Wanted: Anti-Terror Technology

Silicon Valley companies are being enlisted into the War on Terrorism.

As U.S. airports search for ways to implement the federal mandate for improved security, Congressman Michael Honda, who represents part of Silicon Valley, says he believes the technology industry must play a fundamental role.

A congressional coalition is working to forge a security alliance between the tech industry and the government. Honda says he wants to "make sure that the tools of high technology arelooked at and considered seriously."

He recently hosted a gathering of Silicon Valley CEOs in Washington, DC. Executives fromdozens of companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Lockheed Martin, Identix, and Sun Microsystems, searched for homeland security solutions.

"We truly believe it's a social responsibility of Silicon Valley companies who have the right technology to contribute to defining a platform," said Krish Panu, CEO of At Road, Inc., a company that develops systems to manage mobile workforces.

Some Silicon Valley CEOs say that technology such as At Road's system could help with national security.

At Road's system is based on a PDA-size black box that transmits vehicle position, direction, speed, and other information to allow real-time monitoring. The system's "geo-fencing" capabilities can set up invisible safety parameters and will notify security whenever a vehicle wanders into an area where it doesn't belong.

All of the information is encrypted, password-protected, and then sent to At Road's servers on the East and West coasts. The servers run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In terms of tightening national security, Honda says it is important to track potentially dangerous vehicles, especially high-load fuel trucks and outside catering trucks which currently travel unmonitored on airport property.

The company's system also could safeguard against bioterrorism and potentially dangerous ground shipments. "[The system] can be equipped on a vehicle that's transporting hazardous waste or chemicals," said Carey Fan, At Road project manager.

Honda and others say they believe that Silicon Valley can provide important security solutions with both existing and emerging technologies.

"It's a great opportunity to leverage all that entrepreneurial energy to create new technologies that would also enhance our homeland security," said J.D. Fay, At Road vice president of corporate affairs.

Proposed legislation would establish a pilot program to quickly test and evaluate existing, new, and emerging technologies to help reshape domestic security.

More than 40 security bills and amendments have been filed in Congress since Sept. 11, including the Bioterrorism Protection Act, which allocates $7 billion to deploy tech solutions for monitoring hazardous materials transportation.

The Air Travel Security and Technology legislation targets $24 billion for the 20 largest USairports to conduct pilot programs and deploy travel security technology.

Both bills are moving through the House of Representatives, each with more than 100 co-sponsors. However, Honda says he is concerned that unless the House acts on this legislation soon, opportunities to find new high tech solutions to security concerns could be lost as the drive for security languishes.