CBP should use former FBI agents to assist with C-TPAT

2005-07-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

C-TPAT

Since October 2004, CBP (US Customs and Border Protection) and the trade community have worked collaboratively to develop minimum security criteria for importers either already enrolled in the C-TPAT program, or wishing to join this voluntary supply chain security program. These new minimum security criteria help solidify membership expectations, and more clearly define and establish the baseline level of security measures which must be employed by member importers.
These security criteria are effective as of March 25, 2005. A phased implementation schedule has been implemented and applies to all C-TPAT Importer members.

The task for CBP to certify as many importers as possble must be huge.
Just as the FBI has been using former FBI agents to carry our pre-employment background investigations in order to reduce the load on current government employees, it would seem like a good idea for CBP to use former FBI agents to carry out C-TPAT training and audits, thus greatly increasing the rate at which companies qualify and improving the security of the country.

Microsoft UK gets former FBI security chief

2005-07-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

ZDNet reports that Microsoft UK has chosen a new security chief, a man with plenty of experience of the criminal underworld...

"The company announced late last week that it had appointed Edward Gibson as its chief security advisor in the UK. Gibson, who will take up his new role in July, has worked for America's Federal Bureau of Investigation as an assistant legal attaché for the UK. He started at the FBI in 1985 as a special agent, and has a track-record of fighting money laundering, fraud, financial crime and intellectual-property theft, according to Microsoft. "

Ex-FBI Agents Discuss Bioterrorist Threat

2005-06-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Nuno F. Andrade
nfa202[at]nyu[dot]edu

On Monday, October 15, 2001, several retired FBI agents met to discuss the current bioterrorist threat.

Ex-FBI Agents Discuss Bioterrorist Threat

Several former FBI agents spoke on Monday, October 15, of the current bioterrorism threat to the United States. The agents, now retired from the FBI, currently work for Guardsmark, Inc., a privately held security services company specializing in protecting the corporate sector.

The event came at a time when one Florida man had died of pulmonary anthrax and the threat of bioterrorism was becoming increasingly palpable. In the meantime three more people have died of pulmonary anthrax, more have contracted the cutaneous form of the disease after coming in contact with letters contaminated with a powdered form of the bacteria and hundreds are being given antibiotics after testing positive for exposure to anthrax.

The retired FBI agents gathered via teleconference from across the United States at Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan to discuss the FBI’s experience with bioterrorism as well as what measures individuals and corporations should take to protect themselves from the current threat. According to Weldon Kennedy, the Vice Chairman of Guardsmark, the FBI has been preparing for these types of terrorist attacks for years. The on-scene commander of FBI resources at the Oklahoma City bombing, Mr. Kennedy is no stranger to terrorism. “This is a completely new era with regards to focus on security,” said Mr. Kennedy. “These cases are the first cases of anthrax distribution that we’ve encountered in many, many years, if ever.” Although law enforcement is well prepared for attacks with the anthrax bacterium, Mr. Kennedy does not believe they are as prepared for attacks using other chemical and biological agents. “We are not that well prepared in terms of having the available vaccines and available treatments for other forms of bioterrorism attacks,” he said.

According to James E. Tomlinson, a Vice President of Guardsmark and former Special Agent in Charge of the National Security Division in the New York FBI office, the events of the last month are very unique. “The recent attacks [have been perpetrated] using our own means [of delivery],” he said. The director of day-to-day operations and investigation of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Mr. Tomlinson never thought he would live to experience the events of Sept. 11. This time around, he believes that to counter the terrorist threat, the public must play a major role. As he stated, there must be an investigative as well as a preventative aspect. “The American public is going to have to be inconvenienced and we’re going to have to give up some of our priceless liberties and freedoms in order to get to the bottom of this,” said Mr. Tomlinson.

Although the occurrences of anthrax across the United States are not to be taken lightly, William A. Gavin believes that we are fortunate that the strains of anthrax have been very weak. Mr. Gavin, who was responsible for the operational investigation and resolution of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, believes that these contaminated letters pose more of a psychological threat than a physical one. “Just one of these envelopes puts everyone on edge,” he said. As Mr. Kennedy stated, were the recent events a bioterrorism attack with the objective of major loss of life, the terrorists would use a different method of delivery, one that would be more broadly disseminated.

“The post office can only do so much,” said William P. Kinane. The ex-Program Director for Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism in San Francisco and a supervisor with responsibility for the Unabomber case, Mr. Kinane believes there are some comparisons between the current threat and that of the Unabomber. The Unabomber sent mail bombs to public figures in response to published articles or statements made by those persons. The perpetrators of the anthrax threat seem to be doing the same; sending contaminated letters to public figures in the media and in government. Since the Unabomber, Mr. Kinane stated, the post office has changed many of its procedures to counteract terrorism via the United States postal system.

Even so, companies and individuals must take measures to protect themselves. Mr. Kennedy suggests that workplace employees use gloves when handling mail to lower the risk of anthrax contamination through contact with infected mail. If there is a strong suspicion that mail is contaminated, he states, employees should place the contaminated article in a plastic bag, wash their hands thoroughly, and contact the authorities. Mr. Kennedy compares this threat to the threat of e-mail viruses: “If you don’t know where [the e-mail] is from and it has an attachment, you don’t open it.”

Of all the possible scenarios, the one that frightens Mr. Gavin most is the possibility that a large number of people will be exposed to chemical or biological agents. This was the case in Japan on March 20, 1995 when members of the Aum Doomsday Cult, released poisonous serin gas in a Tokyo subway, resulting in 12 deaths and over five thousand injuries. According to Mr. Tomlinson, as a result of this incident, United States law enforcement is much better prepared for similar attacks. “Since [the] incident [in Japan], New York emergency management have trained specifically on an incident such as that,” he said.

In the midst of this heightened alert, Mr. Tomlinson recommends that the public remain calm but alert to possible threats. “Everyone has to be more vigilant,” he said. “[We should] go about our lives as we’ve always had, but [we need to] be more vigilant.” As Mr. Kennedy stated, “every citizen of this country has [to] become a security officer. . . . All of us need to be more alert.”

Author Information (Submitted by Author)
Nuno Andrade is a New York University student majoring in journalism and Africana Studies.

Former FBI Agents

2005-05-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

Somebody wrote that all the retired and former FBI Agents are "blindly loyal" to the FBI.

The truth is - they are not "blindly loyal", but as a group, I don't know of any group of individuals more sensitive, honest, trustworthy and loyal, than these. They care about the image of the FBI and don't want the news media and others to scar that image.

Most of the former FBI Agents continue to participate in their communities and try to assist where needed.

I'll take them as my friends and neighbors anytime.

Ex-FBI-Agents.Com

CBP should use former FBI agents to assist with C-TPAT

Microsoft UK gets former FBI security chief

Ex-FBI Agents Discuss Bioterrorist Threat

Former FBI Agents