Home PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-020

Daily Brief

The PSEPC Daily Brief is a compilation of summaries of publicly available and PSEPC information concerning critical infrastructure protection and emergency management.

DOB06-020 - 30 January 2006

News

Transport Canada announces airspace restrictions for Super Bowl XL
On January 27, Transport Canada announced airspace restrictions that will be in effect around Windsor, Ontario, due to Super Bowl XL, which is being held in Detroit, Michigan. Restrictions will affect aircraft movement in southwestern Ontario, particularly in and around the Windsor Airport, from 16:00-23:59 EDT on 5 February 2006.

These airspace restrictions are part of the safety and security requirements for Super Bowl XL, and are described to pilots in a Notice to Airmen issued by NAV CANADA. Transport Canada has informed air operators of these airspace restrictions in an effort to minimize the impact of the restrictions on the travelling public.
(Source: Transport Canada, 27 January 2006)
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PSEPC Geomatics provides a map (612 kb) of the affected area.

The Canadian Region (CANR) of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) conducted an early morning exercise rehearsal on January 26 in the Windsor/Detroit area in preparation for air defense support to Super Bowl XL but, according to media reports, was forced to schedule an additional exercise for February 1 as weather issues prevented the completion of a comprehensive drill.

The binational exercise is designed to test intercept and identification operations, and is comprised of a series of training flights conducted in coordination with the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center, Continental United States NORAD Region (CONR), Canadian Air Defence Sector, NAV CANADA and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

NORAD is a binational Canada‑U.S. command responsible for the aerospace defence of North America. The Department of National Defence provides more background information on NORAD.
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BSE detected in Alberta: Update
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-018, the investigation into the affected animal’s birth cohort (animals born 12 months before or after) is ongoing. Earlier last week, 24 animals that resided on the affected animal’s birth farm tested negative for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ( BSE), also known as Mad Cow Disease. The affected animal had two recently born offspring. A calf born in 2005 tested negative for BSE earlier this week and the trace-out of the 2004 calf is ongoing.
(Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 27 January 2006)
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The CFIA provides more information on BSE in North America.

WHO releases pandemic influenza draft protocol for rapid response and containment
On January 27, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its initial draft pandemic influenza protocol for rapid response and containment, in which national and international planning and resources are coordinated and focused for the purpose of rapidly detecting, and potentially stopping or containing, an emerging pandemic influenza virus near the start of a pandemic. The purpose of this protocol is to facilitate rapid detection and assessment of potential “signals” that the influenza virus is improving its transmissibility, and to guide implementation of effective response interventions before an emerging pandemic virus has spread beyond an initial outbreak zone.
(Source: World Health Organization, 27 January 2006)
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provides more information on avian influenza.

In brief

Fire at Saskatchewan potash mine traps miners
On January 29, a fire broke out in a potash mine near Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, trapping 72 miners. The fire was put out before midnight on January 29; the cause is unknown. All of the miners survived by retreating to refuge rooms, which had enough oxygen supplies to last at least 36 hours, as well as water, food, beds and blankets. The majority of the miners were brought to the surface by the morning of January 30, and the remaining five were expected to be rescued shortly thereafter.
(Source: CBC News, 30 January 2006)
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Yukon Territory power failure leaves thousands without power
On January 29 at approximately 13:30 PDT , a power failure occurred in Yukon Territory leaving thousands of residents without power for more than nine hours in extremely cold temperatures. Power was restored at approximately 22:00 PDT. Yukon Electrical stated that a problem with one of the generators at the Aisihik power station caused a cascading failure in the power grid, overloading a second generator at the dam, and then the Whitehorse power station. Until the source of the problem can be tracked down, Yukon Territory residents are being asked to conserve power to reduce the load on the system.
(Source: cbc.ca NORTH, 30 January 2006)
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PSEPC Geomatics provides a map (383 kb) of the affected area.

Cyber risk assessment

Over the course of the past 72 hours, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) has not detected any significant new threats or vulnerabilities. CCIRC is continuing to track an e-mail worm known as B lackWorm/Nyxem/Blackmal/Blueworm/Grew, which is scheduled to delete certain file types on 3 February 2006.

No significant incidents with the potential to affect critical infrastructure have been reported. Accordingly, based on the information available to CCIRC, the cyber risk facing Canadian critical infrastructure is assessed as low. Personnel responsible for information, systems and network security should continue to apply appropriate security precautions and monitor their systems.

Recent cyber alerts and advisories issued by CCIRC can be viewed under “Recent analytical releases” at www.psepc.gc.ca/ccirc.

See also...

• The Weather Office
• FAC - Travel Updates

Note to readers

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) collects information related to cyber and physical threats to, and incidents involving, Canadian critical infrastructure. This allows us to monitor and analyze threats and to issue alerts, advisories and other information products.

Any suspected criminal activity should be reported to local law enforcement organizations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) National Operations Centre (NOC) provides a 24/7 service to receive such reports or to redirect callers to local law enforcement organizations. The NOC can be reached at (613) 993-4460. National security concerns should be reported to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) at (613) 993-9620.

Links to sites not under the control of the Government of Canada (GoC) are provided solely for the convenience of users. The GoC is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The GoC does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

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