| Home | Information Sharing & Analysis | Prevention & Protection | Preparedness & Response | Research | Commerce & Trade | Travel Security | Immigration |
The threat level in the airline sector is High or Orange. Read more.
Program Area Lead: Joseph Kielman
CID Visual Analytics and Precision Information Environments Program conducts research on novel advanced technologies and techniques for understanding and manipulating information in multiple forms and modes (e.g., text, video, images, audio, databases, and sensor data). Visual analytics software tools and human-computer interaction techniques leverage a person’s inherent ability to process visual information to interpret and analyze large quantities of diverse data. Meanwhile, the associated computation-based analytical reasoning techniques enable users to obtain real-time insights into complex data. Research on making such tools available for a wide range of tailored uses—including mobile and portable systems, desktop analytical stations, and large-scale situational awareness or common operating picture installations—is also underway.
Established in 2004 and led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the National Visualization and Analytics Center (NVAC) is a national and international resource that provides strategic leadership and coordination for visual analytics technology and tools. NVAC protects the Nation’s citizens and critical infrastructures by providing emergency responders and public safety, public health, and law enforcement officials with technologies and capabilities to:
Apply human judgment to make the best possible use of this information and share it with others as appropriate to prevent, deter, and respond to threats.
CID’s Discrete-Element Computing, Privacy and Forensics Program investigates novel mathematical transformations and other specialized techniques for accessing, processing, and managing multiple types and modes of information. Such data-intensive techniques, rather than the traditional and more common numerically-intensive techniques, are essential to the production of timely, comprehensive information on potential threats or imminent disasters. Furthermore, these techniques enable models and simulations to better capture and present the scale of the associated environmental, human, and economic impacts. In addition to providing real-time data analysis and decision support, discrete element tools offer the best methods for developing privacy-preserving software algorithms and real-time forensics.
A network of university-based Centers of Excellence support CID and NVAC, including:
Five Regional Visualization and Analytics Centers that develop visual analytics tools; these tools assist analysts, researchers, policy makers, and the emergency response community in securing the homeland.
Four University Affiliate Centers of the Institute for Discrete Sciences that conduct research on advanced methods for information processing, analysis, and management.
Through national laboratories and universities, CID is partnering with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as well as San Diego’s Automated Regional Justice Information System to enhance each agency’s ability to manage, process, and analyze data related to counter terrorism, crisis response, incident management, and law enforcement.
Program Area Lead: Kathleen Higgins
The Computer-Aided Dispatch Interoperability Project (CADIP) coordinates with emergency response agencies in Silicon Valley, California; Portland, Oregon; Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona; and the National Capital Region to identify the benefits of seamlessly and securely sharing information between disparate computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems. CADIP encourages other jurisdictions to link their CAD systems via standards-based solutions. To help local and state agencies across the Nation determine their future path toward CAD interoperability, CADIP researches various approaches to link CAD systems.
CID is partnering with emergency responders, Federal agencies, and standards development organizations to accelerate the development of data messaging standards. With these standards established, emergency responders are steps closer to having the capacity to seamlessly exchange critical data—situational reports, requests for personnel, maps, and availability of hospital beds—across disparate software systems and applications.
The Interoperability Continuum is designed to help the emergency response community and local, tribal, state, and Federal policy makers address critical elements for success as they plan and implement interoperability solutions. These elements include governance, standard operating procedures, technology, training and exercises, and usage of interoperable communications.
CID is demonstrating a prototype for the first-ever, portable multi-band radio (MBR), which will allow emergency responders—police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical service personnel—to communicate with partner agencies, regardless of the radio band in which they operate. Equal in cost, size, and weight to existing portable radios, the MBR will provide emergency responders with cutting-edge communications capabilities. CID plans to pilot this radio with emergency response agencies by the spring of 2009.
CID is working with Federal partners to lead the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) which ensures that equipment advertised as compliant with Project 25 (P25) standards is actually capable of interoperating across manufacturers. P25 CAP is helping emergency response officials make informed purchasing decisions by allowing manufacturers to test their equipment for compliance with P25 standards. P25 CAP will ultimately support seamless communications and data exchange on demand, in real-time, when needed, and as authorized.
Emergency responders are now closer to having the capability to communicate across previously disparate wireless radio and broadband communication systems. The Radio over Wireless Broadband (ROW-B) project recently demonstrated a common connection point between these systems. Because radio and broadband systems serve specific and different needs, they were not designed to communicate with each other. Through the ROW-B project, CID is working with emergency response agencies and an industry partner to research how to connect existing land mobile radio systems with advanced wireless broadband technologies. In 2008, CID will test the ROW-B technology through a pilot with local government agencies.
