ISSN 2277 – 3126
rni NO. UPENG/2011/37063
`100 US$ 10
TM
Vol. 3
Issue 6
NOV – DEC 2013
Shaping the Future of the Geospatial Industry – On the Go hexagon.com/geospatial
GOMOBILE Mobile Geospatial Solutions for a Smarter City Intergraph® Mobile Alert simplifies reporting for citizens. Cities benefit by enlisting the masses to help define and pinpoint issues, such as road or utility line damage. Intergraph Mobile MapWorks is a practical tool for local governments. Easy to configure, this app enables you to directly see, edit, validate, and update your enterprise GIS data from the field in real time. With Intergraph’s mobile offerings, you’re fully equipped to make smarter decisions. GEOSPATIAL.INTERGRAPH.COM/MOBILE
© 2013 Intergraph Corporation. All rights reserved. Intergraph is part of Hexagon. Intergraph and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.
@HexGeospatial
BIG DATA
Interviews
Guest Articles Securing the Data
14
Traditional data handling methods lack the ability to manage Big Data. The traditional security mechanisms too are inadequate. But in an age where 100 per cent foolproof IT security is a mirage, how then should defence organisations cope with the Big Data security challenges? Chairman MP Narayanan Publisher Sanjay Kumar Managing Editor Lt Gen (Dr) AKS Chandele (Retd) Executive Editor Bhanu Rekha Product Manager Harsha Vardhan Madiraju Assistant Editor Aditi Bhan Designed by Debjyoti Mukherjee Circulation Manager Amit Shahi Circulation Executive Vijay Kumar Singh Owner, Publisher & Printer Sanjay Kumar Printed at M. P. Printers, B - 220, Phase-II, Noida - 201 301, Gautam Budh Nagar (UP) India Publication Address A - 92, Sector - 52, Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida, India Editor Sanjay Kumar
A - 145, Sector - 63, Noida, India Tel + 91 120 4612500 Fax + 91 120 4612555/666 Geospatial Media and Communications Pvt. Ltd. does not necessarily subscribe to the views expressed in the publication. All views expressed in this issue are those of the contributors. The publication is not responsible for any loss to anyone due to the information provided.
24
Big Data: Not Simple Analytics 18 In this age of big data, data about an individual is collected through a number of ways. But what if the agencies misuse your data? How safe is your information?
Geoint in the Age of IoT
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the next big thing in the internet world. The writer says while the IoT has the potential to transform geoint, the geoint community needs to participate in IoT development.
Defending Space Assets
Brig. Dr Khalid Ali Almarri, Communication Director, Dubai Police 32
28
Price `100, US$ 10 Geospatial Media and Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Russ Johnson, Director, Public Safety Solutions, Esri
36
The prospect of Earth being ruled from space is no longer a science fiction. Today, technology exists to weaponise space. In the article, the writer proposes space based mechanisms for monitoring and depriving an enemy the advantage of space while at the same time, making provisions for protection and survivability of one’s own space assets.
Report GeoIntelligence Latin America 40
Case Study License to Track You
22
REGULAR SECTIONS Editorial................................................ 05 News..................................................... 06 Events................................................... 35 Image Intelligence .......................... 42
Geointelligence nov - dec 2013
Inside
Theme
3
Editorial
Big Data: The Information Overload Challenge
W
orld creates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day, says IBM, adding that 90 per cent of data present today did not exist two years ago. Google has recently stated that it creates the same data in two days (5 exabytes ) that was created from the dawn of time till 2003. Three things have facilitated the generation of such huge amounts of data, first being the digitisation of data by adopting the binary system which lends itself to easy storage and manipulation of data. It is estimated that 94 per cent of all data was stored digitally in 2011 as compared to less than 1 per cent two decades ago. The proliferation of a variety of sensors, electronic business/ industrial machines and communication devices enables acquisition of huge amounts of text, audio and video data unobtrusively, almost as a by-product of the functions that these devices perform. Walmart alone handles 1 million customer transactions an hour, resulting in 2.5 petabytes of data. 96 per cent of the world today is connected by mobile communication devices, who with their cameras and GPS are producing humungous amounts of data. Twitter, Facebook and Google add to the mayhem. Finally, the availability of progressively larger and relatively cheaper storage capacities ensures that this data is stored easily, without the need to delete to make way for fresh data. However, it is not just the volume that lends the name ‘big data,’ but the inability to process these data sets with commonly used software tools. Processing data produces information, further processing it provides valuable knowledge or intelligence. The value of data being acquired lies in its analysis. For the commercial sector and in governance, it provides valuable insights for better decision making and feedback for course correction.
Lt Gen (Dr) AKS Chandele PVSM, AVSM (Retd) Managing Editor
ajay@geospatialmedia.net
Intelligence requirements for defence are at three levels - strategic, operational and tactical. While some time may be available so that big data can be analysed to provide useful intelligence for strategic and operational planning purposes, data analysis to derive intelligence for tactical operations needs to be real-time, or in as short a time as possible, in the range of a few seconds, to be of any value. The information management challenge lies not so much in acquiring the data but in separating the wheat from the chaff, and not getting drowned in data.
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
Intelligence derived from big data is critical for defence and security agencies and cannot be neglected at any cost. With the deployment of increasing numbers of satellites, UAVs and a variety of battlefield sensors, the information gathering capabilities of militaries have increased manifold. What is woefully lacking is the corresponding increase in analysis capabilities. Though automation based on customised software is helpful but the need for analysis by experts is indispensable.
5
Elbit Systems Awarded USD 33 Million Contract
Geointelligence nov - dec 2013
Elbit Systems Ltd. recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Elbit Systems Electrooptics - Elop Ltd. (Elop), was awarded a follow-on contract to supply its advanced Digital CoMPASS electrooptical (EP) payload systems to an Asia-Pacific Air Force to be installed onboard helicopters. The contract will be performed over a three-year period.
6
DCoMPASS (Digital Compact Multi Purpose Advanced Stabilized System) is a highly stabilised, low weight, multi-sensor electro-optical (EO) payload system, providing solutions for airborne applications (both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft) as well as for land and naval platforms. Offering cutting edge optical technology for 24X7 observation with cutting edge day and night ‘ISTAR’ capabilities (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance), DCoMPASS allows optimal use even in the harshest of weather conditions, said the company.
IAF Launches its 3G WCDMA Cellular Network IAF recently launched its 3G Cellular Network named AFCEL (Air Force
Cellular), becoming first among the services to have commissioned its own 3G network. Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and Chief of the Air Staff, while inaugurating the network, said, “With the IAF’s 3G WCDMA project, we are taking a quantum leap forward in our quest to provide mobile and secure ‘end-point’ connectivity to the air warriors deployed across the length and breadth of our country. AFCEL will facilitate real-time exchange of information in an ever dynamic operational environment that we operate in.”
“While the AFCEL nodes will cover a number of fixed locations, there would also be Mobile Base Transmitting Stations (MBTS) which will extend connectivity to remote areas as well. These BTS will provide critical secure communications support for voice, SMS and data exchange and have a force multiplication effect in the conduct of our operations,” he added. The IAF through AFCEL aims to bring all its units and stations under the overarching umbrella of 3G connectivity. While Phase I of the project will ensure mobile
Air Marshal Arup Raha to be the Next CAS The Government of India has decided to appoint Air Marshal Arup Raha as the next Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force (IAF). He will take over from Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne who retires on December 31, 2013. Air Marshal Raha was commissioned into the IAF on December 14, 1974 in the Fighter Stream of the Flying Branch. During a career spanning over 39 years, he has held various command, staff and instructional appointments. He has served as Air Attache at the Embassy of India, Ukraine. He is an alumni of Staff College and National Defence College, and has undergone Strategic Nuclear Orientation Course. He has commanded Central Air Command and Western Air Command; and is one of the honorary ADCs to the Supreme Commander.
Kerala Police to install GPS Devices Kerala state in India has decided to install GPS in police vehicles across the state. Nearly 600 GPS devices would initially be bought for the vehicles. The installation of the system would take place in different phases. In the first phase, police vehicles under the control room would get the device. The rest of the vehicles will be covered in the next phase. The move is expected to quicken the police’s response time apart from helping it to prevent misuse of its vehicles.
that provide downloadable apps for smartphones and tablets. "Recognising that geoint data, products, services and knowledge are most relevant when the information is easily accessible, NGA is committed to making its content discoverable, accessible and usable in multiple security domains," says the agency in its 2013-2017 Strategy report. By 2017, it wants to empower the geoint community through "greatly improved access to varied content and applications," allowing users to "create and consume geoint content anytime on the device of their choice." So far, nearly 270 apps have been made available to the intelligence community through the online platform.
Real-time Targeting for Coordinate-seeking Weapons
Geoint App Store by NGA
Raytheon Company recently announced that it has integrated an advanced targeting capability into the US Army's Common Sensor Payload (CSP) airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance targeting system. Mission commanders can now directly utilise an airborne tactical sensor's geo-location data for real-time targeting of coordinate-seeking weapons, said the company.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is reported to have developed a Geoint App Store in the three security domains - top secret, secret and unclassified. The store is believed to be loosely modelled after commercial storefronts
Previously, target coordinates and imagery from an airborne tactical sensor had to undergo a remote and time-consuming image registration process to meet Department of Defence/ NGA coordinate-seeking weapons
delivery requirements for real-time targeting. Now, target coordinates can be transferred directly in realtime from the CSP sensor to the weapon, significantly reducing the delivery timeline while increasing accuracy, it added. In October 2013, Raytheon and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems collaborated to complete development and fly the CSP High Definition and Target Location Accuracy sensor. According to the Raytheon, the sensor not only provides high definition sensor imagery, but is also equipped with a high accuracy, advanced multi-colour diode pumped laser produced by General Atomics Aeronautical. It also provides an accurate range receiver, improved precision inertial sensors, advanced geo-positioning algorithms, precise internal/ external event timing and rigorous error propagation to generate real-time targeting information.
Lockheed Martin Donates Search Engine The software search engine that facilitates intelligence interoperability throughout the Department of Defence has been contributed to the open source community by Lockheed Martin. The corporation has donated all copyright for the Distributed Data Framework (DDF) source code to the Codice Foundation, a non-profit organisation established to support government-based open source projects.
Geointelligence Nov - dec 2013
connectivity to all air warriors in the National Capital Region, Phase II will cover the rest of the bases. AFCEL has been customised for defence requirements and is a full IP network with stringent quality of service, high quality voice and data solutions.
7
n e ws obstacles, terrain and power lines, and displayed them in a realistic 3-D view on the current cockpit displays. And while this particular test was done on a Blackhawk, the intent is make this sort of technology available for any number of current and future military helicopter platforms, including Future Vertical Lift platforms."
"The ability to provide an open source data sharing and interoperability tool directly to our international partners is something we are happy to support," said Rich Radcliffe, Director of US BICES and International Intelligence Programs at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. "This new delivery mechanism for DDF significantly reduces the barrier to entry for our international partners willing to share data and collaborate between systems."
"The beauty of the SVAB is that it is 'sensor impartial,' allowing any number of sensors to provide input into the common sensor interface," he said. "This open approach makes way for an efficient upgrade path, especially while research continues into new and improved sensors for use in DVE conditions."
Providing unencumbered access to the DDF source code helps reduce future integration and lifecycle costs and ushers in a new level of opportunity for international interoperability, said the company. The DDF can query multiple computer systems, access the requested data, authenticate the user, and then provide the user with only the information they are authorised to receive.
Geointelligence nov - dec 2013 8
Honeywell Aerospace has completed successful testing of a newly designed Synthetic Vision Avionics Backbone (SVAB) that enables helicopter operators to integrate multiple types of sensors with Honeywell's Synthetic Vision System to provide pilots with a 3-D view of the outside world in Degraded Visual Environments (DVE). Testing was conducted on a Blackhawk helicopter as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Multifunction Radio Frequency (MFRF) programme. "In addition to giving pilots a dramatic tactical advantage when operating in brownout or whiteout conditions, moving this technology forward means increasing operational safety for our warfighters," said Howard Wiebold, manager of business development, Honeywell, adding, “The system accurately detected
Courtesy: www.globenewswire.com
Flight Testing Successfully Completed for Improved Helicopter Safety
New Micro-Gyro Prototype for DARPA Programme
The culmination of the eight-year programme is a micro-NMRG that offers near navigationgrade performance for the next generation of high-precision inertial sensors. Northrop Grumman's micro-NMRG technology uses the spin of atomic nuclei to detect and measure rotation, providing comparable performance to a navigationgrade fiber-optic gyro in a small, lightweight, low power package. Additionally, the gyro has no moving parts and is not inherently sensitive to vibration and acceleration. The technology can be used in any application requiring small size and low power precision navigation, including personal and unmanned vehicle navigation in GPS-denied or GPS-challenged locations. The NGIMG effort is part of DARPA's Micro-Technology for Positioning, Navigation and Timing program that aims to develop technology for self-contained, chip-scale inertial navigation and precision guidance. Northrop Grumman began the first phase of the NGIMG effort in October 2005 and has consistently met or exceeded the performance goals of each programme phase.
