​BUSINESS NEWS

More than 1.6 million deer-vehicle collisions occur in the United States annually, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Those crashes result in about 200 human fatalities, tens of thousands of injuries, $1 billion in medical costs, and $3.6 billion in vehicle damage, in addition to the animal deaths. To prevent such accidents, safety experts have experimented with fences, feeding wildlife away from roadways, roadside reflectors, noisemakers, and driver education, among other strategies.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is testing a detection system that alerts drivers to the presence of wildlife in real time. Made by Senstar Corporation, the OmniTrax solution is based on a volumetric electromagnetic sensor. Buried about nine inches underground and 30 feet from each side of the road, it detects large animals that cross it, locates their position, and activates nearby signs to signal drivers about the activity. Unlike sensors that use laser beams or micro waves, the buried sensor will not be triggered by snow or tree branches. OmniTrax is widely used to secure perimeters of military installations, prisons, and other secure facilities.

The CDOT has also installed speed detectors in the test zone to monitor drivers’ base speeds and reaction speeds to evaluate the effectiveness of the solution. A CDOT Research Grant will go to the Western Transportation Institute to independently evaluate the project’s effectiveness.

PARTNERSHIPS AND DEALS

Orlando Infiniti is using cameras from Arecont Vision to help prevent after-hours theft. United Security Alliance, Inc., installed the cameras and monitors them.

Security provider Prosegur chose Bosch Security Systems to supply surveillance technology for the world’s largest music festival, Rock in Rio.

CNL Software and Aventura Technologies, Inc., have formed a technology partnership to integrate key Aventura products into CNL’s IPSecurity-Center platform.

D3 Security Management Systems worked with AMD to improve security via better incident reporting and management.

SW24 has become a Genetec dealer and will provide monitoring services in the New York City area.

Cameras from Hikvision are being used to protect patients, staff, and visitors at the Louis Pasteur Hospital in Chartes, France. ARGOS Technologies was the integrator on the project.

Intransa and Tri-Ed/Northern Video have announced a new distribution agreement, under which Tri-Ed will sell Intransa products.

Multispectral imaging fingerprint sensors from Lumidigmare part of IdentyTech’s new IDT Wallmount terminal.

The Ziggo Dome concert venue in Amsterdam will use access control and intrusion detection systems from Nedap Security Management implemented by Automatic Signal Rijsenhout.

North American Video has upgraded the video surveillance recording system at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles to a digital system that integrates point-of-sale transactions.

Optiview Inc. is now offering IP cameras from Sony, Vivotek, and Samsung in addition to its own brand of cameras. The company will also offer video management software from Digifort and Exact.

Sysrepublic announced that it has three new customers for its point-of-sale loss prevention solutions: IKEA in the United Kingdom and 7-Eleven and Stein Mart in the United States.

Zions Bancorporation has implemented Zettaset’s Security Data Warehouse to manage data and mitigate fraud.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

Tallahassee Regional Airport selected ADT Commercial to integrate security upgrades throughout the facility, including American Dynamics recorders, an Intransa storage system, a Software House access control system, and L-1 Identity Solutions biometric card readers.

The Dutch Customs Administration in the Netherlands purchased a mobile x-ray screening system from American Science and Engineering, Inc., for scanning aircraft.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded a contract to BSI Group’s supply chain solutions business unit for the creation of a protocol for screening cargo at U.S. ports.

DigitalPersona, Inc., announced that its fingerprint biometrics were used in the recent elections in Nigeria. The company worked with Zinox Technologies Ltd., a local computer manufacturer and integrator.

IP video surveillance systems from IndigoVision are in use throughout the Chinese province of Yunnan for urban monitoring and traffic management.

Infinova cameras were installed by GSG International to monitor key points of the Italian roadways managed by Autovie Venete S.p.A.

Mobile Concepts by Scotty delivered a Sprinter mobile command center to the James E. Van Zandt Veterans Hospital in Altoona, Pennsylvania, for use in community outreach and disaster preparedness.

Morpho has signed an agreement with the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service to maintain the SmartGate automated border clearance system.  The National Cyber Security Alliance will institute and promote cybersecurity education programs for all levels of students under a new agreement with the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Quantum Secure is providing its SAFE for Energy Facilities software to Salt River Project for physical identity, access, and compliance management.

NAV CANADA is deploying a surface surveillance system from Saab Sensis Corporation at Calgary International Airport.

Millennium Communications designed and installed an updated video surveillance system from Samsung at the Naval Ordnance Test Unit at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Science Applications International Corporation received an order from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to upgrade 210 explosives detection systems.

AWARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS

Data Storage Corporation has completed its SAS70 Type II audit, which was conducted by A-lign CPAs, LLC. The audit verifies that the company has the proper internal controls in place to protect client data.

Diebold, Incorporated, was awarded the 2011 Online Trust Leadership Award for Excellence in Security Practices by the Online Trust Alliance.

ELSAG North America has been certified by the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, an initiative of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

HID Global and its parent ASSA ABLOY have received a U.S. patent for “Method and Apparatus for Making a Decision on a Card.”

