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Daily Brief

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

DOB06-041 - 28 February 2006

News

CCIRC releases Advisory AV06-007: Oracle E-Business Suite Security Patch
On February 28, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) issued Advisory AV06-007 to draw attention to the release of an out-of-cycle security patch for the Oracle Corporation's E-Business Suite software . A major function of this patch is the implementation of a security function limiting access to diagnostic tests.
(Source: Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, 28 February 2006 )
Source article

CCIRC provides recent alerts and advisories on their website under Recent analytical releases.

Mystery illness clears classrooms in Terre Noire, Nova Scotia
On February 28, the CBC reported that hundreds of students and school staff are suffering from headaches and some kind of stomach illness. Only 250 of the 500 students attended classes at Cape Breton Highlands Education Center and Academy in Terre Noire on February 24, and approximately 200 were off school on February 27. School officials indicated that disinfection of washrooms and water fountains was underway to stem the spread of the mystery illness.
(Source: CBCNews, 28 February 2006)
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St. John’s blizzard cleanup will take time
On February 27, the CBC reported that officials for the City of St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador indicated that it might take more than two weeks to clean up city streets and sidewalks after a blizzard swept through the eastern part of the province on February 25.
(Source: CBCNews, 27 February 2006)
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Search called off near Invermere
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-040, on February 27, the CBC reported that the search and rescue effort to recover a missing snowboarder in southeastern B.C was called off by the RCMP. The snowboarder was reported missing during an avalanche near Invermere B.C. on February 26. The Canadian Avalanche Association is still monitoring the area for avalanche activities and indicates that the avalanche danger continues to escalate in many parts of the province.
(Source: CBCNews, 27 February 2006)
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The Canadian Avalanche Association provides more information on the current avalanche threat throughout B.C.

Alberta government issues River Freezeup Advisory Update
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-032, on February 27, Alberta Environment issued a River Freezeup Advisory Update for the Peace River at the Town of Peace River. The ice front on the Peace River was observed to be advancing towards the Town of Peace River. If the forecasted temperatures continue, the ice cover will proceed to travel upstream past the town. The advisory stated that no problem was anticipated.
(Source: Alberta Environment, 27 February, 2006)
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PSEPC Geomatics provides a map ( 200 kb) of the affected areas.

River freezeup refers to the formation of an ice cover, which results in a gradual increase in water levels.

In brief

Avian Influenza in Hong Kong: Update
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-024, on February 27, the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department confirmed three new cases of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in birds. Two of the cases were found in house crows on February 20 and 23, and that the third case was from a common magpie found on February 24. This brings the total number of birds in the territory known to have died of this virus to 16.
(Source: BREITBART.COM, 27 February 2006)
Source article

H5N1 found in two wild swans in Bosnia
On February 27, the European Union (EU) reference laboratory confirmed the first two cases for Bosnia of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, which was found in wild swans. The birds were part of a cull 10 days ago in the region of Malo Plivsko Jezero in the western part of the country. Bosnia borders Croatia, which last week reported its third case of H5N1 in four months.
(Source: Reuter AlertNet, 27 February 2006)
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Bird flu found in second Indian state
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-035, on February 25, Indian health authorities confirmed that the H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in poultry on a farm in the town of Gujurat in the state of Surat. The province of Surat neighbours on the Maharashtra state where the first cases were reported on February 18.
(Source: BBCNEWS, 25 February 2006)
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The Public Health Agency of Canada provides information on avian influenza.

Cyber risk assessment

Over the course of the past 24 hours, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) has not detected any significant new threats or vulnerabilities. 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.

Oracle Corporation has released an out-of-cycle security patch for Oracle E-Business Suite software.

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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