N.J. to get Army tech security system

The U.S. Army will help develop protection for New Jersey's government networks against digital terrorism.

New Jersey government officials signed an agreement July 17 to have the Army Communications-Electronics Command Research, Development, and Engineering Center develop an intrusion detection system for state agencies. It's the first research collaboration between the Army center and a state government, said James Soos, the Army center's deputy director for homeland security.

A system for detecting electronic attackers is a key part of New Jersey's homeland security plans, said the state's chief technology officer, Charles Dawson. The agreement will help New Jersey determine what it needs for an intrusion detection and response program to cover the 16 departments of its executive branch. The system will need information management applications and software that can detect attacks on individual computers and on entire networks.

"Faced with a difficult budget situation, we are very fortunate to have built this relationship with CERDEC to gain such a great deal of knowledge and resources," Dawson said in a release.

The state will also receive guidance in developing program management.

An Army homeland security team at Fort Monmouth, N.J., will survey each department in the state government, analyze networks and critical assets, evaluate products, make recommendations and develop an overall plan for the new system, Soos said. New Jersey gets to tap a pool of almost 1,600 scientists and engineers working in communications-related fields for the Army, Dawson said.