RAINS Wins Homeland Security Funding; Expands Emergency Alert Notification, Secure Information Sharing Network in Oregon.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- RAINS (Regional Alliances for Infrastructure and Network Security), a private/public partnership dedicated to accelerating the adoption and deployment of homeland security technologies, today announced that its Connect & Protect(TM) program has secured $200,000 in state grants of federal homeland security funds from the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Multnomah County Emergency Management (MCEM). In addition, RAINS has expanded the availability of its targeted emergency alert notification and secure information-sharing program to homeland security stakeholders in Hillsboro, Ore.

(NOTE: For additional RAINS news, visit http://www.rainsnet.org and reference "Portland (OR) Connect & Protect Program Named Finalist for National Award," 9/9/04)

RAINS' Connect & Protect program already connects more than 60 homeland security, public safety and private sector organizations and more than 100 schools in Oregon. OEM's $100,000 contribution will allow Connect & Protect to now provide secure distribution of emergency operation plans and issue alerts to multiple counties in Oregon, beginning with Multnomah, Marion and Morrow Counties. County emergency management also will be able to securely and automatically share information with OEM, which is responsible for maintaining a statewide emergency services system.

With an additional $100,000 funding from Multnomah County Emergency Management (MCEM), Connect & Protect is expanding its managed service to provide the secure distribution of MCEM's operations plans, alerts and sensitive information to the County user population and county partners.

"We are pleased to support the growth and expansion of Connect & Protect, the nation's first automated alert notification program for homeland security and emergency response serving key local public safety stakeholders, such as schools, hospitals, building managers and others," said OEM Director Ken Murphy. "Connect & Protect is a significant step toward a much needed new national emergency information infrastructure."

"Collaboration and accurate information is critical in emergency situations," said MCEM Director Tom Simpson. "The Connect & Protect system provides emergency responders, and those individuals in the public sector responsible for protecting our communities, a much better tool to share and access critical information securely and in real-time so that more informed and timely decisions can be made related to public safety."

Connect & Protect in Hillsboro

Through support from the City of Hillsboro Police Department, RAINS' Connect & Protect program is also now "live" in Washington County. The police department recently completed the 9-1-1 data integration that allows Connect & Protect to provide a highly secure, emergency alert notification service for the city. The service is currently only being utilized in Hillsboro, but other jurisdictions within Washington County plan to begin participating in the program soon.

"Protecting the residents of Hillsboro is a major responsibility of city government," said Hillsboro Mayor Tom Hughes. "As Washington County's first city to adopt the Connect & Protect program, we're taking the lead in addressing the critical need to more effectively communicate sensitive information and coordinate emergency response to provide for the safety of our residents."

"Connecting businesses and other public safety partners with law enforcement is vital to securing our communities, and enhances our opportunities to work together," said Andy Schroder, Commander at the Hillsboro Police Department. "We applaud RAINS' success not only in building this infrastructure, but continuing to work closely with key federal officials who understand the value of information sharing systems, and the importance of local initiatives in meeting today's homeland security challenges."

Connect & Protect Further Enhanced for Swift Emergency Response

RAINS' Connect & Protect program now offers a number of new features, including geospatial incident location maps with alerts that allow recipients to visualize where an incident has occurred relative to their location. In addition, the incident alert form has been simplified, with alert attachments, audio messages, and referenced library items now appearing in a single window, which makes related information easier to find and view. Furthermore, alerts, library items, and forms grids have been greatly enhanced making the application respond more quickly and significantly improving client performance.

"Since we launched Connect & Protect with Portland 9-1-1 in August 2003, more than 200,000 alerts have been processed through the Internet," said Wyatt Starnes, RAINS Cofounder and Director. "We are excited about offering the Connect & Protect program to others charged with protecting people and property, and feel the new features will help to further mitigate the effects of emergencies -- both natural and manmade."

The Connect & Protect program allows government agencies, schools and private sector organizations to share information more effectively before, during, and after emergencies. The program leverages RAINS-Net, a set of fully integrated Web Services technologies from RAINS' member companies, to provide a centrally managed, highly survivable, highly secure wide-area network to heterogeneous and geographically dispersed organizations. RAINS' Connect & Protect program is free to k-12 public and private schools in perpetuity.

About RAINS

Regional Alliances for Infrastructure and Network Security (RAINS) is a private/public partnership dedicated to accelerating development and deployment of innovative technology for homeland security and public safety. Incorporated as a not-for-profit 501 (c) (6) organization in 2002, RAINS is a unique partnership between the state of Oregon, more than 60 technology companies, Oregon University System, critical infrastructure providers, public agencies and first responders. RAINS' Connect & Protect(TM) highly secure information sharing programs utilize RAINS-Net technologies and services from multiple vendors. For more information, visit www.rainsnet.org.

RAINS in Oregon is sponsored by Ace Communications, Inc., Ater Wynne LLP, Axian, Inc., Barney & Associates, Centerlogic, Centrisoft Corporation, Digimarc, Eid Passport, Inc., ESRI, Galois Connections, Greger/Peterson Associates, Inc., Hillsdale Corp., ICCT Corp., Immunix, Inc., Intel, IPT Northwest LLC, KPMG, Kryptiq Corporation, LightPoint Communications LLC, Minds' I Laboratories, Inc., Natural Interaction Systems, Oregon Economic and Community Development Depart (OECDD), Oregon3D, Inc., Oregon University System (OUS), Pacific Crest Securities, PCTest Corporation, Portland State University, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C., Sterling Communications, Swan Island Networks, The CAD Zone, Tripwire, and Webridge, Inc.