Homeland Watch

In their Secure Border Initiative proposal, Ericsson Inc. officials are touting their experience operating a wireless sensor and camera surveillance system they built along the 200-kilometer border of Norway and Russia.

While many details are under wraps, Ericsson officials recently told Washington Technology that for SBINet, they would create a wireless broadband network along the U.S. borders for which they have already arranged to lease adequate spectrum.

The system would include video analytics and command and control features, but no facial recognition software and no unmanned aerial vehicles, said Douglas Smith, Ericsson executive vice president for government solutions. "UAVs are not 24/7/365. They are a gap filler," Smith said.

Cyber R&D center proposed

In the 1980s, faced with a flood of imported computer microchips, the Defense Department and IT industry created a $500 million research effort that ultimately helped strengthen the United States as a leader in computer innovation.

Michael Aisenberg, chief of government relations for VeriSign Inc., said he and several other IT executives are interested in creating a new cybersecurity research program with the government modeled after those successful efforts.

The goal would be to speed development of post-IPv6, next-generation network protocols to protect the Internet from cyberattacks, he said. The cost of the research could be less than $100 million a year, he said.

Good-bye, LSIs

The role of lead systems integrators, once popular in federal contracting, now seems to be fading, according to Renato DiPentima, CEO of SRA International Inc.

"A few years ago, LSIs were often contracted to hire other integrators," he said. Lately, the LSI role "is controversial and not as highly regarded," DiPentima said in remarks at the Washington Technology "Lessons of the Top 100" conference for federal contractors June 14.