New growth industry of homeland security may boost economy

By Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News
April 21, 2003

 

CYBER SECURITY SUPER BOWL • What: A Colorado- and industry-sponsored event bringing together Colorado businesses and individuals involved in homeland security and cyber security • When: May 6-7 • Where: Colorado Convention Center, Denver • More info: www.w3w3.com/CSSB.htm

Dozens of Colorado technology companies are scrambling to cash in on the nation's latest growth industry, homeland security.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq - and the creation of a Homeland Security Department in Washington - have set off a mad dash among companies big and small nationwide peddling all types of products and services. A Maryland dentist, for example, has shown off a "tooth phone" that could fit in the mouth of rescuers wearing a mask, so they could keep working with their hands while in wireless contact with colleagues. A California company has been touting its X-ray machine that will look inside trucks and shipping containers.

Here in Colorado, homegrown companies are serving up their own mix. Cybersecurity firms, or cybercops, will help keep hackers - be they terrorists or unhappy employees - from breaking into computer networks that operate dams and other vital facilities. Satellite- imaging companies will snap high- precision photos so municipalities can draw up detailed maps for emergency crews that show, for example, hospitals and fire stations. And an Internet-based tracking system will keep tabs on ships, cargo and passengers moving in and out of ports.

Moreover, many out-of-state companies have set up shop here in response to the recent opening in Colorado Springs of the Pentagon's military homeland defense command center, the U.S. Northern Command.

It's all part of a nationwide effort to secure thousands of miles of border, as well as to guard power plants, water systems and other facilities. That's on top of making it easier for towns and cities to protect their citizens.

"There are a lot of Colorado companies who could have a piece of all this security," said John Mencer, who runs a Jefferson County- based consulting firm, the Infrastructure Protection Group. -Mencer - a former FBI agent who's married to Colorado Department of Public Safety Director Sue Mencer - noted that "a lot of ex-military and ex-intelligence community types" are deeply involved in such businesses, seeking to put their past expertise to commercial use.

Economic impact uncertain

State officials hope these businesses will help the state's sputtering economy. But it's unclear how much of a boost the homeland security business can offer.

"We have one of the largest populations of homeland security companies in the nation," said Valerie McNevin, director for homeland security at the Colorado Institute of Technology.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department's budget is $38 billion, with anywhere from $3 billion to $4 billion going to budget-strapped state and local governments who face federal requirements to upgrade their security operations. Additional money is expected to flow in future years.

Last month, Gov. Bill Owens said more than $9.4 million is on its way to Colorado to help state and local public-safety offices prepare for a potential terrorist attack.

Many of the nation's mayors, including Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, have been asking for more funds to pay the cost of gearing up to fight terrorism.

Tech firms, by varying degree, are considered an important ingredient in the homeland security mix.

Technology increases risk

Since the 2001 attacks, some government and industry experts have fretted that terrorist groups such as al-Qaida could log on to the Internet from foreign soil and disrupt the workings of dams, power plants, financial networks and other computer-reliant operations.

"Our lives are so controlled by technology that those who want to attack the U.S. can do so by going after the country's soft underbelly - and that's technology," said Rick Dakin, president of Coalfire Systems Inc., a Superior company that helps companies and governments protect their information technology networks from hackers.

"Ever since the bombs started dropping (in Iraq), it's been unbelievable for our business."

Other Colorado cybercops include Arapahoe County-based Riskology Inc. and Douglas County- based CH2M Hill, a large engineering firm that set up a cybersecurity operation a year ago. Typically, these companies dispatch experts to do a top-to-bottom inspection of a corporate or government customer's computer network to pinpoint where it may be vulnerable to outside attack. The companies suggest how to fix any problem - and then "make sure all those doors have been closed, and stay locked," according to Jeff Akers, president of CH2M Hill's communications group.

So what kind of calamity are they trying to prevent?

Riskology Chief Executive Demetrios Lazarikos recounted how a disgruntled employee at a water- treatment plant in Australia used a laptop computer to spill sewage water into the facility's clean water. The employee had been passed over for a promotion. A terrorist could do damage the same way. "They would probably do far worse," said Lazarikos. "Think about dams, transportation or energy."

High-tech imaging effective

Two local satellite-imaging companies - Space Imaging Inc. of Thornton and DigitalGlobe in Longmont - are positioned to deliver high-definition photos local officials can use for detailed maps of their communities - maps that could help in a crisis, or help avert a crisis. The companies also can deliver customized products.

Space Imaging, for example, has been busy snapping pictures for about a half-dozen municipal governments around the country, and then using the images to create special maps for these governments. Among other things, the maps detail streets, fire hydrants, power grids, sewer systems, hospitals and schools.

"It's important to know where your sewer system, power grid or subway system may be located," said Gene Colabatistto, president of Space Imaging's solutions division. "When you look at it through the eyes of the attackers, this is the kind of infrastructure they can attack."

DigitalGlobe is looking into providing maps detailing emergency routes as well as vital stats about key facilities - such as the location of area hospitals, their phone numbers and the number of beds available at each hospital. The company also said its imagery can be used to predict the spread of biological agents or radioactive material, so that downwind homes and businesses could be evacuated.

Tracking technology useful

In Hawaii, state and federal employees are keeping track of what's going in and out of the state's 16 ports via an Internet-based tracking system developed by Ciber Inc. of Greenwood Village. It permits users to keep tabs, via computer screen, on ships that come and go, containers that are unloaded, and passengers aboard the vessels. If an unexpected ship arrives, authorities can be alerted to take appropriate action.

Some 7,500 foreign-flag ships make 51,000 calls in U.S. ports annually. "Right now about 25 ports have written us letters saying we want it - when we get the funding" from the Homeland Security Department, said Wally Birdseye, president of Ciber's federal solutions group. When that funding will arrive is an open question.

IntelliCast provides warnings

Similarly, CompassCom Inc. of Centennial is touting its vehicle- tracking system, which relies on satellite and wireless technology. The system was road tested at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. Dispatchers could see in "real time" the location of about 600 vehicles, including Utah Highway Patrol cars, athlete buses and local law-enforcement vehicles. All the vehicles showed up as icons on a map display.

If a vehicle veered off its expected route, an alarm alerted dispatchers. Most of the times the alarm sounded, it was because an out-of-town driver of an athletes' bus had gotten lost. The dispatcher then phoned the driver to get the bus back on track.

"We're involved in providing real- time location and position data that will make people's decision-making easier - whether you're trying to dispatch a fire truck to a location or locate a wireless 911 call," said CompassCom CEO Brant Howard.

Boulder-based Intrado Corp.'s 911 alert system also has been road- tested.

The system, dubbed IntelliCast, uses 911 phone records - considered the most up-to-date source for home and business phone numbers - to deliver automatic warning messages to residents in targeted areas.

In June 2000, the city of Loveland sent out more than 2,000 calls warning residents of the Bobcat Gulch fire, eventually telling some residents how and where to evacuate.

It's no surprise so many products and services in the name of homeland security are springing up nationwide. "American business people always look for an opportunity," said DigitalGlobe CEO Herb Satterlee.

fillionr@RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-2467

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