Northrop Grumman Corporation has developed and demonstrated a new micro-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Gyro (micro-NMRG) prototype for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), providing precision navigation for size- and power-constrained applications. The development of a hermetically sealed micro-NMRG that meets precision navigation requirements along with a successful prototype demonstration marks the fourth and final phase of DARPA's Navigation-Grade Integrated Micro Gyroscopes (NGIMG) programme.
First Production Delivery Order for AN/VIC-5 Enhanced Vehicular Communication System Northrop Grumman Cobham Intercoms LLC (NGCI), a joint venture between Northrop Grumman and Cobham plc, has been awarded the first production delivery order of the AN/VIC-5 enhanced vehicular communication system. This order marks the official beginning of the programme's production and deployment phase. AN/VIC-5 is an integrated intercom system that supports internet protocol communications to soldiers on the battlefield. It is the successor to AN/VIC-3, which has been proven in Iraq and Afghanistan
on more than 100,000 US ground vehicles. NGCI holds a USD 2.4 billion indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with the Army, awarded in 2009, for delivery of the system, which completed rigorous validation and verification testing earlier this year. AN/VIC-5 comprises a range of control consoles, operator stations, cables and headsets. The system's customisable, mix-and match, modular architecture scales to accommodate a number of platform requirements. This intuitive, flexible approach allows users to combine system components to provide clear, noise-free communications between crew members inside and outside the combat vehicle to dismounted users and combat net radios. Selecting from a variety of standard modules enables system scalability to support vehicle command post operations and tactical operations centers with up to 58 users and 16 combat net radios.
Boomerang Shooter Detection Technology for Helicopters Raytheon BBN Technologies has adapted its life-saving Boomerang shooter detection technology to protect helicopter crews. Raytheon BBN Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon Company, has been providing Boomerang vehicle, fixed site and
Helicopters are highly susceptible to sniper attacks because of their lowaltitude flight paths and hovering requirements in theater. However, developing a shooter detection system for helicopters is a very complex problem because of the extreme noise and heavy vibration involved. Boomerang Air overcomes this challenge by incorporating BBN's proven computer-based signal processing, adapted for the rotarywing environment, and auditory and visual indications to detect and report relative shooter azimuth and elevation information, said the company.
Ground Sensor Network Linked with UAVs for Enhanced Threat Protection A wireless ground sensor network developed by Lockheed Martin will soon have the option of being fully integrated with UAVs. Lockheed Martin's Self-Powered Ad-hoc Network (SPAN), a wireless ground sensor system will be able to connect with UAVs to provide ubiquitous coverage and persistent surveillance of designated areas. "SPAN is essentially a network of unobtrusive sensor nodes small enough to fit into the palm of your hand," said Macy W. Summers, Vice President with Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions. "Linking SPAN sensors with UAVs provides a cost-effective solution that can support many types of missions including force protection, border surveillance and regulatory and treaty compliance." Incorporated with small devices that employ energy-harvesting technology, SPAN is a multi-purpose wireless sensor platform that never needs a battery replacement, claims the company. Using readily available energy sources in its surrounding
environment, SPAN recharges itself and its nodes do not transmit unless there is a sensor reading of concern. According to the company, fusing SPAN with UAVs lowers the total cost of monitoring a specific area, since the SPAN networks automatically prompt UAV sensors without the need to depend on a separate operator alerting system. Each node, once placed on or in the ground in a mesh arrangement, transmits relevant data to the next node, and so on, until the information is ultimately forwarded to a wide area communications link. During a UAV mission, the ground network automatically prompts the UAV's high precision sensors to further characterise the alert without the need for a remote analyst. This linked solution enables UAV operators to focus on identified threats instead of loitering or flying pre-set mission profiles waiting for potential threats. Additionally, this enhanced processing of timely intelligence enables responsive situational awareness for ground commanders in full spectrum and counter-insurgency operations, adds the company.
A 'Combat Force Multiplier' for Helicopter Crews Situational awareness technology advances developed by Elbit Systems of America LLC, provide helicopter crews the visual cues they need to negotiate landings and takeoffs, even in the most severe degraded visual environments (DVE). Incorporating technologies such as a Helmet Display and Tracker System (HDTS) with its intuitive 3D conformal grid symbology, Elbit Systems of America demonstrated a greatly enhanced level of mission capability in simulations conducted in the US Army Black Hawk Engineering Analysis Cockpit (BEAC), a fixed-based UH-60L flight simulator in Redstone Arsenal,
Geointelligence Nov - dec 2013
Courtesy: www.globenewswire.com
soldier-wearable shooter detection/ location systems for the US and its allies since 2003.
9
n ew s Alabama. In these rotary wing simulations, Elbit Systems of America said that its HDTS with 3D symbology successfully completed 100 per cent of its tests in DVE brownout conditions. Conversely, numerous mission failures were experienced using 2D symbology under identical conditions. The HDTS with 3D conformal grid symbology provides intuitive visual approach and drift cues enabling pilots to know where they are in space and time. The ancillary benefits of the system are significant. The system delivers improved crewmember coordination by providing indicators for one crewmember to determine the other's line-of-sight, making it possible for both the pilots to focus immediately on a designated object or area. For aircraft equipped with automated landing systems, pilots have instant line-of-sight designations of new landing points. Also, pilots of aircraft equipped with sensors or weapon systems can now have hands-free, heads-up targeting and/or slewing of sensors to their line-of-sight, said the company.
Geointelligence nov - dec 2013
2,300 HMS Manpack Radios Delivered
10
General Dynamics C4 Systems and Rockwell Collins have delivered more than 2,300 secure, two-channel AN/PRC-155 Manpack radios to the US Army under a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract awarded in November 2012. The contract ordered 3,726 PRC-155 radios to be built by General Dynamics C4 Systems in Scottsdale, Arizona, US, and Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US. The PRC-155 radios have completed extensive government testing and are on schedule for distribution to soldiers as part of the Army's Capability Set (Cap Set) 13, an integrated suite of networked communications equipment, and Cap Set 14, scheduled for the first quarter of 2014. The two-channel
Manpack radio is the only NSAcertified, two-channel radio that can operate using multiple governmentowned waveforms to simultaneously connect soldiers on foot, in vehicles, in aircraft and helicopters to the Soldier's Network, said the company. The PRC-155 Manpack radio allows soldiers using the AN/PRC-154A Rifleman radio to connect to the Army's backbone network, the Warfighter Information NetworkTactical (WIN-T) Increment 2. The PRC155 Manpack also bridges networks – legacy to future, lower to upper echelons and unclassified to classified guard – allowing everyone, from the command center to the soldier on the edge of the battlefield, to stay connected to the Soldier's Network.
A Robot Capable of Working Alongside Soldiers 5D Robotics, Inc., a robotics software
company that integrates human behaviours with leading robotics hardware, in collaboration with Charles River Analytics, was awarded a USD 100,000 research and development contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme. The goal of the contract is to create an autonomous robot that can interact with humans as a team member by physically following its teammates and reacting to visual and gestured commands. The project is called Multi-nodal Interface for Natural Operator Teaming with Autonomous Robots (Minotaur). With the Minotaur project, 5D Robotics will integrate its proprietary 5D Behavior Engine, including its ‘Follow Me’ and ‘Guarded Motion’ capabilities, with Charles River's vision-based tracking
‘Future of War’ TrackingPoint, creator of the world's first Precision Guided Firearm (PGF) system, recently unveiled shotmade.com/futureofwar, a new microsite illustrating the potential ways the company's innovations will impact warfare in future. From handoffs of tagged-and-targeted enemy combatants among squad members, to video screens that allow commanders to remotely ‘see’ through a soldier's rifle optics, TrackingPoint's new ‘Future of War’ site is designed to provoke discussion, debate and new ideas, said the company. The ‘Future of War’ site features a video that simulates, using live-action footage, how smart rifle technology can provide an unparalleled tactical advantage. The one-minute video can also be viewed on YouTube (warning: video portrays violent battlefield action). "We intend 'Future of War' to be a site where we can show updates and concepts of some of the most interesting work related to our technology, and provide insight into the process of growing a company's vision into reality," said Jason Schauble, CEO, TrackingPoint. TrackingPoint's PGF smart rifle system, introduced earlier this year, enables a shooter to track and hit moving targets at extreme ranges and to achieve mastery within minutes.
The success of the project is likely to impact how war fighters interact with robots on the battlefield. Future commercialisation could mean human-robot teams in a variety of sectors including law enforcement and emergency response, with later applications in senior care support and hospitality. The SBIR award programme encourages companies to engage in federal research and development (R&D) that has the potential for commercialisation. The highly competitive programme enables businesses like 5D Robotics and Charles River to explore their technological potential through a three-phase process. Minotaur has made it into Phase I, which according to SBIR, is "to establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of the proposed R/R&D efforts and to determine the quality of performance of the small business awardee organisation prior to providing further federal support."
AMETEK Acquires Creaform AMETEK, Inc. recently announced that it has acquired Creaform, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of innovative portable 3D measurement technologies and a provider of 3D engineering services for approximately USD 120 million.
Based near Quebec City, Canada, the privately held company has annual sales of approximately USD 52 million. Creaform is the industry leader in stand-alone portable 3D scanners. These optical devices are used in a growing number of applications to create accurate 3D models and measurements of a wide range of objects. Its products include several families of handheld 3D scanners, portable coordinate measuring machines and related accessories that are widely used in reverse engineering, dimensional inspection, precision manufacturing, non-destructive testing, automated quality control and 3D printing. The Handyscan 3D, a handheld laser scanner used to perform non-contact measurement, leads the market in capability and portability, said the company.
Griffin Missile Demonstrates Maritime Protection Capabilities Raytheon Company and the US Navy demonstrated the Griffin missile's combat proven capabilities in a maritime environment by successfully engaging fast-moving small boats from various platforms throughout a series of at-sea tests. During one of the tests, the MK-60 Patrol Coastal Griffin Missile System was integrated on a cyclone-class patrol coastal-class ship, where the missile was employed against remote-controlled boats simulating a threat to the ship. The most recent test, conducted at the Navy's Point Mugu, California, sea test range, marked the completion of a quick reaction assessment that will lead to fielding of the Griffin missile on forward deployed Patrol Coastal ships later this year. The MK-60 Patrol Coastal Griffin Missile System includes a proven laser targeting system as well as a navy-designed launcher and battle management system featuring
the Griffin missile. This system will provide the Navy's patrol coastal class ships with their first operational capability against small boat threats outside of current gun range.
Suite B Cryptography for Cross Domain Access Solution Raytheon Trusted Computer Solutions (RTCS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon Company, recently announced that Trusted Thin Client, a commercial-off-theshelf, enterprise-class, cross domain access solution, now utilises Suite B cryptographic algorithms, providing the ability to meet the widest range of government information protection requirements. Trusted Thin Client is a cross domain access solution that enables access to multiple classified or sensitive networks, at various classification levels, from a single device. In addition to Suite B cryptography, Trusted Thin Client now supports Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, which was designed to provide enterprise longevity and growth potential for software applications, said the company. RTCS products are designed to enable secure access and transfer of sensitive information for government, intelligence community, civilian and corporate entities in the United States and around the globe, including 5 Eyes nations and NATO. With more than a decade-and-a-half of proven success, RTCS is the global leader in cross domain solutions. RTCS products continue to strike the right balance between information protection and information sharing.
Patriot and Sentinel Capabilities Incorporated into IAMD IBCS The US Army and Northrop Grumman Corporation have successfully incorporated a key capability of the Patriot family of
Geointelligence Nov - dec 2013
and gesture recognition technology to process specific commands. 5D software enables any robot to autonomously follow its teammates through complex environments while avoiding collision with people or objects. Integrating Charles River's visual recognition technology means the robot can now take cues from its human teammates and follow directions autonomously. Similar to how soldiers, police, and firefighters might get visual cues from their teammates via hand signals, the Minotaur project will enable those same recognition and response behaviours in robots.
11
Under the direction of the IAMD Project Office, the Programme Executive Office for Missiles and Space, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Company, the Sentinel Project Office and Lockheed Martin worked together to host the Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) and PAC-3 missile capability into the IBCS. This allows the Patriot family of interceptors to be launched and controlled by an IBCS engagement operations center in a net-centric approach. The government-industry team also added the Sentinel radar to the IBCS Integrated Fire Control Network, validating the common open architecture-based approach to integrating sensors. "The IBCS open architecture facilitates plugging disparate missiles and sensors into the Army's integrated fire control network," said Kelley Zelickson, Vice President of air and missile defense systems for Northrop Grumman Information Systems. "Thus, in addition to affordable integration and expanded capability, IBCS provides the Army with alternatives for buying or upgrading unique command and control systems when it desires to incorporate new missile or sensor components."
