Inside the
Disaster
Zone
Meeting the challenges of emergency response with force-multiplying technologies
Government's
Finest Hour
When disaster strikes, citizens look to federal, state and local emergency responders to return their lives and communities to normalcy. Government can’t do it alone. Real-time situational awareness, connectivity and secure mobile communications provide force-multiplying support that helps save lives, reduce damage to both property and infrastructure and restore normalcy to communities as quickly as possible.
More than ever, public safety depends on interoperability. Safety for all of us means working together. When emergency strikes, maintaining connections is key. Emergency responders, law enforcement and relief workers need to communicate seamlessly, regardless of what network they're on. That's interoperability.
Here’s what that looks like in action.
Situational Awareness
When you’re part of the team that runs to a crisis, without situational awareness, you’re running blind. In the aftermath of a disaster, first responders need infrastructure and technology that identifies potential resources on the scene – their location, technology capabilities and personnel credentials. This includes fire and rescue, law enforcement, medical personnel and recovery teams. Those responding to a crisis can even include private citizens with their smartphones and a boat or vehicle.
Sometimes referred to as STRIPE – Space, Time, Role, Identity and Persona Environment - effective situational awareness recognizes environments change over time and emergency responders need the flexibility to rapidly redefine roles and personnel.
Managing the response
+Intelligent infrastructure
+Deploying Internet of Things (IoT)
+Tracking assets
+
Connectivity
Communications is a fundamental priority in any disaster response plan. First responders rely on 4G LTE networks for mission-critical data, because 4G LTE is the most widely used and interoperable solution for voice communications.
History has shown that 4G LTE networks provide reliable and resilient communication paths during a disaster. 4G LTE is backed by technologies that can rapidly extend connectivity, even in the worst-hit areas.
Emergency response teams
+Mobile connectivity
+Portable network in a box
+Real disasters, real use cases
+
Safety for all of us means working together.
Mobility
Mobility is the basic building block of modern communications, and a huge part of first responder and support agency capabilities. Mobility enables situational awareness, field coordination and communications. Capturing real-time events, streaming video or data and deploying resources based on informed communications helps save lives.
Internet of Things (IoT) and Sensors
+In-vehicle Comms
+Handheld comms devices
+Demonstrating the power of mobility
+
Security
When disasters strike, cyber adversaries immediately step up attacks. Disaster recovery security strategy must protect three attack vectors – the network, mobile data in transit and user applications.
We’ve seen this first-hand. Large disaster training exercises, such as Operational Convergent Response (#OCR), trigger cyber incidents because attackers cannot discern a simulation from a real disaster.
All new technologies and solutions require cybersecurity baked into their development. Networks need redundancy and the flexibility of alternative data paths.
Secure the data, secure the network
+Secure the device
+Secure the application
+Key security resources
+
Public safety depends on interoperability.
The Network
First responders rely on highly flexible, scalable and efficient network infrastructure to provide the highest priority emergency communications. Interoperable technologies enable first responders and support agencies to collaborate between the field and the operations center via unified communications and real-time situational awareness.
There is a choice
+Differences between networks
+A network core dedicated to first responders
+
Managing The Response
Crisis management starts with a common operating picture of the field and effective disaster response requires detailed organization based on real-time information. First responders and the organizations that support them need to know assets available, location of resources by type, solutions for information sharing and the ability to communicate and collaborate.
Intelligent infrastructure
Smart cities enable government and first responders to quickly obtain the big picture when a disaster strikes. IoT devices like traffic sensors or automated video streams provide near real-time information about the surrounding environment.
Tracking assets
Understanding which fleet assets have arrived, where they are staged, or what is in-transit will add to the common operations picture. The ability to map assets in relationship to a moving storm or areas cut off by disaster all contribute to the who, what, where and when of the response.
Emergency response teams
Most telecommunications providers and utilities have some form of response team available to maintain and repair the 4G LTE network in an emergency or disaster. Leading providers have additional programs with a large assortment of rapidly deployable connectivity solutions, including cells on wheels (COWs), cells on light trucks (COLTS), smartphones and tablets with priority services and charging stations.
Mobile connectivity
4G LTE deployable communication trailers can quickly provide cellular connectivity in areas where wireless coverage is not available. Some agencies purchase or lease these solutions beforehand as part of their emergency response plan.
