Federal network intrusion detection system Einstein 2 should be fully deployed across the federal government by the end of this year, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Jan. 27, while delivering what she said was the first of an annual address on the state of homeland security.

The system alerts the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team within DHS when it detects unauthorized network traffic. DHS will also press forward with a third iteration of Einstein and start its roll out in 2011, Napolitano added. Einstein 3 reacts automatically to some perceived attacks.

During the speech, Napolitano also announced the end of DHS's much-derided color-coded advisory system.

"In its place, we will implement a new system that is built on a clear and simple premise: When a threat develops that could impact you--the public--we will tell you," she said. DHS will now issues alerts about specific threats, classifying them as either "imminent" or "elevated" and distribute them to specific audiences or to the entire nation via channels that include social media, Napolitano added.

Napolitano also gave a shout-out to e-Verify, a U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services system that checks the legality of new employees, stating that "we're working to make e-Verify all that it can be." A recent Government Accountability Office report found that the system still erroneously flags some employees as ineligible to work within the United States.

For more:
- read our additional coverage on Napolitano's state of homeland security address
- read the text of Napolitano's speech

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