Area companies are at the nation’s front lines of defense against terrorism by making products guarding safety of U.S. populace
As the threat of terrorism on the United States continues to evolve, so does the focus of local technology firms.
Terms like “cyber attack” and “airport infiltration” are joining “air raid” and “ground war” in the lexicon of domestic defense. As a result, a number of local high-tech firms, some of which have had little or no previous experience with the U.S. military, are finding their products increasingly relevant to anti-terrorist efforts.
L.A.’s association with defense-related technology is nothing new, of course. Los Angeles County’s near tripling of its population between 1930 and 1960 mirrors the local growth of aerospace giants like Douglas Aircraft and Northrop Aircraft.
And even as aerospace budgets were cut back in the early 1990s, much of the industry’s technological expertise was transferred to non-aircraft defense efforts and even commercial uses.
“There is a history of engagement in defense beyond assembly,” said Rohit Shukla, chief executive of the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance, who cited Computer Sciences Corp. and Hughes Electronics Corp. as examples.
But defense-related technology is no longer solely the domain of corporate giants. Here are a few local firms that are expected to see a jump in business as anti-terrorist efforts are increased both domestically and abroad:
Rapiscan Security Products Inc.
Founded:
1993 (a subsidiary of OSI Systems Inc.)
Focus:
Screening and explosives detection systems
Headquarters:
Hawthorne
Revenues (fiscal 2001):
$51.8 million
Rapiscan’s baggage inspection system addresses one of the more pervasive fears of airline travelers after the Sept. 11 attacks: A $40,000 baggage scanning machine is useless if its operator is not sufficiently trained to spot concealed weapons in carry-on luggage.
Rapiscan began developing Threat Image Projection (TIP) software for its baggage scanners five years ago and introduced its TIP-included scanners to the market in 1999. TIP stores more than 200 images in its database, ranging from guns to knives to bombs. These images are periodically simulated within pieces of luggage going through the system, with the scanner operator given the opportunity to identify whether the object is real or simulated.
Without the simulation program, the operator “could go weeks or months without seeing anything exciting go by,” said Peter Williamson, vice president of OSI Systems security products group. The program doubles as a kind of grading system, as image recognition data for each scanner operator is stored.
About 40 percent of the 700 baggage scanners in the nation’s 20 largest airports are Rapiscan products. Williamson declined to quantify how much the Sept. 11 attacks would affect revenue expectations for Rapiscan, which made up 47 percent of OSI’s revenues for the year ended June 30. But he estimated that inquiries have tripled since Sept. 11. He also said that the FAA has discussed using TIP-type software as a training and certification tool for baggage scanner operators.
Cs3 Inc.
Founded:
1991
Focus:
Computer infrastructure security products
Headquarters:
Los Angeles
Projected Revenues (2001):
$750,000
As seen with last month’s Nimda worm, there is the real threat of a “cyber terrorist” looking to cripple institutions dependent on information technology by deploying virus-type code. “We don’t have to make a case anymore that people want to do nasty things,” said founder K. Narayanaswamy.
In response to potential cyber attacks, Cs3 Inc., which Narayanaswamy co-founded in 1991, is releasing Reverse Firewall, a rack-mountable device that regulates outgoing cyber traffic and filters out potentially damaging viruses, also known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) “packets.” Once DDoS code is identified by the product, network administrators are notified of the potential problem. “We can get down to the smallest sub-network from where it’s originating,” said Narayanaswamy.
The concept of regulating outgoing network traffic, as opposed to traditional firewalls filtering incoming traffic, is particularly relevant as Internet service providers begin to examine ways to monitor traffic. Cs3 estimates sales of 1,000 to 2,000 units through the first six months of 2002. The product, which will sell for about $3,000, has been tested by military communications group Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and will be marketed to ISPs and universities.
Cogent Systems Inc.
Founded:
1990
Focus:
Biometric identification systems
Headquarters:
South Pasadena
Projected Revenues:
Would not disclose
“The whole thing boils down to authenticating identity,” said Mike Hollowitch, in explaining the fingerprint recognition data network systems produced by Cogent. Law enforcement agencies, border patrol offices and voter registration administrators are a few of the groups that have purchased products from the company.
