For more than a decade, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has relied on the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN Connect) to share sensitive, unclassified information between public and private sector organizations. With a mission to coordinate planned event safety and security and respond to incidents, HSIN Connect has been instrumental in maintaining and improving security.
DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Region 7 Cyber Security Advisor (CSA) uses HSIN Connect to conduct remote cyber assessments with CISA stakeholders. The CSA utilizes HSIN Connect primarily due to its security features, which are not available via Microsoft Teams, WebEx and Zoom platforms.
HSIN Connect also supports the premise that all CISA assessments are protected under the Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) program, thus the CSA can conduct virtual assessments without concern of stakeholders that the meetings might be hosted and possibly viewed by a commercial organization rather than solely by CISA through the HSIN platform.
But during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, even HSIN resources were stretched to capacity. It was essentially shouldering a completely new issue while working at full capacity on other issues, and had the added burden of maintaining social distancing practices. To address capacity and functionality issues, the network expanded its use of Adobe Connect to better coordinate with state fusion centers, many of which have integrated it into their emergency response SOPs.
During operations, chat and file-sharing tools have been some of the most popular capabilities of HSIN Connect. The chat function, for example, enables teams to communicate and contribute to an incident response remotely. That’s especially important in this era of social distancing, since law enforcement officers, investigators and other participants can connect to HSIN Connect on a mobile device and share information with the full investigative team, offsite.
Adobe Connect helps improve situational awareness. Some fusion centers are using HSIN Connect to create state and local situational awareness rooms (SitRooms) to exchange information. They can quickly set up individual information rooms, layouts and pods to share specific types of information. And since Feb. 11, 2020, state fusion centers and federal partners have shared hundreds or even thousands of pieces of COVID related information, reports and activities.
HOW ADOBE HELPS
Agencies at all levels of government use Adobe products, which include solutions for collaboration, creativity and design, digital document management and e-signatures, content and experience management, analytics and engagement, and digital enrollment and onboarding. Many of Adobe’s solutions, including Adobe Connect Managed Services, are FedRAMP approved. Adobe Connect also complies with SOC 2 Type 2 and is HIPAA-ready.
Adobe Connect provides a persistent, centralized virtual interface for planning, collaboration between remote and on-the-ground personnel and training. It ensures that all participants have the most updated information, alerts, warnings and other intelligence while managing incident response. Features include a virtual “backstage” for multiple hosts and presenters, a central content repository, shared templates, and the ability to develop storyboards and customize visual aesthetics, create and deploy interactive content, rapidly create custom landing pages and registration forms and more.
Learn more: https://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect/rapid-response.html
Note : This case study is an abstract from the Market Trends Report published by Govloop around Improving Public Sector Emergency Response
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