Open Source Homeland

This is a huge step forward in making common, accepted communications tactics a central part of emergency communications.

Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soon — chicagotribune.com
There would be three different types of messages, according to the rules.

The first would be a national alert from the president, likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The second would involve “imminent threats,” which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or tornadoes or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts.

We’ve all seen the Captivate Network in high-rise office buildings all over the country. This post over on ScreenWerk got me thinking about the possibilities for emergency broadcasting to those screens in municipalities. In situations where people are still encouraged to use the elevator (i.e. the danger is nearby but not in the building) it could provide a valuable, consistent communication platform.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick released a pretty extensive homeland security strategy for the state. Ill be vetting it over the next few days, The thing that caught my eye in a preliminary story was the idea below about the centrality of the state as the coordinating body (rather than Federal or local) in the event of an emergency.

I agree with that estimation, but the only problem with that is that state government tends to think of emergency response efforts narrowly in terms of official governmental entities. They need to consider, cull, and coordinate informal response as well.

Patrick report gives security tips – The Boston Globe
The report says the most important thing the state can do is improve communications between first responders and state and local officials. Undersecretary for Homeland Security Juliette Kayyem says that while local communities have learned lessons from the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, only the state can coordinate large-scale disaster management.

Download the complete Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Homeland Security Strategy report here. (PDF, 440KB, 31 pages)

Included in a recent story on DHS-sponsored gadgets is something about the National Applications Office, “a clearinghouse for expanded output of imagery to police, border security and other law enforcement outfits”. Despite the reservations of the House of Representatives, this could have a huge trickle-down affect on sparking innovation in private industry (i.e. the non-defense contractor portion of private industry– the web-based mapping companies that are currently driving innovation). The DHS should consider opening up their geospatial data to more than just police departments and state police, but this is moving in the right direction.

Tech wonders on homeland security horizon
In other surveillance developments, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is defending a plan to make broader use of eyes in the sky that, until now, have mostly fed military and scientific needs.

“The use of geospatial information from military intelligence satellites may turn out to be a valuable tool in protecting the homeland,” Democrats on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee wrote to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff this month.

But they voiced privacy and civil liberties concerns about the scheduled Oct. 1 launch of the National Applications Office, a clearinghouse for expanded output of imagery to police, border security and other law enforcement outfits.

“We are so concerned that, as the departments authorizing committee, we are calling for a moratorium on the program until the many constitutional, legal and organizational questions it raises are answered,” Chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and colleagues wrote on Sept. 6.

We need more of this. All you need is the right language skills, some rudimentary technology, and a desire to make money.

S.C. mom scoops al-Qaida with its videos – Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON – Once her son is off to school, Laura Mansfield settles in at her dining room table with her laptop and begins trolling Arabic-language message boards and chat rooms popular with jihadists.

Fluent in Arabic, the self-employed terror analyst often hacks into the sites, translates the material, puts it together and sends her analysis via a subscription service to intelligence agencies, law enforcement and academics.

Occasionally she comes across a gem, such as when she found a recent Osama bin Laden video — before al-Qaida had announced it.

“I realized, oh my gosh, I’m sitting here, I’m a fat 50-year-old mom and I’ve managed to scoop al-Qaida,” said Mansfield, who uses that name as a pseudonym because she receives death threats.