Tag Archives: Disaster Response

AWS launches AWS Wickr ATAK Plugin

Post Syndicated from Anne Grahn original https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/aws-launches-aws-wickr-atak-plugin/

AWS is excited to announce the launch of the AWS Wickr ATAK Plugin, which makes it easier for ATAK users to maintain secure communications.

The Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK)—also known as Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) for military use—is a smartphone geospatial infrastructure and situational awareness application. It provides mapping, messaging, and geofencing capabilities to enable safe collaboration over geography.

ATAK users, referred to as operators, can view the location of other operators and potential hazards—a major advantage over relying on hand-held radio transmissions. While ATAK was initially designed for use in combat zones, the technology has been adapted to fit the missions of local, state, and federal agencies.

ATAK is currently in use by over 40,000 US Department of Defense (DoD) users—including the Air Force, Army, Special Operations, and National Guard—along with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and 32,000 nonfederal users.

Using AWS Wickr with ATAK

AWS Wickr is a secure collaboration service that provides enterprises and government agencies with advanced security and administrative controls to help them meet security and compliance requirements. The AWS Wickr service is now in preview.

With AWS Wickr, communication mechanisms such as one-to-one and group messaging, audio and video calling, screen sharing, and file sharing are protected with 256-bit end-to-end encryption (E2EE). Encryption takes place locally, on the endpoint. Every message, call, and file is encrypted with a new random key, and no one but the intended recipients can decrypt them. Flexible administrative features enable organizations to deploy at scale, and facilitate information governance.

AWS Wickr supports many agencies that use ATAK. However, until now, ATAK operators have had to leave the ATAK application in order to use AWS Wickr, which creates operational risk.

AWS Wickr ATAK Plugin

AWS Wickr has developed a plugin that enhances ATAK with secure communications features. ATAK operators are provided with a Wickr Enterprise or Wickr Pro account, so they can use AWS Wickr within ATAK for secure messaging, calling, and file transfer. This helps reduce interruptions, and the complexity of configuration with ATAK chat features.

Use cases

The AWS Wickr ATAK Plugin has multiple use cases.

Military

The military uses ATAK for blue force tracking to locate team members, red force tracking to locate enemies, terrain and weather analysis, and to visually communicate their movements to friendly forces.

The AWS Wickr ATAK Plugin enhances the ability of military personnel to maintain the situational awareness ATAK provides, while quickly receiving and reacting to Wickr communications. Ephemeral messaging options allow unit leaders to send mission plans, GPS points of interest, and set burn-on-read and expiration timers. Information can be deleted from the device, while being retained on the AWS Wickr service to help meet compliance requirements, and facilitate the creation of after-action reports.

Law enforcement

ATAK is a powerful tool for team tracking and mission planning that promotes a safer and better response to critical law enforcement and public-safety events.

The AWS Wickr ATAK Plugin adds to the capabilities of ATAK by supporting secure communications between tactical, negotiation, and investigative teams.

First responders

ATAK aids in search-and-rescue and multi-jurisdictional natural disaster responses, such as hurricane relief efforts.

The AWS Wickr ATAK Plugin provides secure, uninterrupted communication between all levels of first responders to help them get oriented quickly, and support complex coordination needs.

Getting started

AWS customers can sign up to use AWS Wickr at no cost during the preview period. For more information about the AWS Wickr ATAK Plugin, email [email protected], and visit the AWS Wickr web page.

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Anne Grahn

Anne Grahn

Anne is a Senior Worldwide Security GTM Specialist at AWS based in Chicago. She has more than a decade of experience in the security industry, and has a strong focus on privacy risk management. She maintains a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification.

Randy Brumfield

Randy Brumfield

Randy leads technology business for new initiatives and the Cloud Support Engineering team at Wickr, an AWS Company. Prior to Wickr (and AWS), Randy spent close to two and a half decades in Silicon Valley across several start-ups, networking companies, and system integrators in various corporate development, product management, and operations roles. Randy currently resides in San Jose, California.

How AWS is Supporting Nonprofits, Governments, and Communities Impacted by Hurricane Ida

Post Syndicated from AWS News Blog Team original https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/how-aws-is-supporting-nonprofits-governments-and-communities-impacted-by-hurricane-ida/

Image of a man in a blue shirt running cable through a wall.

AWS Disaster Response Team volunteer Paul Fries runs cable to provide connectivity in a police station that has been converted into a supply distribution center and housing for National Guard troops and FEMA.

During the crisis that has resulted in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the AWS Disaster Response Team is providing personnel and resources to support our customers, including the Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC), St. Bernard Parish government, and Crisis Cleanup.

In 2018, Amazon Web Services launched the AWS Disaster Response Program to support governments and nonprofits actively responding to natural disasters. Guided by the belief that technology has the power to solve the world’s most pressing issues, the AWS Disaster Response Team has been working around the clock to provide pro bono assistance to public sector organizations responding to Hurricane Ida’s widespread damage.

The team brings in technical expertise in the form of solutions architects, machine learning practitioners, experts in edge computing, and others across AWS. This allows AWS to support organizations responding to disasters and help them overcome the unique challenges they face.

Establishing Connectivity

When Hurricane Ida hit the United States on August 29th, 2021, it caused power outages and major disruptions to infrastructures for water, power, cellular, and commercial communications. In the South, many were left homeless or without electricity, gas, or water by Ida’s winds and flooding. In New York and New Jersey, hundreds of thousands of people lost power. The AWS Disaster Response team activated its response protocol, including technical volunteer support on the ground and financial support to disaster relief nonprofit ITDRC for its efforts to establish local internet connectivity and cell phone charging stations. This critical support – including almost 100 sites in New Orleans, Houma, and other heavily impacted areas of Louisiana – is enabling public safety agencies, responding relief organizations, social services, and community members to communicate and coordinate as they respond to and recover from Ida.

Increasing Capacity

AWS volunteers supported disaster relief nonprofit Crisis Cleanup by providing technical AWS service architecture guidance, enabling them to increase their capacity to provide call-backs to community members requesting assistance with tasks like cutting fallen trees and tarping roofs that were damaged by the storm. AWS volunteers are also helping Crisis Cleanup by conducting call-backs, bolstering their volunteer base to reach a greater number of people more quickly than otherwise would have been possible.

Building Resiliency

To support the St. Bernard Parish government, located just outside of New Orleans, AWS assisted with the deployment of Amazon WorkMail to facilitate more resilient communication across teams when their email server was knocked offline when the power went out. Using Amazon WorkMail helped enable government personnel to more effectively communicate by utilizing the cloud instead of traditional infrastructures.

The AWS Disaster Response Team continues to field requests for support following Hurricane Ida, and is also working with other organizations to support their resilience planning and disaster preparedness efforts.

Learn More

Check out the AWS Disaster Response page for more information. To donate cash and supplies to organizations such as Feeding America and Save the Children, visit the Amazon page on Hurricane Ida or just say, “Alexa, I want to donate to Hurricane Ida relief.”