HLSIA Links

Our Annotated Links provide a quick guide for those interested in online research. Although search engines such as Google have made life easier, it remains a challenge to find reliable up-to-date information on homeland security. Our top ten websites plus a reference site containing links for the "sector" are provided below:

RAND is an independent non-profit corporation specializing in research and consulting services. It has over thirty years experience in dealing with such topics as terrorism and their extensive library of high quality reports is available for free download, as a public service. Go to the Reports and Bookstore tab and click on “browse by category” then click on “terrorism and homeland security” to see all the reports available online. The PDF docs are accessible using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 or higher.

CIA acquired a private, non-profit Venture Capital firm six years ago which has financed a wide range of cutting edge technologies related to IT security and intelligence gathering. Business plans can be submitted online for venture capital funding consideration. Go to “technologies” tab to view commercial technologies funded in recent years broken down into areas of focus. Past investment descriptions and statistics are also available for perusal online.

Microsoft Threats Web Application is designed to help web based enterprises protect their sites from possible attack. The approach is to use a model to anticipate vulnerabilities and identify security enhancements. Go to Complete Catalog and click on "overview" of various menus to get a feel for the methodology and the support which Microsoft provides to protect software.

Center for Disease Control represents a highly authoritative source of information on Bioterrorism and Radiation Emergencies. The website is very well organized and covers in-depth known threats affecting public health. Information is designed for clinical staff as well as emergency workers and general public. Detailed guidance is available for PDF download. The extensive menus can be read either in English or Spanish as well as other foreign languages.

Threat Protection DHS is designed for the owners and operators of critical infrastructure who voluntarily wish to report proprietary information on their facilities for the purpose of identifying potential vulnerabilities. The program office of PCII collects this information which is held confidentially and used to develop site specific vulnerability evaluation by type of infrastructure.

NPS Terrorism presents extensive bibliographies, organized by library, dealing with military and security aspects of terrorism. Not all libraries are available to the general public. This comprehensive website was recently upgraded to include related resource links and documents which can be downloaded.

Homeland Security Affairs is the journal of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security recently established at the Naval Post Graduate School. Articles are contributed by faculty and staff of NPS as well as academics nationwide. The articles often stimulate thought provoking discussion of national policies and administrative issues. Despite being newly established, we find the material remarkably straight forward and candid in its assessments. Keep up the good work!

Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is published by The Berkeley Electronic Press with new editions coming out quarterly. The articles are well written and review key aspects of homeland security. Each article has a summary with PDF download on a subscription basis. A limited guest registration allows you to sample a few articles before subscribing.

Terrorism is a non profit website set up by the National Memorial Institute for Prevention of Terrorism. It offers numerous reports and studies but the most interesting is the interactive map which provides “a one stop shop for global terrorism incidence”. The data base includes considerable information on terrorists which can be disaggregated by targets, groups, tactics and regions. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter which gives updated access to the model and publications.

HSARPA Index stands for Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency modeled after the Pentagon’s DARPA. It provides grant funding for research proposals which offer promising technologies in addressing key threat categories. The STTR program is designed to benefit small business and research institutions. The phased grant program is outlined along with links to Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) for more information on solicitations.

Knowledge Base is a sort of "yellow pages" for links to commercial and non profit enterprises working in the homeland security sector. Much of the information provided on the website is advertising but it does reference a wide range of groups and what they offer. Some public sector links are provided as well.

We welcome your suggested links for inclusion in our list! Please contact us by email info@hlsia.org with exact urls and why you recommend the link(s)