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OBSCURE technology?
In a crisis, data needs to be available both to the emergency services and the public. Dan Worth investigates a new solution from Thales that allows data to be shared with those who need it – and in a secure manner.
In a crisis, events move quickly and so data needs to be available and easy to access by both the emergency services and the public. However, issues of security mean some information must remain private and only available to those with the appropriate authorisation. For the emergency services this may include being able to see the current and best deployment locations of their units, while not allowing such data to be publicly available. It is imperative that they can share this information with those who need it while keeping certain aspects secure.
Thales Research and Technology, a company that makes up a network of research centres situated in the UK, France, Netherlands and Singapore, has developed a secure situational awareness tool that allows data from multiple sources to be collected into a common data area, with security controls to keep the information secure. Using a technology called OBSCURE (Object Based Security) data can be securely shared between the organisations that need to access it, without compromising the confidential aspect of the information.
The software was originally developed for coalition forces to allow them to share certain information, while limiting access to other data. The idea of making this technology available to the emergency services was hit upon when the potential of using web page ‘mash-ups’ for situation awareness was realised. As Rachel Craddock, Principal Engineer, Thales, explains. “By being able to bring all the data into one place you can allow people to see all the information they need. Of course some information needs to remain private and so the technology allows you to provide access to the relevant organisations, or even just select individuals, while keeping other data private.”
Thales Research and Technology has used the Buncefield Oil Depot explosion of December 2005 as the basis of a demonstration to show how the technology could be utilised at a major incident. Information on road closures, diversions, and accommodation information for those forced to evacuate, would be made available to everyone via public information websites, using services such as Google maps. For the emergency services the data on where their units were stationed, how many were present, and where they may need to be deployed over time is kept private and made available only to those who need to see it. This allows both the public and the emergency services to use the same tool for their own needs without compromising security or blocking access to the data.
The OBSCURE security technology works by applying protection to the information itself rather than to the underlying communications infrastructure. Using secure “digital containers” that contain the data, authorisation policies can be used and decryption keys generated to allow specified users access to the information.
Hampshire FRS is very keen to use this tool and so Thales Research and Technology has begun work on developing a trial version for evaluation purposes, as Rachel explains, “The emergency services need software that can be used everyday so that once they have become comfortable using it on a regular basis, when a major situation arises they know exactly what they are doing. As well as this, the cost-to-use ratio must be considered so we need to develop a piece of kit that is in daily use.”
Ease of use is something that Rachel doesn’t believe will be much of an issue. “As it is based on Google maps and similar software, people are already familiar with it. As well as this, the system of how to reveal or hide information is just a selection of tick boxes so it’s very straightforward.”
Another benefit is the aspect that allows data access rights to be adapted as required. For example, data access rights can be set up so information can be made available for a specified time period to specified users who may not normally have access to it. After the specified time period, these people can no longer access the data, unless new access rules are created.
Hampshire FRS intend to use the system to address another aspect of information distribution during a crisis – dealing with the press. “You can provide data about incidents on a public website, with details of the incidents and so on, and the press can access information that way. This works for both large-scale incidents, and also for updating smaller stories or providing general safety information. This all helps save time for the emergency services.”
