Emergency information management system

Abstract

A wide-area emergency information management system includes a broadcasting entity ( 10 ) and delivers content to authorized receiver clients ( 20 ), such as PC's, laptops, wireless devices, etc. The specific content ( 26 ), which can include voice, text, video or any other information content related to a planned response to a given crisis or emergency such as enemy attack or natural disaster, is prepared in advance ( 28 ), tailored to the class of recipient receiver client and/or user ( 44 ), securely downloaded ( 32,36 ) and stored locally in a secure cache ( 21 ). In response to a small control file from a centralized emergency management authority, the receiver client system accesses the cache ( 21 ), decrypts the content ( 26 ), and delivers it to the end user.

1 . A wide-area emergency information management system comprising:
 a content authoring module for preparation of digital content for delivery in response to a predetermined class of incident to selected recipients;   a security/authentication module for authenticating the digital content received from the content authoring module for distribution and for authenticating the selected recipients;   a policy management system coupled to the content authoring module and to the security/authentication module for managing content distribution;   a broadcast module for securely distributing said digital content only to authenticated selected recipients authorized to receive the digital content;   a logging and reporting module for maintaining records related to delivery of the digital content; and   a plurality of receiver applications capable of communicating with the broadcast module to receive the digital content, each receiver application including—
 means for securely caching the digital content received from the broadcast module; 
 means for decrypting the digital content and delivering it to an authorized user of the receiver application in response to a control file directive; and 
 means for reporting user activity back to the logging/reporting facility to confirm delivery of the authenticated digital content to the selected recipients. 
   
   
   
       2 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 1  wherein the policy management system maintains a user matrix for selecting and authorizing recipients of particular digital content based on predetermined criteria comprising one or more of a recipient's identity, grade, level, agency and location. 
   
   
       3 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 1  wherein the policy management system maintains a content matrix for selecting and authorizing distribution of content based on predetermined criteria comprising one or more of a DRM rule, content priority, user priority, and an alert status of the emergency information management system. 
   
   
       4 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 1  wherein the policy management system includes a content acquisition system coupled to the content authoring module for selection and content packaging. 
   
   
       5 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 1  wherein the receiver application decrypts and delivers the cached digital content to the authorized user only in response to receipt of an incident control file. 
   
   
       6 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 5  wherein the incident control file identifies specific digital content files to be decrypted and delivered to the user. 
   
   
       7 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 6  wherein the receiver application reports to the logging/reporting facility indicia of what digital content file has been delivered to which authorized user and, optionally, the user's observations of his immediate environment. 
   
   
       8 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 7  wherein the report to the logging/reporting facility includes a date/time stamp indicating when the indicated digital content file was delivered to the user. 
   
   
       9 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 7  wherein the report to the logging/reporting facility includes a location stamp indicating where the receiver application was located when the indicated digital content file was delivered to the user. 
   
   
       10 . A wide-area emergency information management system according to  claim 7  wherein the receiver application further includes means for updating the cache of digital content as new or updated content becomes available to it from the broadcast module. 
   
   
       11 . A method of emergency information management to ensure distribution of information to entities having a need to know in the event of an incident, the method comprising the steps of:
 creating digital content comprising any combination of video, audio, graphics, text or other digital data for controlled delivery to an authorized user;   distributing the digital content to a digital device;   storing the digital content in a secure cache in the digital device;   in response to an incident, transmitting a control file to the digital device; and   in the digital device, responsive to indicia contained in the control file, accessing the digital content in the secure cache and delivering the content to a user of the digital device.   
   
   
       12 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 11  and further comprising authenticating the user as a prerequisite to said delivering the content to the user. 
   
   
       13 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 11  wherein the control file identifies what specific aspect of the digital content should be accessed and delivered. 
   
   
       14 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 11  wherein the control file identifies a specific individual user who is thereby authorized to receive the digital content. 
   
   
       15 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 11  and further comprising transmitting from the digital device to a central emergency management authority an indication that the control file was received. 
   
   
       16 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 15  wherein the indication that the control file was received includes a date and time stamp. 
   
   
       17 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 11  and further comprising transmitting from the digital device to a central emergency management authority an indication of what cached digital content was accessed. 
   
   
       18 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 17  wherein the indication that the cached digital content was accessed includes a date and time stamp. 
   
   
       19 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 17  wherein the indication that the cached digital content was accessed includes identification of the user to whom the content was delivered. 
   
   
       20 . A method of emergency information management according to  claim 17  wherein the control file includes a key for decrypting the digital content identified for access and delivery.