SecurityInfoWatch.com Blogs » The Security Check

The White House Blackberries

Geoff Kohl — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:50:27 +0000

Back in Episode 23 of our SIW Radio podcast series, we discussed mobile device security as part of our “IT Basics for Physical Security Pros” series with Kevin Beaver, CISSP. One of the focuses of that audio program (which is now available through the iTunes store for free) was about devices like laptops and blackberries — which are the core business computing tools of today — are lacking even security like password-protection.

The thing about these devices is that they are so easily stolen. A criminal can throw a laptop under an arm or drop a Blackberry in a pocket. Such, it seems, was the case with a Mexican embassy official who attempted to steal Blackberries from White House staffers in late April. According to a report on Fox News’ website and an Associated Press report, the Mexican staffer simply grabbed some Blackberries that were left on a table outside a meeting room (security and custom dictate that these devices don’t get into high-level meetings with President Bush) and almost got away with it, were it not for surveillance video systems set up by the U.S. Secret Service.

Can you imagine the intelligence information that was sitting on that table? [Also check out a new blog post on this same White House Blackberries topic from our friend Kevin Beaver at his Security on Wheels blog.]

-Geoff

The airport security screener game

Geoff Kohl — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:04:13 +0000

Want an approximation of what it might feel like to be a TSA security screener working at a busy checkpoint? Shockwave has a simple Airport Security game out that runs in your web browser. You can choose your level of play — Fickle, Abitrary or Knee-Jerk — and you have to spot threats in luggage and on persons. Click the bottle of liquid in the carry-on bag, manage new security updates (”No cell phones in carry-ons”) and deal with alerts like “security queue too long”. It’s just like the stress of being an airport screener, but at least if the air passengers get angry at you, you can just turn the game off and get back to your real work.

Get to the fun at Shockwave’s Airport Security game landing page. — Geoff

Even more security blogs

Geoff Kohl — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:24:54 +0000

We’ve previously made mention of blogs in our industry. I just want to point to five blogs you can check out when you have too much time on your hands (and who doesn’t, right? OK, that’s satire…):

Our friend Steve Hunt is an analyst and general industry rabble-rouser. He’s also got some sharp insights into the world of vendors and hot technologies. Go to http://www.securitydreamer.com/
Bruce Schneier is THE MAN when it comes to all things encryption. If you want to geek out on encryption or enjoy his lively commentary, get yourself over to http://www.schneier.com/blog/
I had mentioned before that Frank DeFina (Panasonic Systems Solutions President) has a blog, but that post has been buried in the archives. Frank’s blog can be reached at http://blog.panasonic.com/frank/
I just learned at ISC West that Dr. Bob (last name Banerjee, for those of you outside of the Bosch Security loop) is blogging — mainly about video surveillance. It’s good to have another familiar name in the security industry blogosphere. Go here: http://blog.boschsecurity.us/
And although we mentioned it before on the main news site, I want to repeat to you all again that our friend Curtis Baillie, a security consultant from Pennsylvania and general retail loss prevention whiz, is now blogging for SIW: http://www.securityinfowatch.com/blog/category/security2lp/

-Geoff

Simplifying your proposal and estimating process

Geoff Kohl — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:07:11 +0000

I was on the phone this afternoon with Tim Bigoness, the vice president of sales for D-Tools, a company that has made software for estimating, designing and managing A/V projects and which now offers a version of its project tailored for security systems dealers and integrators. While we covered many of the features in the company’s software, I picked up on some common business management tips for handling sales estimate and proposal processes. Consider the following recommendations as ways to improve your own company’s processes…

Good tips for making estimates and proposals easier on you:

- Create a list of your top 100 products and detail basic information such as your product cost (from distributor), your MSRP (or MSRP range).
- Create a list of estimated time it would take your installers to install and configure each of these common pieces of hardware. Consider also including estimated time for training the end-user.
- Create pre-configured system packages (4 cameras plus a DVR plus cabling, power supplies and mounting kits, for example).
- Create a number of common pre-configured accessory packages (an accessory list for a standard analog fixed camera might include power supply, enclosure, mounting kit, etc.)
- Create checklists of products that are essential to any system (e.g., single and double-gang boxes, flex conduit, hard conduit, etc.) to make sure these easy-to-forget items are included in your costs when making proposals and bids.

We’re sure there are more good suggestions of things to have pre-planned to make proposals and bidding easier. Share your ideas with the industry by adding a comment to this blog post.

-Geoff

RMR in residential video surveillance

Geoff Kohl — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:59:48 +0000

CNBC’s Power Lunch news program featured Napco CEO Richard Soloway and the company’s iSee Video offering on its “One Good Idea” segment on Tuesday afternoon, April 8th.

