Grand Rapids Business Journal -- What Is Homeland = Security?

What Is Homeland Security?

Daniel Schoonmaker

Published: August 28, 2006

GRAND RAPIDS =97 Through a pair of new trade groups and a = number of=20 statewide initiatives, Michigan companies are gearing up to = attack=20 the homeland security market as never before.

The Department of Homeland Security has created a = thriving niche=20 market for emergency and disaster preparation that will this = year be=20 worth $1.7 billion. In Michigan alone, the state has $46.8 = million=20 in grants to spend.

With that said, many of the companies eyeing the homeland = security market carry no aspirations toward the federal = grant=20 funds.

=93The question becomes: How do you define the market?=94 = said=20 Frederick Grasman, Michigan Economic Development Corp. = business=20 development manager for homeland security, on a recent trip = to Grand=20 Rapids. =93It=92s not as much a function of one department = as it is a=20 function of the need required.=94

The largest of the state=92s industry initiatives, the = West=20 Michigan-birthed Michigan Homeland Security Initiative, is = currently=20 writing a position paper on just that. The market, according = to=20 cofounder Thomas Hines, president and CEO of local = technology firm=20 SecureMatrix, has been historically misrepresented.

=93Right now, it=92s being misused,=94 he said. = =93Everything is being=20 called homeland security.=94

On the protection continuum, personal physical security = and=20 logical security, frequently called =93cybersecurity,=94 are = found on=20 one end, with business and campus security slightly closer = to the=20 center. On the opposite side of the spectrum are defense and = military applications.

=93That very wide middle is what our industry is involved = in,=94=20 Hines said. =93And that middle can start with something as = commercial=20 as a high-rise office building or a hotel like the new JW = Marriott.=20 Buildings, people, guests and so on are all part of our = homeland=20 structure.=94

Yes, this includes schools, government buildings and law=20 enforcement, as well as iconic public assets such as the = Mackinac=20 Bridge =97 but privately held assets are just as likely, if = not more,=20 to be hit by a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

=93What most people don=92t understand is the = overwhelming majority=20 of our homeland infrastructure =97 and consequently our = homeland=20 security dollars =97 are in private hands,=94 Hines = said.

Nearly all of the country=92s utility infrastructure, = from oil=20 wells to cellular towers, are privately owned and operated. = The=20 entire Internet backbone is privately held. The Louisiana = Superdome=20 and the New Orleans Convention Center were operated by the = same=20 private company that runs the Van Andel Arena and DeVos = Place; all=20 of the recent hurricanes disproportionately affected the = private=20 sector.

And there is no better example than the 16-acre World = Trade=20 Center complex.

=93Let=92s face it, the World Trade Center was a private = office=20 building with commercial institutions in it,=94 Hines said. = =93Most of=20 the people that died that day were private individuals. Yes, = they=20 targeted the Pentagon, too, but the reason they targeted = both was=20 because they were symbols. The Mackinac Bridge is a public = symbol,=20 but I think when the day is done, our companies that are = well known=20 are just as big a target for terrorism- or = non-terrorism-related=20 homeland security problems.=94

In all likelihood, the government will actually play a = small role=20 in the homeland security landscape. Hines predicts its = primary role=20 in the private sector will be one of regulation and, to a = much=20 lesser degree, financial support. In the wake of the Sept. = 11, 2001,=20 terrorist attacks, for instance, security at the corporate=20 headquarters of Citibank, Chase Manhattan, Sears and other = potential=20 targets worked in conjunction with law enforcement, but the = private=20 institutions never relinquished responsibility.

As Grand Rapids Police Chief Harry Dolan explained at a = recent=20 consortium meeting, the federal government is going to play = an even=20 smaller role as time goes on. His department is already = seeing a=20 decline in human and physical resources as a result of the = war in=20 Iraq, and homeland security grants are dwindling.

=93One thing that has really been interesting in the = industry is=20 the linkage between security, disaster recovery and the risk = assessment process,=94 said Adam Moneypenny, a security = consultant for=20 local technology firm C/D/H and a consortium board member. = =93The risk=20 assessment should drive both your security planning and = business=20 continuity planning.=94

Not every firm is a potential terrorist target, but most=20 businesses live in some degree of fear of a similar-scale = disaster.=20 And some of these firms manage assets on an equal scale to a = large=20 municipality.

Consortium member Andrew Dailey, founder of Fort = Gratiot-based=20 GeoCritical LLC, has worked with both General Motors and = global IT=20 firms. His company creates daily briefings for numerous=20 corporations, plus law enforcement and intelligence = agencies.

=93One of the things that I=92ve noticed is that these = are all large=20 global enterprises, and many have struggled to identify=20 international events and their implications,=94 Dailey said. = =93You=20 mention risk assessment and things like that. Well, you need = to be=20 able to visualize your operations, build resiliency in your = supply=20 chain.=94

Dailey=92s group is a strong example of how the homeland = security=20 market will develop. It serves many facets of the = 22-division=20 federal department, along with other governmental = organizations and=20 many more private entities =97 providing real-time, = geospatial risk=20 assessments for terrorist attacks, avian flu, hurricanes,=20 earthquakes and other international events.

Ted Green, CEO of Greenview Data in Ann Arbor and a = consortium=20 board member, compares homeland security to the maturing IT = security=20 industry. Not long ago, few companies had firewalls, virus = or SPAM=20 protection. Today, it is inconceivable for a business to use = a=20 computer without them.

From a marketing standpoint, the need is one that is not = likely=20 to ever be far from the public mind. Consortium co-founder = Keith=20 Brophy, president of NuSoft Solutions, pointed to a recent = Sunday=20 edition of the daily newspaper. The front page featured = stories on=20 the foiled terrorist plot in England and an alleged plot = against the=20 Mackinac Bridge. The inside cover documented the 11 Egyptian = students who recently disappeared en route to an exchange = program at=20 Montana State University.

=93It=92s a hot topic,=94 Brophy said. =93We=92re looking = to drive this=20 industry forward, and to do it in a responsible manner. This = sector=20 has a lot to do with the health and well-being of this=20 nation.=94 =20 = BJX