For 30 years, the core of ECS’ identity has been partnering with leading organizations to deliver powerful solutions for a complex world. But while you may know about the ways we support our nation’s defense, such as protecting nearly 800,000 endpoints across the U.S. Army’s networks, did you know ECS has also engaged in critical work regarding disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and other missions tied to national security?
Read on to learn how our professionals have met challenge after challenge with innovation and a collaborative spirit.
Accelerating Criminal Investigation With CODIS
All 50 U.S. states collect DNA from those convicted of felonies. The Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, blends forensic science and computer technology into a tool that enables federal, state, and local forensic laboratories to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically, linking serial violent crimes to each other and to known offenders.
Since 2015, ECS has supported the Department of Justice (DoJ) CODIS modernization initiative, providing DevSecOps capabilities to facilitate rapid information sharing and help solve investigations faster. Since its inception, CODIS has aided in more than 600,000 cases.
Using AI to Protect Lives and Land From Wildfires
Every year, hundreds of thousands of acres of California forest burn in wildfires. To assist the state’s firefighters in their never-ending battle, military MQ-9 “Reaper” drones take to the skies to map the destruction and provide critical surveillance data for National Guard analysts.
ECS has partnered with the DoD to deliver AI algorithms that scan surveillance video and automatically generate maps of the fires in minutes. With the help of AI-augmented video analysis, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CalFire, is better equipped to respond to wildfires in their early stages, helping mitigate the devastation and potentially saving thousands of acres of California forest.
Pioneering IL-5 Compliant Cloud Security
As organizations in both the public and private sectors have digitized, the need for effective cloud security is more urgent than ever. For federal agencies, there’s an ever-present need to enhance security, compliance, and operational efficiency.
ECS, a longtime ServiceNow partner, was the first IT provider to stand up a customer in the secure ServiceNow National Security Cloud (NSC) and achieve authorization to operate (ATO). Created by ServiceNow for the Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies, the NSC provides security, compliance, operational efficiency, and financial benefits for agencies held to IL-5 security standards. ECS migrated Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) — the DoD laboratory that helps to provide the U.S. government with leading-edge microelectronics technologies — to the NSC, a historic first in protecting national security data.
Helping Fish (and Fishing Communities) Survive With the NOAA
Rising temperatures and changing ocean conditions due to climate change are causing shifts in the abundance and productivity of fish populations. That’s a major problem, as fisheries support around two million jobs and generate north of $250 billion in the U.S. every year.
That’s why ECS scientists partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Office of Science and Technology, conducting research that sheds light on the effects of climate change on our oceans and fish, as well as the communities that rely on commercial fishing for their economic survival.
Helping the USPS Deliver With Optimized Route Logistics
Every year, processing undeliverable-as-addressed mail costs the United States Postal Service (USPS) upwards of $1 billion. Whether it’s the ability to produce addresses that are complete and correct or implementing barcode automation for all U.S. mail, the USPS needs effective geospatial applications and data management solutions to execute its mission.
ECS has partnered with the USPS Addressing and Geospatial Technologies (AGT) Professional Support Services program to help mailers improve address quality and optimize routing. The AGT program uses mapping technology to support visualization, analytics, and other services throughout the USPS. With support from ECS’ industry-leading data professionals, engineers, and data scientists, as well as the introduction of AI tools that improve operational efficiency and effectiveness, the USPS is positioned to advance two specific goals:
- Providing mailers with top-quality address products and services.
- Ensuring cost-effective, timely mail delivery, as well as greater safety for mail carriers.
Deploying Pandemic Analytics to Support Health and Safety
As the COVID-19 pandemic upended every aspect of daily life in the U.S., national security missions were forced to shift their focus to domestic issues such as hospital capacities, personal protective equipment (PPE) production, food availability, and eventually, vaccine distribution. Decision-makers needed tools to navigate huge quantities of data at breakneck speed.
ECS’ data and AI professionals met the challenge with “pandemic analytics,” integrating critical vectors like hospitalizations, vaccine distribution, and PPE inventories to produce accurate, timely, and reliable insights. Working with a domestic healthcare provider, ECS built algorithmic models to predict COVID-19 infection waves and forecast the impacts of disease spread, enabling our customer to optimize conditions for training, distribution, and medical readiness. Finally, we developed a predictive analytics solution for a defense agency’s pandemic response, assisting an interagency effort encompassing hospital capacity, COVID-19 hotspots, food scarcity, and destructive weather evacuation.
