Computers and Homeland Security Essay -- United States Department of H

Computers and Homeland Security Homeland Security is one of the most important departments in the United States. The United States Department of Homeland Security job is to reduce our vulnerability to terrorism and lead a national effort to help prevent terrorist attacks on our nation (Computer Concept, pg. 50). As technology evolves over the course of time, computers end up playing a crucial role in homeland security. Computer systems are used throughout everyday lifestyles in order to make difficult tasks much simple. The government utilizes such systems in order to support their efforts in locating suspected terrorists throughout U.S. boundary lines. There are several software programs, which can be used in helping homeland security become successful. One program is known as the MATRIX, which is an abbreviation for the Multistate Anti-terrorism Information Exchange System. The MATRIX collects, analyzes, and exchanges terrorist and criminal intelligence data among state and federal agencies. It is a useful program because it contains data, such as criminal histories, driver licenses, and vehicle registrations. . Computer technology has greatly increased the success of homeland security throughout recent years. It has increased the efficiency of homeland security because without software such as the MATRIX, identifying terrorists and locating criminal histories would become much more time consuming. Receiving satellite pictures and interfering phone calls with suspected terrorists would consume valuable time in the security process. Computers are beneficial because they can increase the speed of the security process and help us locate vital information with greater ease. .. ...d much faster. Without computers we would be unable to track threats to our nation as fast, causing us to not be prepares, and would take to much time to look up histories of people without computers. They are also able to identify people by fingerprints with the computers to track histories of that person. Not only computers increased security, but they have also created more jobs for people to work with the government. Works Cited Oja, Dan, and Parsons, June J. Computer Concepts. 8th ed. Boston, MA, 2006. Security-Enhanced Linux. January 7, 2005. October 4, 2005 . Travel and Transportation. Feb. 24, 2004. US Department of Homeland Security., Washington, DC. October 5, 2005 .