A NATION, AN INDUSTRYWHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Oct 1, 2001 12:00 PM, By JENNIFER PERO

The numbers tell the story. 68 miles of steel. 12,000 miles of electric cable. 828 emergency exit doors. 600,000 square feet of glass. 300 security cameras. Nine chapels of six different faiths. Two airplanes.

As American Airlines flight 11 and United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans were faced with an unreal reality. A nation — forever confident — suddenly, unexpectedly, was no longer invincible.

It didn't stop there. Shocked, the nation held its breath as American flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, and United flight 93, aimed at the nation's capital, crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

Weeks later, the story is still unfolding, and still, more numbers: 279 confirmed dead (at press time), more than 6,000 missing, $40 billion in emergency aid. On Sept. 11, as the face of a nation changed, so did the face of security

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20

If we had only known then what we know now — what could we have done differently? Where did the nation go wrong? Where did the security industry fail? As government officials and security experts sort through the details, such questions arise.

Just two weeks after the attack, law enforcement had taken more than 300 suspects into custody. Officials were tracing thousands of leads and tips from a myriad of sources — the majority originating from cautious citizens and skeptical bystanders. Given the many eyes and ears coming forward as witnesses, one might wonder why no one was able to see or hear the terrorists — or stop them — before they made their move.

Donald Snow, a professor of political science at the University of Alabama, says it is shocking that no one caught on sooner.

“One of the things that struck me is how fast we have identified all of these [terrorists]. If we can track those people within a couple of hours, couldn't we have done that when they were getting on the airplanes?” he asks. “Hindsight is always much improved over foresight, but nonetheless, I find it absolutely striking.”

With such a precise terrorist operation, were there any signals to trigger suspicion beforehand?

“This group did little to hide their identities, which is probably what made it so difficult to pick up this plan to begin with,” says Charlie LeBlanc, managing director of Air Security International, a Houston-based security and intelligence company. “They were open. They were in our own backyard. These were our neighbors. It was done so overtly, that up until the events of [that] morning, nobody really caught on.”

So it seems. The terrorists apparently followed every appropriate procedure directly in line with federal guidelines prior to boarding the planes. They bought tickets. They passed through security. They had no illegal weapons (until the attack, razor blades, boxcutters and knives were previously permitted not only in passenger's luggage, but also in carry-on items aboard the plane). They even passed right under a CCTV camera, installed no more than a foot beyond a security metal detector. Still, nobody caught on.

Predictability may be a key issue. What enables us to prepare may also lull us into creatures of habit. How we expect events to unfold is not always what our industry should be looking for.

Security consultant G.F. Bryant, executive director of the World Institute for Security Enhancement, comments: “It's not like this is something we haven't analyzed. The government had not only been aware of this possibility, but had done training and done models and actually exercised the models in the past. It's just the degree to which this was done [that] caught everyone off guard.”

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

Slapped in the face with an entirely new perspective, the industry sees challenges that once seemed big, now appearing small by comparison — yet no less important. In the big picture of security, starting over seems inappropriate, since many original strategies did not fail, and most were not designed to prevent such a tragedy in the first place. At any rate, the industry has been jolted into reevaluating, rethinking and replacing the measures it has in place to protect a nation's businesses and institutions.

The job of security has suddenly been expanded to include issues of civil rights and freedom. “When you're trying to increase security, one of the first casualties is civil rights,” Bryant says. “And that's going to be a concern.”

Those changes may be viewed as invasive, intrusive and disruptive to everyday life — inconveniencing every aspect of normalcy until our nation is once again secure.

But after such a loss, there is no quick-fix. As the industry has learned, no alarm, no intrusion detection, no access control can stop every plan, especially one so strategic.

“I think any good security expert needs to think like a terrorist — or think like a criminal if it is a criminal matter — and that's how we're able to find weaknesses and shore them up,” Leblanc says.

Charged with such a mission, the industry is more important now than ever — seeking to fulfill its role in protecting a nation that is not only a target, but already a victim.

A NATION RECOVERS, INDUSTRY REASSESSES

As the investigation continues, information trickles in and answers will be more readily available. Meanwhile, a nation and its security industry are left to ponder the next step. What can be done?

Attention will now be placed on what was previously overlooked. The security industry should be expected to rise to the occasion.

Technology, says Per-Olof Loof, president and CEO of Sensormatic Electronics Corp., should contribute significantly to the new face of security. “The heightened security is going to be on the people side, but also the physical security systems,” he says. “Access controls, the cameras — these sort of things need to become part of the IT infrastructure so that we can actually look inside the premises where these systems are installed.”