Geointelligence nov - dec 2013
Raytheon Completes Critical Component of AN/TPY-2 Ballistic Missile Defence Radar
12
Raytheon Company has completed the manufacturing of an Antenna Equipment Unit (AEU) for the AN/ TPY-2 ballistic missile defence radar. An integral part of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), the AN/TPY-2 searches, discriminates between threats and non-threats, acquires and tracks threat ballistic missiles. According to the company, AN/
TPY-2 is a mobile X-band radar that helps protect the US, warfighters, and America's allies and security partners from more than 6,300 ballistic missiles the Missile Defense Agency estimates are not controlled by the US, NATO, China or Russia. The AEU is one of the four major components that comprise the AN/ TPY-2 ballistic missile defence radar, and completing the AEU is critical to ensuring Raytheon delivers the ninth radar system to the Missile Defense Agency in early 2014. The AN/TPY-2 may be deployed globally in either terminal or forward-based mode. In terminal mode, the AN/TPY-2 serves as the search, detect, track, discrimination and fire-control radar for the THAAD weapon system, enabling the THAAD missile to intercept and destroy threats. In forward-based mode, the AN/TPY-2 cues the BMDS by detecting, discriminating and tracking enemy ballistic missiles in the ascent phase of flight.
GMV to Analyse Cyber Security Risks for ESA GMV has been chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) to conduct an analysis of cyber security risks and set up a policy that establishes a series of control recommendations for the different types of space missions. With this project, ESA has a two-fold objective in view - first, to facilitate the work of space mission heads, enabling them to pinpoint the main mission risks in a straightforward way and establish risk-mitigation or -avoidance measures to suit. Second, to raise awareness of the cyber threats that might affect space missions.
http://blog.protectmyid.com
missiles and the Sentinel radar into the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS).
Two complementary support activities will also be carried out to give even greater value to the study and bring out its results. First, members of organisations linked with the space missions (operators, manufacturers, suppliers, users, etc.) will be surveyed to find out their views of the main threats, vulnerabilities and control measures present in space missions. Second, GMV’s inhouse digital surveillance solution atalaya, based on the compilation of company information using multiple sources (search engines, blogs, social networking sites, forums, P2P networks, anonymous networks), will be used to cull information on persons, groups or organisations with potential interest in carrying out attacks on space missions, plus information on threats or vulnerabilities present and other aspects. This study has to take in the whole mission lifecycle, all stakeholders and all elements forming part of space missions.
PAZ Satellite All Set For Launch in 2014 Astrium and Spanish government satellite services operator, Hisdesat, recently announced that they have completed the production and integration process of the PAZ satellite. PAZ, scheduled for launch next year, is capable of taking more than 100 images per day with up to 1 metre resolution. The images will not only be used for security and defence needs, but also for civil applications. The satellite, which
BAE Systems Delivers New Imagery Solution BAE Systems has announced GXP WebView, a new lightweight, universal Web-based Electronic Light Table (ELT) that allows users to find and exploit mission-critical geospatial data using only a web browser.
will cover an area of over 300,000 square kilometres every day, is configured to make 15 orbits of the Earth each day at an altitude of 514 kilometres. The mission life of PAZ is believed to be five and a half years.
Thales and Schneider Electric Team up on Cyber Security Thales and Schneider Electric have signed a commercial cooperation agreement for the development of cyber security solutions and services to protect C2 systems from cyber attack. As a result of this cooperation, essential operators, industry and defence customers will benefit from state-of-the-art solutions to protect them from new and emerging threats such as computer attacks launched from their management systems, unauthorised access across wireless networks and malware introduced via USB memory sticks, said the company. These solutions will also assure compliance with new national and international regulations in the area of security for digital C2 systems.
“GXP WebView delivers on a long-standing requirement for the intelligence community to rapidly add imagery into intelligence reporting and situational awareness products,” said Dan London, Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Support for Geospatial eXploitation Products at BAE Systems. “This allows us to provide a low-cost geospatial imagery option to our user base and the all-source community.” Solutions will include risk management, vulnerability analysis, definition of security architectures, implementation of protection and surveillance measures, security maintenance and incident response management, and will be tailored to the automation and C2 systems in service with Schneider Electric and Thales's customers and their specific environments. Schneider Electric and Thales will initially work together to offer these joint solutions to French companies
Astrium Delivers New X-band Satcom Capability to UK Astrium has announced that it is now delivering to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) enhanced overseas tactical, land and maritime communications capability which directly links to Astrium Services’s new IP core based modular infrastructure. According to the company, this capability allows UK Armed Forces to securely connect their users to one core defence infrastructure
– supporting all voice and data traffic with encryption from tactical, land and maritime operations across the globe – rather than having to recreate a network of services. Astrium Services provides a flexible and scalable environment that can cost-effectively accommodate all expected connectivity needs. Astrium Services is delivering the first two DMM (Deployable Maritime Milsat) SCOTPatrol terminals, which feature reduced top-weight and a compact footprint both above and below deck for easier integration on small vessels. These terminals will enable IP based communication onboard smaller Royal Navy ships, including Mine Counter Measure Vessels on operations in the Arabian Gulf. The SCOTPatrol next generation naval satellite communications terminal, along with all of the baseband equipment, allow the vessels to fully integrate into the network via Skynet 5’s resilient and hardened X-band satcoms. Further terminals are on order and are being delivered during the next year.
Geointelligence Nov - dec 2013
Courtesy: BAE Systems
Developed using HTML 5, this component of GXP Xplorer empowers all-source analysts to view, annotate, and publish products on their own, without the need for assistance from a geospatial imagery specialist. GXP WebView Pixel Server quickly turns any image, regardless of format or location, into a standards-based data stream viewable in a web browser, said the company.
13
BIG DATA
SECURING THE DATA
Traditional data handling methods lack the ability to manage Big Data. The traditional security mechanisms too are inadequate. But in an age where 100 per cent foolproof IT security is a mirage, how then should defence organisations cope with the Big Data security challenges?
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
I
14
ndian mathematician and astronomer, Aryabhatta, is said to be the founder of Zero. He gave the world Zero thousands of years ago, around 9th century C.E. Since then so much has evolved in every domain of human life but surprisingly mankind did not move beyond ‘zero’ and ‘one’ per se in respect of the IT world. It is simply these Zeroes and Ones that have been carrying the load of almost all dimensions in software and hardware; and now with data explosion taking place all around us,
Big Data has started buzzing a lot more with more Zeroes and Ones.
What Is Big Data?
Big Data is the buzz phrase in the IT world right now and there are dizzying arrays of opinions on just what these two simple words actually mean. Before, we get on to building the concept of Big Data, for those who believe that Big Data is a pretty new evolving concept, I would like to share a pie of history from the ancient Egypt era.
Courtesy: www.focusmeireland.com
River Nile is 6,695 km long. Back then, the engineers predicted crop yields based on certain data that they collected from the river levels. The engineers used to dig cylindrical holes of diameter up to 4 meters and depth up to 10 meters on both sides of the river at regular intervals. They would then record the water levels in these holes, for over a year, and depending on the levels recorded, they would shift and manage resources. Now, isn’t this amazing! Scale the same thing phenomenally to date
Defining Big Data?
Big Data is defined as large pools of data that can be captured, communicated, aggregated, stored and analysed. It is now part of every sector and function of the global economy. Put simply, Big Data is not just another new technology, but is a gradual phenomenon resulting from the vast amount of raw information data generated across, and collected by commercial and government organisations. Compared to the structured data in various applications, Big Data consists of six major attributes. Though people familiar with the Big Data concept would remember basically the three Vs, but with the evolving nature and complexities involved with the technology, the Vs have been expanding too: » Variety — Extends beyond structured data and includes semi-structure or unstructured data of all varieties, such as text, audio, video, click streams, log files and more. » Volume — Organisations are awash with data, easily amassing hundreds of terabytes and petabytes of information. » Velocity — Sometimes must be analysed in real-time as it is streamed to an organisation to
maximise the data’s business value. » Visibility — Access from disparate geographic locations. » Veracity — Managing the reliability and predictability of inherently imprecise data types. » Value — Importance of analysis which was previously limited by technology.
The Security Aspect
Traditional data handling methods lack the methodology required to manage huge data sets. Similarly, the way security of databases is being handled needs a relook. Traditional security mechanisms, which are sewed to securing perimeter bound static data, are inadequate. Streaming data demands ultra-fast response time. Like in most of the new generation technologies viz, Cloud Computing and Virtualisation, the technology stands ready to be adapted but it still poses several security challenges. The need for multi-level protection of data processing nodes, that is, implementing security controls at
<< Big Data is not just another new technology, but is a gradual phenomenon resulting from the vast amount of raw information data generated across, and collected by organisations >> the operating system, application and network level is necessitated beyond doubt in the current environment. The major security challenges in the Big Data adoption have been bought out below:
Access Control Defining access controls for smaller organisations is relatively easier than the bigger organisations. Obviously ‘Size does matter’ as complexities in relationship attributes increases in the latter case. In the context of Big Data, the analysis in a cloud computing based environment, is increasingly focussed on handling diverse data sets, both in terms of variety of schemas and security requirements. Thus, legal and policy restrictions on data come from numerous sources,
To enforce access control to the data, based on existing access control policies and user credentials To integrate Hadoop with existing Enterprise Security Services To Implement Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) or Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)?
How?
To Control who is authorised to access, modify and stop MapReduce jobs? To encrypt data in transit and rest To enforce authentication for users and applications on all types of clients? To differentiate Trusted vs Untrusted Mappers
Figure 1: Security Challenges for Organisations Securing Hadoop
In context of Big Data
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
where we have yobibytes of data generating from billions of devices across the globe from mobiles, stock exchanges, aeroplanes, etc, which have no criteria and known format, but surely hold hidden perceptives and intelligence that can be exploited by governments to programme strategies and policies. So there is a need to find actionable information in these massive volumes of both structured and unstructured data which is so large and complex that it is difficult to process with conventional database and software techniques.
15
BIG DATA
NoSQL databases like MongoDB and Redis are capable of handling the Big Data but they are still evolving with respect to security infrastructure
making the overall scenario of design more daedal.
Hadoop
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
Hadoop, like many open source technologies was not created with security in mind. Its ascension amongst corporate users has invited more focus, and as security professionals have continued to point out potential security vulnerabilities and Big Data security risks with Hadoop, this has led to continued security modifications of Hadoop. There has been an explosive growth in the ‘Hadoop security’ market, where vendors are releasing ‘security-enhanced’ distributions of Hadoop and solutions that promise an increased Hadoop security. However, there are a number of security challenges for organisations securing Hadoop that are shown in Figure 1.
16
<< Big Data has the potential for invasive marketing, but can also result in invasion of privacy, decreased civil liberties, and step-up state and corporate control >>
Privacy Matters
companies to create applications.
Big Data has the potential for invasive marketing, but can also result in invasion of privacy, decreased civil liberties, and stepup state and corporate control. It is a known fact that companies are leveraging data analytics for marketing purposes and this has been very effective in identifying and getting new customers – a boon to companies but at the expense of a consumer who is somewhat unaware about all this.
Distributed Programming Frameworks
Spying anyone vide internet surf searches is usually viewed as invasion into privacy, that is, a cyber crime. We keep on disclosing more and more of our secrets by availing internet services like navigation services for a journey, seeking answers to questions like how to make cocktails or imprudent questions, the kind we would never ask our closest confidants. Thus, invading privacy has two facets, one has got to do with betterment of society, and the other is a complete business model. There are no restrictions which can dissuade companies from obtaining this private user information. Also, they are free to sell this information to data brokers who are further actuating
Distributed programming frameworks utilise parallelism in computation and storage to process massive amounts of data. MapReduce is one of the popular frameworks that allows developers to write programmes that process massive amounts of unstructured data in parallel across a distributed cluster of processors or standalone computers, basically splits an input file into multiple chunks. Now, here untrusty mappers could return wrong results, which will in turn return incorrect aggregated results. With large data sets, it is out of the question to identify that, resulting in significant damage, especially for scientific and financial computations.
Secure Data Storage Conventional data storage solutions such as NAS and SAN fail to deliver the required agility necessitated to process Big Data. Since data storage is all set to grow indefinitely, just buying incremental storage won’t be enough as it can handle a limited colossal data. It is here that scalable and agile nature of cloud technology makes an ideal match
End-Point Input Validation/ Filtering Big Data is collected from an increasing number of sources and this presents organisations with two challenges: Input Validation: How to trust a source from where data is being generated? How do we distinguish between trusted and untrusted data? Data Filtering: How can an organisation separate out spam/ malicious data?
Data Provenance Though cloud storage offers the flexibility of accessing data from anywhere at any time while providing economical benefits and scalability, it is still considered as an evolving technology, and hence lacks the power and ability to manage data provenance. Data provenance, that is, metadata describing the derivation history of data, will be critical to big data that is largely based in cloud computing environment, to enhance reliability, credibility, accountability, transparency and confidentiality of data. Data provenance is only set to increase in complexity in big data applications. Analysis of such large provenance graphs to detect metadata dependencies for security/ confidentiality
<< Though cloud storage offers the flexibility of accessing data from anywhere at any time and is economical, it is still considered as an evolving technology, and lacks the power and ability to manage data provenance>> applications is computationally intensive and complex.
