US Department of Homeland Security designates AtHoc IWSAlerts as qualified anti-terrorism technology

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated AtHoc’s interactive warning system, AtHoc IWSAlerts, as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology (QATT) under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technology (SAFETY) Act.

The AtHoc IWSAlerts warning system, in case of an emergency, provides mass notification to automate an end-to-end crisis communication for the homeland security, public safety, and personnel protection.

AtHoc’s solutions use an existing IP network and change it into a bi-directional notification system via a centralised web-based console.

The warning system assists emergency managers and EOCs to swiftly and reliably spread alerts and emergency instructions to millions of people in minutes through multiple, redundant technologies and devices.

The DHS recognition of the system makes AtHoc the first supplier of emergency mass notification technology to receive the SAFETY Act Designation.

At present, DHS has deployed AtHoc for its own internal use across three of its major agencies, including the US Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, and Customs and Border Protection.

AtHoc Government and Homeland Security vice president Dubhe Beinhorn said, "We are honored to be the first EMNS vendor to offer its customers significant and crucial protection from liability by virtue of the SAFETY Act Designation from DHS."

The SAFETY Act enacted as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 provides several levels of liability protection for suppliers of anti-terrorism technologies.

Under the Act the manufacturers or sellers of anti-terrorism technologies are protected and are provided incentives to ensure that the threat of liability does not deter them from developing, commercialising, and deploying technologies that could potentially save lives.

The technologies awarded with the SAFETY Act Designation are thoroughly investigated by trained reviewers and go through rigorous technical and economic criteria such as previous US Government use, effectiveness in facilitating a defense against Acts of Terrorism, availability for immediate deployment and the magnitude of risk exposure to the public if it is not deployed.