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Is Technology The Answer To Homeland Security?
The 200+ year history of government in the United States has essentially revolved around two questions: What is the government responsible for and what should it be able to control? In one form or another, these two questions have been debated at every level of government, every working day, right up to the present time. It’s the essential question of democracy. But, during all of this time, there is one point that politicians and citizens have always agreed on. Regardless of how big or how small people think the government should be, virtually all of them believe that the government is responsible for national defense.
Defense is, after all, the reason most governments were formed in the first place. Today the word “defense” has increasingly been replaced with “homeland security”, reflecting a sense that the threats to America are changing. America now sees itself threatened less by invasion than by infiltration, an enemy untouchable by the massive defense structures built over the past 75 years.
As a result, a seismic shift has been occurring, a shift away from the strategic projection of power to the protection of our own borders and homeland. But it’s a shift taking place when there is also a huge upheaval in the economy. With Washington already pledging countless dollars that it doesn’t have, even protecting the immediate homeland is being scrutinized for justification with a growing need to leverage every available dollar.
Technology is seen by some as the only answer, a way to get a critical job done for the least amount of money. Fortunately, the industry is beginning to offer technological solutions that may just meet the need. Companies like Boeing (NYSE: BA), which has the contract for the technology portion of the border fence being built in the Southwest; ABM Industries, Inc. (NYSE: ABM), which offers sophisticated electronic systems to aid in security; Northrop Grumman Corp. , which meets the demand of integrated networks and databases located in defense and intelligence organizations; and Global ePoint, Inc., (OTC: GEPT), which produces advanced video surveillance solutions for the homeland security and other markets. These are just some of the companies, big and small, benefitting from the increased demand for technological leveraging.
However, perhaps the best example of such leveraging is Suspect Detection Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: SDSS). Based in Israel, SDS was founded by former senior officials of Israeli security along with high-tech industry experts. If ever there was a place that knows about security, it’s Israel. For over 60 years, security there has been #1 priority, built upon almost daily threats, both internal and external. All of that hard-won experience has now been loaded into a standalone software package, a proprietary “expert system” designed to, among other things, successfully screen suspects based upon a variety of biofeedback indicators.
The SDS product is an automated decision making system capable of collecting and analyzing psycho-physiological indicators and cross-referencing them against additional information. Once an individual is tagged as a suspect, they will be directed to further questioning by the appropriate authority. By using 5 minute tests, the system is designed to identify terrorists, employees who have hostile intents, criminals, smugglers or collaborators, while freeing up the time of human resources until needed. The system is quieting a lot of skeptics who, until now, have considered any such attempt as futile, because it’s turning out to be surprisingly reliable, with a false alarm rate of no more than 4%. Some see the SDS system as a huge improvement over the old CAPPS II (Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening System), a source of so much controversy.
It’s too early to tell whether technology will be able to provide the complete answer to the unique problems of homeland security. However, there’s little question that companies like SDS will play an increasingly important part in what is generally agreed to be the single most important role of government, securing our homeland.
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Suspect Detection Systems Inc. (SDSS.OB) Announces Successful Installation of First Cogito Interrogation Units for Federal Agency in Latin America
Suspect Detection Systems Inc., a leading developer of counter-terror and crime prevention technology, announced this morning that multiple units of the Cogito(TM) system recently sold to a large Federal Agency operating in a major Latin American nation have been installed successfully.
An automated interrogation system, Cogito detects and exposes the hidden intent of criminals and terrorists. The system has multiple applications in addition to interrogating individuals suspected of committing crimes. Other applications include pre-employment and employee screening, fraud prevention, and military intelligence collection.
The Cogito system will be utilized by the federal agents to combat a wave of criminal activity in the country. The company anticipates that the installation of these first units will yield additional unit sales to the same agency later this year. The successful implementation of Cogito technology may also lead to sales at other agencies fighting crime and terror throughout the region.
The Cogito Remote Testing Function allows the operators of the Cogito system in the referenced country to supervise tests taking place in remote locations while remaining at agency headquarters. This function is able to manage and control all COGNITO test stations on a national or even global scale.