Non-Relational Databases Each NoSQL DBs were built to tackle different challenges put forward by the analytics world and hence security was never part of the model at any point of its design stage. As already brought out, traditional technologies struggle to accommodate the Vs of Big Data and as such the relational databases were designed for data volumes which were primarily static with small, queries defined upfront and the database reside on a single server in one data center. It is here that NoSQL databases like MongoDB and Redis etc., come to the rescue and handle the Big Data Vs. But these are still evolving with respect to security infrastructure. As explained in Figure 2, the database companies recommend these to be run in a preconfigured trusted environment since they themselves are not built to handle security issues.
clients and resource management facilities raises several concerns. In addition to these distributed file system, architectural issues like distributed nodes, shared data, inter-node communication, forensics, protecting data at rest, configuring patch management, etc., remain to be solved. The Bolt-On approach to security in case of Big Data may not be a recommended solution. But at the same time, people most of the times may be paranoiac about their data. There will, inevitably, be data spills. We should try to avoid them, but we should also not encourage paranoia. Though all these security issues exist today but it certainly does not mean that we wait till all these get resolved. Hardening system architecture from a security point of view is a continuous process and there will not be a day soon when IT is 100 per cent secured. The need of the hour for user organisations is to take calculated risks and move ahead; and for the security vendors is that they must come up with a control that must not compromise the basic functionality of the cluster, should scale in the same manner as the cluster, should not compromise essential Big Data characteristics and should address a security threat to data stored within the cluster (although not that easy). The paper was presented at GeoIntelligence India 2013 conference
Conclusion
Big Data is distinguished by its different deployment model, that is, it is highly distributed, redundant and deals with elastic data repositories. A distributed file system caters to several essential features and enables massively parallel computation. But specific issues of how each layer of the stack incorporates including how data nodes communicate with
Anupam Tiwari
Joint Director, Government of India anupam.tiwari@nic.in
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
for Big Data management. With cloud-based storage systems, data sets can be replicated, relocated and housed anywhere in the world. This simplifies the task of scaling infrastructure up or down by placing it on the cloud vendor. But clouds are still grey, that is, issues from the point of view of storage in cloud viz encryption, reliability, authorisation, authentication, integrity and above all availability are still evolving and yet to be resolved. Though organisations like CSA (Cloud Security Alliance) are already working to resolve such issues but it all takes time to mature.
17
Privacy and law
Big Data: Not Simple Analytics In this age of big data, data about an individual is collected through a number of ways. But what if these agencies, government or private, misuse this data? Or give away our details to a third party? Are there any laws to protect an individual in India? After all, how safe is our information?
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
18
a quantified number symbolising Big Data can soon be redundant in nature. Big Data can therefore be said to encompass three Vs – Volume of data collected, Velocity with which it is collected and Variety of the data collected1 – with the quantifiable number defining Big Data changing rapidly. In India, the concept of Big Data is still in its nascent stage. While the corporations are slowly beginning to understand, both the value of
Big Data and the processes involved in making the data useful to it, the Indian Government, one of the largest stakeholders in the data generated in India, remains oblivious of it. Today, India has approximately 150 million Internet users2, 900 million mobile users3, and a domestic big data market that is growing at 83 per cent annually4. With digital information in India poised to grow at 2.3 petabytes in the next decade5, India cannot be ignored as a valuable market for the
Courtesy : www.lighthouseinsights.in
B
ig data as a term is devoid of a sustainable definition. What seemed like ‘big data’ a decade ago is considered to be data that is surmountable today and this notion of relativity makes it difficult to coin a specific definition for big data. With increasing number of sources to obtain data from, the growing use of the Internet and electronic modes of communication, and an increase in the size of data and capacity to hold it, a definition which comprises
Big Data can comprise both structured and unstructured data, which when captured, curated, processed and analysed using different analytical methods, helps in identifying non-linear relationships, user habits, predict outcomes, assess behaviour and make recommendations to business models in use. With many multinational corporations in India taking initiatives with respect to Big Data, and over 50 per cent of companies exploring Big Data, it is becoming imperative to acknowledge the part that it will play in the country.
Big Data Collection
The premise behind Big Data is that the government, organisation or company collects as much data as it can through non-connected publicly available sources, as well as directly and indirectly by an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usage, and then sifts through it using advanced analytics to gain insight; whereas the usage of data before the entry of the Big Data model was to acquire directly from the source only as much data as was required, thereby restricting the quantity of data acquired. Big Data therefore today is and can be collected without the express knowledge or consent of the data subject.
How Are Corporations Collecting Data?
In the garb of free services, many companies today ask an individual for personal information to access such services and an individual is only too kind to part with his
personal information as a tradeoff to not having to pay for a service. Most people in India do not understand the value of their personal information, and remain oblivious of the many ways such data can be used to create value. In India, while big data is being collected through a number of ways, the analysis of such data still remains embryonic in nature. Further, as a growing economy and being a populous country, any data generated today can be poised as Big Data. While companies are more prudent in collection of data and more specific in their purpose, most Indian companies do not have adequate systems in place which allow them to collect data while keeping up with the privacy and intellectual property concerns that arise when dealing with such a magnitude of data, most of the times, personal information. Big Data is collected every time you use a website or an application. This data is either collected directly like the details you provide to the company including your name, address, email ids, preferences, location, photographs, bank account details, credit card numbers etc.; or indirectly by the website and applications using technical means like dropping cookies whereby companies collect data but the consumer is in the dark about how exactly such data will be used. Companies today may also collect data from consumers by use of various devices and technology in the products they use which route information to the company directly, without requiring any approval from consumers. For example, by installation of GPS devices in its manufactured cars, an automobile company can obtain plenty of information about consumers like where he travels, whether he prefers travelling at night or in daylight, etc. This information while helpful and used by the company itself, can be further sold either as a raw data or in an analysed form to third parties
who might have different use for such data.
How Is the Indian Government Collecting Data?
The Aadhaar card scheme in India, as of today, allows the central government and state governments, various law enforcement agencies as well as private players that assist it in the data collection process, to get access to an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name, date of birth, gender, address, photographs, fingerprints and iris scans among other information. This scheme is positioned to provide Aadhaar cards to all citizens of the country, thereby envisaging holding of a minimum of over one billion names, addresses, birth dates, gender and photographs. It further hopes to have in its database over two billion iris scans and twenty billion fingerprints. The scheme has been initiated to combat the ill-governance there exists in India and to make sure that government services are delivered to every citizen as per his needs , thereby requiring the government to undertake the use of data analytics to deliver targeted social benefits to its citizens directly. With social media gaining traction among Indians, the Indian government has been censoring and conducting and attempting to conduct surveillance activities with respect to social media and internet activities of its citizens. The Indian government has further been attempting to get corporations to part with data of Indian citizens citing national security concerns and proprietary rights over such data1. With an attempt to have an unabridged right over the data of its citizens, Indian government has also been initiating the Central Monitoring System (CMS), which is an internal surveillance programme that allows the government to monitor all internal communication undertaken by its citizens, again under the garb of national security. The CMS derives its justification from the Indian Telegraph Act 1885,
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
development of Big Data. Further with a population that is both sizeable and diverse, there exist opportunities to not only create a distinctive database comprising Big Data but also use the product of such data in targeted consumer marketing, innovation and invention in the Indian marketplace, create a sustainable management system, improve data security systems in India and optimise the outputs generated today6.
19
Privacy and law
<< There currently does not exist any legal mandate or statute which govern the data collection activities undertaken by the government under the Aadhaar scheme and the CMS project, thus giving them complete freedom with respect to privacy laws >> which gives the Indian government freedom to monitor its citizen’s communications in interest of public safety, allows specific government agencies to work without requiring any authorisation, and without any approval of the court or legislation or even the parliament. Currently, the government deploys certain intercepting and monitoring systems which allow it to monitor internet traffic, personal email accounts, web-browsing activity, and any other internet based activity undertaken by Indian citizens9, the scope of which is only posed to increase.
Legal Position In India
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
Privacy and Data Protection
20
The end result of Big Data analytics have far reaching impact on how businesses function today and how a government can better implement policies, especially in rural areas. Reports have suggested that as long as a person’s birthday, gender and postcode are available, he can be uniquely identified10. In India, at a minimum, people willingly share their birthday, names, gender, postcodes and email ids at restaurants, shops, information booths as well as on websites, social media accounts, and to corporations they enter into transactions with. These everyday activities however, in the age of Big Data and data analytics, raise serious privacy concerns. The Information Technology
(Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules 201111 (Rules) deal with personal data and information collected today and requires organisations and corporations to lay out clear privacy and data protection policies in an attempt to increase the transparency to the consumer about how their information will be used. These Rules bring under its purview, very broadly, personal data, financial information as well as medical records. However, they keep freely available information or information furnished under the Right to Information Act, 2005 out of the purview of such defined sensitive data. The Rules require corporations, websites and organisations to clearly publish privacy policies on their website which should be clear, precise and easily accessible to the consumer. They should mention the data to be collected, purpose of collection, how the data is to be used. Further, under these Rules, disclosure of information to a third party requires prior permission from the person whose information is to be disclosed unless such disclosure is contractually allowed to be disclosed, which many websites do by the use of online terms of use and privacy policies. However, corporations and organisations having brick and mortar establishments still do not practice these policies, even though legally mandated. Further, while the Rules require every corporation, website and organisation to have in place reasonable security practices and procedures including information security programmes and allow for only such data to be collected as required for a lawful purpose connected with a function or activity of the body corporate and is considered necessary. It also requires the body corporate or any person on their behalf to ensure that the person whose data is
sought to be collected is aware about it, the purpose for which the information is being collected, its intended recipients, and the name and address of the agency collecting the information and the agency retaining it. However, in the ambit of Big Data collection, as it stands today, majority of the corporations do not adhere to these Rules, thereby at every step placing a user’s privacy rights in jeopardy. Further, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the rules thereunder, deal only with a ‘body corporate’ possessing, dealing or handling any sensitive data or information and do not impose any liability on the Indian government for any breach of privacy or loss of sensitive data so collected by them or under their instructions. Since the Aadhaar scheme and the CMS project are initiated by the Central government, and the data collected is on behalf of the government, there currently does not exist any legal mandate or statute which govern such activity being undertaken by the government, thereby giving them complete freedom with respect to privacy laws. Also, many corporations use the adage that they anonymise the data before using it or that data collected is masked before any use, but anonymisation and data masking can never be a fool proof process. While the Privacy Report12 suggested that there should be collection and purpose limitation so that only so much data is collected as necessary, in the world of Big Data where the aim is to obtain as much data as possible and then retrieve value from it, such principles fall short of implementation.
Copyright Law
Most corporations, the government and individuals remain under the assumption that since they have collected the data after seeking a user’s permission, they own all the collected data, and thus the only legal concern left to be addressed
The first question that arises when dealing with Big Data and intellectual property law is who owns the data that is being collected? In most cases, it is an individual who owns the data that is collected, especially structured data, and even under a privacy policy or terms of use, the corporation or the government merely get the right to use it, akin to a license, and not the assignment of copyright itself. In respect of Big Data, the volume of data is so huge that it becomes almost impossible to know who owns what data. But when data is identifiable, due permission needs to be taken before using the data, even if a corporation eventually masks the data. The Copyright Act, 1957 defines computer as any electronic or similar device having information processing capabilities13 while a computer programme means a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form, including a machine readable medium, capable of causing a computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result14. Computer programmes as well as databases are understood to mean literary work under the Copyright Act, 195715. Therefore, while the government or a corporation may hire third parties to collect the data, as in the case of the Aadhaar scheme, or purchase data from data brokers, it is important for them to have the copyright in the data assigned to them, before they claim proprietary rights over the same. Further, the services of data scientists and analysts not connected to the corporations as employees may be procured to create value of the raw data, and in the process of doing so, when the derivative work is created, a new
copyright comes into being which needs to be assigned as well.
Conclusion
To make sure that the collection and use of Big Data is in compliance with the legal principles, it is imperative for companies and government to â&#x20AC;&#x201D; have privacy and data policies in place that inform an individual about what information is being collected and how does a company or government propose to use it; give notice to an individual of the data collection and protection practices to be followed as well as the purpose for which the data so collected will be used; choice and consent where every individual should have the choice of opt in or opt out of the provisions requiring them to provide their personal information; and an individual should have an opportunity to withdraw any consent given previously; disclose information to third parties only after express consent is taken from an individual for such disclosure. The current lack of visibility where an individual though consents to sharing of information to third parties for analysis but has no control over how the third parties are using such personal information, needs to be addressed. e Accountable: The Information B Technology Act, 2000 while makes a body corporate accountable for the data collected or secured by it, does not have any such mandate for government or government agencies. Big Data analytics is a growing field, and in India the growth potential is unparalleled. While knowledge of privacy laws and copyright laws will allow the stakeholders to know what compliance mechanisms need to be followed, it is only when companies and the government educate and keep their consumers informed about their policies and adhere to them, can such Big Data be treated as a boon and not a bane?
