Site Map - Integrated Systems

12/17/2007 - Virtual reality technology offers the possibility of running through simulated lifelike crises without the risk. Where that virtual reality goal is in relation to real reality was the focus of a recent conference on modeling and simulation for emergency response. For example, Charles McLean of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Sanjay Jain, research associate professor at Virginia Tech, discussed NIST's effort to create a "framework for integrated emergency response." The framework would incorporate disaster type, affected parties, and applications such as vulnerability analysis and training. Rebecca Moses, Michael J. Taylor, and Gary R. Steiner spoke of a parallel effort at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and called for the creation of a national user facility that would be "responsible for developing and maintaining integrated emergency response simulation tools and high-quality supporting data." @ Summaries of these workshops have been collected into a document published by NIST, which is available from SM Online.

12/10/2007 - The IT manager has nudged the security director aside when it comes to system selection. It's time for security to get back into the action.

11/28/2007 - For security to succeed, it must incorporate not just guards, guns, and gates, but other elements, in particular technology. In addition, all the factors must work together, without focus on individual parts at the expense of the whole. Electronic Security Systems: A Manager’s Guide to Evaluating and Selecting System Solutions fills that need, detailing all of the various components of a successful security system.

11/28/2007 - In recent months I had to read numerous books on security integration and convergence as background study for a series of work projects. All of them now collect dust on my office bookshelf, except one: Integrated Security Systems Design, which I now carry in my briefcase, its pages crammed with yellow sticky notes for quick reference.

11/27/2007 - Danville, Virginia, didn't need an incident of national significance to drive home the need for interoperable communications.

11/16/2007 - The systems integration process refers to bringing together subsystems such as CCTV, access control, time and attendance, and intrusion detection in a way in which data is captured only once and is stored in a central repository accessible to all the subsystems.

11/14/2007 - Chemical companies are leading the way in integrating safety and security functions to achieve synergies.

11/07/2007 - Viruses poised to attack cars and machinery, NIST moves forward on federal ID standard, lowdown on Firefox.

11/07/2007 - Viruses poised to attack cars and machinery, NIST moves forward on federal ID standard, lowdown on Firefox.

11/06/2007 - One card that works across the government as an ID and for access is a step closer to reality. In accordance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a standard specifying the architecture and technical requirements for a common identification standard for federal employees and contractors, such as a smart card with embedded biometric data. The first part of the standard gives minimum requirements for a personal identity verification (PIV) system that meets the control and security objectives of HSPD 12, while the second part provides the technical requirements, such as card elements and system interfaces, to support the control and security objectives as well as to maintain interoperability. PIV-I mandates, for example, that a detailed background investigation be completed before ID credentials are issued. It also requires that the applicant appear in person at least once during the process and that he or she present two forms of identification in original form.The Federal Information Processing Standard 201, Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors, is available at SM Online.

11/06/2007 - Link to the pdf version of the chart.

10/15/2007 - The nation's head of intelligence sets out his 500 day plan to transform the nation's intelligence infrastructure and practices.

10/10/2007 - Most of the country’s state and regional intelligence fusion centers don’t engage the private sector in their information collection and sharing efforts, says a report to Congress.