Port authority spending its own funds on security
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has spent nearly $2.7 billion on security-related expenses since the Sept. 11 attacks -- most of it from its own pocket, the authority's deputy director has told a New Jersey legislative panel.
Jamie Fox told members of the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee that the bi-state authority has been forced to be self-sufficient because overall federal assistance is inadequate and because public authorities are eligible for funds only for port security...
NASCAR addresses security at annual summit
Representatives from NASCAR race tracks across the country met this weekend with security specialists to improve crisis management strategies at the 2007 NASCAR Security Summit in Concord, N.C.
Officials say that the key to race-track safety is better communication among the dozens of different agencies, all of whom are first responders....
Registration begins for ASIS International 2007
Registration has begun for the ASIS International 2007 Conference and Expo. The 53rd annual show is scheduled for Las Vegas, from Sept. 24-27....
GE Security, Smiths Detection partner to offer Homeland protection
Smiths Group plc and General Electric Co. have agreed to form Smiths GE Detection, which will combine Smiths Detection with GE Homeland Protection to create a global business serving the fast-growing detection and Homeland protection markets....
Convergence 101: New curriculum to examine integration
Convergence in the security industry is more than a passing trend, according to security experts. In fact, the concept has now become the basis of a university curriculum at Lund University's School of Economics and Management....
Americans still wary of biometrics use in retail sector
Americans are becoming more comfortable with the idea of using biometrics in identification; however, the majority still do not feel comfortable with the retail industry using the technology, according to a recent survey conducted by TRUSTe and market information group TNS.
Three out of five Americans support adding biometric data to credit cards (64 percent) and debit cards (62 percent), but are much less likely to want that information on a retail store loyalty card (27 percent)....
Giving police powers to private security may solve crime problems
Private security guards have outnumbered police officers since the 1980s, predating the heightened concern about security brought on by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. What is new is that police forces are increasingly turning to private companies for help, the Washington Post reports.
Private-sector security is expanding into arenas once reserved solely for official law enforcement, such as complex criminal investigations and patrols of downtown districts and residential neighborhoods....
Casinos must stay vigilant against document fraud
From a personal safety standpoint, the casino environment is arguably the most protected among all entertainment venues what with the omnipresence of security personnel and video surveillance of virtually every inch of the property.
But in a business enterprise dominated by transactions not only involving currency but also paper and plastic instruments which have cash value, casino owners must be on constant vigil against forgery and fraud....
Pa. school security goes to head of the CLASS
School security concerns have created a whole new meaning for the word CLASS at Greencastle-Antrim elementary and primary schools in Pennsylvania.
The schools have developed a $6,000 program called "Children Leaving a School Safely," or CLASS, which creates "simpler and safer sign-out" of grade school children at the end of the day, Pa. Director of Elementary Education Greg Hoover tells the Waynesboro Record Herald....
Mall guards to be instructed in terrorism prevention
Starting this month, malls across the country will begin training guards to fight terrorism. The 14-hour program is being developed by the International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade group, and the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University at a cost of $2 million. It is the first standardized anti-terrorism curriculum written for the nation's estimated 20,000 mall security guards...
ASIS seeks comment on information asset protection guide
ASIS International has released the Information Asset Protection Draft Guideline, which seeks to help organizations develop and implement a policy and comprehensive risk-based strategy to protect their intellectual property, proprietary information and other intangible assets....
Mobile security, RFID to have largest impact on IT security
IT security managers may want to take heed: emerging technologies like mobile security and RFID should be making a significant blip on your radar screens.
According to David Strom's article in InformationWeek, mobile security and RFID are two of the top five technologies projected to have a major impact on IT managers in 2007 and beyond....
Security concerns influence school design
A 2005 school security and land price study has prompted school officials in Collier County, Fla., to change the way they build new schools.
Officials sought a new design for schools to keep students in a more enclosed space, according to a report in the Bonita Daily News. Veterans Memorial Elementary School, scheduled to open in the fall, will be the last one-story, open-air school built in Collier County, says Alvah Hardy, executive director of facilities management for the district....
InfoSecurity tops list of executive worries
The compromise of corporate information systems is the number-one worry of business executives, according to a survey of 197 senior executives at corporations with $1 billion or more in annual revenue.
The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, revealed that 61 percent of the executives cited data breaches as their biggest worry. Terrorism (55 percent) and corporate malfeasance (40 percent) round out the top-three potential crisis situations....
Will the rapid rise of cyber-crime continue in 2007?
Computer security experts say 2006 saw an unprecedented spike in junk e-mail and sophisticated online attacks from increasingly organized cyber crooks. Few of them believe 2007 will be any brighter for the millions of fraud-weary consumers already struggling to stay abreast of new computer security threats and avoiding clever scams when banking, shopping or just surfing online...
Railroad security plan announced
The release of deadly chemicals from a rail car in a densely populated city could have catastrophic consequences, whether it's caused by a terrorist attack or a derailment.
Last week, transportation and Homeland security officials proposed ways to make it harder for terrorists to attack rail cars -- and less likely that an accident would result in mass casualties....
IACP calls for alarm panels with CP-01 standard
Reinforcements have arrived for the battle against false dispatches. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has passed a resolution urging municipalities and ...
Seven resolutions for computer network security
As New Year's Eve approaches in a hacker-prone era rife with data theft, historically high levels of SPAM, and increasingly innovative computer fraud, IT security managers should resolve to combat these attacks ...
Report to help companies measure up in corporate compliance
It is an issue that senior management is taking very seriously -- and it can have both direct and indirect impacts on security. The rise of Sarbanes-Oxley and other federal laws has ...
IBM to pilot mobile transit security network in Chicago
IBM is working with the Chicago Transit Authority on a pilot program to test a mobile security network that will improve safety and security on CTA's bus and rail system.
The pilot program will begin in mid-December and will allow CTA buses to transmit live video to Chicago Police Department Public Transportation cars and CTA supervisory vehicles. ...
Employers can do more to address workplace violence
More than 70 percent of U.S. workplaces do not have a formal program or policy addressing workplace violence, according to a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). More than 7.4 million U.S. employers, employing more than 128 million workers, participated in the survey -- making it one of the largest and most comprehensive workplace violence surveys to date.
The survey also revealed that nearly 80 percent of companies provide no training for workplace violence prevention....
Violent crime up for second straight year
A surge in violent crime that began last year accelerated in the first half of 2006, the FBI reported this week, providing the clearest signal yet that the historic drop in the U.S. crime rate has ended and is being reversed.
Reports of homicides, assaults and other violent offenses surged by nearly 4 percent in the first six months of the year compared to the same time period in 2005, according to the FBI's latest Uniform Crime Report....
Universities especially vulnerable to ID theft
Universities have become attractive targets for hackers who are taking advantage of the openness of the schools' networks, their decentralized security and the personal information they keep on millions of young adults, The Associated Press reports.
A major database breach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), that went undetected for more than a year and a smaller breach at the University of Texas are the latest examples of how vulnerable colleges are to such attacks....
Online theft shifts to smaller retailers
The year-end holiday season typically brings a surge in the number of fraudulent orders received at online retailers, and thieves seem to have shifted techniques to combat tightened security practices among bigger merchants this year.
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Mobile device security projected to boom
A steady rise in security attacks on vulnerable mobile devices will power a boom in mobile device security, Juniper Research reports.
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