The Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI) is a DHS Center of Excellence led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. CIRI's interdisciplinary team delivers knowledge, tools, technologies, and solutions to owners and operators of critical systems. CIRI’s research and technology transition outputs are used to enhance the security and resilience of our nation’s critical infrastructure. CIRI’s education and workforce development initiatives are preparing the nation’s workforce for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Watch a demonstration of the CIRI’s Cyber Secure Dashboard at booth #1033.

Learn More:

• Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI)
• CIRI Fact Sheet
• Protecting the nation's 911 system from cyber threats Present and Future
• NG911 Interoperability Testing Program
• Department of Homeland Security’s Centers of Excellence

When a first responder enters a building during an emergency, they count on being able to communicate with their team at all times. Their safety and their ability to carry out the mission relies on knowing they can reach help and support anywhere that they need to go within a structure. The key objective of this effort is to provide the public safety communications community with a tool to characterize in-building coverage for first responder radios and cellular broadband networks. This solution employs a sensor to measure the radio-frequency (RF) signal strengths for land-mobile radio system as well as the cellular broadband systems (e.g., FirstNet) throughout a building’s interior spaces. Through a partnership, the solution further employs a web-based RF signal mapping tool to capture collected sensor data and uploads signal data to a cloud-based signal visualization tool to display interior coverage map for first responder radio and broadband service throughout the interior floors of a building.

P25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP), a voluntary program, allows suppliers to publicly attest to their products' compliance through P25 CAP testing at DHS-recognized laboratories. As proof, suppliers are required to submit Summary Test Report (STR) and Supplier’s Declaration of Compliance (SDOC) documents. These documents are available on the Approved (Grant-Eligible) Equipment page.

Close out APCO 2024 by joining our annual P25 CAP Open Meeting on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, from 8:30am – 9:30am ET in Room W306B. During the meeting, attendees can expect to hear a discussion of the Testing Requirements CAB and its impacts as well as a discussion on newly proposed P25 feature tables to accompany P25 CAP listed equipment.

Public alerts need to reach every citizen regardless of where they are. Cell phone alerts are ubiquitous and work great, but relying on them exclusively can risk lives when coverage, congestion and lack of service limit availability. Datacasting leverages powerful one-to-many public television broadcast spectrum and has been used by public safety for years to improve information sharing. That technology now supports geotargeted digital public alerts. No Internet, cell or other connectivity is required. It will soon be possible to alert on cell phones at home over this system even when the cell network is down.

Developed in partnership with SpectraRep, this technology leverages licensed broadcast spectrum from public television stations to create a new secure one-to-many wireless public safety network. The network now also supports all hazards geo-targeted public alerts.

Learn More:

• Datacasting Fact Sheet
• Datacasting in 100 Seconds video
• After Action Report: Datacasting: Houston Datacasting Integration Pilot

• The Office for Interoperability and Compatibility Technology Center
• Technology Centers Research Agenda
• Feature Article: First Responders Need to Know They’ll Be Heard
• Partnership Guide