In the wake of the September 11 attacks , Asher worked with the FBI , constructing a secure room inside the headquarters of his company at the time , Seisint . Asher and his team of programmers worked to identify associates of the terrorists , producing lists of individuals " worth investigating " later leading to " several arrests . " Asher said “ You could accidentally live next door to Mohammed Atta . You could n’t accidentally live next door to Mohammed Atta twice . ” At the height of the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks in the Washington , D.C. , area , Asher worked with the FBI utilizing his data fusion invention , the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange known as MATRIX to link investigation details to the real identity of John Allen Muhammad . “ They produced the list of all his relatives , associates , every place he ever lived , ” Asher recounts . “ The next morning they were in Tacoma , Washington , cutting the stump down that had the projectiles in it that matched the projectiles from the killings . ” The next evening the snipers were apprehended
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Hank Asher