Virginia Port Authority Deploys Situation Management Suite
Orsus, a developer of situation management solutions that optimize situation planning, response and analysis, has been awarded a contract for its Situator product suite with the Virginia Port Authority. The project spans three locations and provides the Virginia Port Authority with a system that integrates video and access control with command and control response capabilities.
The deployment began in early November. Part of the financing for this project came from a $3 million Federal security grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enhance security at three state-owned marine terminals. ...
VeriSign, BSI Management Help Achieve IT Security Compliance
Organizations aiming to achieve IT security compliance using the ISO 27002 International Standards Organization (ISO) controls for information security can now get there with help from VeriSign Inc., a provider of digital infrastructure for the networked world.
Through an alliance with BSI Management Systems, an international standards, testing, registration and certification organization, the VeriSign Global Security Consulting Services group can help prepare organizations to acquire an official ISO 27002 Certificate of Compliance, which is granted by BSI....
Putting Contactless Technology To Consumer Use
A new technology is in the works for a system that allows customers wave their cell phone over a scanner to make a payment, and its security is said to be rock solid according to USA Today.
Encrypted payment information travels through the air from the phone to the scanner. The system is based on contactless technology already in some smart cards -- credit cards and key fobs embedded with chips so they can be used instead of swiping a magnetic credit card. Chips are finding their way into driver's licenses, passports and other forms of identification, and contactless cards are used in many transit systems....
Retailers Victims Of Wireless Networks Hacking, Study Finds
After monitoring more than 3,000 stores at major shopping areas in the U.S. and Europe, a wireless security company says that half of the surveyed stores use wireless data systems vulnerable to hacking, according to The Associated Press.
The data that stores routinely transmit on wireless networks include credit card and Social Security numbers and other sensitive customer information.
AirDefense Inc., an Atlanta-based maker of security products for wireless data systems, found that about 25 percent of the stores' 4,748 wireless access points were exchanging data with no encryption at all to foil electronic eavesdroppers....
GE Security Hosts MASterMind Proprietary Users Forum
GE Security Inc. has announced that it recently held its first MASterMind Proprietary Users Forum for enterprise customers operating their own private monitoring solutions. The event, held in conjunction with the ASIS International Seminar and Expo in Las Vegas, was the first in an ongoing series of activities that will provide direct collaboration between end-users in key markets and the GE MASterMind team to deliver enhanced value and operational efficiencies.
The event was attended by 45 proprietary users of the MASterMind monitoring software in the retail, financial and education markets, including Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Fifth Third Bank, National City Bank, Food Lion, FedEx and Clark County School District. ...
Control Panel Standard Revision Approved And Commended
The Security Industry Association (SIA) has released the latest revision of ANSI/SIA CP-01-2007 (Revision of ANSI/SIA CP-01-2000) Control Panel Standard -- Features for False Alarm Reduction. This voluntary standard details recommended design features for security system control panels and their associated arming and disarming devices to reduce the incidence of false alarms.
Intended for use by manufacturers that design control panels and alarm signal receivers, this revised standard can also be referenced by security system installers, specifiers and users, central stations and local authorities.
This effort was undertaken to address manufacturers' requests for interpretation on the 2000 version of the standard. In addition, the revised standard clarifies the issue of UL listings for control panels and the impact that CP-01 revisions have on a listing....
Education Security Symposium Part Of Awareness Campaign
PASS Security, an AMAG Technology Symmetry Authorized Reseller, hosted its first Southwestern Illinois K-12 Educational Security Symposium titled, Keeping Our Schools Safe and Secured on Oct. 24, 2007. The program was part of an education campaign PASS Security implemented based on a targeted marketing program created by AMAG Technology. AMAG's Central U.S. regional sales manager, Loren Lloyd, presented the benefits of electronic access control in schools and how it will help school districts prepare and prevent tragedy.
"PASS Security used AMAG's vertical marketing campaign to design our first Southwestern Illinois K-12 Educational Security Symposium," said PASS Security marketing coordinator, Luke Lieberman. "The marketing program and symposium educated area school districts on threat assessment, physical security, self defense and bomb and terrorism threats."...
Drawings Latest Attempt At Improving Password Protection
An inventive way of improving password security for handheld devices such as iPhones, Blackberry and Smartphone has been developed at Newcastle University, reports ScienceDaily.
The software, which uses pictures instead of letters and numbers, has been initially designed for handheld devices, but could soon be expanded to other areas.
Those who took part in testing this system created passwords that were a thousand times more secure than ordinary textual passwords. Most testers also found them easy to remember....
Texas School Security Survey Finds Key Issues
Wren, a provider of video surveillance solutions, has released the results of its Texas School Security Survey. The survey found that while administrators consider video to be the single most important tool in securing school environments, budgets for investing in newer security technologies are tight, with only about a quarter of schools expecting a security budget increase in 2008.