Soloway joined CNBC’s Bill Griffeth for the lunchtime program to talk about enabling video surveillance in residential environments. The 2-1/2 minute program showcased how video surveillance could be an additional source of RMR for dealers, and pointed out how low the costs have gone for this kind of technology solution. Soloway’s solution, he said, would start at about $500 for the technology installed, and then from $10 per month for service that would connect users remotely to the live video.

The solution can push video to PDAs, phones and other mobile devices; in fact, the ubiquitous iPhone was the solution shown on the CNBC segment. The goal is while the customers see video, your security business sees RMR. Our take? Thumbs up for creating another potential revenue stream for security dealers.

Check out the video of Soloway on CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=706138627

-Geoff

ISC West 2008 photos: Day 3

Geoff Kohl — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:53:47 +0000

The SecurityInfoWatch.com and Cygnus Security Group crew is back from ISC West 2008. It really was a great show, and from what SIA’s Richard Chace told me after the show, the numbers looked really good. The second day of the show, Thursday, was jam packed with attendees in the tradeshow floor, and although session attendance was apparently hit or miss (that probably depends more on the subject matter than the number of people there), it was clear that ISC West was the place to be! In fact, all you had to do was to send an email out to the industry, and judge by the number of “out of office” replies you received to tell how well the show was doing!

Finally, here are some more photos of the tradeshow floor, ranging from access control to chemical threat detection. There’s always cool technology to see at this show, and I’ve been amazed at how ISC has transitioned from a alarm dealer’s show to be a real, widespread gathering place for everything security, from computer access systems to mobile surveillance trucks. It really is an amazing place to see the industry.

From left: Alexander Ivanchenko of the Security Industry Association of Russia (RASI); Inna Svyatenko, deputy of Moscow City Council in charge of security; Sara Scroggins, product marketing manager with Pelco and a Women in Security Electronics (WISE) member; and Dale Eller, executive director of WISE. The four caught up after the show to discuss security in Moscow and advancing the role of women in the security industry. Svyatenko and Ivanchenko were on hand to review security solutions that could be used in Moscow for community protection.

What’s a tradeshow without a hands-on contest? This one pitted techs and dealers against a clock and a retrofit project.

OK, you get the sneak preview here if you didn’t make it to ISC West 2008. The Ford Transit Connect is a commercial delivery vehicle that would work especially well in urban environments and for small projects where you don’t need as much delivery space. It’s no E-150 full-size van, but it’s probably just right for technicians, and the 4-cylinder engine won’t drink up your business profits.

…but if you want to go heavy-duty, here’s the bigger brother from Ford with a nice custom storage system. This thing is built to be a workhorse.

We caught up with Kevin Wine, who recently made the move from Lenel to ICx. The firm provides a broad array of security and threat detection solutions, designed to be integrated together. Here he is with the company’s Fido detection unit for scanning liquids for chemical threats. The unbelievable thing is that this particular unit can detect liquid chemical threats through a sealed plastic bottle. That’s right, you don’t have to remove the cap (and potentially expose the environment) to test for liquid threats.

I wrote that ICx wants to integrate security. It may start with things like the Fido (or a cool card reader that tested for explosives residue), but the data can end up in the company’s CommandSpace situational awareness system for linking video surveillance, sensor data and a lot more.

As the show ended, I ran into the staff of ScanSource Security Distribution, and got them together for a group shot. The beach theme had everyone smiling in the booth (or maybe those smiles were because the show was over and they could all get home!).

See you all at the next show…

-Geoff

Even more pics from ISC West ‘08

Geoff Kohl — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:21:32 +0000

The camera didn’t get much more use today, but I did manage to click away at some interesting technologies. Overall, the feel from ISC West is that the show is about as big as it can realistically be for most people to still get value out of it. Sure, there are bigger shows, but they often have bigger boooths, rathn than scores of 10′x10′ exhibits. We’re pretty amazed at the breadth of technology at ISC West — this is the kind of show where you can find a booth on wire snakes for pulling low-voltage cables and also find a platform truck loaded with high-end camera solutions that could be used for border patrol or temporary surveillance a national security event. Well, onto the photos…

Above: Privaris PlusID units — the unit on the right is the PlusID 75, which includes an RSA one-time password unit (the screen show on it) as well as Bluetooth wireless communications.

Above: Ionit’s booth had a full-size pool table and billiards hot shot Ewa Mataya Laurance (The Striking Viking) showing off trick shots.

Above: Fast company in the aisles of the ISC West tradeshow floor

Above: Brivo was showing how the company’s access control solutions integrated directly to AMX automation controls.

Above Samsung GVI Security’ s Duncan Havlin shows the firms three new IP cameas and new video management software.