CID is partnering with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Federal agencies, industry leaders, and firefighters nationwide to improve digital radio transmissions in high-noise fire response operations by testing the digital vocoder. This working group identified the vocoder (a hardware/software component in every digital radio) as the cause of voice distortion in radios. When affected, the vocoder may endanger the lives of responders and those awaiting help. CID will help train responders on how to minimize the distortion and will partner with radio manufacturers in the development of smarter radios.
Computer networks are increasingly being used to transmit voice communications among radio systems. This is done using a technology known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). CID is working with emergency responders and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to define a common connection for bridging devices—technology components that connect radio systems—that use VoIP. VoIP allows one vendor’s bridge to pass a voice call to another vendor’s bridge.
Program Area Lead: Douglas Maughan
The Defense Technology Experimental Research (DETER) Testbed provides users—researchers, developers, and network operators—nationwide with a testbed to conduct repeatable cyber experiments. This testbed provides users with a first-ever, experimental infrastructure to safely test new defensive cyber security technologies in realistic scenarios. DETER’s experimental forum is invaluable to collaborative and vendor-neutral cyber security testing and research. Ultimately, users apply successfully tested cyber solutions in the field to secure the Nation’s networks and Internet.
The Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) project ensures that users reach correct and valid Internet sites. Large-scale international deployment of DNSSEC is underway—this deployment offers assured Internet communications and will thwart a large number of current Internet attacks.
CID has partnered with the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) to pilot the DHS Secure Wireless Access Prototype (DSWAP). DSWAP is a secure wireless access solution that provides enhanced, layered defense starting with the mobile wireless user and extending back to protected networks. The S&T Directorate’s CIO will deploy DSWAP to minimize risk in using public networks to securely connect to DHS networks.
Partially funded by CID, the IronKey secure universal serial bus devices can withstand both simple and sophisticated attacks and provide secure Web browsing, cryptographic authentication, end point security, self-service password recovery, and secure password management. The IronKey will be distributed across the S&T Directorate for use in 2008.
The Linking the Oil and Gas Industry to Improve Cyber Security (LOGIIC) consortium is a public-private partnership between the S&T Directorate and several companies, researchers, and industry representatives from the oil and gas industry. The LOGIIC consortium recently kicked off its second round of projects, which are aimed at reducing vulnerabilities in process control environments of the oil and gas sector.
CID is sponsoring an initiative to facilitate the accessibility of computer and network operational data for use in cyber defense research and development. The Protected Repository for the Defense of Infrastructure against Cyber Threats (PREDICT) initiative aims to make this information accessible through large-scale research datasets. PREDICT represents an important three-way partnership between government, critical information infrastructure providers, and the security development community (both academic and commercial). The research data sets allow these partners to pursue technical solutions to protect the public and private information infrastructure.
Program Area Lead: Dr. John Hoyt
AZLink enables law enforcement units in the field to access and exchange criminal data (e.g., criminal histories, mug shots, incident reports) using hand-held, wireless, smartphone personal digital assistant (PDA) devices. Prior to the deployment of AZLink, many southern Arizona law enforcement units could only access critical criminal data from police radios or from computer systems located at headquarters. Based on this technology’s performance on the frontlines, CID intends to provide more than 200 of the smartphone PDA devices to law enforcement units in at least 20 local, tribal, state, and Federal agencies across Arizona.
CID is funding a project, Community Safeguard, for the City of Beverly Hills (California) Police Department. Based on the Geographic Information System (GIS), the pilot is integrating multiple data sources (automatic license plate reader devices, smart cameras, and global positioning systems) into a Google Earth GIS viewer to enhance the Department’s operations. CID will publish a resource guide for local and state law enforcement agencies that will explain the step-by-step process involved in implementing Community Safeguard once the pilot is complete.
The Critical Infrastructure Inspection Management System (CIIMS) enables aerial law enforcement personnel to better protect critical infrastructures and key resources (e.g., dams, bridges, power facilities) through structured monitoring, data collection, and information sharing within the local, state, and Federal intelligence communities. The computer-based tool enhances the inspection process by providing a small, easy-to-use, tablet-sized computer with touch-screen controls. CIIMS aids data collection efforts and speeds information sharing among local, state, and Federal intelligence communities. The technology allows inspection teams to visualize their location and their proximity to the property being inspected. It also guides them through the inspection process to download information into a common database in real-time. Initially, CIIMS was deployed solely with the Maryland State Police, but the system is now being used by the Los Angeles Police Department to support aerial operations as well.
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is now the single categorical designation for information in the Information Sharing Environment of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. It was previously referred to as sensitive but unclassified (SBU). Across the Federal Government, there are at least 107 unique markings and over 130 different labeling or handling processes and procedures for SBU information. Inconsistency in SBU policies not only impede the timeliness, accuracy, and steady flow of terrorism information that should be shared, but often fail to protect information that should not be shared. The CUI Framework project will aid efforts to effectively designate, mark, safeguard, and disseminate information labeled as CUI in order to standardize practices and improve information sharing. The CUI Framework will not classify or declassify new or additional information.
