Siebel: Products Like Ours Could Prevent Terrorist Attacks

Siebel, CEO of the San Mateo, Calif., software giant that bears his name, spoke to attendees of the eGov trade show here about the importance of interagency information-sharing, something he said could have helped prevent the terrorist attacks last fall.

"The cultural issues [that have historically prevented such data-sharing are beyond me," Siebel said Thursday morning in a keynote address.

But Siebel said he has a firm grasp on how his company's recently unveiled Homeland Security suite of applications could help detect terrorist plans and prevent terrorist acts.

The product features a multimedia interface that tracks and consolidates intra- and interagency information and applies analytical tools to it in order to help decision-makers in government plan responses to real or rumored threats.

Siebel joined the growing chorus of industry experts who said that a cyberattack is all but inevitable.

"It's cheaper and more effective [for terrorists to shut down the banking system than to deliver a dirty bomb," he said.