July 19, 2004—ASIS International (ASIS), has been named a private sector partner in a new, national terrorism information-sharing and alert-notification program. The announcement was made recently by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in Dallas, TX during the launch of the Homeland Security Information NetworkCritical Infrastructure (HSIN-CI) Pilot Program.
ASIS will provide Mr. Ridges department with access to more than 27,000 security professionals in the U.S., many of them responsible for protecting life and property in private corporations and other institutions that are parts of our national critical infrastructures.
This fully operational, cross-agency, cross-sector, cross-discipline program is based on a system developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), another partner in the venture. It is being deployed in four pilot communities. Dallas and Seattle are the first; Indianapolis and Atlanta will follow in August and September, respectively. ASIS members will not only participate in information exchange with federal authorities; some will be named to “governance boards” overseeing the systems operations regionally and locally.
The system uses readily available technology, including telephones, computers, faxes, and the Internet. ASIS members in pilot communities will be sent alerts and information on terrorism-related incidents and issues directly through multiple channels depending on the urgency of the threat. This does not mean that every ASIS member will receive every communication; the system is able to target information to recipients in specified critical infrastructures and geographic areas.
As one of its priorities, ASIS has over the past two years reconfigured its membership database to make it more responsive to DHSs needs. ASIS members in areas outside the pilot programs will be integrated into HSIN-CI as quickly as other areas are added to the network.
