Swan Island Networks Will Participate in JWID -- Premier Interagency and Military Interoperability Event.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

2004 Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 14, 2004

Information Sharing Key -- "Need to Know" Replaced by

"Need to Share" says NORTHCOM's Maj. General Meyerrose

Swan Island Networks, Inc., a Portland, Oregon-based company devoted to developing software for sharing sensitive information, will participate in the prestigious 2004 Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration (JWID), beginning today (June 14) and continuing through 25, 2004.

Attendees and participants include US agencies such as the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, National Guard Bureau, state and local governments, private industry, and coalition partners such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, NATO nations and the Republic of Korea.

JWID is an annual event sponsored by the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is the premier event to investigate and assess evolving C4ISR (command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) solutions that can be applied in the operational community now or in the near future. Attendees will observe new and emerging information technologies in a simulated warfighting environment encompassing multiple concurrent scenarios.

Unlike previous JWIDs, this year's focus is on technologies -- as well as the applied concepts of operating the technologies -- in realistic homeland security scenarios. JWID 04 will provide the military with valuable insights into providing effective military assistance to civilian authorities by forging technology and relationship links with first responders at the federal, state and local levels.

U. S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) is this year's host combatant commander. NORTHCOM's mission is to conduct military operations to deter, prevent and defeat threats aimed at the United States; one major responsibility is providing military assistance to civil authorities. Maj. Gen. Dale W. Meyerrose, USAF, director of architectures and integration for NORTHCOM, said, "Security as we define it in DoD -- attached to this "need to know" paradigm -- does us little good in Northern Command. Most of the folks I deal with on a regular basis don't have Secret, Top Secret, or compartmented clearances. There are, for example, 2.5 million urban search and rescue folks who potentially, depending on the event, I have to exchange information with. My mantra is that I need to change from a 'need to know' to a 'need to share' foundation." Among JWID's eight objectives, providing solutions to facilitate information sharing across multiple information domains is ranked first.

How Swan Island Networks fits into JWID

Swan Island Networks' SWARM technology enables highly secure information sharing across organizational boundaries and heterogeneous computing environments. SWARM can also send alerts and notifications to targeted users. The company came to JWID through its successes in several contracts for the Department of Defense's Homeland Security Command and Control Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (HLS C2 ACTD). Says Jeffrey P. Gerald, HLS C2 ACTD Technical Manager, "Swan Island Networks is a pioneer in developing and delivering a new -- and effective -- information sharing solution. The SWARM technology solution meets national homeland security requirements at the regional and local level."

SWARM is also the core technology of RAINS-Net, a technological initiative chosen by the City of Portland, OR's Bureau of Emergency Operations Center (BOEC) to provide an information sharing and alerting system. This system has grown to include several large 9-1-1 centers, the State of Oregon's Emergency Management department, first responders, schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure providers including hotels and large employers. Deployed in August 2003, the system has delivered close to 10,000 notifications and alerts, with a 100% success rate. Says Carl Simpson, Director of BOEC, "Swan Island Networks delivers instantaneous, targeted information in a highly secure environment...the system has exceeded my expectations. This new ability to effectively communicate across sectors is a quantum leap for public safety."

The SWARM technology has proven itself capable of transmitting sensitive information. "The effects of unanticipated emergencies -- both natural and manmade -- can be mitigated when the right information gets to the right people, quickly and authoritatively," says Charles Jennings, President and CEO of Swan Island. "We are delighted to have an opportunity to participate in JWID, and demonstrate SWARM's unique ability to link disparate organizations in a single, highly secure sensitive information sharing system."

SWARM supports automated command and control information sharing, facilitates critical and sensitive information exchange, supports two-way feedback, delivers alerts and notifications, and targets end users by predetermined criteria. Content can be whatever is needed, from strategic action plans to evacuation routes to hazmat mitigation specifications, in whatever format the content exists in, including GIS, audio and video. Says Jennings, "We hope to continue working closely with key federal officials who understand the value of information sharing systems, and the importance of local initiative in meeting today's homeland security challenges."

About Swan Island Networks

Swan Island Networks, Inc., is a two-year-old company led by a seasoned management team whose previous experience includes founding and managing a number of highly successful Internet security companies. The company's business is trusted information sharing: connecting organizations to each other when confidential, sensitive or highly targeted information needs to be exchanged. www.swanisland.net

Swan Island Networks is the founder of RAINS, a public/private partnership to accelerate development and deployment of innovative technology for homeland security. RAINS has developed a unique partnership between public officials, first responders, research universities and over 60 high tech companies, ranging from Intel, Hewlett-Packard, ESRI and PeopleSoft to local companies such as Tripwire, Digimarc and Fortix. www.rainsnet.org