Vermont-based Social Sentinel, founded by former University of Vermont police chief Gary Margolis and his partner Steven Healy, the former police chief at Princeton University, searches social media posts for suspicious terms and phrases, using an algorithm developed by the company. The program sends an alert when typical terms such as “kill” or “bomb” are found, but Margolis said there are thousands of words that can trigger an alert. One of Margolis’ first customers was the Washington County Public Schools in Hagerstown, Md., a city of about 45,000 people. The school district includes about 24,000 students. To read the press coverage, click here: Startup Keeps Eye on Social Media For Threats.