-Geoff

A few ISC West ‘08 pics

Geoff Kohl — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:00:46 +0000

We were too busy taking notes on new technologies too blind the attendees of ISC West 2008 with the flash of a camera, but here is the start of a photo archive for Day One at ISC West 2008. There’s a lot to be seen, and this doesn’t even begin to show what’s happening here, but I’ll give you a quick run-down in photos.

Above: Michael Regelski is the CTO at UTC Fire & Security. The quote that summed up his morning presentation: “We are committed to building interoperable platforms.” It’s a strategy that is working for the company (which has such companies as Lenel, Onity, and Verex in its mix). Duncan Gillis, president for the UTC Fire & Security products group, said that in 2005, before UTC acquired Lenel, the company’s digital video sales were in a decline. The company has since refocused on interoperability, rather than siloed, proprietary solutions, and the firm has seen a direct reversal of that trend. Interoperability works, seemed to be the consistent message from Gillis and Regelski.

Above: Okay, how do you know you’re really in Vegas for ISC West 2008? Here’s a hint: Beautiful women hired for booth promotions, high-tech cameras and the flood of people entering the tradeshow floor at 10 a.m.

Above: This looks exciting right? Despite its small size, there’s a lot of excitement and guts in this chip. The ARTPEC -3 processing chips will be appearing in Axis Communications’ new cameras and encoders. It allows the company to integrate in-camera processing for megapixel video, H.264 compression and video analytics. Axis has the chip appearing already in the Axis P3301 dome, the Axis Q7401 video encoder, the Axis Q7406 video encoder blade (6 channels), and the Axis Q7900 encoder rack (which has 14 encoder blades totaling 84 channels, and still fits in a 4 unit rackspace).

Above: Just another circuit board? I didn’t think so. Dave Ella, CTO for AMAG, showed me this EN-1DBC single-door POE controller. This networked device speeds installation time and the POE can support readers and most locks (don’t expect the current POE to support the highest-powered magnetic locking devices, but the POE model does support many devices for door control). The device is being called the Symmetry Edge network controller, and expands the company’s distributed access control model. Set-up is indeed quite quick; I got a preview of the set-up for configuring this controller, and it’s fast.

That about covers our photos; the rest were plagued with bad light, unsteady hands, or subjects who blinked too much to include. Look for more pics tomorrow and Friday as we continue to cover ISC West 2008. Of course, if you haven’t yet, head to our ISC West 2008 page for reports from editors and tons of product announcements.

-Geoff

The skeptic

Geoff Kohl — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:13:20 +0000

I read a story recently about the insecurity of wireless phone headsets. I was most surprised by the comments of a security expert who downplayed the concerns over these devices. In fact, the assessing team used the phones to record conversations, from which they created the “identity” of an employee from another office. They then used that identity to gain acces to the building, get a corporate ID badge/access card made (it allowed full building access), and were able to grab a desk in the building and connect directly to the corporate network. It seemed curious to think that this security expert would downplay the risk of these devices. Security is more than ROI and aligning with the business, even though those are the new buzz-phrases today experts are singing. Security isn’t about ROI or business alignment, although those are handy things to talk when it’s budget time. Rather, when it’s your job on the line, security is still about risks and threats.

-Geoff

Safety slugs in hospitals

Geoff Kohl — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:42:35 +0000

I received a note based on a question about how to respond to shootings that happen inside hospitals in my weekly recap of the industry. The challenge, as we know, is that hospitals have a lot of mission-critical electronic (and chemical) systems plus a lot of people and are generally a very dense environment. They’re simply not the best places to shoot weapons to take down an active shooter (see incident from last week). One of our reader’s weighed in with his tip on the subject:

“I retired from the PA GAME COMMISSION after 36 years, (and two years as a Constable). As a Conservation Officer, I had several opportunities to dispatch small animals in a limited space. This was done with Glazer Safety Bullets. One of the calls I received was from the Warden of our County Jail. The jail is close to a small pond, and a muskrat from the pond had gotten in to the jail. The jail officials were afraid that the muskrat was rabid, and they wanted it removed. I shot it with a Glazer (in my 357 Magnum) and the bullet did not exit the muskrat. This was the case in all prior incidents were I had used a Glazer. Glazers expend all of their energy on the first object they hit, and go no further. So my suggestion is “Arm Hospital Inside Security with Glazers”. – Bruce Carey, a locksmith from Pennsylvania

Interesting tip. Mr. Carey is actually referring to the Glaser Safety Slug, which behaves as he describes. The only warning some have issued is that these slugs, when used in handguns, sometimes don’t have the force needed to take down a perp. In rifles, that is not reported to be an issue. Share your thoughts here (use the comments button) or in our forums if you’d like to add more.

-Geoff