Using U.S. transportation against terrorists. (Security Beat).One arena where information technologies could be put to good use against terrorists is the nation's transportation system, said Arthur E. Johnson, senior vice president for strategic development at Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. Corp. "The ability to detect the presence of any biological, chemical or even nuclear weapon that might be moving through our country's transportation system will be crucial to homeland security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States ," he told the 2003 Coast Guard Innovation Expo in Baltimore. The U.S. transportation system is more than simply a target for terrorists, Johnson said. They use it to move their people and weapons, he explained, and that presents an opportunity. "If the terrorists operate within our transportation system, they of course must expose themselves and become vulnerable," Johnson said. "We just need to think about the security challenge in a slightly different way." Realistically, Johnson said, it never will be possible to harden hard·en v. hard·ened, hard·en·ing, hard·ens v.tr. 1. To make hard or harder. 2. To enable to withstand physical or mental hardship. 3. the entire transportation system against terrorist attacks. "It's too big, and we will never have the money or the time." Instead, homeland security needs to "become more predictive and more anticipatory," he said. "By taking that path, we can turn our transportation system into a 'Venus fly trap' of sorts ... And in doing so, we can make sure that it is the terrorists who are isolated and constrained con·strain tr.v. con·strained, con·strain·ing, con·strains 1. To compel by physical, moral, or circumstantial force; oblige: felt constrained to object. See Synonyms at force. 2. by our transportation system--not us." He noted that, since September 11, industry's role in helping civilian agencies with their electronic-information programs has changed dramatically. Previously, industry focused on helping agencies become more efficient and making it easier for citizens to interact with them, Johnson said. "Now, these agencies are re-examining and redefining their priorities in the new context of homeland security. ... They must be able to share information across agency borders, while preserving the privacy and civil liberties that are so fundamental to our American way The American way of life is an expression that refers to the "life style" of people living in the United States of America. It is an example of a behavioral modality, developed from the 17th century until today. of life. Those responsible for homeland security should be able "to convert massive amounts of raw data into useful knowledge that can be acted upon," Johnson said. "We are today awash Awash (ä`wäsh), river, E Ethiopia, rising near Addis Ababa and flowing c.500 mi (800 km) to a swampy lake near the Djibouti border. The Awash Valley is important agriculturally and has hydroelectric plants. in data," he said. "Sifting knowledge from raw data is a large and complex challenge that mainly involves advanced applications of information technology--perhaps more advanced and complex than people have ever seen." Included are improved forms of data mining, data fusion Data fusion, is generally defined as the use of techniques that combine data from multiple sources and gather that information in order to achieve inferences, which will be more efficient than if they were achieved by means of a single source. , pattern recognition, networking, distribution and information sharing See data conferencing. , he said. |
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