Firms team up for homeland security

Northrop Grumman Corp. and Information Builders Inc. announced today a partnership to pursue homeland security opportunities for federal, state and local governments.

"This strategic alliance enables government agencies and other customers to take advantage of both companies' expertise to meet new security challenges," said Tom Wilson, a vice president at Northrop Grumman Information Technology, said in a press release. "Aligning our offerings makes great sense and will provide current and potential customers with integrated services, greater efficiency and enhanced customer service."

The companies will pursue business in three areas, including bioterrorism and surveillance analysis. Northrop Grumman leads a team with Information Builders and Visual Risk Technologies Inc. to implement a statewide electronic reporting surveillance system for Delaware. The system is designed to search, detect trends, and transmit health information in real time for disease outbreaks.

The companies will also partner on authentication and identification solutions through smart card technology containing biometric identifiers of employees. In addition to the federal and state governments, they will target large private-sector employers.

The partnership will also provide law enforcement data integration via data warehouses or integration packages, which analyze large amounts of data and detect criminal or potential terrorist activity.