
Office of Homeland Security State of Hawaii | Department of Defense
Working to Keep Hawaii Safe
The Office of Homeland Security’s (OHS) primary responsibility is to enhance Hawaii’s security preparedness and resilience in an integrated, synergistic, relevant, proactive, flexible, cost effective, full-spectrum effort across all domains in order to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to and recover from attacks, natural disasters and emerging threats.
Hawaii OHS News
OHS News
OHS also has a responsibility to keep the public informed about the latest homeland security news and how it relates to keeping Hawaii safe.
FBI Releases Information on Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scams
6/9/2023Business Email Compromise/Email Account Compromise (BEC/EAC) is a sophisticated scam that targets both businesses and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests. The scam is frequently carried out when an individual compromises legitimate business or personal email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds. The scam is not always associated…
Read More about FBI Releases Information on Business Email Compromise (BEC) ScamsProtect Against Online Threats and Risks This Summer by Teaching Children about Internet Safety
6/8/2023June marks Internet Safety Month and the start of summer break across the country. With children and adolescents potentially spending more time online over the next few months, it’s important to know they can encounter a range of potential safety threats and risks in the digital world, including cyberbullying, online exploitation, and cyber criminals. Teaching…
Read More about Protect Against Online Threats and Risks This Summer by Teaching Children about Internet SafetyThe Criminal Use of ChatGPT – A Cautionary Tale About Large Language Models
3/30/2023In response to the growing public attention given to ChatGPT, the Europol Innovation Lab organised a number of workshops with subject matter experts from across Europol to explore how criminals can abuse large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, as well as how it may assist investigators in their daily work. Their insights are compiled…
Read More about The Criminal Use of ChatGPT – A Cautionary Tale About Large Language ModelsProtect. Prevent. Recover.
Safety for the people of Hawaii comes in the form of preparedness. Only by being prepared is Hawaii able to have a sound strategy for combating terrorism and mitigating the effects of critical incidents.
We All Share the Responsibility for Security
The National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) consists of alerts and bulletins that communicate current developments regarding threats of terrorism and general terrorism information. NTAS helps Hawaii citizens recognize that we all share responsibility for the nation’s security, and should always be aware of the heightened risk of terrorist attack in the United States and what we should do.
The Guide for Success in Community Preparedness
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is the foundation for how Hawaii OHS achieves its goal and is essential to fulfilling objectives for receiving federal grant money. NIMS guides all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work together to mitigate, respond to, and recover from incidents. NIMS provides stakeholders across the whole community with the shared vocabulary, systems, and processes to successfully deliver the capabilities described in the National Preparedness System.
The National Preparedness Goal
The National Preparedness Goal identified five mission areas:
- Prevention. Prevent, avoid or stop an imminent, threatened or actual act of terrorism.
- Protection. Protect our citizens, residents, visitors, and assets against the greatest threats and hazards in a manner that allows our interests, aspirations and way of life to thrive.
- Mitigation. Reduce the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of future disasters.
- Response. Respond quickly to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs in the aftermath of a catastrophic incident.
- Recovery. Recover through a focus on the timely restoration, strengthening and revitalization of infrastructure, housing and a sustainable economy, as well as the health, social, cultural, historic and environmental fabric of communities affected by a catastrophic incident.
The mission areas are used to group FEMA‘s 32 core capabilities, which are the distinct critical elements needed to achieve the goal.