Middle Georgia State University (MGA) is the first public institution of higher education in the state to comprehensively adopt the Infrastructure Visualization Platform (IVP) as a resource to help keep the campuses safe.
“Other universities have used IVP on specific campus areas, such as stadiums, but we are the first and only University System of Georgia institution to take on this project on all five of our campuses as a comprehensive approach for safety,” said Tripp Mitchell, MGA’s police chief and executive director of public safety. “We are collaborating with CISA on this initiative that will serve as another great resource to keep our campus community safe.
“The platform basically provides panoramic images that can be shared with our internal and external public safety partners to enhance training opportunities and critical incident response along all of our jurisdictional first responders,” Mitchell continued. “This increases our operational readiness in emergencies while providing maps, viewpoints and diagrams to assist in the response.”
CISA is the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, the operational lead for cybersecurity and the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience. An IVP is a software tool that allows law enforcement and others to view and analyze data about the physical components of a system or network infrastructure. This can include servers, routers, switches, and other devices that make up a network.
The platform can be used to monitor and optimize the performance of the security infrastructure over time, identifying areas that may need additional cameras or sensors or adjusting the placement of existing devices to improve coverage. By providing a comprehensive view of the campus security infrastructure, an Infrastructure Visualization Platform can help to improve the overall safety and security of campuses.
On May 3, the MGA Police Department hosted the Macon-Bibb Emergency Management Agency at a meeting on the Macon Campus to present the new Infrastructure Visualization Platform initiative with CISA representatives and local emergency management partners.
“This was about a six month undertaking of multiple site visits, geographic mapping, and information sharing,” Mitchell said. “The end result is not only a valuable resource to our stakeholders, the project was completed at zero cost to Middle Georgia State as a collaborative partnership.”
L-R: J. Tripp Mitchell, MGA Chief of Police, Zach Williams , CISA Protective Security Advisor, & Robert McCord, Assistant Director Macon- Bibb EMA