With all of the technology innovations the alarm industry has seen in recent years with the rise in demand for interactive services, one trend that has flown relatively underneath the radar is the growing market for do-it-yourself (DIY) security systems. Although the concept of letting consumers buy and install their own alarm panels, motion detectors and cameras is not new to the industry...

Editor’s note: The article below was written by IAPSC President, Frank Pisciotta, CSC. This is a great conference that every security consultant should consider attending. It features great vendor displays, discussions and sharing. There is something for everybody. I will be attending and look forward to seeing colleagues and other consultants there.  – Curt The International...

Most security professionals know that HIPAA compliance is a federal mandate, with penalties up to $1,500,000 for a breach.  Leon Rodriguez, the director of OCR (Office of Civil Rights for the Department of Health and Human Services), comes from a law enforcement background and he has pushed for, and got, more fines levied, more enforcement, and listings of organization posted on the...

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has to be the most maligned federal agency in history. Everyone who flies seems to have their own version of TSA hell, spanning the security line purgatory of incidental groping and rude behavior to theft and intrusive scanning. I do fly on a regular basis, and I will say that my negative experiences with TSA agents have been minimal. Except...

Considering all the news lately, if you think working with the government is akin to trying to complete one of those wacky obstacle courses on that silly show Wipeout, it would probably be an understatement. The quest of some Congressional leaders to drastically eliminate federal spending basically led to a shutdown of the federal government. Constant fights over budgetary issues and debt...

In building a winning project team for physical security installations, lead project managers must carefully assess the skills of the project team to insure that proper representation of stakeholders is present, with a clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of a project. In addition, there are several cultural, technical, process methodologies, and integration strategies that must...

A recent comprehensive study by ASIS International and the Institute of Finance and Management (IOFM) shows a booming market for security. It’s $350 billion, to be exact, according to "The United States Security Industry: Size and Scope, Insights, Trends, and Data." Some $282 billion consists of private sector spending. What’s more, 17 security companies made the 2013 Inc. 5000 list that...

This time they went too far… No, I have not joined the ranks of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Congressman John Fleming, or the online version of China's Communist Party newspaper — my eyes are wide open and I’m no “victim” of satire. Today, The Onion posted a story with the headline: “ 16-Year-Old Excited To Have Whole Summer To Plan Shooting For Next School Year” . You...

Date/Time of Incident: 10/23/2012 1:44 a.m. Location: Indianapolis, Ind. Incident Type: Break in at TC Electric, 205 W. Morris Street, Indianapolis Offender: White male; Michael A. Scott, 43 years old Charges filed: Subject arrested on site and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia; one count of burglary; one count of criminal mischief; and one count of criminal trespass...

Editor's note: Edward Dunham, an attorney with Kleinbard, Bell & Brecker, co-authored this blog entry. If your company recently suffered a power outage or other hurricane-related damage you may be tempted to put any potential insurance claim to the side and focus on getting your operations up and running again. First things first, but you may have rights under the insurance you’ve purchased...