HSIN Site Owners Update

Your New Site Owner Update - Name this Newsletter

Based on your feedback, we have modified our communications outreach in order to provide a dedicated newsletter for HSIN Site Owners, which will feature service updates information, lessons learned and news from the field. In an effort to serve you best, neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night will keep this from your inbox every other Thursday morning.

To kick things off, we want your help naming this newsletter. Some suggestions include:

• Site Owner Updates
• HSIN SOUP
• Functional Fortnight Factotum

Be clever, be canny or simply conservative, but send us your ideas. The winning name will be unveiled in our second edition!

Marathons: A Unique Security Challenge

At the Marine Corps Marathon this past weekend, National Capitol Region Fusion Centers used HSIN Connect to support information sharing and public safety efforts. Marathons present a unique security challenge for race organizers—hundreds of thousands of attendees, staff and athletes spread out over a huge swath of urban terrain. Even when things go smoothly, keeping security officials at the State, Local and event staff levels informed can be problematic. HSIN provides a solid backbone for real-time information sharing.

“Because the Marine Corps Marathon route crosses borders between Arlington, VA, and Washington, D.C., ensuring real time situational awareness between different agencies and localities remains a great challenge,” said Lieutenant W. Payne Marks of the Virginia Fusion Center. "HSIN Connect enables multiple agencies to share information and coordinate activities, regardless of their locations. It is an excellent tool for large events where public safety must be ensured."

And speaking of Fusion Centers, please stop by the HSIN booth next week at the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA) Annual Training Event. Full details can be found below.

To learn more about how to use HSIN to manage public safety efforts during mass gathering events, please contact the HSIN Mission Advocate team at HSIN.Outreach@hq.dhs.gov.

HSIN Notify—Automated Alert & Notification System

Homeland Security partners require comprehensive situational awareness to support their operations. HSIN Notify is a powerful communication tool that enables instant communication with large groups, providing access to the right information at the right time.

The moment a need is identified, a HSIN alert can be created and distributed to a pre-selected group of individuals for strategic planning or operational collaboration. Archived notifications enable users to browse and review past notifications to identify mission-appropriate information.

To take best advantage of the HSIN Notify system, keep your distribution lists to less than 5,000 and follow these simple guidelines in regards to attachment sizes:

The HSIN Program is committed to supporting the evolving needs of the Homeland Security community in both steady-state and crisis operations. Your Mission Advocate can help you set up distribution lists and support your ongoing information sharing needs. If you would like more information about HSIN Notify, contact HSIN.Outreach@hq.dhs.gov.

Lessons Learned: Using HSIN Connect Chat Pods to Best Advantage

Chat pods in HSIN Connect enable users to quickly and easily share information with the group whether from their desktop or mobile device. With a few simple tricks, this capability can add even greater efficiency to your preparedness and response operations.

Focus discussion threads with separate chat pods
During the recent Bridge Day events, officials opened separate chat pods to separate discussions concerning weather updates, medical transports and real time information on jumper locations.

Quickly see progression of events
During the Hells Angel USA Run Rally, officers in the field posted real time updates of biker locations. Because chat pods display comments in a timed sequence, users can accurately see the most up to date information.

Email a record of the event
During or after an incident, chat histories can be emailed as an official record of the event.

HSIN Use Continues to Rise

Since the HSIN R3 migration was completed, HSIN has continued to grow—adding hundreds of registered users each week. On any given work day, more than 1,200 individuals log in to HSIN as part of their standard course of business while many more people rely on the other benefits of HSIN membership, such as HSIN Connect for secure web conferencing as well as incident response and event monitoring.

As HSIN continues to grow, we rely on feedback from our users to make the system better and add capabilities. If you have feedback or an idea you’d like to share, please reach out to HSIN.Outreach@hq.dhs.gov or open a discussion on the HUWG Best Practices page.

HSIN in the News

MetaCarta and ArdentMC Provide Situational Awareness for DHS During National Conventions and Hurricanes
October 27, 2013 | Reuters

Molly Donohue Magee: How to advance R.I.’s defense industry
October 18, 2013 | The Providence Journal

HSIN Community: Appearing at a Location near You!

• November 5-7: National Fusion Center Association (NFCA) Annual Training Event, Alexandria, VA
• January 7: International Disaster Conference & Expo, New Orleans, LA 4:00-4:50pm - Ray Ragone, HSIN Incident, Events, and Steady State Operations

Are you going to an event and sharing news about HSIN? Let us know and we’ll get the word out and/or share how it went! Please email us at HSIN.Outreach@hq.dhs.gov.

Upcoming System Maintenance

Periodic system maintenance is a necessary part of maintaining and improving any IT system. Be advised of the following, currently planned system maintenance timeframes.

• November 9, 2013 - 9pm-5am
  Affects: SharePoint, Connect, Jabber and Common Operating Picture (COP)

Please note, HSIN R3 system maintenance timeframes are always subject to change. The HSIN Service Operations Team will provide final notice in advance of all system maintenance.