Loof believes the industry will attempt to integrate new and existing systems into wider networks. Combining these systems with intelligence services around the world, Loof says, will provide needed connectivity.

“I think if the images taken and recorded previously on videotape were transported over to some other database, we could have looked at those pictures — even if the building was blown up,” Loof says.

Even small security applications will be updated and revised to accommodate related issues in the future.

Security has moved to the top of the national agenda. Although most corporations, businesses and companies were far removed from the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, effects on the security industry will be felt — large and small, near and far.

Even Greg Popham, director of security at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Kentucky — what he considers a “realistically secure” environment — is not taking any chances. Although he and his staff have done nothing more than increase the observance and awareness of their surroundings, they are making significant strides in opening communication among employees.

“We're taking our whole floor plan and going over it step by step to see if there's anything we need to tighten up,” he says. “We've tightened up our communications with the police department and we're on their radio frequency.”

It's in the attention to little things, he adds, that these events can serve as a wake-up call for everybody. Popham and his staff plan to stay diligent in their efforts of heightened security as well. “As time goes by, and nothing really major happens, you become lax,” he admits.

As a provider of safety and security, Popham is willing to make the changes needed to ensure a safe environment — even if it will require a more vigilant approach. “I think [this] is going to increase our work,” Popham says. “It's going to put more on our plates.”

THROUGH TRAGEDY, GREATNESS ARISES

Despite the sadness, the security industry is in a position to thrive amid the fallout from the events on Sept. 11. Immediate effects will include increased security measures, large amounts of government funding flowing into the security industry, and a stepped-up dialogue among suppliers and end-users about how to improve products and services. Long-range changes should provide better access to information, greater support for industry employees and an acceleration of vertical markets — putting security-related issues on the minds of a new, broader audience.

“I would imagine that people would take security and security-related discretions a lot more seriously now than prior to this catastrophe,” Loof says. “I think many of the discussions that previously did not happen — as a result of lack of interest or perceived unimportance — have moved to the absolute top of everyone's agenda.” The trend should move internationally as well. “I think the world is now united, and if you look at the newspapers around the world, you will find this on everybody's front page,” Loof continues.

Indeed, it was not an attack solely against the United States, but an attack on humanity. As statistics are compiled, it is estimated that more than 2,000 victims of the Sept. 11 tragedies were from more than 60 different countries. Thus, there is urgency to improve and tighten security even beyond our nation's borders.

Communication will also expand across an international security market, opening an abundance of opportunities for the industry. An expected influx of government money into the industry may allow new systems and upgrades that were more difficult to achieve before the attacks. Updating card access systems, performing deeper background checks, switching black-and-white CCTV cameras to color, stronger lighting in parking lots — all may become possible and necessary.

DEALING WITH THE AFTERMATH

The sheer emotion. The panic. The fear. All of it has entered and enveloped the nation. The complexity, the absurdity, the surrealism of it all, are hard to imagine, not to mention comprehend. “The past is over, and we can't go back to that world,” says LeBlanc. “As much as we'd like to close our eyes and click our heels and go back, we can't.”

With employees back to work, there will be a need for security departments and co-workers to support each other and make one another feel safe. Updating communication procedures, evacuation plans and escape routes should be the beginning.

John Martinicky, security director at International Truck and Engine Corp., and the 2001 AC&SS Security Director of the Year, is focusing his efforts on reassuring employees. “We're republicizing evacuation plans, giving out some general security guidelines,” he says. “We need to continually assess where our risks are and add preventative measures in other areas as well.”

For many, the first step is to guarantee everything is being done, and to define the industry's role. “I think there is probably a need for the entire security industry to get together with the other agencies that are dealing with this and see what we can contribute in our corner of the world to the overall effort,” Loof says.

It bears mention that security professionals aren't immune to human emotion in the face of such blatant acts of violence. “You think of the security personnel in the World Trade Center — how could they have ever planned for something like that?” says Randy Barker, a security analyst for Time Warner Telecom. “I'm sure that went above and beyond their regular plan. There's not much we could do in that situation. We've got an office just down the street from the World Trade Center…it has affected me more personally, than professionally. You watch in amazement, and you wonder.”

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

For information, please circle the appropriate Reader Service number (listed below) on one of the Reader Service cards in the issue or visit infoLINK at www.securitysolutions.com.