The Generalized Data Driven Analysis and Integration (GDDAI) project is developing several pilots to demonstrate the applicability of different analysis techniques for Federal law enforcement operations. For example, one pilot is using a proximity query that allows agents to view, in a geospatial context, other suspects that may be close to the primary target in a pursuit. GDDAI has been deployed and is used today to aid in the investigation of active cases.
While there is substantial research and development underway in the area of identity management (IdM), fundamental questions remain regarding how DHS should proceed in the coming years. IdM policies, standards, architectures, and technical approaches that support homeland security community-wide, and eventually, government-wide are major current and future initiatives for DHS. CID is addressing these questions through the creation of the IdM Testbed project. This initiative is working to find the best technical solutions, practices, and policies for IdM in the homeland security community through extensive research and experimentation.
Mission-Based Analysis of Departmental Suspicious Activities Reporting (SAR) Pilot is an assessment that will explicitly examine the data environment and capabilities of current and planned SAR analytics using a common analytic framework that relates mission requirements to current and planned enterprise capacity, policies, and training. This project provides a user-driven, mission-focused approach for optimizing integration and collaboration of SAR data within and across selected intelligence and law enforcement entities. This initiative will evolve as the SAR Concept of Operations develops to ensure that recommendations are aligned with current and planned operational procedures. Through a collaborative effort of seven DHS components and CID, a key set of user-specified capabilities will be developed into a working prototype that will leverage SAR data from each of the participating components.
In support of the DHS Office of the CIO’s Enterprise Data Management Office, CID is funding the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Tools Analysis project. This project examines the range of tools used to develop NIEM-compliant Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD). IEPD is a specification for data exchange and is an important foundation for information sharing. This project’s assessment of NIEM tools determined how well existing tools support practitioners in the NIEM IEPD development process. It also evaluated practitioner tool usage and highlighted experiences during IEPD development. The final document provides a qualitative assessment of the tools used by practitioners, issues with the current tools, and recommended improvements.
CID is assisting the emergency management community through the Sea, Lake, Overland Surge due to Hurricane (SLOSH) system. SLOSH is a computerized legacy software model operated by the National Hurricane Center that estimates storm surge heights and winds resulting from hurricanes by assessing pressure, size, forward speed, and track. This project will model and analyze the currently implemented software system in order to modernize and improve the efficiency and capability of the SLOSH system for faster turn-around in surge height prediction output. Redesign of this software system will result in enhanced usability and adaptability for the emergency management community. The next generation of SLOSH also encompasses the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s efforts to incorporate new science and software technologies that are emerging from users, researchers, and industry partners.
CID funded the development of the Wireless Federated Query for handheld devices that can retrieve digital photographs from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. This new application enables law enforcement personnel that are away from their office or vehicle to quickly query, retrieve, and view California driver license photographs via a range of handheld PDA devices. This new capability greatly enhances practitioners’ ability to positively identify individuals in the field in real-time. The new handheld application was certified by the California Department of Justice, and nearly 300 local, state, and Federal law enforcement personnel throughout Southern California are currently participating in its operational testing.
Program Area Lead: John Price
The United States Secret Service (USSS) Ink Library currently includes approximately 9,000 inks, many of which are rare and irreplaceable. These inks are critical in the investigation of criminal and terrorist casework involving fraudulent financial documents (such as checks and money orders), property and asset documents, and threats to persons protected by the USSS. Through the Digital Ink Library project, CID worked with USSS forensic investigators to enhance mission effectiveness by digitizing the complete archive of ink samples. Digitization allows for a less time-consuming process to locate inks when needed and protects inks from environmental degradation. As a result, ink sample matching takes seconds as opposed to hours or days, and irreplaceable inks remain secure.
A new forensic speaker recognition technology is reducing voice analysis completion rates by half. Through the Forensic Speaker Recognition project, CID is partnering with the USSS and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory to develop a cutting-edge suite of software tools that automate labor-intensive components of speech analysis and compare speaker language and dialect features. The technology identifies how common a speech feature is by comparing the feature between speech samples and the U.S. population at large. Prior to current technology progress, the analysis of five minutes of speech evidence could take up to ten hours to complete. The software tools under development have reduced this analysis time to less than one hour.
CID is currently testing the operational efficiency of a streaming video application that will enhance mission communications capabilities for emergency responders and law enforcement officials. RealEyes is a cutting-edge technology that enables PDA devices or cellular phones to send real-time video and geospatial coordinates, view live video from a fixed or mobile camera, control fixed cameras, and immediately stream video from a PDA. The capabilities of the RealEyes software system can be used to provide situational awareness during emergency and non-emergency scenarios.
This page was last reviewed/modified on November 26, 2008.
Print this page
Share this page
Email Updates
Subscribe to Feeds