“Cogito is a powerful tool that can be utilized by any organization with advanced security and crime prevention operations from private enterprises to federal agencies,” stated Shabtai Shoval, CEO of SDS Ltd. “The positive feedback we have received from Cogito customers demonstrates the impact of the system on the war against crime. We expect this initial sale to lead to additional sales within this same agency as well as other law enforcement agencies throughout the region.”
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Suspect Detection Systems Ltd.’s (SDSS.OB) Technology Advances Efforts to Identify Terrorists and Criminals
Suspect Detection Systems Ltd. is a developer of proprietary counter-terror and crime prevention technology designed to identify threats in real-time, and prevent incidents before they are carried out. The company’s technology detects the hidden ‘hostile intent’ of assailants, before they commit their intended acts, with remarkable accuracy. The system can also be used after a crime was committed to quickly identify criminals from among a pool of suspects.
Suspect Detention’s technology dubbed Cognito looks for patterns of behavior that indicate something that all terrorists have – the fear of being caught. The company’s technology is based on Israeli security experiences and, in effect, attempts to mechanize Israel’s vaunted airport-security process by using algorithms, artificial-intelligence software and polygraph principles.
The system combines questions and biometric measurements to see if a passenger should undergo further screening by security officials. Of course, most people have legitimate reasons for their behavior and over 80% of those approached for further questioning are quickly dismissed. If suspicions remain, the traveler is interviewed at greater length by a screener with more specialized training.
Authorities are convinced that beyond hunting for weapons brought on board airliners, the battle for security lies in identifying dangerous passengers. The fact that Security Detection Systems Cognito technology is being accepted around the world indicates that a major push is under way to combat terrorists and criminals using sophisticated technology.
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Suspect Detection Systems, Inc. (SDSS.OB) Tackles Challenge of Terrorists
Suspect Detection Systems, Inc. offers what it feels is one of the most significant developments in years for the prevention of terrorist attacks. The Israeli company has a way of detecting terrorist intentions long before any crime is ever committed. Although authorities may not be able to convict someone for their thoughts, they can take actions to prevent the person from carrying them out. In any event, it represents a major potential deterrent to terrorists or other people with criminal intent from entering a country where it is being used.
The system acts like a highly advanced lie detector. People are led to a futuristic looking oval booth, where they sit down facing a screen displaying instructions. They are asked to put their passport on a scanner that reads where they are from. They are then asked to place their hand on a special sensor that collects various biometric data from them as they are presented with a number or displayed questions in their own language. An audio presentation of the questions is also available. The person’s answers, together with the gathered physiological data, create a profile which is then instantly analyzed by the system to determine whether further questioning is warranted.
It sounds simple, but the automatic analysis is based upon sophisticated software and thousands of case studies from Israel and around the world. The makers claim 95% accuracy in correctly identifying people with threatening intentions. The experience that has gone into the machine is what makes it so formidable. Shabtai Shoval, SDS CEO, formerly with Israeli military intelligence, founded the company with Yeshavahu Horowitz, former head of the Israeli police polygraph division, and Amirim Levin, former deputy of Israel’s secret security service.
Shabtai Shoval indicated the challenges posed by terrorists that motivated the system’s development. “. . . international terrorism has gotten sophisticated enough to enable terrorists to get into the target country without any weapons and with their own identity. Therefore, they can then create a strategic terror attack from within, without carrying in any means with them.”
He went on to say, “If only you could have each person trying to enter the US go through a polygraph test with a specialist, you could prevent terrorists from entering - but of course that’s not realistic. But, can we create a machine that uses the basics of polygraph technology, that works automatically without the specialist, and takes only three minutes?”
“It’s like a robot selection process - we don’t make the decision to take someone out of line and put him in jail, we only take someone for further investigation. There’s no profile selecting and no human rights violations.”
