JRIES proved useful during the northeast blackout in 2003 when information posted on the system allowed users across the country to quickly learn that the event was not related to terrorism.
The system provided a very simple and efficient way for the law enforcement community to obtain situational awareness concurrently, without the need for hundreds of phone calls.
DHS extended HSIN access beyond the law enforcement community to include state homeland security advisors, governors' offices, emergency managers, first responders, the National Guard, and an international component.
In February 2004, because of the lack of scalability to accommodate a large increase in users, DHS decided to move HSIN away from the current software collaboration tool and to develop a series of web-based portals as replacements.
The goals of this initiative are to identify and address requirements of state and local communities of interest, as well as to provide robust training to promote effective use of the network.