Portable network in a box
When large-scale impact zones make areas inaccessible except on foot, emergency responders can extend network connectivity through small, portable, easy to set up and secure 4G LTE solutions. These are available in backpacks or hard-shell cases, delivering the connectivity and capacity first responders need.
Real disasters, real use cases
In wildfires, tornadoes and hurricanes, Verizon deploys satellite trailers, mobile emergency communications centers, mobile cell sites, drones, charging stations and portable hot spots to keep first responders, relief organizations and customers connected.
See what this looks like in action.
Internet of Things (IoT) and Sensors
Protecting human life is always the highest priority. In high-risk situations such as fire, high water, tight spaces and compromised structures, small Internet of Things (IoT) devices provide 360-degree vision that improves situational awareness. A smartphone application controls these devices remotely. Secure cloud streaming enables authorized users virtually anywhere to access the video and coordinate response efforts.
In-vehicle Communications
First responder vehicles with wireless routers provide a secure 4G LTE broadband connection for the transfer of real-time information. The imbedded WiFi hotspot extends broadband capabilities to multiple devices such as laptops, video recorders, body cameras and medical equipment.
Handheld communication devices
People are an integral part of any disaster response. Response orchestration relies on the ability to effectively communicate and share data with resources on the ground. Advancements in mobile technology have supported the evolution of public safety capabilities. Smart applications available via download and solutions such as push-to-talk have increased collaboration and situational awareness. Newer devices are designed to support extreme environments and smart applications.
Demonstrating the power of mobility
Operation Convergence Response (#OCR), an annual experiential government and industry event, demonstrates the latest mobile solutions for first responders. First responders, government agencies and industry partners participate in and observe real-world scenarios to test leading-edge tools and technology and demonstrate how they work together in emergencies and disasters.
Secure the data,
secure the network
Smartphones, tablets, modems, routers and other machine-to-machine (M2M) devices should be considered an extension of your network, whether in the field or in an emergency operations center. Agencies need to safely integrate these devices into existing systems without compromising control and management. Separating mission-critical data in transit from public traffic via virtual private networks (VPNs) helps reduce risk and protect from external sources.. While VPNs protect data in transit over the internet, removing access to the internet adds even more protection. Leveraging mobile private networks, data connectivity from cellular devices can be routed directly to agency networks via point-to-point circuits or Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), or to cloud applications via solutions like Secure Cloud Interconnect. Bypassing the public internet for specific applications or hardware reduces the potential for myriad attacks on the integrity of the data.
Secure the device
Public safety organizations need meaningful visibility into the status of devices and applications in an emergency. Devices can be compromised from trojans, spyware, out-of-date operating systems and configuration risks. Agencies need policy-driven configurations and dynamic monitoring. These provide visibility into devices, apps, networks and the status of operating system firmware, allowing only trusted devices to connect to agency infrastructure and data.
Secure the application
Mobile device applications are prime targets for cyber attacks. A single device hack could give attackers enough access to disrupt recovery communications. Monitoring and defending applications during a crisis help maintain communications, visibility, situational awareness and access to critical infrastructure.
Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) provides this protection, creating “need-to-know” or “zero-trust” authenticated access between devices and applications. Users get only the apps they need, while bad actors can’t attack what they can’t see. SDP is a cloud-based and highly scalable managed security solution that builds tunnels between applications and your network to securely connect users to resources.
Key Security Resources
Two iconic Verizon resources provide hands-on insights into cyber attacks against the network and mobile communications.
Security professionals around the world rely on Verizon’s annual Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) for insights and detailed analysis of over 53,000 security incidents and 2,216 confirmed data breaches.
Read the 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report
Even when not in crisis, many organizations are not prepared for the security vulnerabilities caused by the extensive use of mobile connectivity and devices. The Verizon Mobile Security Index reviews industry best practices and provides recommendations for how to make your network, devices and applications more secure.
Read the Mobile Security Index report
There is a choice
There has been a lot of talk about FirstNet, and states opting into FirstNet. Public safety customers still have the freedom to select any network. It’s important to separate fact from fiction.
Differences between networks
Understanding the differences between networks can be confusing. Get the facts about redundancy, reliability, virtualization, priority and preemption.
A network core dedicated to first responders
What does private core, preemption and priority really mean for first responders? When emergencies or disasters strike, you want the confidence that data and voice communications will cut through congestion and delays. Maintain access to the network and mission-critical data with priority and preemption capabilities.
