Protecting information is also a focus of security concerns. Security was named as a key business technology challenge to be faced through 2003 by three-quarters of attendees at a June computer convention, far more than any other technology issue. Well over $1 billion of the Homeland Security budget is devoted to upgrading communications, including improving security of information.

Nasatka Barrier Inc., an 11-person Clinton, Maryland, company that sells massive traffic barriers designed to protect buildings from speeding trucks full of explosives, has experienced reaped growth since 9/11. “We’ve purchased a bigger building, added more employees, hired an outside salesperson-you name it,” says Edward Nasatka, vice president and 38-year-old son of the company’s founder. Much of Nasatka’s business is selling to federal agencies-its barriers protect 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and FBI headquarters-but airports, banks, power plants, large corporations and private citizens are also installing the barriers, Nasatka says. “Right now, they’re not too concerned about the price,” he adds. “They just want security.”

The primary caveat about the security field is that entrepreneurs are already swarming to it, says Peter Yunich, managing partner of Metropolitan Venture Partners, a New York City investment firm whose portfolio includes security and risk management companies. One investment, a network intrusion detection technology developer called System Detection Inc., was made just before last year’s terrorist attacks. “When we first started, Security Detection was alone in the space,” Yunich says. “Now there are probably 300 to 400 companies that have announced initiative for intrusion detection.” Anyone entering this industry now, Yunich says, must find a way to quickly and clearly differentiate their offerings or be lost in the crowd.

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