Cogent’s systems are based on technology that identifies a matched set of fingerprints between an individual and an existing database, or a “hot list,” in a matter of minutes. For instance, Cogent administers a 1.2 million-fingerprint database for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, while selling individual fingerprinting systems to school districts, hospitals and daycare centers throughout the state. Equipped with a Palm Pilot-sized finger pad attached to a workstation, an organization can do a background check on a prospective employee by finding out if there’s a match with the state’s “hot list.” Another client is a Caribbean island’s government that uses a fingerprint database to prevent citizens from voting multiple times.
Hollowitch, vice president of operations, noted that inquiries have increased since the Sept. 11 attacks, although he declined to identify which organizations and agencies have shown interest. He also said that technological improvements have lowered a network user’s hardware cost to a few hundred dollars, while a database system set up for a typical law enforcement agency would cost about $30,000.
Vidius Inc.
Founded:
2000
Focus:
Computer network security
Headquarters:
North Hollywood
Projected Revenues (2002):
$5 million –
$10 million
Think of being able to pick up a desired document from hard drives anywhere in the world through Gnutella, a document exchange. Then imagine the ease in which a terrorist on the same network would have in doing the same thing.
“Peer-to-peer networks create incredible havens for terrorist communications,” said Company Chairman Derrek Broes. “It creates a walled garden for them.”
Such is the focus of Vidius Inc., which produces computer security software while also providing security-related intelligence for its clients. Founded last year by two former members of the Israeli military, the company specializes in identifying, holding, and locating potentially questionable activity administered by peer-to-peer network users. Vidius accomplishes this by predetermining networks in which illegal file theft has been known to take place, otherwise known as “rogue protocols.”
A so-called firewall, while able to stop virus infiltration on a traditional network, will not stop peer-to-peer file exchanges. Because of this, Broes has been approached by organizations ranging from government agencies to copyright holders.
Broes estimates that a larger peer-to-peer network has between 30 million and 40 million regular users. Even a newer network like KaZaA has seen about 16 million file downloads over the past couple months.
Syagen Technology Inc.
Founded:
1996
Focus:
High-speed chemical screening products
Headquarters:
Tustin
Projected Revenues (2001):
$3 million
While traditional airport security analyzes the large objects with the traveler, Syagen Technology’s Passenger Screening Portal will analyze tiny objects on the traveler.
The portal, which looks like an elongated version of a walk-through metal detector, is designed to detect any trace materials found in explosives. The project has been in development for three years, and a prototype, which was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and built in conjunction with Albuquerque-based Sandia National Laboratories, is currently being tested. Product approval will be determined within a year, according to Syagen founder and Chief Executive Jack Syage.
As a traveler walks through the portal, a puff of air is blown, shaking the person’s clothing and loosening any particles. The air is then directed into a detection port, where the particles are analyzed for explosives. The product would be an addition to any existing security tools, though Syage noted that a metal detector could be placed within the portal.
While explosive detection technology was Syagen’s focus when it was founded in 1996, the company has since concentrated on chemical analysis for the pharmaceutical industry. Even if the portal is approved, Syagen doesn’t expect his company’s pharmaceutical emphasis to change. “Biotech and life sciences are big, sustainable markets, whereas security is up and down,” he said.
Raytheon Electronics Systems
Founded:
1922
Focus:
Defense and commercial electronics
Headquarters:
El Segundo
Projected Revenues (2001):
$7.6 billion
While its 95,000-employee parent company is based in Lexington, Mass., the 10,000 employees of El Segundo-based Raytheon Electronics Systems are responsible for almost half the company’s revenue and, more importantly, many technological products currently being deployed in the Middle East.
Raytheon Electronics developed the Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) system aboard the F/A-18 aircraft currently being used by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The infrared targeting and navigation system is said to be three to four times more accurate than the first generation version.
The local plant also produced the reconnaissance system for the Air Force’s U-2 aircraft. The Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System (ASARS-2) is a high-resolution, all-weather product notable for its ability to detect moving ground targets from high altitudes.