References 1 3-D Data Management: Controlling Data Volume, Velocity and Variety, February 6, 2001; Doug Laney 2 2013 India Internet Outlook; Sandeep Aggarwal; February 1, 2013; http:// techcircle.vccircle.com/2013/02/01/2013india-internet-outlook/ 3 http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease. aspx?relid=85669 4 Big Data and Enterprise Mobility: Growing relevance of technology themes: the India perspective; Ernst & Young; 2013 5 Id 6 Id 7 Id at pg. 9 8 http://uidai.gov.in/about-uidai.html 9 http://www.thehindu.com/news/ national/govt-violates-privacy-safeguardsto-secretly-monitor-internet-traffic/ article5107682.ece 10 L. Sweeney, Simple Demographics Often Identify People Uniquely. Carnegie Mellon University, Data Privacy Working Paper 3. Pittsburgh 2000 11http://www.mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/ dit/files/senstivepersonainfo07_02_11.pdf 12Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy; October 16, 2012 13Section 2(ffb) of the Copyright Act, 1957 14Section 2(ffc) of the Copyright Act, 1957 15Section 2(o) of the Copyright Act, 1957 Disclaimer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the authors and are purely informative in nature.
Tushar Ajinkya, Partner, DSK Legal, tushar.ajinkya@dsklegal.com
Shruti Chopra Associate, DSK Legal shruti.chopra@dsklegal.com
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
are those dealing with privacy. However, certain intellectual property rights need to be taken into account before collecting, analysing or using any Big Data.
21
Case study
License to Track You Objective
To locate a person who had been reported missing since days.
Challenge
The only significant information available with the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia, USA, was the victim’s vehicle description and license plate number.
How was the Case Solved?
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
Police decided to use this information to get any lead in the case. It used License Plate Reader/Recognition (LPR) systems to see if the license plate had been captured by any LPR devices. “Upon querying the plate, we did find a sighting of the vehicle outside a town after the person went missing. We went to the location, and the vehicle was no longer there, but this piece of evidence prompted us to retrieve video footage from the store’s security cameras. A review of the video footage revealed two acquaintances of the missing person at the store with the latter’s vehicle. This was a major breakthrough in the case – the LPR detection told us exactly where to find the needle in a very large haystack,” explained Sergeant Larry “Ski” Szeniawski of the Cobb County’s Homicide Unit. The investigation then focussed on the two suspects, who were soon caught and confessed to having murdered the person.
22
How Does the LPR System Work? LPR or Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is a system that captures images of vehicle license plates and converts the images into data that may be used for one or more applications. LPR system typically consists of a specialised LPR camera that incorporates both colour and infrared (IR) imaging. As the IR light illuminates the license
plate, the cameras use video analytics to determine the presence of a vehicle based on the aspect ratio, size, shape and reflectivity of the license plate. In addition, a colour image is also taken simultaneously of the entire vehicle. All of this takes place in milliseconds. License plates can be read at a speed of up to 120 miles per hour. Most modern LPR systems can read up to 60 plates per second. The image is processed by the OCR engine to generate an alphanumeric text interpretation of the license plate. The resulting plate read is then packaged with other information including the time and date stamp, GPS coordinates, a unique transaction identifier and the images themselves to complete the data packet. Each vehicle data packet is typically around 50 kilobytes in size and is transmitted back to a central software for the intended application (law enforcement, tolling, travel time information system, etc). LPR cameras may be mounted on vehicles for mobile applications or on fixed structures such as bridges and gantries.
LPR for Law Enforcement in the US
In the application of law enforcement, all of the LPR data is sent into Vigilant Solutions’ secure law enforcement data center for use by over 30,000 law enforcement customers inside an investigative software suite known as LEARN (Law Enforcement Archival and Reporting Network). Over 2,500 agencies around the United States have account access into the software
which gives them two primary benefits: • real-time alerting of vehicles of interest • investigative tools into historical LPR data
Benefits
The investigative benefit of LPR technology is the most profound and has led to many major crimes being solved including homicides, rapes, child abductions, missing persons, identity theft, burglaries and theft, terrorism and much more. The investigative suite allows for law enforcement to query the system for locations of known fugitives, analyse pattern crimes (crimes that appear related) for the presence of common license plates at multiple locations, analyse a known suspect’s license plate to see what other license plates are frequently seen in close proximity to the suspect (giving possible associates), and much more.
Conclusion
“Without the original lead from the LPR data, it would likely have been a long time before the truck and body were discovered – at which point the likelihood of tracing this back to our two suspects would have been significantly reduced,” said Sergeant Szeniawski, adding, “The access to this kind of data helped us uncover a homicide and bring those responsible to justice.”
Interview
“GIS Lays a Critical Foundation to Planning for Emergencies” Esri has been reaching out to countries struggling with natural calamities. In an interview with GeoIntelligence, Russ Johnson, Director, Public Safety Solutions, Esri, explains how GIS has become an indispensable part of public safety.
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
Can you tell us about your association with the US government, and then this switch to Esri?
24
I worked for the US federal government looking after different types of emergency management in the United States. As disasters became more frequent and bigger, the federal government put together 15 incident management teams to be sent to very complex emergencies both within the US and outside. While managing one of those teams, I travelled to different places to help with disasters. It was during that time that I learnt how important GIS is to not only give us an understanding about the area before a disaster but also to help us figure out the location of the most important places to find resources to save lives, property and natural resources. GIS also helps us model things that might happen in the next few days, areas where the efforts need to be prioritised based upon the greatest threat — all these things really brought me into the GIS world. I understand how effective the technology could be in aiding decision making. So one thing led to another, and I was invited to join Esri to help formulate its plan to support both — the software side and the services side/engagement side. When you say engagement, what does it mean?
When a disaster occurs, we reach out
to the affected local authorities. So we provide software and send it across to them. Not only do we give them software that we think is configured to support their workflow but we also reach out to people for help. We have, right now, a big recovery effort in Colorado because of the floods; so we have people on site helping to do damage assessment, LiDar for reconstruction and a variety of things that help manage, maintain and recover. Do you replicate this kind of model all over the world?
We do it anywhere in the world. If it occurs in a foreign country, we initially contact our distributor, our office there and we tell them, “we are here to support;” and “we are here to engage ourselves and work with them.” Microsoft has the same disaster programme as ours but not the same capabilities as we do, so we partner with Microsoft and we go together, many times. Every disaster is different but the workflow and needs are similar.
So we have a programme where we know what kind of people we will need, we get them ready, we contact the local people and understand their needs and then start working on supporting them the way they need it. How can GIS help in public safety in general and how does Esri help?
From a high-level emergency management perspective, the only time that you are going to be really effective in managing disasters is when you understand where your vulnerabilities are, managing the risk, understanding the natural hazards, they could be anything from flood to
Homeland security programmes help in identifying obvious hazards and evaluate less obvious hazards such as critical resources and infrastructure. The hazard data can be viewed with other map data to develop a risk assessment
– then we can safely engage and know where we are heading. So, GIS lays a critical foundation to planning for emergencies, for responding to emergencies and recovering from emergencies. Thirty years back, everything was done with a hard copy of map. Today, we have intelligent maps that give you a real picture of what is occurring at a moment, to which you can ask questions and you can model to say ‘what if’ — that is critical for decisions, that makes the difference in saving lives and properties. So it is an essential technology for public safety. What are the kind of solutions that Esri provides?
The dynamics have changed but one of the things that everyone wanted was the capability to have a ‘common operating picture’ to provide us with situational awareness. When I look at a map, I am not just looking at a
snapshot of history, I am seeing a static map with base layers, critical infrastructure, and now I can see live information, my units, my traffic cameras, etc. So it is a virtual picture into the reality of what is occurring at the moment, it gives me a capability for making a decision and being able to share that decision with other people, so
<< The only time that you are going to be really effective in managing disasters is when you understand where your vulnerabilities are. So understanding what has happened in the past, and looking at the present, we can determine when the next event can occur >>
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
from the moment a phone call is received about a problem, GIS comes into play – it helps in figuring out where the problem is, which department, the police, ambulance or fire department is required to address the problem, and what is the best route available to reach the problem area. There is a possibility that the best route available may not be the shortest at the time of the day. For example, if I am a fireman responding to a disaster, I can have a mobile computer in my vehicle and I may have the parcel data that shows up because the call was sent to my computer. I may have the floor plan to know where the hazardous materials are, where the electrical and gas shutoffs are, and where people will normally be from where we need to rescue them. So on the response side, from the moment an event occurs, GIS plays a role and that’s really critical to be able to make decisions. If one can provide this critical information to the rescuers beforehand, that can save a lot of minutes and sometimes minutes save lives. For instance, in case of a shooting attack in a school, if I have a floor plan and if I know the location of exit points, phones or windows, and where people can assemble – if I have this information before I can get there
Courtesy: www.esri.com
earthquakes to areas that have wildfires, landslides, weather events, etc. Understanding what has happened in the past, looking at today (where is our critical infrastructure and where is our population) — and the past usually forecasts the future — we can look at when the next event may occur and how is that going to effect us, and what are we going to do ‘now’, that is, preparation to do before a disaster occurs. Preparedness is about people’s behaviour for evacuation and how we route people to do things. Do we need to build a wall or do we need to relocate certain facilities? This is where GIS is most effective, that is, when a disaster occurs, you already have a plan in place to deal with it.
25
Interview
Courtesy: www.esri.com
have all these filtered applications that support one goal. And if I am the commander, I just want to be overwhelmed with how great we are doing. The technology provides us with a capability to be so much more effective. We are at a point where government agencies are slower than technology but now they are discovering that they can have these capabilities. So our challenge is to go out and demonstrate these capabilities and help customers prepare in advance because we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to do that when an emergency occurs.
Russ Johnson that I can coordinate my decision. This ability to have a dynamic realtime picture is one of the biggest capabilities that people wanted. Over time, we have become so good in being able to bring in a lot of information and data that we have to be careful so that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give too much information today. Simply put, GIS is now a platform with analytic capabilities and data and it can do marvelous things. This one platform is giving us multiple applications to support just what you do. It is amazing how we can
Risk Assessment and Planning
In terms of public safety domain, which countries and regions are of great interest to Esri?
We have two programmes. One is public safety and we talk about that with countries which have great infrastructure and great capabilities and good economies. For countries that are not economically strong but have crisis (we think more in humanitarian crisis and humanitarian affairs), we work closely with the United Nations so that they have some capabilities to do much better than they have in the past.
GIS-Based Homeland Security Non-traditional Applications*
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
Mitigation
26
Preparedness
Geographic Inventory (mapping/ measurement)
While places in Europe, China, Australia are very much like the United States and are growing in a much similar way, in other parts of the world, they are just beginning to understand that they have access to the Internet. But sometimes giving them access to the Internet is also difficult. We work with the governments, that is, we tell them that if you want to notify people here is your datasets, we know where the hazards are, and we help them understand how to have an early warning if an event occurs, be it weather related or earthquakes, and where they can begin to move their population. So we are making headway with either public safety or humanitarian crisis, but there is a difference. You need to know what their capabilities are before you put a plan together. In time, we will see those economically depressed countries become better and better at managing refugees, dealing with humanitarian crisis, etc. We work very closely with the United Nations, it is a good ally in helping us understand where the needs are and what kind of capacities those regions in the world have.
Response
Recovery
GIS
Transaction Updating (current information) *Other non-traditional, non-typical processes that assist with homeland security/ defences
Courtesy: www.esri.com With GIS tools, it is easier to identify objects which are at high risk of potential attack
One of the things that we rely on is our imagery partners. DigitalGlobe has a project called ‘Firstlook.’ As soon as there is a disaster anywhere in the world, it obtains latest pictures of the place. We already have worldwide imagery, we take the new imagery and carry out change detection so that we can understand what the impact is within the first 24hours. We are finding that people, everywhere in the world use social media. So with the combination of new imagery and the ability to map social media, we get a pretty good picture, anywhere in the world, of what is going on in the first 24 hours and we start publishing that to the affected countries. As we get more information and as we model what we have, we keep adding that information to the map. You eventually start getting more refined authoritative information, so it is a combination of that kind
of processes that leads us to some kind of actionable information, and it is better than what they had five years ago. Imagery is really critical to those kinds of events that you described. But the social media is also really powerful global tool. It may not just be a disaster, it could also be social unrest where social media could play a really important role. We have tools that not only filter certain words but can also tell the mood of people — “Is this an angry mood? Is this a moderate tone?” and then we can begin to map out where there is an angry tone or where there is a moderate tone. So it is not only about the information but also about what is happening around the world. We can also read tweets from a person and with the tools that we are developing, gain an understanding of the person’s representation with a larger community based on his connections. Putting a geographic background to all that gives the whole picture. So we have tools, technology and
<< Technology provides us with the capability to be more effective. We are at a point where government agencies are slower than technology, but now they are discovering that they can have these capabilities. So our challenge is to go out and demonstrate these capabilities << the expertise and we need to protect everything we have. We think of industries, there is health, natural resources, transportation — public safety runs this way and it touches all of these, you have to preserve everything. We think of ourselves as cutting across all of those and being a fundamental capability, a basic priority for all of the other industries if they are going to be sustainable.
