FBI warns of possible rail terror attacks

Computerworld - The FBI yesterday warned law enforcement and railroad officials that terrorists may be planning attacks against portions of the U.S. railroad system.
The warning, resulting from interrogations of al-Qaeda prisoners held at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, comes amid increasing concerns about the state of security throughout the U.S. railroad network, particularly Amtrak.
During a conference on homeland security technologies sponsored last week in Washington by the Council of Security & Strategic Technology Organizations, questions were raised about why Amtrak hasn't adopted basic security technologies such as baggage screening systems, physical access control systems and other passenger screening technologies at its major stations.
"Amtrak is a disaster waiting to happen," said an attendee at the conference, speaking during a question-and-answer session moderated by John Powers, former executive director of the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP).
In an interview, Powers said the railroad industry faces two main vulnerabilities. "We know about the physical threat and have seen that a few times in the past decade, such as loosening rails," Powers said. However, "the cyberthreat to their control systems is something that needs to be pressed. Amtrak was made aware of this threat during the PCCIP [process in 1996-97] and should still be focused on it."
Cliff Black, director of special projects in Amtrak's security division, said that since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks last year, the railroad has taken every reasonable and possible security precaution. However, with 530 stations throughout the country -- some of those no more than open platforms where passengers can walk freely onto the train -- stringent airportlike security measures aren't always possible, he said.
"Since Sept. 11, if you buy a ticket by any means, it is processed through our reservation system and checked against the FBI terrorism watch list," said Black. And while there are no immediate plans to explore electronic baggage screening, Amtrak hasn't ruled anything out, he said. Currently, the railroad doesn't screen passenger baggage and only conducts random checks using bomb-sniffing dogs on checked baggage.
"We are not an airline and don't have the airline advantage of being able to funnel every person through a single checkpoint," said Black. "What we do is what we feel is feasible and prudent."
However, only two months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office criticized Amtrak's use of its government funding, saying security hasn't been a priority.
"In recent years, Amtrak's investment strategy has been driven substantially by its need to improve its financialcondition," said Mark Dayton, deputy assistant inspector general, speaking last November at a Senate hearing. "As a result, important projects, including ones that improve operational reliability or enhance security of equipment or infrastructure, have lost out in the past in favor of investments that can provide a quick and significant return on investment."
Other studies, such as one presented last year by the Federal Railroad Administration at the Defense Department's Radioactive Materials annual conference, warned of specific vulnerabilities in the IT systems that control critical functions, such as rail switching.