Visonic Group won the 2011 Frost & Sullivan European Growth Leadership Award in Intrusion Detection Systems.

Verizon has earned ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certification for the company’s Converged Security Operations Center in Cary, North Carolina.

Voltage Security was inducted into the JPMorgan ChaseHall of Innovation, which recognizes technology vendors for business impact.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Basler has joined the Open Network Video Interface Forum(ONVIF) as a user member.

BioID AG has founded a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, BioID, Inc., with headquarters in Carson City, Nevada.

Data Management Inc. celebrated its 50th anniversary.

The Electronic Security Association moved to new headquarters in Irving, Texas.

The Mineta Transportation Institute has published a downloadable report to help agencies create continuity plans while complying with the National Incident Management System.

Access Systems Integration has changed its company name to MSA Systems Integration.

Audio intrusion detection technology from Sonitrol foiled a burglary attempt at International Brand Trading in Pompano Beach, Florida.

TeleEye donated video equipment and software to the Produce Green Foundation to achieve better security for the organic farming charity.

Toshiba Surveillance & IP Video has launched a new Web site with more detailed content and better navigation atwww.toshibasecurity.com.

ASIS NEWS

Wounded Warriors Serve Security’s Cause

Last year, then-ASIS International President Raymond T. O’Hara, CPP, now chairman of the ASIS Board of Directors, urged ASIS members to help find jobs at their companies for U.S. war veterans who have recovered from injuries received during their service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The effort is part of the Wounded Warrior Project’s Warriors to Work program, which assists Veterans in their transition to civilian employment by providing individual counseling, résumé building, and other services. A success story of the Warriors to Work initiative can be found at American International Group, Inc. (AIG), of New York City, where Wounded Warriors are now working as contract employees staffing AIG’s around-the-clock Global Security Operations Center (GSOC), located at the company’s headquarters in the city’s financial district.

AIG is a leading international insurance organization serving customers in more than 130 countries. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional, and individual customers through extensive worldwide property casualty networks. In addition, AIG companies are leading providers of life insurance and retirement services in the United States.

During the last year and a half, through an outside company, AIG has hired three Wounded Warriors as intelligence analysts. Steven W. Tursi, CPP, AIG’s chief security officer, notes, “We’ve been aware of Wounded Warriors for a while because most of the staff here are former military.”

He explains that the company has been supporting the Wounded Warriors program philanthropically for at least five years, and wanted to take it further by hiring some veterans through the program, but “it wasn’t a good time to do that, so we decided to go through a third party and bring them on as contract employees.”

The GSOC, where the Veterans now work, tracks major global incidents and assesses the impact these may have on AIG employees, buildings, and operations worldwide. “They track our employees who are traveling; they track our corporate aircraft; they provide threat assessments for all employees traveling to dangerous locations. They do a wide variety of daily monitoring for the company of our personnel and properties overseas, and they report when any significant event impacts them,” Daniel J. Gallagher, AIG’s senior manager of global security operations, states.

Among the Wounded Warriors’ other duties is to work with employees who will be traveling to high-threat locations. The Wounded Warriors ensure that the appropriate security measures are in place prior to the employees leaving and teach them how to initiate emergency response procedures when necessary.

“We feel that [Wounded Warriors] are the easiest candidate pool to draw from,” Gallagher explains, because of their military intelligence experience in dangerous environments. “Throughout the years, we have developed a close relationship with Wounded Warrior representatives who manage the Warriors to Work program. Whenever a position becomes available in the GSOC, we reach out to them. The Wounded Warrior Project screens all candidates to ensure [that] they meet the prerequisites for the position and then provides us with a group of individuals for interview,” he says.

Once hired, the Wounded Warrior meets with the security management team to discuss the overall mission of the AIG Global Security Department and gets training, which includes being paired with an experienced staff intelligence analyst for two weeks. “During the training process…they are taught our information gathering processes,” states Gallagher. “They will reach out to a variety of embassies, liaise with the state department, and learn the intricacies of dealing with foreign law enforcement agencies, all prior to becoming an independent operator.”

Gallagher says that although several of the Wounded Warriors have had “bad injuries—several have been shot multiple times or taken shrapnel from blasts—the typical injuries you would see in Iraq and Afghanistan,” none of them has so far required any special modifications of the work environment. “If we need to install ramps or time delays on the doors, we are certainly going to do so, but thus far we haven’t had any physical disabilities that would require it.”

Both Gallagher and Tursi say that the Wounded Warriors have performed outstandingly and praise their intelligence-gathering skills and their work ethic. “They show up every day on time and are precise with their work in a job with a no-fail environment,” Gallagher states. “If you were to speak to the Wounded Warriors, they might tell you that there was some trepidation on the part of other companies to hire them based on their wartime traumatic experiences. But we’ve had absolutely zero negative things happen. It’s gone perfectly.”

Tursi says that the GSOC will be hiring additional analysts, potentially adding five more to the staff this year as the operation continues to expand. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with the [Wounded Warrior] organization while increasing the number of Wounded Warriors we have on staff,” he states.

For more information on the Wounded Warrior Project, visitwww.woundedwarriorproject.org.