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
In many natural disasters, there is ea complete loss of data. For instance, in India, in case of landslides, people need to be rescued from great heights and there is no data. How can any technology work in such a case?
27
Standards
Geoint in the Age of Internet of Things The Internet of Things (IoT) is the next big thing in the internet world. The writer says while the IoT has the potential to transform geoint, there is a need for the geoint community to participate in IoT development
The small, fast, limited functionality information systems embedded in things may communicate with each other, as happens when tiny UAVs fly in formation, and the information systems may at the same time be communicating with powerful data, processing and communication resources in the cloud. The IoT is very much a “system of systems.”
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
G
28
eoint as a discipline underpins not only defence and intelligence, but also public safety, disaster management and many other areas. Geoint is intelligence based on IMINT – imagery and information derived through interpreting imagery – and diverse types of non-imagery geospatial information. Increasingly, geoint information products are created by ‘fusing’ data of many types that are produced in a variety of ways. It is also the case that geoint provides a geospatial foundation for most of the other intelligence gathering disciplines : HUMINT (human intelligence), MASINT (measurement and signal intelligence), SIGINT (signal intelligence) etc.
The Internet of Things (IoT), which Wikipedia says, “refers to uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations in an internet like structure,” could be transformative for geoint and any intelligence activity that involves things whose location matters. The internet connection is critical, because the IoT depends on the ability of systems to: • Communicate information about things and their locations • Communicate information from things, including information about their locations • Communicate instructions to things – to control sensors and machines
‘Activity-based’ and ‘Event-based’ intelligence are terms that appear more and more frequently in intelligence discussions. These categories of intelligence invariably involve people and things whose locations matter. These people and things often need to be communicating location and location-related properties such as proximity and adjacency, area and volume, path and trajectory, spatial probability, signal strength, and line of sight, all of which also have a temporal dimension — speed, rate of change, history, etc. The IoT has the potential to transform geoint, but the geoint community needs to participate in IoT development if the community is to acquire the system of systems that matches community needs. `A system of systems depends on standards. Internet provides a channel for communication, but location communication requires
Building the IoT is an international project, and progress is being made in the Open Geospatial Consortium and its many partner standards development organisations. A few in the information technology world, however, fully realise how important and cost-effective participation in these organisations can be, or how beneficial such participation is for participants.
Which Things? The IoT is about attended and unattended devices, small devices and large ones, simple devices and complex ones. Sensors are critical. Perhaps the ‘thing’ is a helicopter engine communicating temperature, RPM, oil pressure, etc. The ‘thing’ may be internet-connected biosensors next to a soldier’s body and imaging devices on his helmet. Things in the IoT may be as simple as thermometers or as complex as earth observation satellites. In the IoT, things can publish data about their state. Humans and applications can then use that data to interact with those things. When applications are interacting with each other, the term, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applies. Thermostats and mechanical governors are precursors to M2M, but M2M introduces new elements: remote action, machine networks and computer intelligence. The potentials and consequences are just beginning to be appreciated. The IoT’s rapid growth is enabled by the rapidly falling size, cost and power requirements of sensors and wireless internet connections. The growth is driven by applications. Makers of things, seeing the cheap wireless sensors, naturally begin to think in terms of embedded devices
which interact with apps that connect to mobile devices via cloud computing services. The IoT relevant to geoint may be consumer products that are directly usable by or adaptable to intelligence applications, or they may be special products developed for intelligence. The consumer products will be far less expensive and will far outnumber the special intelligence products, though, and thus most of the IoT data used for intelligence will come from consumer devices and applications ‘repurposed’ for geoint.
Where Does the ‘Where’ Information Come From? When people think of locationaware devices, they immediately think of GPS devices (which are sensors), but there are other ways of sensing location. Some mobile device location systems determine location by calculating distance between a phone and nearby cell towers (using precise timing of signal latencies) or by sensing proximity to WiFi points of known location. Cell phone cameras can read QR codes affixed to buildings, buses, products or posters. Applications in logistics use RFID chips and other near field communication (NFC) approaches. Also, technology exists to match patterns in smartphones’ images of streetscapes or building interiors. As big databases of such images become available, provided by millions of users, this is likely to become a common way of determining location.
How is IoT ‘Where’ Information Communicated? What good is sensing location if you can’t communicate location? Communicating simple latitudelongitude coordinates isn’t complicated, but computers expect consistency. The solution, of course, is to use standards. The point profile of the OGC Geography Markup Language (GML) Standard and the coordinate parameter of
the OGC Open GeoSMS standard define concise rules for: coordinate order (latitude then longitude); whether these numbers are to be expressed as floating point numbers or degrees, minutes and seconds; whether coordinates are separated by a comma or a space; accuracy information; what coordinate reference system the coordinates are based in; and so forth. As the market matures, more and more app developers are realising the market value of interoperability, and they are implementing these standards rather than using ad hoc or proprietary encodings and interfaces. Ad hoc (‘custom’ or ‘bespoke’) and proprietary interfaces and encodings will forever require custom integration as systems evolve, while standards enable ‘plug and play’ into the future. With or without standards, it is relatively simple to set up an application that requests a coordinate pair. The encodings and interfaces for other kinds of spatial queries are much more complex. A client and a server still need to ‘speak the same language’ if the server is to respond to the client’s request for services that calculate things like proximity, area, trajectory, probability, line of sight, etc. Fortunately, open standards that can be used in such query/response applications have been developed by the OGC membership in the last decade or so, which means that developers can implement free, well proven and widely used specifications to provide these capabilities. Widespread implementation by vendors means that many plug and play options are available for adding software components and connecting to other systems. Communicating ‘where’ details about sensors, adds a new level of complexity, but here too, standards are available. The geoint community’s need for Observation Fusion has helped guide the OGC’s development of the OGC Sensor Web Enablement
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
standards — software interface and data encoding standards, and best practices — that meet requirements like those outlined above. Those requirements are only partially satisfied by current standards.
29
Standards
(SOS). With a pared down interface based on SOS, the devices become self-describable and interoperable, and the observations collected from the device are accessible via the internet as soon as they are produced. With lightweight devices and lightweight software, a multidevice sensor web can provide real-time sensor data streams with high aggregate spatial and temporal resolution.
Fig. 2: Deployment scenario3 for OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE)
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
(SWE) family of standards. SWE standards allow users to assess the fitness for use of observations and to allow accurate processing on the sensed information to create derived information suitable to a user’s needs. Observation Fusion involves merging multiple sensor measurements of the same phenomena into a combined observation.
30
Current Work in IoT Standards
The IoT’s usefulness in geoint depends to a great extent on being able to fuse IoT information with information gathered from other geoint sources and from geospatial intelligence disciplines that focus on information of other kinds.
The SWE standards are comprehensive, designed to meet virtually all types of communication between all types of sensor systems. Their necessary complexity is an obstacle, however, in meeting the needs of the IoT world, which typically involves low cost mobile devices on limited bandwidth channels. Also, IoT application developers usually have not had years of training in geospatial and sensor system communication, so the standard, an interface and encoding specification, needs to be readily understandable.
An assessment of SWE was conducted recently by Envitia under contract by the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), Advanced Geospatial information and Intelligence Services (AGIS) research programme within the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The study on SWE Implementation Maturity concluded, “The SWE framework provides significant benefits for supporting the integration and fusion of a wide variety of assets, and readily enables a system that is able to sense and react to threats or opportunities.”
To meet IoT market requirements, lightweight profiles of the SWE standards are being developed by the OGC Sensor Web for IoT Standards Working Group (SWG). Members of the group have implemented a prototype they call the TinySOS service (Fig 3), a web server hosting a light-weight profile of the OGC Sensor Observation Service
The OGC Sensor Web for IoT SWG has also prototyped a new RESTful2 interface that allows communication through the lightweight JSON protocol. The interface implements CRUD3 (that is, create, read, update and delete) functions. SenseBox4 is a generic hardware and software framework that can be set up for different kinds of applications. It has been evaluated, for example, as an air quality measurement station and as a device to count cars in a Smart City environment, using an attached ultrasonic sensor (Fig. 2). Today, most sensors have proprietary software interfaces defined by their manufacturers. This situation requires significant investment on the part of developers with each new sensor or project involving multiple systems and on the part of the providers of sensors, gateways
Fig 3. The system architecture of TinySOS service.
IoT gaps are being addressed in other OGC working groups as well. The recently chartered GeoServices REST SWG, GeoSPARQL SWG (see Luis Bermudez’ OGC blog post, “Is the OGC Playing with Linked Data?”), RESTful Services Policy SWG, IndoorGML SWG, GeoPackage SWG and GeoSynchronization 1.0 SWG all address requirements that are directly or indirectly related to the IoT. The OGC’s OpenPOI Registry has recently been put online to demonstrate the value of an open PoI standard that makes it possible to integrate different sources of PoIs and enable quality analysis and other functions. The recently completed OGC Web Services Phase 9 (OWS-9) Testbed Activity was structured around scenarios that were developed in part with attention to the needs of the geoint community. OWS-9 resulted in Engineering Reports (available at www.opengeospatial.org/standards/ per) documenting new standards technology. Some of these reports begin to fill IoT interoperability gaps, addressing topics such as semantic mediation, mobile apps, data provenance and quality, and single point of entry global gazetteer. Sponsors of the current OGC Testbed 10 have developed scenarios and use cases that are similarly influenced by requirements of geoint and the IoT.
The Importance of Coordination and Participation in Standards Development Organisations The OGC has alliances with many standards organisations. These
Fig 4. The SenseBoxcounting cars.
alliances are necessary because without such collaboration, many opportunities for improved interoperability would be overlooked. Often what is more important than formal alliances, however, is active cross-participation by members. Engineers who participate actively in OGC working groups and in other standards organisations’ working groups, provide the most important link between those organisations’ efforts. Governments can play an important role in providing requirements, as they do in OGC testbeds. Military planning organisations are known for big scenario development and war gaming exercises, and these frequently produce use cases intended to guide procurements. The use cases are actually much more usefully applied in standards development than in procurements, because standards strongly influence product development. Government users of technology benefit when vendors compete to provide the technologies that governments want. Vendors will implement commercially valuable standards, but their desire to implement is even stronger when governments make it known that the commercial standards will be written into procurements. Participation in standards organisations’ testbeds and pilot projects gives governments and vendors opportunities to prototype interoperability solutions and test compliance and certification programmes. In an emerging market domain like IoT, many of the new tools and methods come from new, small
companies. They often participate in standards activities to stay a step ahead of their competitors. Government technologists who work with this innovative class of developers gain expert technical support as well as important market intelligence that can guide government technology strategies. Today’s geoint is focussed on real-time monitoring of activities, events and time-critical transactions facilitated by open standards. Soon the world of geoint will be inextricably connected to the rapidly evolving IoT world. References: 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_ of_intelligence_gathering_disciplines 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Representational_state_transfer 3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Create,_read,_update_and_delete 4: Bröring, A., A. Remke & D. Lasnia (2012): SenseBox - A Generic Sensor Platform for the Web of Things. In: LNICST, Springer, Volume 104, Part 5, pp. 186-196.
Carl Reed Executive Director, Standards Program, Chief Technical Officer creed@opengeospatial.org
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
and portals or services where observations are used. Standardised interfaces for sensors in the IoT will permit the proliferation of new high value services with lower overhead of development and wider market reach. It will also lower the cost for developing sensor and gateway providers. The geoint community clearly has a stake in seeing commercial development and deployment of open standards for the IoT.
31
Interview
Dubai Police: Ahead of Times Apart from policing, Dubai Police is using geospatial technology to do public service activities as well. Brig. Dr Khalid Ali Almarri, Communication Director, Dubai Police, tells us more... How does Dubai Police use latest technologies to ensure public safety in a key Emirate like Dubai? Dubai Police has always tried to keep itself updated with the latest technologies. We have been using triangulation based geolocation systems since 1985 to track our patrol cars. Subsequently, we switched to TETRA, which has a built-in GPS and an algorithm that sends messages to the server at regular intervals. As soon as it is switched on, it sends its location to the base station every 30 seconds. However, we realised that 30 seconds was not enough, especially if you are following a fast moving patrol car on a map. We resolved this issue by taking the last and current position of the resource and plotting points in between on the road network, which gave us a smoother transition. While our system was earlier called the AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location), it is now known as the APL (Automatic Person Location), as it is currently used to track all our resources, whether walking, driving, riding a horse, etc.
