Homeland Security Debuts Pilot For Critical Infrastructure

The Department of Homeland Security this week launched the first Homeland Security Information Network-Critical Infrastructure pilot program in Dallas, with locally operated pilot programs in Seattle, Indianapolis, and Atlanta to follow.

The pilot program, modeled after the FBI's Dallas Emergency Response Network, is designed to expand the reach of the Department's Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) initiative--a collection of collaborative tools including Groove Networks Inc.'s Workspace and Microsoft's SharePoint portal and workflow software. HSIN is designed to connect 50 states, five territories, Washington, D.C., and 50 major urban areas to strengthen the exchange of threat information.

HSIN-CI adds critical infrastructure owners and operators in a variety of industries and locations, first responders, and local officials. Politicians have been calling for better critical infrastructure protection. "Ninety-seven percent of the critical infrastructure in this country is in private hands," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D.-N.Y., said at a June 16 Business Software Alliance Forum in Washington. Both the government and private industry are looking to the IT industry for their advice to help with this. Said Clinton, "We need a partnership to fulfill homeland and international security."