Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Reminds 911 Community to Be Vigilant

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and NHTSA’s National 911 Program would like to remind the 911 community of the threats related to cybersecurity and to be vigilant about reducing online risks, planning for attacks and reporting cybersecurity-related incidents. 

While technical innovations, such as NG911, have improved capabilities and security for telecommunicators and providers in the field, they have also increased the risk for cyber attacks and related threats. In addition to threats that all private and public entities face, 911 centers must be prepared for possible cybersecurity attacks specific to emergency communications, such as hackers using auto-dialers to overwhelm 911 center phone lines, accessing or corrupting data. 

Here are four easy ways to help stay safe online:

1. Use strong passwords that are long, random and unique and include all four character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols)

2. Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect online accounts, especially email, social media and financial accounts

3. Recognize and report phishing messages asking for personal information and avoid sharing sensitive information or credentials with unknown sources

4. Update software to ensure you have the latest security patches and updates on your devices and check for updates if automatic updates are unavailable

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agenda (CISA) has compiled a variety of data and resources to help your agency prepare for and manage cyber attacks.

Click here

Territorial Hazard Mitigation Council and Stakeholders
We encourage all departments and agencies to prepare their applications for the "Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)" and "Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA)" grant funding opportunities. Please submit your list of projects that you are submitting for these funding opportunities before our meeting to ensure timely submission. Below are recorded guidance webinars for the funding opportunities.

1. BRIC AND FMA FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2023 NOTICES OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES (NOFOS) – View At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rrhEoDy23g

2. BRIC AND FMA FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2023 NOTICES OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES (NOFOS) FOR TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS – View at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QraKMX_x_q0

We appreciate your time, value your participation and look forward to a productive meeting. Please feel free to contact our office if you have any further questions. Thank you for your continuous support.

Best Regards,

Sandi Tonumaipea

State/Territorial Hazard Mitigation Officer

UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS

Dec. 25: Christmas Holiday

Jan. 1: New Years Day

Good morning, MitFLG partners –

We know it’s a very busy time of the year but wanted to flag the following opportunity on this very important topic.

In advance of the summer season and underscoring the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on community resilience to address climate change, FEMA will host a virtual and in-person Extreme Heat Summit series focused on understanding extreme heat impacts and defining actionable ways to combat and prepare for these increasing risks across the country. Well ahead of the start to summer, January through March 2024 clocked in as the fifth-warmest start to a year in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 130-year climate record. NOAA predicts odds for above-normal temperatures across the midwestern, western and southern lower 48 states during the summer 2024 season.

In honor of Earth Month, the two-part series kicks off with a virtual summit on April 26, 2024, featuring remarks from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and roundtable discussions examining federal, state and local initiatives to combat extreme heat risks. Speakers include representatives from the U.S. Fire Administration, the National Park Service, Occupational Health and Safety and the Department of Health & Human Services.

“Extreme heat is becoming a more aggressive threat to well-being across the country,” said Administrator Criswell. “We want to arm our emergency responders—and communities across America—with the health and safety information needed to stay healthy when the temperatures soar. Just this week, we saw temperatures in the 80s and 90s over larger parts of the country. The time to be summer ready is now.”

FEMA’s Extreme Heat Series concludes with an in-person summit hosted in Chicago on May 21, 2024. Building on the lessons learned from FEMA’s 2023 Extreme Heat Summit, this engagement is open to government leaders and resilience focused private sector, nonprofit and academic organizations. FEMA will offer opportunities for discussion, networking and cross-collaboration between all levels of government and community partners. Presentations and panel discussions will be led by subject matter experts, local emergency managers and climate resilience practitioners. Speakers will focus on raising awareness of the increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat events, highlighting mitigation best practices across the country, and discussing ways of communicating extreme heat risks and implications to communities and stakeholders.

Attendance to the virtual and in-person extreme heat summits are open to the public. Register for the April 26 virtual summit at #SummerReady Extreme Heat Summit | FEMA.gov and register for the May 21 in-person Chicago summit at cvent.me/Z8lAk3.

For questions or additional information about the Extreme Heat Summit series, please contact FEMA-extreme-heat-summit@fema.dhs.gov

To learn more about extreme heat preparedness, visit FEMA’s Ready.gov. Please feel free to forward to interested colleagues, stakeholders, and partners.  

Thank you,

Aly Briscoe

MitFLG Secretariat