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Suspect Detection Systems Inc. (SDSS.OB) Sells Mobile Cogito Interrogation System in Central Asia
Suspect Detection Systems Inc., a leading developer of counterterror and crime prevention technology, announced this morning that it has sold the Cogito4(TM) Mobile Interrogation System to a Federal Law Enforcement Agency in Central Asia. This sale is the first to a federal agency in a nation of the Former Soviet Union.
Using automated Cogito technology, investigative law agencies can rapidly screen and interrogate suspects to detect the hostile intent of suspected criminals and terrorists. Small enough to fit in a handheld suitcase, the mobile system enables interrogation to take place at crime scenes and in the field, in addition to traditional usage at police stations and interrogation rooms.
“The sale of the Cogito system in Central Asia, as well as the sale reported a few weeks ago in Central America, demonstrate the international versatility of SDS products,” stated SDS Ltd. CEO Shabtai Shoval. “COGITO technology has been recently upgraded to operational capacity in over 15 languages, and we look forward to introducing the system in additional countries within the region.”
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Suspect Detection Systems, Inc. (SDSS.OB) – Real-Life Science Fiction
Suspect Detection Systems Inc. is involved in developing innovative homeland security, military intelligence, and law enforcement advanced technologies. These technologies are based on extensive intelligence and counter-terrorism expertise accumulated in Israel and elsewhere around the globe.
Suspect Detection System’s first product, COGNITO, is designed to identify the malicious intent of criminals and terrorists in various settings and scenarios. The company’s founder, Shabtai Shoval, first got his idea from watching the science fiction movie – Vanilla Sky – where in a futuristic world it was possible to identify criminals before they commit crimes, on the basis on their intentions.
After consulting friends in the Israeli Security Agency, the Israel police, and the high-tech industry, who were familiar with polygraphs, terrorism, software, and police investigations, Mr. Shoval concluded that it was possible to detect criminal and terroristic acts before they actually occur from their behavior.
How is it possible, in effect, to read a person’s thoughts? The only method available that makes this possible to a certain extent is the polygraph. Suspect Detection System’s technology utilizes the principles of a polygraph but their system is not meant to be a polygraph.
Founder and CEO, Shabtai Shoval explains, “The first reason is that the polygraph is designed to spot a lie. But a terrorist is trained to persuade himself that he is not lying, and his concept of a lie isn’t always the same as that of the person conducting the test. It’s a cultural thing. Our system therefore doesn’t try to catch a lie, but the fear of being caught.”
Suspect Detection Systems intends to use their advanced technologies to help civilian and military authorities combat terrorism and criminal activities around the globe.
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Suspect Detection Systems Inc. (SDSS.OB) Announces Completion of 2-Year R&D for Cogito4M Military Grade Rapid Interrogation Technology
Suspect Detection Systems Inc., a leading developer of counter-terror and crime prevention technology, announced earlier last week that its Cogito4M Military Grade Technology has successfully completed a two-year research and development project. The system was developed through the accumulation of defense field experience in Israel.
Cogito4M enables military and homeland security organizations to interrogate terror suspects while operating in precarious field conditions. The system has been designed to resolve one of the challenges of today’s modern war - specifically the accurate detection and capture of terrorists hiding among civilians.
According to the press release, the automated interrogation system can be operated by a single soldier with very basic computer training and without knowledge of interrogation techniques or local languages. Currently, Cogito4M is programmed to communicate through English, Spanish, Afghani, Iraqi, Hindi, and Arabic languages and is encoded with algorithm data relevant local terrorists’ cultural knowledge bases.
“As we see from events in Iraq and Afghanistan, militaries fighting in modern combat zones require multilingual tools for the rapid field interrogation of terrorists and enemy forces using civilian shelter,” stated Suspect Detection Systems Ltd. CEO Shabtai Shoval. “The Cogito4M rapid interrogation tool can collect vital tactical intelligence vis-a-vis possible ambushes, mines or other potential threats.”
“The SDS management team is utilizing extensive security and military combat experience in Israel to counter terrorists’ knowledge and behavior patterns. We are leveraging this expertise to create state-of the-art military grade interrogation technology that aids the war on terror and saves lives,” Shoval added.
