BlackBerries and cell phones could call shots in war on terror
BlackBerries and cell phones could call shots in war on terror
Aug 05, 2005: Cell phone, pagers and BlackBerries could soon replacement to TV and radio as the cutting edge of terrorism prevention and response efforts because of their ability to warn people of any threats they might face.
Michael Hopmeier, recently told a NATO conference, based on risk assessment and risk communication, related to bioterrorism, that in any crisis situation, authorities must educate, inform and direct the public to ensure that situations of chaos do not result in mind-numbing panic and confusion.
"Any communication strategy should have as its goal, an en mass public response that is logical, predictable and benefits the most number of people. Effective communications requires that the public be educated ahead of time about what to do during a terrorist attack.
"But terrorism' randomness and uncertainty also requires that authorities use those technologies that reach the greatest number of people in the least amount of time. Even relatively dynamic media, such as television and radio may not be enough to calm fears and to provide real-time answers to a frightened public."
Hopmeier believes that individual communications devices such as cell phones, pagers and Black and BlueBerries can be easily targeted, because of their popularity, according to population, location, time and demographics.
He added people could also use this technology to report suspicious activities, which could even include sending photos of suspicious individuals to a central reporting unit.
"In Iraq, mobile telephone text messages already allow civilians to anonymously pass information to authorities from the safety of their own homes."
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