Just as important, must have that information in a way that is most useful for them. The officer on the street does not have time to search through databases and make his own connections and analysis. That officer needs a "single version of the truth", on the spot, on site, on his wireless device so he can make a quick decision about how to approach a situation or an individual.

As with vetting, this requires data integration and entity resolution technology on the back end, such that a quick search of an individual, vehicle or location brings up all relevant, related information in seconds. That may be a tall order. Even if the information store is restricted to law enforcement data, it can still cross city, county and federal jurisdictions, as well as departmental jurisdictions within each of these.

The best way to ensure the security of an event like the Olympics is to connect the dots. The most effective way to connect the dots is secure, accurate and "comfortable" information sharing early on in the process.

By building an information infrastructure that puts essential data in the hands of security analysts, planners and officers in the field, security agencies can significantly lessen the need to be reactive. With the information they need in advance, security, intelligence and law-enforcement professionals can proactively prevent potential threats before they develop into life-threatening situations.

Schumacher is a government security and technology expert. For more than 20 years, he has been heavily involved in research, development, testing and implementation of complex data analysis solutions, including work commissioned by the Department of Defense. He currently serves as chief scientist at Initiate Systems. Schumacher can be reached at sschumacher@initiate.com.