Nuclear facilities may eliminate use of private guards
After a rash of security lapses, the U.S. Energy Department is looking to create an elite force of federal guards to protect plutonium and weapons-usable...
Florida town turns to public CCTV
New technology will soon track drivers who pass by waterfront mansions in Manalapan, Fla., checking their backgrounds to find wanted criminals and following...
Terrorist Alerts: How To Respond
By Sal Lifrieri
Remember when building security meant doing what the tenant asked for? Recent events have caused building security to take a more pro-active approach....
DOWNTOWN SECURITY, UPTOWN TECHNOLOGIES
by MICHAEL FICKES
Gregg Popkin is haunted by the fear that the next terrorist attack might hit one of the 110 buildings in his property management portfolio. I don't let...
Getting Clever With Smart Cards
By Jacqueline Emigh
In workplaces ranging from Boeing and Microsoft to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), employees now wield special, contactless wallet-sized cards that...
Security Hot Spot: Elevator Systems
By James Gompers
Among the critical points of vulnerability for many high-rise multi-tenant facilities are elevator lobbies and the elevators themselves. Properly securing...
Rail security system to be tested in Maryland
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to use a suburban Maryland train stop to test the feasibility of security checks for rail passengers....
Center Will Keep Airports In The Loop
The United States has hundreds of airports, thousands of trucks, and thousands of miles of rail and pipeline to safeguard, not to mention the nation's...
Small Montana Airport Takes Big Security Role
By Jacqueline Emigh
Big airports such as London's Heathrow and Boston's Logan are not the only ones testing new physical security systems these days. Nearly a year ago, a...
U.S. Rails Respond To Madrid Tragedy With High Security
Amtrak and regional and municipal rail systems around the country increased security significantly after railway terrorist bombings in Madrid killed nearly...
Technology Makes Space for Mounties
Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recently celebrated a major expansion and upgrade of its Operations Control Center (OCC) in Ottawa. Responsible...
Security Hot Spot: Protecting Reception Areas
By James Gompers
It's really easy to overlook lobbies and reception areas when it comes to designing and implementing an overall security strategy. After all, security...
A New Breed of Threat
The recent elevation of the Homeland security threat level served as a sobering reminder of the ongoing terrorist threat against the United States. The...
Citizens Against Terrorism
Michael Fickes
Last month, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office in Reno, Nev., received a call from a concerned citizen. She had discovered Arabic notes written in the...
Hand in Hand
By Jacqueline Emigh
Physical security professionals have traditionally lived in a very different world from the folks in information security (IS). More and more, though,...
US-VISIT Foreign Visitor Program Implemented
The 10-15 second process of biometrically identifying most foreign visitors to the United States has been implemented at ports of entry and airports throughout...
Ready For Ricin
Paul Rothman
Security officials at the U.S. Capitol became well prepared for chemical and biological attacks through the mail after the 2001 anthrax scare. So when...
What's In The Water?
Michael Fickes
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants water utilities to know right away when a dangerous chemical has been dumped in the water supply. But...
Trickle-Down Funding
By Beth Wade
New Haven, Conn., waits. As an applicant for Homeland security grants, the city has received big-ticket equipment, but other requests some dating back...
Doing More With Wireless
As a network administrator for the City of Tallahassee (Fla.), Terry Baker wasn't going to deploy a wireless network at City Hall without complete confidence...
Trusting Companies With GOVERNMENT SECRETS
by MICHAEL FICKES
With thousands of companies competing for federal contracts related to security, how does the federal government determine whether or not it should trust...
Stuck on Security
Michael Fickes
The Department of Energy (DOE) has reactivated a Cold War technology called sticky foam to tighten security at sites that store bomb-grade processed uranium...
Re-Inventing The Public Safety Infrastructure
Michael Fickes
One component of the U.S. military success in Iraq has been information superiority, but here at home, emergency response systems are still using 19th...
Emergency Response Management
Michael Fickes
Architectural design and information technology control the speed and effectiveness of an emergency operations center (EOC), according to Major Joseph...
Air Force to Adopt ASIS CPP Program
The U.S. Air Force Security Forces Directorate and ASIS International (ASIS) have reached an agreement to offer the Certified Protection Professional...