Air Security Intl.	42
Lenel Systems	43
Motorola	44
Sensormatic	45
World Institute for Security Enhancement	46

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Pero is assistant editor of Access Control & Security Systems.

CARD TECHNOLOGY HELPS IN THE SEARCH

Access control cards have shed new light on the recovery operation of more than 6,000 employees who were still among the missing after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. Commonly used as employee ingress and egress tracking tools, access control cards emit a data burst when contacted by a specific radio frequency — usually stored in wall packs at the entrances of controlled areas. Motorola, providers of 60,000 passive RFID access control cards for the World Trade Center, had hope that the cards — provided they were still intact — would respond if activated with a high-enough frequency, thus linking the cards back to employees who were in the building at the time of the collapse.

Motorola called on Quincy, Ill.-based Broadcast Electronics Inc., manufacturers of broadcast studio systems and radio frequency transmitters, to assist in the development of an experimental high-frequency transmitter device that would be strong enough to elicit a response. The transmitter, a modified version of Broadcast Electronics' AM500A, is capable of sending a VLF frequency at 125kHz, through several layers of walls and floor decks. With an operating output set at 350W running on 220 volts, the transmitter should be capable of penetrating up to 10 feet. The transmitter antenna, a loop about three feet in diameter, measures approximately three ohms — enough to deliver the carrier signal.

Tim Bealor, director of RF systems at Broadcast Electronics, says rescue teams at Ground Zero have indeed been able to locate a small number of responses from access control cards near or around the parking garage area of the WTC buildings, but have not been able to access them. In return, the transmitters are constantly being updated and have been placed on a crane to allow access to areas where recovery teams cannot reach.

Adrienne Dimopoulos, a spokesperson for Motorola's CGISS (Commercial Government Industrial Solutions Sector) division says more than 40 Motorola team members assisted in developing the transmitter including those from both Motorola Labs and Applied Technologies Inc. and the CGISS teams in both Chicago and San Jose, Calif. — not to mention the team of engineers supplied by Broadcast Electronics.

Although at press time no victims had been recovered using the transmitters, Dimopoulos says, “It's a very challenging terrain, but the Port Authority still has hope.”

Excerpts from related articles available in the archives at www.securitysolutions.com

• Despite its size, strength and sophistication, the World Trade Center in New York City did not have an automated access control system before the first terrorist attack on a snowy February day in 1993. “After the bombing, we had the top security consultants in the nation do a complete security analysis for us, and we followed their recommendations,” said Douglas G. Karpiloff, program manager, security systems for the WTC. A 26-year veteran of the Port Authority, Karpiloff was general manager of tenant services after the bomb went off. He is currently responsible for the overall facility management of a $50 million security improvement program.
  SOURCE: Sky-High Security, July 1997, Access Control & Security Systems.

• One morning, the CEO phones, asking what you think about the possibility of a terrorist attack against the company. What do you say? What steps do you think the company should take? The idea of terrorists attacking U.S. targets often defies comprehension. How, after all, do you defend against a sudden, violent attack? Security consultants equate the security director's role in dealing with potential terrorism to his duty dealing with any security concern. First, assess the threat and how serious it is. Then, tailor preventive measures. If preventive measures fail, have a plan to deal appropriately with the resulting situations. The final component of an anti-terrorist plan is continuous research into potential threats and regular revisions of policies and procedures to respond to changing conditions.
  SOURCE: Terrorism: The Security Director's Role, October 1998, Access Control & Security Systems.

• Has your emergency preparedness plan been collecting dust? Even directors and managers who intend to develop a preparedness plan with accompanying manuals and training programs can get bogged down in day-to-day operations. The task can get pushed to the bottom of the “to do” stack. As we tackle immediate crises, we vow to begin emergency preparations when we have a few uninterrupted days. But there is no such thing as uninterrupted time in the security business. You will never “find” the time. You must “make” the time.
  SOURCE: Emergency Preparedness: Seven-Step Guide To Developing A Plan, February 1999, Access Control & Security Systems.

• Several locations of a Washington, D.C., federal agency are highly susceptible to chemical and biological attack. Such was the outcome when a team of security professionals was asked to assess the susceptibility of the sites to attacks from chemical and biological agents. The assessment of the federal sites focused on the introduction of chemical or biological agents via the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. While private companies are less likely to suffer terrorist attacks, Scientech Security Services, Gaithersburg, Md., which performed the government assessment, says any building with public access could become a public target.
  SOURCE: Protecting Against Chemical, Biological and Y2K Threats, May 1999, Access Control & Security Systems.

