Blog Archives
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My Airport Security Story
Hola desde México! Traveling to Mexico recently my wife and I landed at the airport in Merida, Mexico. I'm a frequent traveler and I have experienced immigration and customs inspections in many different countries. We landed in Merida at 9:00PM on a weekday and while standing in a couple of very long lines took the opportunity to observe the activity around me. Remember, everything in Mexico happens at a much slower pace - and that's OK, I'm on vacation. The first line was for immigration and it was very long as Mexican citizens were returning for the holidays. There was only one immigration official checking in non-Mexican travelers and the process was slow. As were were traversing through the line at some point someone noticed a... -
Are your networks harboring botnets?
By Joel Griffin - Monday December 6, 2010We've done a lot of reporting here at SIW lately about IT security and how it's impacting businesses and governments. Of course, the threats are numerous and have varying degrees of impact. Gone are the days when these threats only posed a minor nuisance to business operations. Indeed, the burgeoning industry of virus and malware writing is now a full fledged criminal enterprise perpetrated with an ever increasing level of sophistication. "It's an entire industry. The malware is really very, very sophisticated," said Martin Lee, senior software engineer for Symantec Hosted Services. "Long gone are the days when people writing viruses were anti-social teenagers in a bedroom." While a criminal may not care whose computers are... -
IP camera goes to new heights - literally!
By Geoff Kohl - Thursday December 2, 2010Taking IP cameras to new heights sounds like something you would hear in a press release, but in this case they were being literal. Here's the story: The Esrange Space Center at the Swedish Space Corporation sent a high altitude balloon equipped with atmospheric physics research tools up to 35 000 meters. When the tests were completed the 100 000 m³ balloon was brought down with three parachutes. The Esrange Space Center has sent up over 550 stratospheric balloons since 1974. Unique to this launch was that the parachutes were equipped with a network camera from Axis, the AXIS Q6034-E, which made it possible for the researchers to validate the parachute system and the landing with high quality images in real time from Earth. The balloon... -
What Scranton teaches us about municipal video surveillance
By Geoff Kohl - Tuesday November 30, 2010
In a very good and fairly detailed recent newspaper article by CitizensVoice.com , the city of Scranton, Penn., caught flack for a municipal video surveillance system that was flawed. I'm not willing to jump on the bandwagon and run the city through the ringer for a system that is not 100 percent effective. Instead, I want to take you through some of the known facts about the system and offer positive input on good system design. Admittedly, I have not visited the Scranton system, so my comments on this system are general in nature. Here's the first thing we know about the system...quoted straight from the article: "The network does not even reliably work. Stormy weather interrupts the wireless system that transmits and... -
New ideas for TSA bumper stickers
By Geoff Kohl - Wednesday November 24, 2010
I was just sent these TSA bumper sticker prototypes by a friend in the industry. We're serious about security, but it's good to have a loud laugh. So, as you pack your bags, hop on planes, check your 3-1-1 and prepare to stuff yourself with turkey, I hope you enjoy this masterful work and enjoy some LOLing. Sadly, we don't know who to credit for this humor, but whoever you are: Thank you! -
Going beyond 330 feet with IP cameras
By Geoff Kohl - Wednesday November 24, 2010
An article two weeks ago by Fredrik Nilsson, the general manager for the Americas of IP video company Axis Communications, tried to dispel some of the myths that if you're using IP cameras, you can't put a camera (or any other IP-connected end point like a PC, encoder, access control reader) more than 330 feet or 100 meters from a switch. In his article, he also offered some suggestions for how to get around that limitation . The issue here is that the IEEE has a 100-meter standard/specification for UTP cabling. Now, of course, you can make longer runs with standard UTP cabling, but if you're beyond the IEEE standard, then the cable isn't specified to support clean data transmission beyond that distance, and you're doing so at your... -
Exclusive First Alert Professional 2010 photos
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Friday November 19, 2010
JoAnna Sohovich, president of Honeywell Security & Communications, urged FAP dealers to use video to drive new customers and go beyond security. Joe Sausa, president of First Alert Professional, issued a call to action to members to work to gain new business by offering video and other enhanced services. Guest speaker Ross Shafer urged FAP attendees at the general session to appeal to the hearts of potential customers. He enlightened the audience with a dose of comic relief. Palm Beach County EMS Captain Craig Prusansky, center, received the 2010 FAP Life Safety Award for his role in shielding an injured woman lying in the street from gunfire coming from her husband at a nearby house. Honeywell's Ron Rothman, left... -
London Retailers' Online Bid to Fight Shoplifting
A professional security consulting organization that I belong to and based in the United Kingdom, recently sent me a article found in the securityoracle.com - and thought I would share.The article titled, "Retailers' Online Bid To Fight Shoplifting" points out measures recently taken by retailers in London to help combat the growing crimes of theft hitting the UK. There is a test program being conducted in Victoria, London and if successful will will be expanded throughout the London area. "Facewatch" was designed as a new crime reporting system aimed specifically at low level incidents such as shoplifting and bag theft, forms part of a range of anti-crime measures underway across Victoria to meet the needs identified by the... -
10 ways the TSA is losing the love
By Geoff Kohl - Tuesday November 16, 2010The TSA just can't get any love when it comes to the new airport screening procedures -- even though TSA earned a nice PR bump from a CBS News Poll released Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. That news poll said 81 percent of Americans are OK with full-body X-ray scanners . But you know things are bad when DHS Secretary Napolitano has to write an op-ed for USA Today stating that the scanners are safe and the pat-downs are discreet. So, where has the TSA not been getting the love? Well, for starters there's (1) that "Don't touch my junk" YouTube video from John Tyner that seems to be pretty popular. You might also like his blog . And then there was (2) this wonderful column from The Atlantic where a journalist red teams the TSA... -
Standalone video rules the FAP roost
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Friday November 12, 2010The Honeywell First Alert Professional conference in Boca Raton, Fla., kicked off with a product showcase that was truly an indication of the way the market is headed—according to this globally recognized R&D giant. New products in intrusion, especially wireless and video and others for the home that are still under wraps will be launched in 2011. But the real focus was on video and the “much more than security theme” that former president of Honeywell Security & Communications and current head of Honeywell Security Group Ron Rothman alluded to at last year’s meeting in San Diego. Joe Sausa, president of First Alert Professional kicked off the opening session with the “Connect to Success” theme prevalent throughout the...
