Lexis-Nexis widens intel sector

LexisNexis has broadened its information-sharing services for government intelligence and security agencies.

LexisNexis Advanced Government Solutions is a secure research tool for national security use, which provides federal agencies with secure and easily accessible data, which can be accessed through a secure Internet connection or internally via agency systems where LexisNexis data has been integrated into internal data files.

Federal Computer World reported on July 24 that LexisNexis' main business remains its searchable database of 5 billion articles and public and international records. According to LexisNexis Special Services Chief Executive Officer Norm Willox, the idea behind LexisNexis Advanced Government Solutions is to provide the material to the government for intelligence and national security applications, allowing federal agencies to effectively manage the volume and variety of relevant data. Willox said, "The technology makes analysts more efficient and faster at locating the information they need to develop intelligence products ... to detect and defeat threats to national security."

In 2004 Reed Elsevier, the U.K.-based parent company of LexisNexis, bought Seisint, a company specializing in rapid data fusion, to enhance the potential of LexisNexis Advanced Government Solutions. LexisNexis' Advanced Government Solutions Intelligence Analysis Solutions component can rapidly extract critical information from massive databases.

LexisNexis Vice President of Product Management Robert Pinkerton said, "This is an expansion of our business, not a new business plan."

Intelligence Analysis Solutions compiles news, transcripts, scientific journals, public records and Web material, which are then categorized and filtered before being linked to classified files, providing intelligence analysts with a broader context.