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Counter terrorism tech used in US to track coronavirus cases

The US Army has revealed that it is using its anti-terrorism threat detection technology to track the spread of coronavirus across the country.

Called the Joint Analytic Real-Time Virtual Information Sharing System (JARVISS), the software targets criminal activity and is assisting army leaders make real-time, force-protection decisions. The technology also offers natural disaster information inside and around army installations and stand-alone facilities.

Army Major General Kevin Vereen said that the spread of coronavirus pandemic has led to JARVISS being employed to also identify virus threats and its effect on the installation readiness, training and recruiting. The ‘desktop and mobile app’ can store open-source threat information from over 80,000 sources such as social media, news, blogs and government agencies. It can also store unclassified army data, before translating the information into actionable data, which will aid commanders in real-time decision-making.

Vereen said: “As the army phases into a steady state of operations, JARVISS has the capability of assessing the Covid-19 threat. It’s providing commanders with the tools needed to make appropriate decisions, and balancing readiness with the health and safety of the force is critical to our success.”

Developed after the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, JARVISS was developed in 2018 and is designed to collect information regarding any possible threats against the army.

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