• Be open-minded to disaster. Apparently, some scenarios are just too ridiculous to take seriously, so the mind moves on to those events that have a greater sense of both reality and likelihood of occurring. But there are two problems with such thinking:

  • it discounts the possibility of certain events occurring merely because they are outside the range of the thinker's ability to conceive; and therefore,

  • a blind spot is created where viable risks are not taken seriously and addressed proactively. The result is a recipe for disaster.

  SOURCE: Countdown to 2000: Party or Panic, November 1999, Access Control & Security Systems.

• The threat of nuclear terrorism is often dismissed as too horrific to even consider. There are, however, more than a few terrorist experts who believe the threat of an assault on a nuclear power plant is very real. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency established by the U.S. Congress under the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 to ensure that nuclear power plants are operated without compromising the public health and safety, the common defense and security, and the environment. The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power reactors and non-power research, test, and training reactors fuel cycle facilities. It is also responsible for medical, academic and industrial uses of nuclear materials, and the transport, storage and disposal of nuclear materials and waste. The NRC routinely deals with security issues. Federal oversight committees and reports by the U.S. Government Accounting Office have been extremely critical of security within the nuclear power industry.
  SOURCE: Protecting Against Nuclear Threats, March 2001, Access Control & Security Systems.

• Effective screening of airline passengers ensures that dangerous articles are not introduced into controlled areas. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated in a recent publication that effective aviation security screening is critical to protecting passengers in air transportation against acts of criminal violence and aircraft piracy. The FAA has also stated that wages for screeners in the United States currently average $5.75 per hour, and some screeners do not receive fringe benefits. Who can live on $230 per week before taxes? Not many people, and as a result most screeners work more than one job, which may explain some of the screening oversights, failures, and apparent indifference. How many of us could work 80 hours or more per week and perform at peak levels?
  SOURCE: Protection at $5.75 an Hour, May 2000, Access Control & Security Systems.

• EgyptAir Flight 990 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket Island on Oct. 31, 1999, killing all 217 on board. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined, but speculation has centered around comments recorded on the cockpit voice recorder. Investigators suggest the comments indicate the plane might have been crashed intentionally by one of the pilots. To supplement the voice recorder, a surveillance camera in the cockpit could have detected any such deliberate action taken by the pilot. The Security Industry Association (SIA) has begun lobbying Congress to allocate funds to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to examine whether CCTV cameras should be installed in the cockpit of all planes.
  SOURCE: Air Safety: Cameras in the Cockpit, July 2000, Access Control & Security Systems.

• For his career achievements, Douglas Karpiloff of the World Trade Center has been named Access Control & Security Systems' 2000 Security Director of the Year. Karpiloff has proven his ability to adapt and grow, to bring to the WTC an exemplary security program that has become a worldwide model, to work effectively with upper management to implement programs and to keep himself, his staff and management poised for the future. And his contributions to the security field extend well beyond the towering walls of the World Trade Center. Karpiloff has become a recognized national authority on threat assessment and security master planning, and is sought after as a consultant and speaker for both the federal government and the private sector. In addition, he teaches training seminars on physical security. Security at the World Trade Center has been recognized as a model for the nation.
  SOURCE: Towering Team Leader, September 2000, Access Control & Security Systems.

• Since 1997, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has used CAT scans (Computed Axial Tomography imaging) to trace bags and luggage at most of the major airports, including San Francisco International and Hartsfield Atlanta International in Atlanta, the nation's busiest. “From a technology standpoint, it is one of the most sophisticated systems out there,” says Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the FAA's southeast region in Atlanta. InVision Technologies Inc., Newark, Calif., and L-3 Communications, New York, manufacture explosive detection systems that use CAT scan imaging. The two companies are the only ones that provide explosive-detection equipment certified by the FAA for the inspection of checked baggage.
  SOURCE: CATs at the Airport, November 2000, Access Control & Security Systems.

To read the complete text of the articles as published in Access Control & Security Systems, visit our past issues archives at www.securitysolutions.com.

DOES PHOTO ID HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY?

Could an advanced photo-ID system have played an important role in recognizing — and potentially stopping — terrorists on Sept. 11?

Elena Prokupets, president and CEO, Lenel Systems Intl., thinks so.