Distributed online to administrators from public K-12 schools across Texas, the survey asked participants to rank their most significant security issues and their level of preparedness in dealing with those issues. Results indicated that, while Texas schools are moving to address security in their schools, they are not yet adequately prepared to deal with the many types of threats they face in today's world....
GE Security Helps Protect '07 Pan American Games
GE Security Inc., a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the General Electric Co., has announced its role in providing integrated security solutions to the Pan American Games Rio 2007.
As part of a comprehensive electronic security system for this year's Pan American Games, GE Security, along with its integrator, Rocha Bressan, created one of the event's largest camera networks -- 1,500 cameras installed in 64 venues -- to help ensure the safety and security of those involved in all aspects of the games. ...
FBI Says To Stay Aware Of Possible Holiday Terrorist Attacks
In what one FBI spokesman described as "almost an annual ritual," the bureau has obtained uncorroborated intelligence indicating al Qaeda would like to strike shopping malls during the holiday shopping season, two law enforcement sources told CNN.
Holiday threats against shopping malls have become "almost an annual ritual," one FBI spokesman says.
Those sources confirmed there is intelligence dating back to August that al Qaeda would like to attack malls in Los Angeles and Chicago....
Chicago Phases In High-Tech Video Surveillance
The city of Chicago and IBM Corp. have announced the initial phase of what officials say could be the most advanced video security network in any U.S. city, reports The Associated Press.
"Chicago is really light years ahead of any metropolitan area in the U.S. now," says Sam Docknevich, who heads video-surveillance consulting for IBM.
Chicago already has thousands of security cameras in use by businesses and police -- including some equipped with devices that recognize the sound of a gunshot, turn the cameras toward the source and place a 911 call. But the new system would let cameras analyze images in real time 24 hours a day, reports AP....
ASTM Introduces Perimeter Barriers Testing Standard
ASTM International Committee F12 on Security Systems and Equipment has approved a new standard, F 2656, Test Method for Vehicle Crash Testing of Perimeter Barriers. The new test method, developed by Subcommittee F12.10 on Systems, Products and Services, provides a range of vehicle impact conditions, designations and penetration performance levels for the testing of perimeter barriers that are used to prevent attacks on facilities by moving vehicles.
According to Dean Alberson, assistant agency director, Texas Transportation Institute, and a member of Subcommittee F12.10, prior to the publication of F 2656, the U.S. State Department had the only standard for testing of perimeter security devices. However, in 2003, that document was modified and penetration ratings were dropped from it. Because these ratings were still extensively used, particularly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Committee F12 agreed to develop F 2656....
IBM Kicks Off Security Initiative With A $1.5 Billion Investment
IBM has launched new security services, products and research initiatives designed to help businesses manage operational and information technology risk more effectively. Big Blue said it plans to spend $1.5 billion on security product development and marketing in 2008, according to Newsfactor.com
With its latest security push, IBM is advocating a new approach to risk management that Big Blue is betting will limit the impact of threats, improve business resilience and create an enterprise free of fear.
Instead of offering security technologies implemented in silos that don't address end-to-end risk, IBM's new initiative addresses security across several IT domains, from physical security to application security to identity and access management....
Integrators Seek To Bridge Gap Between Physical, IT Security
1nservice, Bellevue, Wash., and PSA Security Network, Denver, have announced a national collaboration to deliver a convergence of physical and IT security across an array of services. Two of North America's collaborative organizations are demonstrating an integrated effort to create a single-source for all security services across all industry sectors.
The alliance between PSA Security Network and 1nservice (IT-based integrators) has created a large-scale security network. Their collaboration provides a security solution that provides businesses worldwide with a new converged model of both IT and physical security. ...
NASCO Makes Efforts to Improve Access To FBI Records
The National Association of Security Companies (NASCO), a contract security trade association representing private security companies employing nearly 450,000 security officers, is working to improve private security's access to FBI criminal history record information (CHRI) for screening security officers as authorized under the Private Security Officers Employment Authorization Act (PSOEAA).
These efforts include meetings and discussions with:
* U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee staff
* FBI Criminal Justice Information Service (CJIS)
* Frank Campbell, senior counsel, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice
* Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Insider Threat Study Group
...
Manufacturers Collaborate With Partners via Non-Secure Channels
High-tech manufacturing firms not only are collaborating with value chain partners through non-secure communications tools, such as Web e-mail and personal instant messaging, they also have serious concerns about the potential for loss of intellectual property, reports a new survey from Microsoft Corp.
