Builders of the national public safety broadband network, FirstNet, should...

of “intelligent people” need to be thinking about such a system for FirstNet, said Ari Schwartz, senior Internet policy adviser at the Department of Commerce. A “federated identity” system should be a “critical component” for FirstNet, said Mark Adams, director of information system technology for Northrop Grumman. The system should allow for the identities of people who access the network to be known at the national level, he said. Such a system will boost security, he said. Adams also wants FirstNet to have a network security operations center that can monitor threats and an “enterprise-hosted” applications center that can vet and approve apps that can operate on the network. A benefit of building a nationwide interoperable public safety network is that security issues arising from the use of commonly used Internet protocols can be addressed in a “centralized way,” said Schwartz. “It is easy to build a secure network from the beginning.” While the FirstNet board can rely on advice from cybersecurity experts at NTIA, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the FirstNet board would have to make the “determination” of how security is going to be built into the network, Schwartz said. FirstNet can avoid the security pitfalls of the healthcare system and the smart grid system, which started out as regional networks and are being sought to be brought together, he said.