Brig. Dr Khalid Ali Almarri, Communication Director, Dubai Police
For a common man, police is all about fighting crime. However, Dubai Police does a lot more than just ensuring law and order. Can you tell us about some of your public service activities. We have a service called the Merciful Heart Programme, which is meant for heart patients in Dubai. It is a service wherein we encourage heart patients in Dubai to register their details in our system. So, when a heart patient calls the emergency number, we know all their
There is another initiative called Your Security at the Press of a Button. The service is meant for elderly people in Dubai, some of whom cannot even dial a number. Under this initiative, we gave these people a wristwatch-like device which has a button on top. During an emergency, a user has to simply press the button and we receive a call in the operations room. The operations room can then send someone to check on the caller. The system has been recently upgraded and it is now available on all smartphones as a free downloadable app. At times, we have even received emergency calls from distant locations such as Thailand, Russia etc. as UAE residents travelling abroad were lost and pressed the emergency button for help. We have even helped the users in such situations by telling them what to do. Based on your location, the system will even give you the contact details of the nearest UAE embassy. The button system also exists in all BMW cars across the UAE. When pressed, the SOS button sends the car’s location to the police. The system is also programmed to deploy automatically if a car meets with an accident. How has the use of geospatial technology improved the functioning of Dubai Police over the years? Geospatial technology helps us to do our business faster. During the time of an emergency, we can reach the incident spot faster and help someone in trouble. The emergency service is fully georeferenced, which means that if someone dials the emergency number from Dubai, it will go to Dubai Police, but if the same number is dialled from Sharjah, it will go to Sharjah Police. Geospatial technology has helped us a lot in incident management. There are
lot of cameras installed all across Dubai and all of those are georeferenced. When we receive a call regarding an incident, we set the caller’s location as coordinates for the incident and the nearest camera automatically opens and gets directed towards the incident location. It helps us to take better decisions regarding the kind of response that the situation demands. Besides, every patrol car has a camera on top, which can be controlled by the operations room. We have a system call GeoStats, which contains a complete database of all recorded incidents. Thus, at the click of a button, I can check how many accidents or thefts have taken place at a particular location during the past one year. Such a system gives us the ability to look at a situation statistically and thus rework our plans accordingly. The system contains a database of all incidents since 2005. All this has been made possible because of geospatial technology. During the early years, when we started using geospatial technology to track our patrol cars, the error rate was very high. However, with the advancement of technology, things have improved a great deal and the results are now more accurate. Currently, we have installed tracking systems on all our resources, including patrol cars, motorcycles, police officers etc, which tell us exactly who is available for action. This has reduced
<< Geotech has helped us a lot in incident management. When we receive a call regarding an incident, we set the caller’s location as coordinates for the incident and the nearest camera automatically opens and gets directed towards the incident location >> the response time a great deal. Linking everything together with the operations room allows us to reach an incident faster. Our goal is to reach the incident spot in less than 15 minutes. Tell us about Dubai Police’s advanced IMS system. The core business of Dubai Police Operations Department is to receive calls from people in trouble, to the emergency number (999), and rescue them from their situation. To do this, we have designed an Incident Management System (IMS). From the moment the emergency operator picks up a call everything gets recorded. All the information about the caller suchas name, address, location, call history etc. is
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
details, including the patient’s hospital, doctor, prescribed medicines, etc. The service helps us to reach a patient faster and even facilitate a doctor in the hospital emergency ward to ensure immediate action. All ambulances in Dubai are fitted with our systems so our operations room can transfer all the information to them instantly. Statistics show that since the implementation of this system, the number of deaths have reduced drastically.
33
Interview
<< Dubai Police has advanced systems that no other police department around the world has. And the best part is that all our systems are integrated into one system >>
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
displayed on the screen, which helps us to send patrol car to the right place. As soon as we receive the location and details on the type of incident, the operator transfers it to the system, which automatically selects a patrol car dispatcher according to the callerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location. Dubai has been divided into different zones with each zone having a dedicated dispatcher. The incident is reported to the dispatcher on a digital map in the form of a UAE flag so he can simply drag and drop the nearest patrol car on the incident flag. Subsequently, the tablet fitted in the selected patrol car receives a message regarding an incident. As soon as the patrol car officer accepts the message, the UAE flag
34
changes to a blue flag and all the related details are transferred into the tablet, which helps an officer navigate to the incident spot. Once the patrol car has successfully carried out its duty, its status on the operations room map changes to free. IMS is an extremely advanced system that completes the entire process of handling an incident within minutes of being reported. Most police forces around the world are going hi-tech. How would you rate
the technology readiness level of Dubai Police? Dubai Police has a lot of advanced systems that no other police department around the world has. Visitors from all over the world come to see and learn from our systems. The best part is that all our systems are integrated into one system. Before 2005, we had many systems and every system had its own operator. Currently, I can do anything even from the computer in my office. The system is so integrated that it can be operated by a single person. Even our patrol cars are the best amongst the world. Currently, we are trying to incorporate everything into the carâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s light bar in such a manner that you will not even see a camera on top. The current design that we are working on will have 12 cameras embedded into the light bar, including 8 for the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system to scan cars in all directions, and 4 video cameras for incident management. The car is set to be unveiled very soon. We have a fleet of 100 patrol cars equipped with ANPR system. These patrol cars just roam around the streets and if a car, which is wanted by the authorities, passes by, the system will immediately alert an officer. Earlier, it used to be done manually
you share data with other government entities in Dubai? We do our own mapping. We buy our own satellites and also fly to collect data. Although these maps are the property of Dubai Police but we do share them with the Dubai Municipality and RTA (Roads & Transport Authority). The images are of 12cm resolution, but it is not just in 2D; we have all of Dubai mapped in 3D. Thus, various functions like dispatching and tracking of our patrol cars, managing an incident from the control room, etc, can be done in 3D. With 3D, the police can make more educated decisions. The system has been in place since 2005. While we update our maps yearly, it still does not prove to be enough as Dubai is expanding rapidly. Can you tell us about your challenges? Our ever expanding city presents us with the challenge to constantly update our road maps, images, etc. Besides, we are also a cosmopolitan city with people of over 200 different nationalities living here, which gives rise to a major language problem. Although our control room operators are trained to speak a lot of languages but it is impossible to cover everything. In order to make our emergency service easily accessible, we have tried to incorporate all emergency numbers from around the world into our system. So, if a US citizen visiting Dubai dials 911 in case of an emergency, the call will still reach our operations room. In Dubai, we do have
wherein an officer would roam around parking lots with a big list of numbers to check all the cars. All this was very tedious and time consuming. Our system can read all types of license plates from UAE, and even Qatar. Where do you procure data from? Do
problems with addresses, so a large amount of caller locations coming into the system are not exact. Thus, a patrol car is sometimes unable to find the location but when they find it, the officers can update the map on the operations room server instantly.
events
Dubai Airshow 2013
November 17-21, 2013 Dubai World Central (DWC) Jebel Ali, Dubai www.dubaiairshow.aero
Armoured Vehicles India November 18-20, 2013 New Delhi India
www.armouredvehiclesindia.com
Milipol 2013
November 19-23, 2013 Paris Nord Villepinte France http://en.milipol.com
International Convention of Autonomous Unmanned Systems and Robotics (AUS&R)
Gulf Defense & Aerospace - Kuwait December 10-12, 2013 Kuwait International Fair Kuwait www.gulfdefense.com
JANUARY
Airborne ISR & C2 Battle Management
International Military Helicopter
www.airborneisrandbmc2.com
January 22-24, 2014 Hotel Russell London, UK
www.militaryhelicopterevent.com
FEBRUARY
www.internationalarmouredvehicles.com/
http://exhibits.iitsec.org/iitsec13/public /MainHall.aspx
C4ISR Summit
www.wbresearch.com/dgieurope/home.aspx
January 21-23, 2014 QEII Conference Centre London, UK
DECEMBER December 2-5, 2013 Orlando, Florida,USA
www.singaporeairshow.com/#&panel1-3
DGI 2014
International Armoured Vehicles
I/ITSEC 2013
February 11-16, 2014 Changi Exhibition Centre Singapore
February 24-26, 2014 Armed Forces Officers Club & Hotel Abu Dhabi, UAE
November 26-28, 2013 Israel
http://i-hls.com/2013/07/ausr2013/
Singapore Airshow 2014
February 3-6, 2014 FIVE, Farnborough, UK
Defexpo India February 6-9, 2014 Pragati Maidan New Delhi, India
http://defexpoindia.in/#
www.c4isrsummit.com
February 25-27, 2014 London
MARCH Oceanology International 2014 March 11-13, 2014 London, UK
www.oceanologyinternational.com
OPV Asia Pacific March 17-18, 2014 Singapore
www.offshorepatrolasia.com
DIMDEX
March 25-27, 2014 Doha, Qatar www.dimdex.com
Geointelligence nov - dec 2013
NOVEMBER
35
Weaponisation of Space
Defending Space Assets
The prospect of Earth being ruled from space is no longer a science fiction. Today, technology exists to weaponise space. In the article, the writer proposes space based mechanisms for monitoring and depriving an enemy the advantage of space while at the same time, making provisions for protection and survivability of one’s own space assets.
I
n the present day scenario, most of the operations either in civil or military space, are being carried out through the assistance of satellites. These include monitoring of rivers, forests, agriculture, etc., or navigational or communication applications. This strategic importance of satellites has made them vulnerable to enemy attacks in recent times. These activities are fundamentally intended to deny the advantage of space to an enemy. Thus, there is a strong need to study the vulnerabilities and threat perceptions of space assets and take corrective actions to prevent an enemy attack.
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
On February 20, 2008, the US Navy destroyed USA-193 by using a SM-3 ABM acting as an anti-satellite weapon. USA-193 was an American spy satellite which was decaying from orbit at a rate of 1,640 feet (500 m) per day. Chinese ASAT activities
36
<< Nano satellites can be used as ASAT weapons. Advances in miniaturisation and the proliferation of space technologies enable nations to manufacture small systems that can perform a variety of missions >>
such as destroying its weather satellite on January 11, 2007, and similar other tests need to be noted for protection of space assets. The use of high altitude nuclear explosions to destroy satellites was considered after noting the damaging effects of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) caused by the explosions on electronic equipment. Another area of research was directed into energy weapons using conventional lasers or masers. Therefore, ASAT weapons are classified as follows which can be perceived as a threat to LEO and GEO satellites. • ASAT missiles (ground/ air launched or with nuclear/ nonnuclear/ kinetic warhead) • EMP based ASAT weapons (nuclear/ non-nuclear) • Laser/ Directed Energy Weapons Systems (DEWs) • Modification of launch vehicles as ASAT missiles The eminent threat perception to space assets can be classified as follows. • Threat to LEO satellites • Threat to GEO satellites • Threat from DEWs • Threat to ground stations
Threat to LEO Satellites
Any medium range ballistic missile, with a ground range of 500-2,500 km can be stated as direct-ascent ASATs posing a serious challenge to
photographic intelligence (PHOTINT), electro-optical (EO), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and electronic intelligence (ELINT) satellites that operate in low-earth orbit (LEO). It is also possible that direct-ascent ASATs could be armed with the electromagnetic pulse (nuclear or nonnuclear) warheads. Potential threat from DEWs such as ground based lasers and kinetic weapons cannot be ruled out.
Threat to GEO Satellites
At present, there is no readymade system which can threaten satellites in geostationary orbit, which is about 36,000 km from Earth’s surface. However, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) technology that may eventually be able to use a larger first-stage motor and an advanced guidance package can be redesigned to target satellites in GEO. Potential threat from DEWs placed on another GEO satellite based lasers and kinetic weapons cannot be ruled out.
Threat from Micro and Nano Satellites
Another potential threat is from micro and nano satellites which can also be used as ASAT weapons. Advances in miniaturisation and the proliferation of space technologies enable space faring nations to manufacture small, lightweight, inexpensive and highly capable systems that can perform a variety of missions. Included in this list
Courtesy: upload.wikimedia.org/
Futuristic Concepts and Proposed Methodologies
Analysis of fighter losses in 1960s indicated that at least 70 per cent of all losses were attributed to passive heat seeking (Infra Red) guided missiles. By visualising this threat, radar warning receivers were developed. They proved their
effectiveness by early 1970s as they considerably improved the survival of aircraft against radar threats. The first air-to-air missiles appeared in 1950s. The invention and development of semiconductor technology allowed more compact missile designs and made it possible to develop IR Man Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS). Most aircraft that were shot down never knew that the missiles were approaching them. Over time, the performance and effectiveness of MANPADS have further increased due to advanced new seeker head technology. As per CSIS ‘Transactional Threats Update,’ Volume 1. No.10.2003 about 7,00,000 MANPADS have been produced, so far. At this point of time where satellite based technologies are controlling several aspects of economy, there is a need to apply these technologies for protection of space assets. For this, the
following systems are required to be built into spacecrafts. They are » Spacecraft radar and missile warning receivers » Spacecraft EW suite/ Electronic countermeasures » Ground based monitoring, support and control measures Spacecraft Radar and Missile Warning Receivers (SRMWR) Protecting spacecraft against threats depends mainly on reliable detection and warning system, and applying effective ECM for avoiding, evading and engaging threats. Two or three separate systems such as radar warning receiver, missile warning receiver and suitable countermeasures suite cannot be considered for spacecraft protection because of size, shape and operating cost of the craft. Also, payloads need
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
of missions is counter-space operations, such as long-durationorbital inspection and intercept. Microsatellites can perform satellite inspection, imaging and other functions and could be adapted as weapons. Placed on an interception course and programmed to honein on a satellite, a microsatellite could fly alongside a target until commanded to disrupt, and then disable or destroy the target. It would be difficult to detect and defend against such an attack.