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Suspect Detection Systems, Inc. (SDSS.OB) Tests the Limits of the Reasonable
Suspect Detection Systems Inc. is involved in developing innovative, advanced homeland security, military intelligence and law enforcement technologies. The company’s technologies are based on extensive intelligence and counter-terrorism expertise accumulated in Israel and elsewhere.
Suspect Detection Systems’ technology utilizes the principles of a polygraph, but it is vastly different. The company’s technology is not intended to catch someone in a lie, but is intended to detect fear – the fear of being caught. Terrorists have the fear of being caught before they can complete their “mission”.
Against what does Suspect Detection calibrate the fear of being caught? One of the company’s critical assets is a collection of words in dozens of languages that trigger a different response in a suspect linked to terrorism, compared with the response of a person with no link to terrorism. The company has built up a database from thousands of people from various cultures and who speak many different languages which show what the response of regular people to select words would be as compared to the response of terrorists.
An example of such words include the word “briefing” - a person about to carry out a terrorists attack usually undergoes a briefing. Another such word is Semtek, an explosive that few people, except terrorists, would know anything about.
Suspect Detection’s system is built differently than a polygraph. Instead of attaching electrodes, skin conductivity is tested through the palm of the hand. The interviewee places his or her hand on the machine, and with the other hand selects the language for the questions. The interviewee is shown a range of words, including the suspect words, and his or her response to them is then measured. The test takes only three minutes.
The company’s system looks for two gaps. One is the difference between the interviewee’s response to special words and the reasonable response to these words. The other is the difference between the interviewee’s response to suspicious words and the response to ordinary words.
The US Department of Homeland Security has recently began trials of this technology at certain select US airports.
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Suspect Detection Systems Inc. (SDSS.OB) Announces Sale of Cogito Interrogation Technology to African Private Diamond Enterprise
Suspect Detection Systems Inc., a leading developer of counter-terror and crime prevention technology, announced this morning that it has sold a Cogito automated interrogation system to a commercial Diamond Mining Enterprise operating in Africa. The system will be used to screen for employees who may be involved in diamond theft.
To date, the system has been sold to multiple federal law enforcement and military agencies across the world. Cogito has also been purchased by human resource companies and other private enterprises involved in the acquisition, sale and distribution of valuable commodities. According to the press release, the announced sale is the second to a private enterprise in the past two months.
“Diamond theft is a major issue in the diamond mining industry, leaving a sizeable mark on companies’ profit and loss sheets,” said Suspect Detection Systems Ltd. CEO Shabtai Shoval. “Based on the dialogue we had with our customer, we were able to customize the Cogito system to identify the threat of internal diamond theft. The ability to detect employees involved in criminal activity can lead to a reduction in theft, and acts as a deterrent against future criminal activity.”
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Suspect Detection Systems Ltd. (SDSS.OB) Develops a “Mind-Reader”
Suspect Detection Systems Ltd. specializes in developing advanced, innovative technologies for the homeland security, military intelligence and law enforcement markets. The technologies are based on extensive counter-terrorism and intelligence know-how accumulated in Israel and elsewhere.
Suspect Detection’s initial product is called COGNITO, which is designed to identify malicious intent on the part of suspects in various settings and scenarios. The company’s system has some similarities to a polygraph, but it is different.
A “suspect” sits inside a kiosk and places their right hand on a sensor that measures blood pressure, pulse and sweat while answering questions which appear on a screen. But unlike a polygraph, the point is not to find out whether the person’s answer to a specific question is a lie, but to instead compare their bodily responses to other people’s and see if and how their response differs from that of innocent people who have answered before them.
Experience has taught Suspect Detection Systems that terrorists will react differently to the questions and certain specific words than would an innocent person. The company’s COGNITO system can pick up on these differences even though the terrorist shows no outward sign of stress or hostility.
The US Transportation Security Agency tried out COGNITO at a Tennessee airport last year. The agency was impressed enough with the results to order more than $200,000 worth of machines for further trials this year.
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