The Pittsford, N.Y.-based security company provides security management solutions including access control, ID management, alarm monitoring, physical asset security and digital video to a range of companies, among them, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, John F. Kennedy Intl. Airport, Newark Intl. Airport and LaGuardia Airport.

A photo-ID concept incorporating photographs on temporary boarding passes could also allow photographs to be checked against databases of criminals and known terrorists.

“Existing technology used today — to protect our facilities and our employees — could be used easily for passenger and airplane protection. There is potential. It's a shame [other] digital video concepts aren't being implemented,” Prokupets says.

Currently — after checking in — a ticketholder could pass his boarding pass to an alternate, unidentified passenger. The system, according to Prokupets, would take pictures of passengers — who are already asked for identification at ticket counters. The temporary boarding passes could deter future terrorists.

As security experts look to further integrate technology into existing systems, Prokupets suggests that the photo-ID badging could play a role.

“We are all vulnerable because we are not protected right now,” Prokupets says. “From the point of a security industry executive, we should dedicate all our efforts to provide the best possible solutions.”
— Jennifer Pero

DISPATCHES FROM THE CHANGING SECURITY LANDSCAPE

• The Federal Aviation Administration issued no-fly zones for all “well-attended” sporting events in the weekends following the terrorist attacks. The measures came after college and professional sports teams asked for them. All airspace within a three-mile radius and altitude of 3,000 feet was restricted.

• U.S. Secretary of Transportation (DOT) Norman Y. Mineta announced the creation of two rapid response teams to deliver detailed recommendations by Oct. 1 for improving security within the national aviation system.

• Amtrak is seeking $3 billion from Congress for security and service improvements to make rail travel a stronger alternative to the nation's troubled airlines.

• Several Hollywood studios have halted tours and increased armed patrols following a general warning from the FBI that studios could be the target of another terrorist attack. Twentieth Century Fox Studios planned to install gate barricades.

• Bus officials are expanding human and video surveillance around the country. Greyhound Bus Lines has added more CCTV and other types of security cameras and now requires credit card passengers to show photo identification before boarding buses. In addition, the company has also hired private security firms and city police at certain locations. Patrols run 24 hours instead of 12 hours a day.

• Although the measures are different in every country, airport officials in Europe have stated they are on high alert. Greek carriers reportedly will install surveillance cameras in cabins, and Britain is considering posting armed guards on flights. The European Union is seeking regulations requiring cockpit doors that can be bolted shut. The Union also drafted a list of priority security measures, including uniform rules on distribution of access cards and badges for airport owrkers and stricter luggage, cargo and passenger checks.

• The week following the Sept. 11 attacks, delegates from 132 nations held an annual atomic energy conference. The focus was tighter security. Japan — which houses 52 nuclear plants — warned the delegates that nothing can shield a plant from a direct hit by a missile or hijacked aircraft. One unidentified U.S. official said a direct hit on a nuclear plant by a modern jumbo jet traveling at high speed “could create a Chernobyl situation.”

• “For us, it's obvious right up front that the airplane cockpit now has to become a last-ditch line of defense to be held at all costs,” says John Mazor, an Air Line Pilots Association representative. Nothing is off the table,” he said, “not even guns.” The cockpit of America's airlines may soon be barricaded behind a bulletproof door.

On a personal note…

Americans concerned about their own personal safety in the terrorist aftermath should establish or reassess a personal security program, but such a program need not be a hindrance to everyday activities, one expert says.

“The objectives of a personal security program should tie in with one's lifestyle,” says David Little, head of U.K.-based Sheldon Little & Associates. There may be some restrictions, Little adds, including possibly curtailing travel, especially internationally.

Little specializes in the security of high-net-worth individuals, persons who often travel to or maintain residences in locales outside the U.S. He has become internationally known for his involvement in high-profile cases — the Russell Crowe movie “Proof of Life” was based on one of his adventures — but he says his basic strategies are applicable to all sectors of society.

Foremost, he says, communication with family members or others is key. “Have good communications available at all times. Carry a cellular phone and program in key contact numbers so you don't have to search for them in an emergency,” he advises. For travel, Little counsels people to follow security instructions given by the authorities. “Don't make jokes about the situation, or you may be detained,” he says. “Report anything suspicious. Avoid identification with high-profile corporate names. Do not wear company apparel or affix company tags to your luggage.”

These measures are part and parcel of Small's primary kernel of advice: Keep a low profile. Beyond large-scale terrorism, one should also be mindful of another everyday facet of life, “regular” assaults and crimes.

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