37
Weaponisation of Space
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
to be reduced in size due to fitment of these protection systems onboard spacecraft. Hence, the following system and functional requirements are proposed for spacecraft radar, missile warning receiver and countermeasures suite:
38
» There has to be a single integrated system for radar, missile warning and countermeasures, since this is meant for a spacecraft. » Designing SRMWR to provide timely detection and warning. This is a big challenge. » Missiles may not give any warning prior to their launch and may not rely on sensors such as IR, microwave or laser designator. Hence, SRMWR must be based on multi-sensor system. » Though the threats are based on long ranges, time available for detection, identification, ground based support and control actions is very less, therefore SRMWR must provide reliable (almost 100 per cent probability of warning) and timely warning to allow appropriate countermeasure responses. » SRMWR must allow very little margin for errors with very fast reaction time to effectively apply countermeasures. » SRMWR must have sufficiently very low false alarm rate even when illuminated by multiple threat sources from ground as well as space. This is more so since the ground support and decision makers will have to rely on it. » Very low false alarm rates and quick response time are inherently conflicting system requirements, hence it requires a balanced design and development approach to provide most successful space assets protection operation without compromising probability of threat warning. False alarms represent decision errors, which can only be reduced by gathering more data, which takes more time, inevitably reduces countermeasures deployment time. Due to this, it is suggested that space assets command and control
operators would have to tolerate an increased false alarm rate. » Angle of attack (Azimuth and Elevation) is another critical and very important requirement for SRMWR, which need to provide sufficiently accurate initial pointing, so that suitable countermeasures can be deployed for acquisition and engagement of incoming missile threats successfully and in time. » Angle of attack data has to be so accurate for ground controllers to be able to decide the direction of dispensation of countermeasures, which is vital to avoiding a situation where the space based platform and the dispensation, both remain within the instantaneous field of view of incoming missile. This situation may not arise for space assets since their speed is very high. » Accuracy of angle of attack is further important for space based platform which requires orbital manoeuvre when dispensing countermeasures especially to increase the miss distance for better protection of space platform. This is very critical since space platform speed is very high which is likely to negate the separation of countermeasures ejection velocity. » An orbital manoeuvre towards incoming missile is more useful for increasing the angle between platform and the countermeasure, and especially important in cases where a threat is launched from the space based enemy platforms coming from rear side. » The SRMWR suite must also be fully automated as a single integrated package. This single suite must have the following capabilities: • To monitor and detect surveillance pulses which are intermittent. • To monitor and detect tracking pulses which will appear at short and regular fixed intervals. • To detect missile warning in which transmitted commands are sensed which will have variable duration pulses. • Proximity or radio fuse for countermeasures action.
All these functions have to be in a single package appropriately suitable to space assets which is to be designed and developed. With VVLSI chips, quad-core processing further miniaturisation and developments in digital technology, the development proposed in this paper is definitely feasible. The fitment of SRMWR in satellites requires the following: • Reduced payload • Increased onboard power consumption • Complexity commanding operations of the satellites payload • Onboard electronics systems maintenance responsibility • Necessity of launching additional satellites for same payload capacity. If micro satellites are launched to track the threats then the number of these threat monitoring satellites will increase and space will get congested • Enhanced ground support and complexity of operations • Increased costs
Physical Requirements of SRMWR The SRMWR suite for space assets protection applications requires a special mention. In modern times, where there is a long wait and growing requirement for transponders and bandwidth, how can the lightweight spacecraft provide space and mass capacity for inbuilt protection equipment. The SRMWR should also not cause adverse orbital drag and must have minimal physical size and shape. The power consumption requirement must further be kept within the capacity of the spacecraft’s electrical system. To economise on the installation and integration costs and problems, suitable interfaces have to be designed to provide communication and co-existence with other onboard payloads of spacecraft.
Cost considerations
Initial design, development, installation, integration and trial cost will invariably be high along with direct and indirect cost implications.
Countermeasures
The proposed SRMWR is a single package for spacecraft defensive measures and must include countermeasures which can be classified as passive and active.
Passive Countermeasures
Passive countermeasures against radars, missiles and ASAT weapons attack include warning for hiding, evading, manoeuvre, and initiation of deceptive measures through electronic countermeasures and electro-optical countermeasures as well as combinations of these measures. •Hiding, for example, satellite miniaturisation and orbit selection • Manoeuvre from a ground station for evasion • Deception, for example, deploying lightweight decoys • Hardening, for example, use of shielding • Electronic countermeasures and electro-optical countermeasures, for example, use of shorter wavelengths and more highly directional antennas • Some of these countermeasures, for example, ‘hardening’ are truly passive, requiring no satellite activity for their effectiveness; while others like ‘evasion’ require satellite activity and hence attack warning, and are not truly passive, although they are non-destructive • The land infrastructure may be strengthened by adding more monitoring stations • Other passive countermeasures include deploying new generation
satellites with high power signals thereby making jamming more difficult and deploying additional satellites for redundancy
Active Countermeasures
Passive countermeasures against ASAT attacks may be supplemented by active measures intended to deter ASAT attack or to defend satellites if deterrence should fail. Active measures can therefore be used for either defensive or retaliatory purposes. Defensive active measures are active countermeasures against ASAT attacks. Retaliatory active measures do not counter ASAT attacks but instead fulfil explicit or implied threats of retaliation which were intended to deter ASAT attacks. Active measures used for either purpose can be either nondestructive (for example, electronic countermeasures and electro-optical countermeasures) or destructive (for example, shoot back).
Constellation of Satellites
Another concept is to have two micro-satellites flying alongwith main satellite carrying SRMWR in fractioned functions, separately for radar-missile warning, and countermeasures suite which will have intercommunication facilities. This type of system reduces overall programme risk, provides budgetary and planning flexibility, speeds up initial deployment trials, involves no reduction in payload capacity, reduces load on onboard power requirement and offers greater survivability.
Diplomatic Measures
In addition to the military measures discussed above, diplomatic measures such as arms control initiatives and negotiation of ‘rules of the road’ for space operations could be useful responses to development of threatening ASAT capabilities.
Conclusion
We have seen in the recent and on-going conflicts world over that the importance of Military Space Operations has increased many folds due to the enabling capabilities
they provide to a Commander. The proliferation in space operations dovetailed with defence space programme has given rise to operations such as Space Force Enhancement, Space Support, Space Control and Space Force Application. It is expected that at least by 2020, all the space based assets which will be launched will possess capabilities for radar, missile warning and countermeasures actions for avoiding, evading and attacking. The concepts of SRMWR system configurations proposed in this paper are a step in the direction for achieving defensive capabilities for all spacecraft. But the technology has to be experimented with uitable trials for realisation. References 1: Gp Capt KP Gowd “New Techniques for Dynamic Radar Target Recognition,” published in the proceedings of International Radar Symposium India (IRSI2005), Bangalore, India. December 17-19, 2005 pp 725-728. 2: Gp Capt KP Gowd “Target Recognition Technologies for Enhancing Combat effectiveness in Real Time,” published in the proceedings of GeoIntelligence Asia 2011 under the theme “Combat IdentificationIncreasing Combat Effectiveness” by Gesoaptial Media (formerly GIS Development) at New Delhi, India, June 14-15, 2011 (GeoIntelligence, Vol 1, Issue 4, JulAug 2011, pp29-31). 3: Gp Capt KP Gowd “Futuristic G-Sat Based SAR Imaging Trends for Real Time GIS Applications,” published in GeoIntelligence Magazine Vol. 2, Issue. 5 (ISSN 2277-3126) Sep – Oct 2012, pp 26-28 4: Joseph A. Angelo Jr, “Space Technology,” Pentagon Press, 206, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi-110049, ISBN : 1-57356-335-8, 2003. 5: MANPADS, CSIS “Transactional Threats Update,” Volume 1. No.10.2003. 6: Radar_warning_receiver.htm. 7: Missile_warning_receiver.htm.
Gp Capt KP Gowd Director, Indian Air Force param1959@yahoo.co.in
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
The system performance and availability of the protection suite is required for the entire life cycle of spacecraft. Indirect cost involves degradation of the spacecraft’s performance as a result of having the protection suite onboard and in turn impacts the operating cost of the spacecraft and its orbital life. In addition, quantity of such systems required will be very less, hence commercial viability for cost, quantity and performance factors have to be carefully assessed.
39
REport
GeoInt Essential for Modern Warfare
A session-in-progress
Defence experts from around the world gathered in Brazil recently to be a part of the GeoIntelligence Latin America conference
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
T
40
he second edition of Geointelligence Latin America conference was held from September 12-13, 2013 at Rio de Janerio, Brazil, along with the Latin America Geospatial Forum, and was attended by a large number of participants from the armed forces and security agencies of the region. A galaxy of senior armed forces officers and subject experts presented their views. Highlights of the conference are in succeeding paragraphs. General Bda Pedro Soares da Silva Neto who heads the Board of Army Geographic Service (DSG) of the Brazilian Army, spoke during the inaugural session and gave a description of the actions taken
by DSG in the production of geointelligence for national defence and security, with emphasis on the resource rich Amazon region, the border areas and the upcoming major sports events. The technological aids used in the creation of various applications were also described. The Brazilian Army is working on an initiative to update and modify their programmes in the areas of concept development, doctrine, leader development, and lessons learned. A vision of the geointelligence doctrine framework for the Brazilian Army was presented by Division General Mario Lucio Alves de Araujo, 3rd Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief
of Brazil Armyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Doctrine Centre. He spoke about the existing situation, essential requirements and the challenges being faced. He described the major strategic GIS projects-SISFRON (System for Integrated Monitoring of Frontiers)and PROTECT (Protection of Strategic Land Structures). He stated that a lot of importance is given to providing GIS training to personnel at all levels. General de Bragada Walter Nilton Pina Stoffel, Commandant of School of Command and Higher Staff, in his presentation stated that due importance is given to GIS in the military decision process making training being imparted, and it forms a core part of all activities
3
2
5
7 and exercises conducted in the school. Brazil has a long coastline and lays a lot of importance on the protection of its maritime assets. Rear Admiral Andre Luiz Silva Lima de Santana Mendesw, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence, Brazil Navy, which is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring maritime security, gave a historical perspective of geointelligence. He stressed upon the need for appropriate applications to help achieve this task. Brazil has a huge air space (22.5 million sq km) as its area of responsibility. Cel Av Ricardo Elias Cosendey, Director, Cartography Institute of Aeronautics (ICA), Brazil, gave a comprehensive presentation about the institute, covering the basic structure, main tasks, international standardisation and
4
technical activities. He described the various sub-divisions of cartography and elaborated on their procedures. The security challenges posed by the threat of terrorist attacks during the upcoming major sports events were highlighted by General Bda Julio Cesar de Arruda, Commander Special Operations Brigade. He stressed upon the need for real-time geointelligence, training and effective coordination between all agencies. The technical sessions included presentations by leading geospatial solution providers on subjects such as multi-band radar, Lidar, imaging and full motion video, showcasing latest trends and technologies. The exhibition evoked keen interest and provided the users an opportunity to interact with over two dozen industry leaders.
6
1.Rear Admiral Andre Luiz Silva Lima de Santana Mendesw 2.General Bda Julio Cesar de Arruda 3.General Bda Pedro Soares da Silva Neto 4.General de Bragada Walter Nilton Pina Stoffel 5.Col Alex Vander Lima Costa 6/7.Visitors at the exhibition
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
1
41
Image Intelligence
Image/ Text Courtesy: www.digitalattackmap.com, Google, Arbor Networks
Geointelligence NOV - DEC 2013
MAPPING Cyber Attacks
42
in Real-time
W
e live in a world where cyber attacks are inevitable. Common among them is denial-of-service (DoS) or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Consider this â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 1/3 of all downtime incidents are attributed to DDoS attacks; it only costs USD 150 in the black market to buy a week-long DDoS attacks, and so on. To highlight the intensity of cyber attacks in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world, Google Ideas and Arbor Networks have developed the Digital Attack Map, a live data visualisation tool that maps DDoS attacks around the globe. The tool utilises real-time anonymous traffic data from ATLAS threat monitoring system to create the map, which can also be used to track trends and see how the attacks fluctuate on a daily basis. Historical data can also be viewed for all geographies. The data is updated daily.
Subscribe today
GET YOUR DIGITAL EDITION AVAILABLE ON http://goo.gl/ljcXwl
BRINGING THE
SAVE THE DATES GEOINTELLIGENCE INDIA 12-13 June, 2014 JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi, India www.geointelligenceindia.org
NATIONAL IMPORTANCE ORGANISER
GEOINTELLIGENCE LATIN AMERICA 24-25 September, 2014 Hilton Mexico City Reforma Hotel, Mexico www.geointla.org