Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Police, schools, hospitals and building managers in Multnomah County, Oregon can soon share sensitive information over a secure computer network inspired by post Sept. 11 security worries.
The Regional Alliance for Information and Network Security has drawn government agencies and businesses together to develop the technology.
The public and private alliance plans to display the network Wednesday at Portland City Hall, and says the secure web is a prototype for homeland security needs across the country.
Portland’s 911 call center will serve as the information hub, delivering emergency alerts on anything from a bomb threat to a school shooting or natural disaster, as well as the usual police, fire and emergency calls.
The information would be sent via the Internet on personal computers or cell-phone text messages. It would allow agencies to share e-mails, emergency alerts and sensitive maps or drawings instantly and securely.
“Having the 911 center be the hub of a local emergency-sharing network is a national first,” said Charles Jennings, a Portland software entrepreneur who leads the alliance. “We’re moving emergency communication from the realm of telephone calls, faxes and Post-it Notes to an automated reliable system.”
The idea for the system sprang from a few nail-biting hours of confusion for emergency responders surrounding an errant plane in Portland in January 2002.
Authorities could not figure out who was at the controls of a small plane that reportedly was heading toward a downtown building. There was no communication among federal officials, the Portland police or the building’s tenants when a Lake Oswego man allegedly threatened to fly his plane into the U.S. Bancorp Tower, sending two F-15 fighter jets scrambling over Portland.
A smaller, test version of the system was launched in March, linking some hospitals and agencies, including Portland’s Water Bureau, Oregon’s Department of Transportation and the Port of Portland.
The expanded network will link Portland schools, hospitals, some utility companies, hotels, banks and other downtown businesses to the network.
There is no cost to the receivers, as they can use their existing computer hardware with a special software program.