ASTM Committee Seeks Participation in School Preparedness Guide
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International Committee E54 on Homeland Security Applications invites interested parties to participate in the development of a proposed new standard, WK8908, Guide for School Preparedness and All-Hazard Response.
The proposed guide will cover concepts, principles and best practices for integrated emergency management programs concerning preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response and recovery for schools and school districts. The guide will facilitate the preparation for, mitigation against, response to and recovery from a natural or man-caused incident.
The types of situations that will be addressed in WK8908 include all hazards, such as school shootings, hazardous material threats, natural disasters and other risks....
Database Helps Security Executives Benchmark Their Operations
Many security executives track and measure every possible element of their security program.
Management may be impressed, or they may ask: "Are these numbers good or bad? Are they too high, too low or right on? Are we paying too much to achieve them or not enough to be where we should be?"
Answers to these questions are elusive. There have never been standard metrics, and security results have generally not been shared.
That is, until now. ...
New Product Showcase Winners Announced at ISC West
The Videofied VIA-Pro Intrusion Alarm from RSIalarm Inc. White Bear Lake, Minn., was named "Best of NPS" at the Security Industry Association's 2007 New Product Showcase (NPS) held last week in conjunction with the ISC West Show in Las Vegas.
The product is a wireless intrusion alarm reporting and video verification system that includes supervised two-way wireless integrated PIR/zero lux cameras, alarm points and keypads that communicate via encrypted spread spectrum RF. It can also communicate wirelessly to the monitoring station via cellular GPRS. The system's control/communicator/transceiver operates on batteries for up to four years and does not require AC power. ...
Fifth Annual Security Investment Conference Highlights Security Growth
Members of the investment community and leaders in the security industry gathered at the fifth annual Security Growth Conference in early March to hear about promising middle-market business opportunities in the fast-growing security sector.
During the two-day, invitation-only conference, C--level executives from nearly 50 middle-market security industry firms, including companies such as 3VR Security, Westec Interactive, Kastle Systems, Sonitrol, ActivIdentity, BroadWare, Global Options Group and CoreStreet, presented their businesses to senior executives of the largest global security companies and members of the financial community. ...
Alan Bell to Present Keynote Address at Expo Seguridad Mexico 2007
International terrorism expert Alan Bell will present this year's keynote address, "Urban Security -- After the Paradigms Have Changed," at Expo Seguridad Mexico, taking place April 24 through 26 in Mexico City.
Alan Bell is president of Globe Risk Holdings, Toronto, an internationally renowned security-consulting firm. An expert in international terrorism, Bell's career spans more than 22 years of Special Forces experience, including 12 years with Britain's elite commando unit, the Special Air Service (SAS), recognized as the world's foremost Special Forces unit. Bell has participated in counterterrorist operations worldwide and will offer a unique perspective on the subject of urban security....
Networking/IP To Drive Video Surveillance Market Growth
The video surveillance industry is expanding rapidly due to rising security needs combined with a spate of technological innovations -- including the migration to digital, fully networked systems, according to market-research firm iSuppli Corp., El Segundo, Calif.
"With the emergence of networked Internet Protocol (IP) video surveillance cameras and IP video servers, along with the rising use of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), video surveillance is moving beyond traditional security and into new applications such as transportation, retail, government and home networking," says Mark Kirstein, vice president of multimedia content and services at iSuppli. "This expansion is being helped considerably by the idea of networked video surveillance, which allows for greater flexibility, field upgradeability, increased automation and more intelligence to be incorporated into the overall system.
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Banks Could Increase Profitability With Stronger Security Measures
Consumers would take advantage of more online banking services if banks provided stronger identity protection, suggests TriCipher, a Los Gatos, Calif.-based provider of authentication solutions to protect against fraud and identity theft....
Smart Card Alliance To Address Effects Of HSPD-12 at ISC
The impact of the federal government's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) on identity management systems and physical access control will be the focus of the Smart Card Alliance's presence at this week's ISC West Conference, taking place Wednesday through Friday at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas
Members of the Smart Card Alliance Physical Access Council will present a panel discussion titled "Migration of Physical Access Control Systems Based on the Impact of Government HSPD-12" on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to noon.
The panelists include Bob Gilson, Department of Defense (DoD) Manpower Data Center (DMDC) Access Card Office; Patrick Hearn, Oberthur Card Systems; Dwayne Pfeiffer, Northrop Grumman Corp.; Roger Roehr, Tyco Fire & Security; and Lars Suneborn, Hirsch Electronics....
University Offers Degree In Biometric Security
Davenport University, a 141-year-old school in Grand Rapids, Mich., now offers two- and four-year biometric security degree programs, according to The Associated Press...
Protecting Trade Secrets Is A Growing Trend
Corporate America is going to increasingly greater lengths to protect its secrets, according to an Associated Press report.
For example, Wal-Mart's recently disclosed that an employee tapped both phone conversations and text messages in an effort to eavesdrop....
Most Computer Attacks Originate In U.S.
According to a new report, the United States generates more malicious computer activity than any other country, and sophisticated hackers around the world are working in highly efficient crime rings, according to the Associated Press.