The Microsoft Collaboration in High-Tech Manufacturing Survey 2007, conducted by Washington, D.C.-based KRC Research and commissioned by Microsoft, found that 78 percent of business decision-makers (BDMs, such as directors of supply chain) and 85 percent of technology decision-makers (TDMs, such as chief intelligence officers and IT managers) at high-tech firms reported they had used at least one of a number of non-secure public communications tools to collaborate with partners. More importantly, the survey found that product plans, technical data and other proprietary information were sent using those tools....
Copper Theft Still A Rising Problem For States
Unprecedented copper thefts have spurred a crackdown to stop the damage, as at least 16 states have passed or proposed new laws, and businesses have boosted security and offered bounties for information on the thieves, reports USA Today.
The crackdown comes as losses to businesses hover around $1 billion, the U.S. Department of Energy reports, and as escalating thefts have disrupted the flow of electricity, slowed construction projects and knocked out irrigation networks crucial to commercial farms.
Seizing on rising worldwide demand and surging value for the popular metal -- up from 80 cents per pound in 2003 to about $3.50 this year -- thieves sell stolen copper for millions of dollars in cash, state and federal authorities say....
AvaLAN Executive Speaks At Monitoring And Networking Conference
Ray Shilling, vice president of sales and marketing at AvaLAN Wireless Systems, a developer in the wireless Ethernet market, will deliver a presentation at the Sixth Annual Remote Monitoring and Networking Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Shilling will speak on Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. about "Installing Wireless Network-based Security Devices Using the Increasingly-Crowded Unlicensed Radio Spectrum."
"The use of wireless network technologies is expanding rapidly; so much so that it is becoming increasingly critical for integrators to fully research the subject prior to deploying products in this very crowded unlicensed bandwidth space," Shilling says. ...
CDW-G Releases Annual Higher Education IT Security Report Card
CDW Government Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDW Corp. and source of Information Technology (IT) solutions to governments and educators, has released the results of its third annual Higher Education IT Security Report Card, a national survey that asks higher education IT directors and managers to rate the state of IT security and the support they receive from constituents on their campuses. The 2007 report provides three-year trend data along with additional insights on increasingly complex campus security issues such as converged IT and physical security solutions.
According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, there have been 148 publicly-disclosed data breaches at colleges and universities since 2005. While some incidents are unintentional, such as a data file posted to a public Web site, hacker activity and malicious attacks account for much of the data loss....
A Global Index To Track Security Fears
Technology consultant Unisys Corp. has begun regular polling of consumers around the world to find out what they view as the most serious threats to their security.
Unisys will use results of the three-times-a-year consumer surveys to create the Unisys Security Index, a standard to measure consumer perception of threats. The index will help Unisys with its own business, as well as offer insight to its clients in the public and private sectors, Tim Kelleher, vice president of enterprise security, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The index includes not only consumer opinions on IT security, but on national security, financial and personal security. ...
Gartner: No Additional Investment Needed For Security Threats
IT managers trying to figure out how much money to budget for information security purposes each year might want to take note of some recent advice from Gartner Inc.: Despite the growth in targeted attacks and the continuing discovery of new vulnerabilities, almost 90 percent of the threats companies face today can be handled without any extra investment in security.
Instead, companies need to reduce some of the money they've spent over the past few years protecting against mass attacks -- redirecting those freed-up resources to confront more narrowly directed emerging threats.
A lot of companies spend too much money on security controls such as firewalls, antivirus software and other desktop protection tools designed to defend against traditional mass attacks, Gartner analyst John Pescatore told ComputerWorld....
Study Says Active RFID Leading Cargo Security Technology
According to a new study from ABI Research, although the ISO committee concerned with cargo container security has released a standard based on active RFID, many end-users would prefer to employ passive RFID solutions, or none at all, Canadian Transportation & Logistics reports.
In the absence of a mandate from government, amid continuing questions about the costs and benefits of installing container security and tracking devices, the market for these systems remains largely undeveloped as forces driving and inhibiting its growth seek a balance, says the report.
The cargo tracking and security market is not immune from the active vs. passive cost-benefit-performance debate, says ABI Research director Michael Liard....
Security Executive Council Offers "Ask the Experts" Online Feature
The Security Executive Council (SEC) has announced the launch of a new online feature: Faculty Advisor (secleader.typepad.com). Through this interactive function, security professionals can call on the knowledge and experience of SEC faculty to answer pressing questions on all types of security-related topics, including security careers, business alignment, executive relationships, regulations, security's value, measures and metrics and SEC tools and products.
This new, free service will provide security practitioners impartial, expert advice on issues that directly impact their security programs. Any security practitioner may submit a question....
Visitor Management Doesn't Have To Be Expensive
Threats and potential dangers can be found in most neighborhoods throughout the nation. Every school needs a visitor-management plan that is well-written, well-rehearsed and well-enforced as one of the first steps in protecting people and property, according to an article in American School & University, a sister publication.
School administrators no longer can pretend that their facilities are safe havens from the troubles that occur in society....
