Bush plan gives IT vital role

By Joab Jackson

| July 26, 2002

Information sharing and data mining are integral IT components of the White House's newly released national strategy for homeland security, said Steve Cooper, chief information officer of the Homeland Security Office. Three pilot projects have already been identified by the office to ramp up new technologies, he said.

Such efforts will require extensive use of technology to help responsible agencies gather, share and analyze information about possible terrorist attacks and respond to those that do happen. Cooper said the homeland security department would develop guidelines for other agencies that act as "primary guardians" of data. Data mining would also be a central function for homeland security, he said."What we're talking about is pattern recognition, or use of software intelligent agents to peruse data, [which are] driven by algorithms and rules that define themselves over time," Cooper said at a press briefing on the homeland security strategy. Such tools "can marry statistically derived outcomes from known events to predictive models."Cooper said the proposed department would take on several pilot projects to test emerging technologies for large-scale use. For fiscal 2003, the president earmarked $3 billion for homeland security-related research and development, an increase of $2 billion, according to the report.Three projects have already been approved "by the equivalent of the deputies and assistant secretaries in the relevant agencies," Cooper said. They are:Cooper did not estimate the proposed department's IT budget, but market research firm Input Inc. of Chantilly, Va., estimated that the new department could spend more than $2.1 billion on IT in fiscal 2003. Input's projection is based on the president's budget request for the major agencies that would be combined into the new department. Mark Forman, OMB's associate director for information technology and e-government, who was also at the briefing, said he estimated the annual IT budget for the new agency to be somewhere between $1 billion and $2 billion per year.On July 19, OMB instructed agencies to halt homeland security-related technology infrastructure and modernization plans with costs greater than $500,000, pending an expedited review by a new Homeland Security IT Investment Review Group.A copy of the homeland security strategy can be found at .XXXSPLITXXX-In the weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration revised its then-nearly completed fiscal 2003 budget proposal to increase federal expenditures in areas relating to homeland security. Those receiving increased expenditures include: Source: "The National Strategy for Homeland Security," Office of Homeland Security, July

Information sharing and data mining are integral IT components of the White House's newly released national strategy for homeland security, said Steve Cooper, chief information officer of the Homeland Security Office. Three pilot projects have already been identified by the office to ramp up new technologies, he said.

The administration is looking at a "capture once and reuse many" approach to data gathering, meaning data will be shared among agencies, he said. The proposed Homeland Security Department will use a business-focused, enterprisewide architecture to facilitate data sharing within the department and with other agencies.

The national strategy, unveiled July 16 by President Bush, describes the mechanisms the United States should put in place to defend against nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical and cyberattacks. It also further defines the duties of the Homeland Security Department.

"This comprehensive plan lays out clear lines of authority and clear responsibilities ? responsibilities for federal employees and for governors and mayors and community and business leaders and the American citizens," President Bush said in announcing the strategy. "With a better picture of those responsibilities, all of us can direct money and manpower to meet them."

The report said the strategic objectives of homeland security, in order of priority, are:

To prevent terrorist attacks within the United States;

To reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism;

To minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur.

A project led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for law enforcement agencies across 10 states as well as federal agencies to share criminal information. Analytical tools would also be incorporated into this system. This project would have an estimated cost of around $10 million.

A consolidation of lists of suspected terrorists that are kept by civilian and defense agencies. Cooper said this project would cost under $1 million.

A homeland security portal for states and local law enforcement agencies to obtain more information on topics such as critical infrastructure. This project would likely cost in the range of "a couple hundred thousand dollars," Cooper said.

www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/book/nat_strat_hls.pdf

Support for first responders: Approximately $3.5 billion will be allocated to enhance response capabilities. States and communities will be given funds to conduct exercises, purchase equipment and train personnel.

Defending against biological terrorism. Approximately $5.9 billion, up from $4.5 billion, is slated to be spent on programs to counter the threat of bioterrorism. Included in the funds are improvements to disease surveillance and response systems, research on vaccines and for building up the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile.

Securing borders: Border security will be allotted an additional $2.2 billion, totaling $11 billion, to increase the number of port inspectors, purchase equipment container inspection equipment, design and test a system that records the entry and exit of individuals and improve the Coast Guard's ability to track maritime activity.

Using information security for a more-secure country: The 2003 budget proposed $722 million to be spent on technologies that would allow federal, state and local agencies to share information.

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