Researchers at Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec Corp. found that about a third of all computer attacks worldwide in the second half of 2006 originated from machines in the United States. That makes the United States the most fertile breeding ground for threats such as spam, phishing and malicious code, surpassing runners-up China, which generates 10 percent of attacks, and Germany, which generates 7 percent....
Companies Work Together To Improve Rail Safety and Security
Union Pacific Railroad and The Dow Chemical Company have announced a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) reinforcing the companies' long history of working together to improve safety and security in chemical transportation.
The goals outlined in the MOC are consistent with the principles and practices of Responsible Care, which drives continuous improvement in the safe and secure manufacture, distribution and use of chemical products.
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Keynotes announced for RFID World 2007
Kevin Ashton, vice president of ThingMagic, and Robert Willett, chief executive officer of Best Buy Intl., will be presenting the opening day keynote addresses at the 5th Annual RFID World on March 27 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Dallas....
AMAG hosts Security Engineering Symposium
AMAG Technology, Torrance, Calif., a G4Tec company, recently hosted its 6th annual Security Engineering Symposium at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Nigel, Calif.
Approximately 75 security engineers and consultants attended the event, where AMAG's business partners from Axis Communications, Bioscrypt, Fargo, HID, NEC/Team 1, IR, Vidient, and Zenitel presented their latest technology and insight on the industry....
Nightclub security mandates enacted in New York, Boston
The New York City Council has passed measures that require security cameras at nightclub doors and make it easier to shut down businesses that sell fake identifications.
The new measures came after the abduction of graduate student Imette St. Guillen, a Boston native, who was raped and killed last February. An unlicensed bouncer at a Manhattan bar where she had been drinking was charged in her death....
Risk is key to calculating ROI on data security
The adage that "you can't prove a negative" is often quoted during any discussion on the return on investment (ROI) of data security solutions. The idea is that the best possible ROI on security is "absolutely nothing" -- no hack attacks, no virus infestations, no exposed data, no employee malfeasance.
But companies are no longer content to accept "nothing" as a valid statistic, according to a study conducted by Protegrity, a provider of data security management solutions. In fact, many companies want to accurately quantify their return on data security investments (RODSI)....
Infant abduction back in the spotlight
A woman accused of snatching a newborn from a Texas hospital in the middle of the night and hiding her 100 miles away in New Mexico was being held in Texas on Monday to face a kidnapping charge.
Rayshaun Parson, 21, was extradited from New Mexico to Texas after she alledgedly posed as a medical worker and took "Baby Mychael" from her mother's hospital early Saturday. Parson reportedly walked out of the hospital with the infant hidden in her purse, police said. Police found 4-day-old Mychael Darthard-Dawodu on Sunday in Clovis, N.M., a day after she was taken from Lubbock's Covenant Lakeside Hospital.
Although hospitals already have measures in place to prevent baby abductions, incidents like the one in Lubbock have caused hospitals to think twice about security....
NSCA Expo to feature the latest in fire and life safety
This year's NSCA Expo in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center on March 15-17 will play host to practical, real-world audio experiences provided by live demonstration rooms. In addition, the expo will feature a new exhibitor area called "Tools of the Trade," which is dedicated to showcasing and demonstrating essential items for every system integrator's toolbox....
Online smart card training course now available
Smart cards are becoming commonplace around the world, used in financial, healthcare, identity, security, transportation and telecommunications applications. It is important for individuals who provide products and services or who may become users of smart cards in these industries to be grounded in the basic fundamentals of this emerging and evolving technology.
To provide this foundation, the Smart Card Alliance has introduced a new online course, Fundamentals of Smart Card Technology, available at www.smartcardtraining.com...
Missouri bill would close schools for elections
A Republican lawmaker in Missouri wants to make public school districts cancel classes on election days to alleviate potential security risks....
Restaurant chain implements credit card security measures
Ruby Tuesday Inc. has announced it is switching to an ultra-secure credit card processing system to protect customers from fraud.
The system, which is expected to be in all the restaurant chain's 900 locations by April, leaves no credit card information at the restaurant and is instead sent to the bank in encrypted form. The system is said to help prevent identity theft....
High-tech forensic video lab unveiled
The University of Indianapolis and the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) have opened a media analysis laboratory, a facility for training criminal investigators in processing and managing large quantities of video evidence.
The partnership is bringing to the university software and hardware that has applications for a number of academic disciplines, which will enable students to apply classroom learning through video editing, simulations and other hands-on experiences....
Network downtime from attack has companies losing revenue
Large organizations are losing an average of 2.2 percent of their annual revenue -- or more than $30 million -- to network security attacks, according to a study on network downtime by analyst firm Infonetics Research.
The study, "The Costs of Network Security Attacks: North America 2007," additionally shows that small and medium organizations lose about half a percent of their annual revenue to security attacks, which can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars....
Backscatter X-ray technology deployed at Phoenix airport
Backscatter X-ray technology -- which photographs passengers under their clothing -- has been deployed at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. The technology can find plastic bombs strapped to a terrorist's chest or other hidden non-metal weapons.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began testing the advanced technology last week...
Union seeking to organize casino security
An international labor group is seeking to organize an estimated 2,000 casino security guards in Atlantic City, N.J.'s 11 gaming halls.
The International Union of the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America said last week that it had filed papers with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission to begin a union drive...
