​BUSINESS NEWS

Building on the “see something, say something” concept, Norfolk Southern Corporation and BNSF Railway have implemented programs for community reporting of rail safety and security issues. The industrywide initiative aims to include everyone with an interest in railroads.

Norfolk Southern’s “Protect the Line” program is an online resource that directly connects visitors with the NS Police. Observers can report suspicious activity relating to equipment maintenance, track obstructions, trespassing, vandalism, and suspicious items and vehicles. The company is also developing an update for its smartphone app, NS Corp, that will include access to the program.

More than 10,000 citizens have already joined BNSF’s “Citizens for Rail Security,” which was established in 2006. Concerned individuals have reported such observations as potential suicides, stolen equipment, trespassers, lost children near tracks, and suspicious articles and vehicles left on the tracks. As part of the program, BNSF resource protection officers also make presentations on railroad safety and security to interested groups.

The rail safety nonprofit Operation Lifesaver reports that a person or vehicle is hit by a train about every three hours, and last year nearly 800 people were injured or killed while trespassing on railroad property in the United States. The group promotes education, enforcement, and engineering to keep people safe around railway tracks and crossings.

PARTNERSHIPS AND DEALS

A partnership between Altera Corporation and Eutecus has resulted in a video analytics solution for multichannel video surveillance systems.

The Symmetry Homeland Security Management System from AMAG Technology was chosen to secure TPC Group, Inc., a petrochemical firm.

Des Moines Area Community College in Iowa has deployed the Avigilon high-definition surveillance system to deter crime and boost safety.

Brivo Systems LLC announced that its Aparato access control system now integrates with the ADPRO FastTrace recording system from Xtralis.

CNL Software and SightLogix, Inc., have integrated the SightLogix video analytics system with the IPSecurity-Center from CNL Software.

Dakota Security Systems, Inc., has chosen Co-Sentry to provide secure data center services.

Hooters of America, LLC, has deployed Digital-Persona’s U.are.U fingerprint readers and ITWercs point-of-sale software to reduce payroll and transaction fraud.

Big Lots has selected Envysion as a video service provider and deployed the Insight solution to 1,200 retail stores.

IP Security Reps will represent Fluidmesh Networks in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

HID Global is providing access control solutions and readers at the Fuxi power plant in China.

H&H Fire and Security has signed a contract with Matrix Systems to supply value-added reseller services in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Milestone Systems announced that its XProtect Corporate video management system is certified for integration with the Software House C-CURE 9000 management system.

Falcon Microwave deployed a video surveillance as a service solution from Moonblink Communications for a steel company.

Bank Mizrahi Tefahot selected the NiceVision banking solution from NICE for video recording and fraud detection.

Opgal Optronic Industries has entered into a strategic partnership with Ngaro Intelligent Solutions to create thermal imaging cameras.

SIS Distribution is using QNAP IP video solutions to protect its warehouse.

Wright Express has signed an agreement to use ReD’s enterprise fraud prevention service.

Softron Argentina and Vanguard Integrity Professionals announced a strategic partnership to provide information security software and services in Argentina.

The Iris on the Move identification system from SRI International is protecting access to the Auburn University athletic facility.

TagMaster North America, Inc., supplied a long-range, hands-free vehicle access solution to Tidewater Plantation, a gated community in South Carolina.

VidSys and Activu are working together to provide a situational awareness and management solution for the public sector.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has ordered hand-held spectrum analyzers from Anritsu Electronics Ltd.

Genetec is supplying its Omnicast surveillance system to Trollmühle, a water utility in Germany. SLK GmbH implemented the system.

ISS facility services won a contract with Brisbane Airport Corporation in Australia to provide curbside management services for the next three years.

MorphoTrak was selected by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to provide its automated biometric identification system for its new statewide system.

The Denver Regional Transportation District is expanding its implementation of NICE video security solutions.

Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc., won a contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Chemical and Biological Defense Division to develop and manufacture a rapid diagnostic test for biological attack or pandemic event.

AWARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS

AlliedBarton Security Services received the State of Missouri Flag of Freedom Award from the Show-Me Heroes program for military hiring efforts in 2011.

