Secure CITI: A Secure Critical Information Technology Infrastructure for Disaster Management

The current primary mode of operation in disaster detection and response is through the 9-1-1 system, where humans call in emergencies to a central dispatch agency that receives the call and dispatches the appropriate personnel. This detection/response system has proven adequate in many situations, but slow in other scenarios. Reports from the field may be inadequate when communication links are severed between the area affected and emergency response agencies. This research explores a concept of how to automate a process of risk detection efficiently. We propose a Secure and robust Critical Information Technology Infrastructure (Secure CITI) that uses already deployed data-sensing equipment and strategically deploys new sensors in areas of concern. For example, cameras that are used to monitor traffic and toll booths could be redirected to report on unexpected events (e.g., pieces falling from the roof of a tunnel, or a major crash) or re-oriented to collect information about a potential landslide in a nearby hill. In essence, we propose to introduce a sociotechnical system to coordinate the use of existing and newly designed data collection instruments, integrate the data from multiple sources into a common profile of the status of the region, and distribute the relevant data among different organizational units with different responsibilities for maintaining continuity of operations for the region. The system will facilitate efficient and quickly coordinated actions in response to natural and human-caused threats. The system will also contain a learning module that will feed post-action data into the data processing module for pre-action decision making. The specific task for this project addressed by the IISIS prototype, with its executive dashboard and situational assessment module, is to provide real-time information on the status of the community to allow emergency managers to recognize the impending risk in an emerging threat. Timely information enables emergency managers to reorder their resources and attention to reduce the risk in a timely, effective manner. The function of the IISIS prototype is to interpret the incoming information from a range of sensor networks that may indicate impending danger to the community, and present this information visually to emergency managers at different levels of jurisdictional authority as the data are being transmitted to the system. This capacity creates a "common operating picture" among emergency managers at multiple levels of jurisdiction, enabling them to take appropriate action to reduce risk, but in coordinated action with other agencies. Creating and enabling this capacity for coordinated action among multiple agencies and jurisdictions is the primary objective of the J-IISIS prototype. This project is funded by the Information Technology Research Program, National Science Foundation, #0325353, at $2.8 million for the period, September 1, 2003 - August 31, 2008. Daniel Mosse, Department of Computer Science, serves as Principal Investigator. Rami Melhem, Department of Computer Science, and Louise K. Comfort, GSPIA, serve as Co-Principal Investigators.