This has been a good week to do just that. The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday over whether the government can attach a GPS tracker to your car without a warrant

http://news.discovery.com/tech/gps-tracking-111111.html

• Types of events
• Dispatch issues
• Body armor
• The effects of alcohol
• Coordination with other agencies and the police
• Approach strategies
• The potential for violence
• The NFPA mandate
• Lessons learned from previous events
• Why no jurisdiction is too small
• Proven tactics

Students in Hazard Mitigation Planning, a course at Western Washington University's Huxley College of the Environment, explore mitigation planning across the United States. As part of their final project, groups created websites describing the Disaster Mitigation Act 2000 hazard mitigation planning process, how it is implemented in various states, and offering a critique of these states' plan:

 http://www.wwu.edu/huxley/resilience/Student/StudentWork.html

http://www.regulations.gov/#!home

Fusion Center Locations and Contact Information

http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1301685827335.shtm

Section 36-12-40

Rights of citizens to inspect and copy public writings; exceptions.

Every citizen has a right to inspect and take a copy of any public writing of this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by statute. Provided however, registration and circulation records and information concerning the use of the public, public school or college and university libraries of this state shall be exempted from this section. Provided further, any parent of a minor child shall have the right to inspect the registration and circulation records of any school or public library that pertain to his or her child. Notwithstanding the foregoing, records concerning security plans, procedures, assessments, measures, or systems, and any other records relating to, or having an impact upon, the security or safety of persons, structures, facilities, or other infrastructures, including without limitation information concerning critical infrastructure (as defined at 42 U.S.C. §5195c(e) as amended) and critical energy infrastructure information (as defined at 18 C.F.R. §388.113(c)(1) as amended), the public disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be detrimental to the public safety or welfare, and records the disclosure of which would otherwise be detrimental to the best interests of the public shall be exempted from this section. Any public officer who receives a request for records that may appear to relate to critical infrastructure or critical energy infrastructure information, shall notify the owner of such infrastructure in writing of the request and provide the owner an opportunity to comment on the request and on the threats to public safety or welfare that could reasonably be expected from public disclosure on the records.

(Code 1923, §2695; Code 1940, T. 41, §145; Acts 1983, No. 83-565, p. 866, §3; Act 2004-487, p. 906, §1.)

Compilation of State and Federal Privacy Laws (1997 ed.),

"X" next to the topic means that state law covers the subject (but not necessarily that the law affords a great deal of privacy protection) and an "0" means that the state does not have a law covering the topic. In some cases, there is less privacy protection in states that have a law than does who do not. 

Alabama

Arrest Records        X
Bank Records          X
Cable TV              0
Computer Crime        X
Credit                0
Criminal Justice      X
Gov't Data Banks      X
Employment            0
Insurance             0
Mailing Lists         0
Medical               X
Miscellaneous         0
Polygraphing          X
Privacy Statutes      0
Privileges            X
School Records        0
Soc. Security Numbers 0
Tax Records           0
Tele. Service/Solicit 0
Testing               0
Wiretaps              X
 

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), working in extreme temperatures is not only uncomfortable, it can be life threatening. An OSHA official stated: ?It is important for workers and their employers to minimize the chances of heat-induced illnesses, and imperative that they recognize the signs of heat stress and take proper precautions to reduce the chance of illness or death.?  

Because first responders must frequently perform duties in extreme heat environments, OSHA advises that proactive and aggressive precautions should be enforced. Therefore, the following tips from multiple sources are provided for the consideration of ESS departments and agencies:  

• Urge personnel to drink plenty of water before coming on duty and during duty performance.
• Advise responders to avoid soft drinks, sugary liquids, or caffeinated beverages.
• Encourage each individual to get plenty of rest while off duty.
• Urge everyone to report any symptoms of dehydration, heat cramps, heat stroke, or heat exhaustion.
• Require the presence of EMS with a transport unit during all training and incident responses.
• Create a rehabilitation center with tents for shaded areas at training and incident sites.
• Provide bottled water and electrolyte sports drinks.
• Set up an extra hose to provide a place for personnel to cool off.
• Set up limb immersion chairs under tents and provide cool towels.
• Monitor temperature and relative humidity continuously.
• Ensure accurate personnel accountability.
• Enforce work-to-rest ratios.
• Bring extra responders to major events to provide adequate relief for exhausted crews.  

More information about hot weather safety can be found at the FEMA and CDC websites.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr/

The Verizon RISK Team with the cooperation from the U.S. Secret Service, Australian Federal Police, Dutch High Tech Crime Unit, Irish Reporting and Information Security Service, and the Police Central e-Crime Unit (modeled after Scotland Yard) has released an 80-page study -- the 2012 Data Breach Investigation Report. The report covers threat agents and actions, compromised assets and data, attack difficulty and attack targeting, anti-forensics, breach discovery, and the the impact of data breaches.

Investigative and security professionals, even if not directly involved with computer forensics, should consider reviewing the report which covers the entities behind many of the data breaches, the manner in which they occur, and the commonalities that exist.
2012 Data Breach Investigation Report