued by the Federal Communications Commission regarding the Z-axis, which is a vital third element of 911 caller location that has been missing. But a closer read of the order indicates that the real celebration is probably months away.
As part of our effort to inform our clients about potential and serious cybersecurity issues, MCP provides advisories about vulnerabilities and exploits that could threaten the operations of their critical communications networks. Sign up to receive these advisories in your inbox as soon as they are released.
Having attended dozens of educational conferences over the decade that I served as editor-in-chief of Urgent Communications and Fire Chief magazines, I know an excellent one when I see it—and I can report without fear of contradiction that the second-annual Conference for Advancing Public Safety (CAPS)—being presented by Mission Critical Partners (MCP) on June 15-16—is shaping up to be an excellent educational event.
Over the last two decades, I have written now and then about a relative who was a career firefighter for the city of Chicago. I am writing about him again today because he’s the reason I’m so excited about a panel discussion that I’ll be moderating in a couple of weeks during MCP’s second-annual Conference for Advancing Public Safety (CAPS).
Cyberattacks should be on the radar of every agency in the public-safety/justice community. One of the most prevalent attacks involves ransomware, which is a specific type of malware that cyberattackers use to exploit a system vulnerability and then launch a program that encrypts the organization’s data files, essentially locking them and rendering them unusable. The cyberattacker then demands a ransom—hence the name—to provide the key that unlocks the files.
Network and system endpoints, i.e., workstations and servers, are the most vulnerable network and system elements because they directly interface with the applications that we use. Those applications act as gateways into those endpoints and thus are used by cyberattackers to deliver the malware that will enable them to carry out their nefarious missions. This is especially true of ransomware, which targets files and data that are accessible on or from those endpoints. The cyberattacker’s goal is to gain access and control of as many endpoints as possible.
Numerous physical characteristics exist in each of us that enable law enforcement personnel to accurately identify criminal suspects. The most important are a person’s fingerprints, palm prints, facial features, irises and DNA. Individually these characteristics—which are unique to everybody—are called modalities. Three other significant modalities are a person’s gait, the timber of their voice and their vascular system—the manner in which veins and arteries grow also is unique to each individual—though these are emerging modalities.
As part of our effort to inform our clients about potential and serious cybersecurity issues, MCP provides advisories about vulnerabilities and exploits that could threaten the operations of their critical communications networks. Sign up to receive these advisories in your inbox as soon as they are released.
This week there is a new critical alert that requires the mission-critical community’s immediate attention.
Advisory overview
Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday release for May 2021 includes a Windows update that will remediate a multitude of vulnerabilities. The update will patch 55 vulnerabilities; one is critical, 50 are important, and one is moderate. It also includes patches for three zero-day vulnerabilities that are identified below. MCP recommends updating all Windows machines to apply these patches and remediate the vulnerabilities.
Now that the Centers for Disease Control have determined that it is safe to travel for those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, that’s just what Darrin Reilly, MCP’s president and CEO, has been doing, visiting clients from coast to coast. Recently, MCP Insights chatted with him to discover what he has learned during his travels.
by Michele Frankovich and Elizabeth Lenz
The ancient philosopher Heraclitus stated that change is the only constant in life. But that isn’t quite right. Another constant is that people generally are reticent to change and will do almost anything to avoid it. That’s because change represents the unknown, which is scary.
Nevertheless, change presents opportunities. Change is how people and organizations evolve. And evolution is necessary—if people and organizations do not adapt to changing conditions, they sooner or later will encounter difficulties. For instance, people need to learn new skillsets if they want to remain competitive in the job market. Similarly, organizations need to react to changing market conditions if they want to continue serving their customers, whose needs and wants continually evolve—or in the case of government entities, their constituents.
The promise of Next Generation 911 (NG911) systems is undeniable. The broadband capabilities of NG911 systems enable data to reach emergency communications centers (ECCs)—traditionally known as public safety answering points (PSAPs)—for the first time, because legacy 911 systems traditionally have been voice-centric, with very modest data capabilities. Moreover, NG911 systems will allow for the transmission of high-bandwidth files, such as video and building floorplans.
How can we support your mission? From design and procurement to building and management, our national team of experts is here to help…because the mission matters.
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