Morning Roundup - October 5th

From the Associated Press, on cybersecurity:

When swine flu broke out, the government revved up a massive information campaign centered on three words: Wash your hands. The Obama administration now wants to convey similarly clear and concise guidance about one of the biggest national security threats in your home and office - the computer.

Think before you click. Know who's on the other side of that instant message. What you say or do in cyberspace stays in cyberspace - for many to see, steal and use against you or your government.

The Internet, said former national intelligence director Michael McConnell, "is the soft underbelly" of the U.S. today. Speaking at a new cybersecurity exhibit at the International Spy Museum in Washington, McConnell said the Internet has "introduced a level of vulnerability that is unprecedented."

The Pentagon's computer systems are probed 360 million times a day, and one prominent power company has acknowledged that its networks see up to 70,000 scans a day, according to cybersecurity expert James Lewis.

From CNN, on continued relief and recovery efforts in American Samoa:

Five days after a deadly earthquake and tsunami slammed into the Samoan Islands, burying parts of the islands under a sea of mud and debris, U.S. agencies continued Saturday helping residents dig out and providing relief to disaster victims.

About 300 responders are on the ground in American Samoa, including personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American

Red Cross, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Health and Human Services, according to those agencies. The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy are continuing transport of supplies to the territory, including meals, water, blankets, tents and medical supplies.

"In addition to our efforts in support of the governor of American Samoa, we recognize the significant impact of current disasters in other Pacific regions, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in a press release Saturday from FEMA's Washington headquarters.

More than 165 people were killed in the powerful 8.0-magnitude quake and deadly tsunami that struck the Samoan Islands -- including the independent nation of Samoa and the U.S. territory of American Samoa -- on Tuesday. The death toll in American Samoa stood at 22.

From Bloomberg News, on the H1N1 vaccine:

The first doses of swine flu vaccine will reach U.S. doctors next week as the country's biggest influenza prevention program seeks to curb the earliest flu season in at least four decades.

About 600,000 tubes of AstraZeneca Plc's nasal spray vaccine will arrive Oct. 6, with shots coming later in the week totaling 6 to 7 million doses, said Bill Hall, spokesman for the Health and Human Services Department, in an interview yesterday. About 40 to 50 million vaccines will be ready to ship in the following week.

The yearly flu season officially starts tomorrow, though the new pandemic virus already is spreading widely in most U.S. states, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first vaccines will be aimed at health-care workers, children, pregnant women and people with chronic conditions that put them at risk for complications. Most adults, including the elderly, should wait until additional supplies arrive, the CDC said.

Leadership Events
10:30 AM MDT
Secretary Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Mueller will each deliver remarks
International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference
Colorado Convention Center
700 14th Street
Denver, Colo.

Public Events
11:15 AM EDT
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen will deliver remarks about streamlining management in a crisis at the Excellence in Government Conference
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Atrium Hall
1300 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C.

12:30 PM EDT
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate will join National Commission on Children and Disasters Chairman and Save the Children Vice President Mark K. Shriver to preview a report to President Barack Obama and Congress that proposes new strategies to meet the unique needs of children affected by disasters
National Press Club
529 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C.