Companies Moving Toward Smart Card Based Access Control
The access control market provides endless opportunities for smart card applications, although it is still considered an expensive option and less user-friendly compared to some of the available authentication methods. In the next few years, a fall in prices and increased interoperability of smart card-based access control system expect to make access control more attractive in the corporate security sector.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, World Corporate Security (Physical and Logical Access) Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $120.4 million in 2006 and estimates this to reach $235.0 million in 2012....
Report Says Cyber Security Should Be Top Priority For CEOs
CEOs must make cyber security a top priority or their businesses could fall victim to industrial espionage similar to recent cyber attacks on such large companies as Rolls-Royce and Royal Dutch Shell. That's the conclusion the report Cyber Attack: A Risk Management Primer for CEOs and Directors from the British-North American Committee (BNAC) and the Atlantic Council of the United States, a U.S. sponsor of the Committee.
The Internet, for which the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) coordinates addresses, makes possible about $2.8 trillion in global e-commerce annually....
The Security Industry Association Releases 2008 Legislative Agenda
Advocating full federal funding to secure the nation's ports, rails and public transit systems is a top priority on The Security Industry Association's (SIA) 2008 Legislative Agenda. The 12-point plan includes advocacy in a range of new areas including agriculture, trade, education and healthcare.
"Ensuring the safety of our nation's critical infrastructure is the prevailing theme throughout our legislative agenda," says Richard Chace, executive director and CEO, SIA. "SIA will work to secure funds for our ports, hospitals, schools, public transit systems and rails to buy the smartest, most effective security solutions possible."...
Law Enforcement IDs Criminals And Missing With Iris Scans
A growing number of sheriff's departments are using iris scans to identify sex offenders, runaways, abducted children and wandering Alzheimer's patients, reports USA Today.
More than 2,100 departments in 27 states are taking digital pictures of eyes and storing the information in databases that can be searched later to identify a missing person or someone who uses a fake name, says Sean Mullin, president of BI2 Technologies, which sells the devices.
"It's evolving quickly," he says. Most of the sheriffs are doing voluntary iris scans of senior citizens and children....
Survey Says Everyday Behavior Puts Sensitive Information At Risk
RSA, the security division of EMC, has announced the findings of its recent insider threat survey. Conducted by RSA in early November, the person-on-the-street survey polled government and corporate office workers in Boston and Washington, D.C. on their work-related security behaviors and attitudes. The results provide a snapshot of the everyday actions of trusted insiders who have access to sensitive data such as customer information, Social Security numbers, credit card data, company financials and intellectual property.
The results of the survey underscore that the risk posed to data by well- meaning insiders - employees, contractors, suppliers, partners, visitors and consultants who have physical and/or logical access to organizational assets - must be as closely managed as that posed by malicious insiders who deliberately leak sensitive data for personal financial gain or other criminal purposes. ...
Churches See Need For Security After Attacks
When a black-clad gunman walked into New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colo., and started shooting, he was met with the church's first line of defense: a congregant with a concealed weapons permit and a law enforcement background. The woman, an armed volunteer, shot the gunman taking him down, though it was later reported he was killed by his own bullet. New Life's pastor credited her with saving 100 lives, The Associated Press reports.
Churches want to present an open and welcoming image, but in an era of mass-casualty shootings and terrorism threats, the violence at New Life highlights a new emphasis on security. AP reports that some of the nation's estimated 1,200 megachurches -- places where more than 2,000 worshippers gather each week -- have been quietly beefing up security in recent years, even using armed guards to protect the faithful....
Global Accreditation For Certification Programs Available From ASIS
ASIS International, a society for security management professionals, has been awarded accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the U.S. member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This endorsement confirms that ASIS's international certification programs adhere to the highest professional standards.
ASIS offers three international certifications: the Certified Protection Professional (CPP), the Professional Certified Investigator (PCI) and the Physical Security Professional (PSP)....
Mall Shooting Sparks Security Debate
Following last week's shooting rampage at an Omaha, Neb., mall in which nine people were killed including the 19-year-old gunman, new questions about security measures are being raised at shopping centers....
Security Guards To Be New Safeguard For California City Transit
Undercover security guards will now ride San Francisco's famed cable cars in a plan to revive a program from the San Francisco Municipal Railway to make sure the crews aren't pocketing cash fares, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.
The transit agency ended a similar covert operation more than a year ago, but officials want to give it another try.
The Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees Muni, has included the "cable car observers" program in a proposed contract for agency-wide private security guard services. It calls for six to eight unarmed security guards in plainclothes to work part time on the cable car detail....
Industry Input Wanted On Proposed OSIPS Framework-ANSI Standard
The Security Industry Association (SIA) has announced the opening of the third formal Public Review of BSR/SIA OSIPS-01-200x, Open, Systems Integration and Performance Standard (OSIPS) -- Framework as an American National Standard. SIA is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited Standards Developing Organization. The public comment period is open until Jan. 7, 2008.
The OSIPS Framework is the foundational standard for the OSIPS family of standards. Since OSIPS is directed at enabling the open integration of so many various types of components, it is essential to establish precise definitions of shared system elements and common means to communicate....
Threat Advisory System Response Guideline Eligible For Suggestions
The ASIS Commission on Standards and Guidelines is soliciting comments on suggested revisions to the Threat Advisory System Response Guideline. The TASR Guideline, up for a 60-day public review-and-comment period, was first published in 2004. All ASIS Guidelines are re-evaluated every three years, with the possibility of revision, if warranted.
To provide input, go to the Guidelines section of the ASIS Web site here. Comments must be submitted by Feb. 1, 2008. The TASR Guideline can be downloaded, free of charge, on the site. ...
Survey Estimates Shoplifting Costs Retailers Billions
As the holidays approach and more people are out shopping, they may notice some of the new high-tech security that retailers are using to battle theft and shoplifting. According to an annual survey conducted by the University of Florida with a funding grant from ADT Security Services, U.S. retailers lost $40.5 billion to theft last year. The survey measures retail shrinkage defined as a combination of employee theft, shoplifting, vendor fraud and administrative error and found that employee and internal theft account for the largest portions of retail theft followed by losses from shoplifting.
"The dollar loss to retailers from theft is staggering," says Jeffrey Bean, vice president ADT retail sales and operations. "Retailers are looking for more sophisticated and integrated security technology solutions to help limit losses, lower costs and keep prices down."...
Announcing the 2007 New Product of the Year
The plusID device from Privaris Inc., Charlottesville, Va., has been selected as Access Control & Security Systems' 2007 New Product of the Year. The plusID is a universal security token that combines physical and logical access by using a fingerprint to verify the identity of individuals seeking access to facilities and IT resources. The product was chosen as winner by a panel of judges and a tally of reader votes from 20 finalists in the sixth annual contest.
The plusID features a built-in fingerprint reader, secure onboard storage and compatibility with existing access control systems. It eliminates the need to install biometric readers at every door and computer and replaces passwords and access cards. The device has multiple communication interfaces to make it out-of-the-box compatible with most installed door readers for physical access and with Microsoft operating systems for logical access. ...
Cyberspace Security Opinion Varies Across Board
How the military and how business and industry view cyberspace is different than how everyday people view it, an expert in security for Microsoft told The Shreveport Times.
The military sees cyberspace as "the electromagnetic spectrum," from copper wires to microwaves, where communications, control, intelligence and energy can be delivered to defend, destroy or shape the world, just like land, air, sea and space.
"But some 85-90 percent of what is critical infrastructure in cyberspace is not in government hands," says David Aucsmith, who in more than 20 years in telecommunications security work has dealt with the military, business and government agencies....
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....