Behavioral Recognition Systems, Inc., was honored with a 2012 Counter Terrorism and Specialist Security Award at the Counter Terror Expo in London.

Calibre UK has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade in recognition of its export growth.

G4S Technology LLC announced that its physical and electronic security solutions were designated and certified as qualified anti-terrorism technology (QATT) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the SAFETY Act.

The IPGSM-DP IP and cellular fire alarm communicator from Honeywell has been evaluated by the Government Services Administration (GSA) and authorized for use on IT networks of federal facilities.

IndigoVision has been awarded GSA-approved vendor status.

Automated weapons control portals from Isotec Security have been designated as QATT.

Link Microtek has announced that the Emisens Emili 2 liquid identification system has achieved European Civil Aviation Conference Performance Standard 2, allowing its use in European airports.

MPC has achieved AAA Certification for computer hard drive sanitization from the National Association for Information Destruction.

The FAAST Fire Alarm from System Sensor is now listed to the European EN 54-20 standard for aspirating smoke detectors. The detector was independently tested by VdS.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Axis Communications has opened a new North American headquarters building that includes a briefing center, museum, board rooms, training facility, auditorium, and mock command center.

Basler now offers a three-year warranty for all its digital cameras.

Digimerge Technologies has created a new page on its Web site that offers demonstration videos to assist with product training.

DRS Technologies has realigned its operating structure to better serve military and commercial customers. The company is also consolidating corporate functions in its Arlington, Virginia, headquarters.

Gillmore Security Systems, Inc., has acquired ABLE Security & Automation Corp. to expand in northeastern Ohio.

Golden Seal Enterprises celebrated its new facility in Winchester, Virginia, which includes a firing range, training academy, and offices.

HID Global has opened an office in Mexico City to serve the region.

HR Plus introduced a new Web page to serve as a resource for military hiring information.

Ideal Industries Networks US has relocated its headquarters to a facility in San Diego, California.

(ISC)2 has launched a new Advisory Board for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The EAB will help organize cybersecurity professionals and act as a resource for government, industry, and special interest groups.

The Mission 500 Security 5/2K Race at ISC West raised nearly $100,000 to sponsor children in need through World Vision.

Netwatch USA has opened offices in Boston to serve the United States market.

Salient Federal Solutions, Inc., has acquired ATS Corporation and added a new business unit: Civilian Mission Critical Solutions.

Securitas has acquired Chillida Sistemas de Seguridad in Spain and PT Environmental Indokarya in Indonesia.

Security Labels International has acquired Geoffrey Waldmeyer Associates Ltd., a supplier of security seals, labels, and tamper-evident bags.

The Terrorism Research Center has been reestablished as a nonprofit organization to continue raising public awareness and establishing a knowledge base of research and analysis.

ASIS NEWS

Security Officers to Get SAR Training
There are more than 2 million security officers who protect our nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources. That’s more than fire service/EMS and law enforcement combined. Because of this, private sector security professionals are well equipped to serve as “force multipliers” to law enforcement officers, helping to protect communities by recognizing and reporting suspicious activity.

To support these efforts, the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative Program Management Office (NSI PMO) has developed SAR awareness training for private sector security officers. The NSI PMO has partnered with ASIS International to deliver this private sector security training to professionals in the field.

The NSI training strategy was first developed to increase the effectiveness of federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement in identifying, reporting, evaluating, and sharing preincident terrorism indicators to prevent acts of terrorism. To support this, three separate training programs were developed for front-line officers, chief executives, and fusion center analysts.

With these training programs now fully deployed, the NSI PMO has turned the focus to other key non-law enforcement constituencies. These constituencies include hometown security partners, who, due to their direct relationship with the public, can directly support and supplement law enforcement. They can do so by identifying and reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement, but to fill that role, they must be properly trained.

The training, in the form of a DVD or online video, explains what constitutes suspicious behavior, as well as the importance of sharing this information with supervisors and also with law enforcement for follow up and investigation. The foundational principle behind what merits a SAR is that reporting standards are based on behaviors that have been shown to be indicators of terrorism. The focus is on what a person is doing, not on that person’s ethnicity or physical appearance, for example.

