Security issues are key to start of Congress

Emily M. Smith
ASME NEWS

Homeland Security is the newest of Raytheon Co.'s four business units. It came into being 12 months after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

Hugo Poza, vice president of the department, will participate in the keynote session at the 2003 Congress in November, whose focus will be homeland security.

He spoke with ASME NEWS about the challenges of providing homeland security.

ASME NEWS: Who are Raytheon's main customers for homeland security services?

Poza: The Department of Homeland Security seaports, such as the Port of Houston; the U.S. Army and Air Force; and various states and municipalities, such as the Los Angeles County Sheriff.

ASME NEWS: What about clients in private industry? Has there been an increased interest from the commercial sector in the area of homeland security or protecting resources since 9/11?

Poza: Yes, there is increased interest in security from the private sector. The petrochemical industry is one example.

ASME NEWS: What is the greatest challenge in providing those customers with homeland security capabilities?

Poza: The greatest challenge is to define the solution required to maximize security while minimizing inconvenience to the user or customer. Usually, security and inconvenience need to be equally balanced. In some cases, though — airports, for example — security takes priority. The location of explosive detection systems at airports today is an example of customer inconvenience. But in that case, the only objective was maximum security.

ASME NEWS: In developing solutions for customers, how often do those solutions involve applying existing technology in new ways?

Poza: In 95 percent of the cases today, we can apply Department of Defense-developed technology in new ways to achieve the desired results.

ASME NEWS: How were the concepts of Raytheon's products, SilentRunner and Red Wolf, developed?

Poza: In both cases, they were developed to satisfy customer needs: SilentRunner to counter the insider threat, RedWolf to intercept and pinpoint terrorist communications. Both RedWolf and Silent-Runner are offshoots of previously completed intelligence-related work. RedWolf is not suitable for commercial use; however, Silent- Runner definitely is, and is currently being used by banks, financial entities and pharmaceutical companies. It can be used wherever network security is critical.

ASME NEWS: Given the U.S. government's interest in sharing defense research with private industry for commercial use, how can the effectiveness of a technology, or its application, in terms of homeland security, be protected and/or maintained without being compromised or misused?

Poza: All technology, whether used commercially or otherwise, must be continuously updated to remain fresh and uncompromised. Continuous improvements in technology will have to account for previous potential misuse or compromise of existing technology. It's the same as the use of electronic countermeasures: You must improve your countermeasures continuously as the enemy gets smarter about your technology and methods. You must test products continuously until you find a way to "break" them. When you do, then it's time to update your technology or product to counter your newly found weakness.

For the Q&A with John Voeller, the other keynote speaker, see the May
issue of ASME NEWS online at www.asmenews.org. For Congress details, visit www.asme.org/congress.

 

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