NCJ Number
205486
Journal
Homeland Defense Journal Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: April 2004 Pages: 40-43
Editor(s)
Robert Jordan
Date Published
April 2004
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article examines what defense contractor’s view as the present needs of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and what work is being done to accomplish this.
Abstract
As the DHS begins to acquire some of its first big homeland security solutions this year, the Department is setting its sites on information technology products that will provide it with the same stability that first responders in the field will require from interoperable, robust, smart systems to share information quickly. Technology executives believe that the DHS needs to continue to implement and maybe accelerate technologies to build trust among information sharing. Many of the legacy agencies adopted by the DHS came with a number of different information technology programs, many of which are still under review by the Department. Several of the programs have already proven to be of great value to DHS, such as contract with Northrop Grumman for its information technology business which was awarded on behalf of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), but is now run by the DHS Bureau of Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE). This contract was transferred intact to the new Bureau and has grown as a result of the transfer. Other work being done include an integration center that simulates the set up of an emergency operations response center, where positions might include intelligence and analysis, incident management, communications and dispatch, and executive management; and work on information-sharing technology that builds trust and thwarts terrorist threats while at the same time protecting civil liberties. The technology executives believe that standardizing processes from the very beginning with the acquisition of resources is key to growing integrated systems.