Another issue is how information is collected, processed, and shared. Every day, in the course of their duties, law enforcement officers observe suspicious behaviors and receive reports from concerned civilians, private security, and other government agencies. Previously, this information was stored at the local precinct and shared only within the agency as part of an incident reporting system.

In addition to developing training modules, the NSI has taken the processes that law enforcement agencies have used for years and developed standards, policies, and processes for law enforcement at all levels of government to gather, document, process, analyze, and share information that could potentially be related to terrorist activity. Other core components of the NSI include privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections, community outreach, and a technology solution, all of which make up a comprehensive program that is rooted in behaviors, focusing on “the what” rather than “the who.”

Initially launched in 2008, this comprehensive program has been implemented in state and major urban area fusion centers across the country, as well as within the federal government. With the current outreach to other key constituencies, such as the private sector, the NSI PMO is working to close any remaining gaps in the SAR network.

Go to www.asisonline.org to link to the training on the ASIS International Web site. You will also be able to see metrics on the number of people who have received this important training. Should you have any questions about the training or reporting mechanisms, please contact the NSI PMO at [email protected] or 202/ 514-0617.

The NSI thanks you for your assistance with this important effort and for supporting the Nationwide SAR Initiative. By Katherine G. Black, NSI PMO outreach and communications advisor, Washington, D.C.

CSO Roundtable in London, NYC 
Within the span of 10 busy days in April, the CSO Roundtable held programs in London and New York City, convening panel discussions and hosting speakers on such topics as mass transit security for the Olympics, the threat from Iran, crisis management practices, and reputational risk. The London sessions were held in conjunction with the ASIS 11th Annual European Security Conference and Exhibition, while, for the first time, the Spring Conference of the CSO Roundtable was collocated with the ASIS NYC Conference and Expo, as well as the ASIS Global Terrorism Conference.

Both programs featured panels on the evolving role of the CSO. In New York, Russ Cancilla, VP and CSO of oil and gas firm Baker Hughes, laid out 10 musts for today’s senior security leader, including creating an enterprise security strategy that is aligned with the company’s business. Across the Atlantic, Don Randall, Head of Security, Bank of England, echoed Cancilla’s thoughts, emphasizing the importance of working to grow the business and contributing beyond security. Volker Wagner, SVP, Deutsche Telekom, added that the successful CSO will portray security as a competitive differentiator.

The London CSO program also examined the prospect of terrorism and civil unrest in Europe as well as the threat Iran poses to the west. While both programs featured discussions of physical threats, they also addressed less tangible challenges, such as reputational risk, getting staff to buy into a security mind-set, and advanced persistent threats.

Special guests were honored at each venue. In New York, CSO Roundtable President Richard Gunthner awarded Don W. Walker, CPP, with a certificate of appreciation for his critical role in conceiving and developing the CSO Roundtable, as well as serving as one of its first two cochairs. CSOs in London welcomed Alain Juillet, head of the CDSE, a French organization of corporate CSOs. Juillet expressed a desire to work closely with the CSO Roundtable on global issues and to exalt the role of the CSO in French organizations. He noted that French CSOs rarely sit on management committees, and never on boards of directors.

NYC. In New York, attendees had the opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of 9-11. Several CSOs joined a tour of the 9-11 Memorial, accompanied both by a memorial guide and by the site’s director of security. The CSOs saw the names of former ASIS colleagues who died in the 9-11 attacks, such as Douglas Karpiloff of the World Trade Center and Rick Rescorla of Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter, etched into bronze panels surrounding twin reflecting pools.

Upcoming. The Roundtable will host a track of sessions in Philadelphia at the ASIS 58th Annual Seminar and Exhibits in September, covering a range of business and risk issues critical to senior security executives. These sessions are open for free to paid Roundtable members and for a separate fee for those eligible to join. A private business lounge at the conference center, as well as a separate bar and reception area at the President’s Reception, will be available. Later in the year, the Roundtable will hold a two-day security summit in Bogotá, Colombia. Visit www.csoroundtable.org for more information on these programs and for eligibility requirements.