SPEECH TRANSCRIPTS
National Terrorist Alert & Tracking System
A Unified Solution for Homeland Security
Remarks
by William Scigliano
CEO, IQ Biometrix
Counter
Terrorism & Technology Conference
Bal Harbour, Florida
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
I
welcome you here to this discussion, and I’d like
to thank the conference organizers for giving us this opportunity.
For
the past half year I have been the proud Chief Executive
Officer of IQ Biometrix. But today I am here to represent
more than just our company.
Over
the last years it’s been my privilege to serve as
an adviser on security and technology issues to the government,
including the National Association of Attorneys General
and the committee of Western Attorneys General. I’ve
also been the government liaison for the television show
America’s Most Wanted for almost 10 years.
That
background in the private and public sectors has given me
what I think is a unique perspective on partnerships that
I’d like to share with you.
I
want to talk about our role – in fact about our responsibility
– in the private sector to help protect our fellow
citizens, through the use of the technologies that many
of you have been speaking about here for the past few days.
President
Bush made a promise when he signed the Homeland Security
Act, a promise “to take every possible measure to
safeguard our country and our people.” He said those
efforts will be “comprehensive and united.”
That was the commitment made to the American people. But
just as important, I believe it was a challenge given to
you and me, to each of us at this conference.
Like
any good challenge, it comes with obstacles.
The
Comptroller General of the United States has identified
one such obstacle in the fight against terrorism. He testified
before Congress that the success of a homeland security
strategy relies on “the ability of all levels of government
and the private sector to communicate and cooperate effectively
with one another.” He said “organizational fragmentation,
technological impediments, or ineffective collaboration
blunt the nation’s collective efforts to prevent or
minimize terrorist acts.”
So
a critical need has been pinpointed – to share information
efficiently and effectively between agencies, so it can
be properly analyzed and coordinated action taken. To prevent
terrorist acts, to reduce our vulnerability to attacks and,
if the worst happens, to minimize its damage.
Responsibility
lies at three levels. First, of course, with the Department
of Homeland Security, its executive departments and organizations.
Second, with local government and agencies such as police
and first responders. And third, with most of us here –
with private industry.
I
believe U.S. private industry has the duty to work together
to provide effective, cost efficient, reliable and sustainable
technology to fight terrorism.
We
see what happens when efforts are not united and comprehensive
– duplication, fragmentation and systems that can’t
talk to each other, as John Walsh explained yesterday. And
I think we have to take some responsibility for being part
of that disorder.
Our
challenge, now, is to come up with real, unified solutions.
That means talking with each other, that means sharing ideas,
and that means partnership. So, that we’re part of
the answer, making sure that the promise made to our fellow
citizens to safeguard our country and our people is kept.
I
want to tell you about what three companies have done to
rise to the challenge. These companies have worked on one
of the vital components of homeland security – the
development of a national emergency alert solution to prevent
and respond to terrorist threats. It’s a solution
that gives authorities, including police, government, military,
health and emergency response agencies a rapid, secure system
to share protected and critical information with each other,
and to distribute security and safety information to the
public.
It’s
a solution that can be used in any emergency situation,
from homeland security threats to industrial or natural
disasters to coordinated law enforcement efforts, such as
child abduction or wanted persons cases. The solution is
TRAK II.
Let
me tell you why I feel so strongly about TRAK II and why
I feel it’s the right answer for emergency communication.
TRAK
II can be implemented immediately, effectively and cost-efficiently
across this entire nation. It is built on a foundation of
stable, reliable technology that is already installed and
being used in more than 1,300 law enforcement agencies in
33 states across this country.
As
the most widely used authority based alert system in the
nation, TRAK II is available today for issuing national
emergency alerts. It uses tested, proven, industry-standard
platforms and hardware. It has shown virtual 100% reliability.
More than 80,000 TRAK bulletins are currently being issued
every month.
The
TRAK II solution is scaleable. Depending on the assessment
of risk and need-to-know, you can target 5 recipients, or
you can target 5,000. And it’s sustainable. It responds
to immediate and critical needs and applications; it can
also be extended to respond to future threats, incorporating
new and emerging technologies.
How
do I know this? Well, two important technologies have already
been integrated with TRAK II. One is FACES, an award-wining
composite technology from IQ Biometrix. The second is Video
Analyst, a powerful technology from Intergraph that enhances
video surveillance evidence.
Let
me give you a brief, realistic scenario of how the system
would work.
An
airport surveillance camera identifies a man that has been
up to terrorist activity who has passed through security.
Using Video Analyst, a weak, blurred image of the suspect
is enhanced. Using FACES and eyewitness descriptions, a
photo-quality composite of the suspect is developed. Using
TRAK II, a bulletin with his composite and his text description
is built and transmitted to all airport destinations of
flights the suspect may have taken or could have taken.
The
bulletin is then delivered quickly and efficiently to the
TSA, important officials and airport law enforcement at
all airports involved.
This
is just one example that demonstrates the TRAK II partnership
and the value and power of creating the most accurate and
recognizable visual images.
We
are also working actively on other partnerships, such as
technology that can fuse geo-spatial data from different
sources and enable TRAK II to distribute mapping information
to coordinate emergency response teams. Technology that
can enable TRAK II to transmit visual information to cell
phones and PDAs, so that images are sent immediately to
police officers and important personnel on the ground who
need it most. Technology that can enable photos or images
distributed by TRAK II to be compared and matched with known
suspects and identified.
Imagine
the impact on terrorist or criminal investigations of accessing
over 60,000 mug shots from 300 different local agencies
around the country.
Working
together, sharing ideas, and partnerships. TRAK II is an
example of how three companies are doing our part to keep
that promise of “comprehensive and united” efforts
to safeguard our country. To make sure that a promise made
is a promise kept.
I
invite you to join us to make that same commitment.
– END –
