Center for Technology and National Security Policy

Homeland Security

The Center's program in Homeland Security encompasses a broad range of activities focused on contributing to the development of a comprehensive national strategy to address the terrorist threat against the US homeland. The Center is particularly interested in identifying the role of and encouraging the use of technology as an enabler of homeland security policy. Center activities in homeland security include:

	Serving as an independent advisor to agencies responsible for the development and execution of national level homeland security strategy
	Facilitating information exchange among the components of the Department of Defense, government inter-agencies, academia and private sector groups concerned with homeland security
	Conducting seminars and workshops that provide a forum for the discussion of national policy and the applications of technology in homeland security
	Conducting and sponsoring research and publishing articles on a wide range of homeland security issues
	Exploring the use of evolutionary programming and other advanced analytic techniques to identify potential threats and to facilitate homeland security planning

	Recent efforts include an independent CTNSP study to address the terrorist threat from sea borne container shipping. Participants included a multi-disciplinary team of experts drawn from the technology, policy and transportation communities. In this study CTNSP examined the nature of the threat, the vulnerabilities associated with the container shipping domain and steps that might be taken to reduce the risk of attack. The culmination of this effort was a task from the Office of Homeland Security to review the interagency plan currently under consideration as a national strategy. The Center is currently planning a series of workshops to examine technologies applicable to homeland security and how these existing technologies or technologies under development might be employed in innovative ways.