​BUSINESS NEWS

Next month, engineering students from around the United States compete in the second annual Cornell Cup USA presented by Intel, a contest that challenges students to apply professional design skills to embedded-technology inventions. The team from the University of Pittsburgh has chosen a project that would benefit dementia patients and their caregivers. PandaCare consists of a wristband that monitors the patient’s body temperature and pulse and, in addition, the patient’s location. A campaign-button-sized device worn on the chest contains sensors including cameras, a GPS sensor, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope. It can send information to the caregiver in real time if the patient falls or wanders away, or if a vital sign changes dramatically.

Other GPS tracking devices for wandering patients are already available in the commercial market. One recent development is the GPS-enabled shoe, which is produced by Aetrex Worldwide, Inc., and distributed by Safe Tracks GPS Solutions, Inc., in Canada, and by BrickHouse Security in the United States. The shoes use a cellular network to send location coordinates to a caregiver; if the patient wanders outside a preset location, an alert will be sent by e-mail or SMS.

Other products that provide GPS tracking for dementia patients—and for other people who might wander, like children with autism—include the S-911 bracelet and the S-911 personal locator from Adiant Solutions, both of which allow two-way communication between the caregiver and the patient and alert the caregiver if the wearer falls or goes outside a predetermined safe area. These devices are also useful for lone workers and security guards patrolling deserted locations.

PARTNERSHIPS AND DEALS

Alaric International is partnering with Channel Group, which will resell Alaric’s payment and fraud prevention systems.

Arecont Vision is providing its megapixel camera solutions to Gistex for use in its Indonesian textile plants.

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., announced that its DNA marking is being used by Nokas AS in Sweden to mark cash and criminals in the event its armored trucks are robbed.

CynergisTek has partnered with Blass Consulting and Compliance, LLC, to deliver compliance management in the CynergisTek Surveyor healthcare risk management solution.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has deployed the Envysion, Inc., Insight solution to all corporate-owned restaurants for security and operations management.

G4S Technology will provide access control and barrier entry systems to the University of West London.

US Trailer Holdings LLC has deployed the VeriWise Track and Trace asset management system from I.D. Systems, Inc.

IQinVision IQeye cameras and software from Prism Skylabs are being used to improve security and the customer experience at San Francisco’s The Creamery.

(ISC)2 and the Health Information Trust Alliance are collaborating to develop professional standards for credentialing in healthcare information security.

Kors Engineering and ISONAS Security Systems, Inc., have installed an access control system that meets the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s C-TPAT requirements at Marwood Metal Fabrication in Canada.

ReD and TeleSign have formed a partnership to integrate TeleSign’s data and authentication products into the ReD Shield fraud prevention service.

RSA has opened a new RSA Anti Fraud Command Center in collaboration with Purdue University.

The Security Industry Association and the Government Technology and Services Coalition have formed a strategic collaboration to work on public policy efforts and develop joint programs and content for their members.

Talk-A-Phone has integrated its phone/paging module with the Rave SafeCampus software suite.

VingCard Elsafe announced that the One Room Hotel in the Tower Park Prague is using its Signature RFID locking system. Wynyard Group has entered into a partnership with ANSEC IA Limited to market

Wynyard risk management, intelligence, and investigations solutions to its clients.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

American Science and Engineering, Inc., has received an order for its Z Backscatter Van from Indra Sistemas SA for Spain Customs and Excise to use for trade fraud interdiction.

EDAPS.com has introduced a state biometric portal in Kenya for biometric identification of individuals. It is designed for use in the country’s Integrated Registration System of Kenya.

West Virginia State Police is using mobile identification devices from MorphoTrak to make real-time identifications on its own and the FBI’s fingerprint databases.

The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati is using the KeyWatcher key control and management system from Morse Watchmans to safeguard keys to vehicles.

The Chicago Transit Authority has chosen Teleste to expand video surveillance for its security system.

Verint Systems Inc. is leading and providing key technologies to the first Total Airport Security Solution concept at Heathrow Airport in London.

AWARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS

The Devon Energy Tower in Oklahoma City was awarded the Security Technology Executive Security Innovation Award for the most unique collaborative project of the year. Systems integrator Dowley Security Systems worked with lead vendor AMAG Technology and a dozen other vendors to complete the security installation in the tallest building in the city.

Second prize went to Verint Systems Inc. and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for upgrading its security platform, including a system-wide deployment of Verint’s video management software.

The Z Backscatter Van product line from American Science and Engineering, Inc., was named the best explosives detection solution by Government Security Newsmagazine at the 2012 Homeland Security Awards.

HID Global was selected as one of China’s top 10 access control brands for 2012, as well as earning honors for outstanding access control brand by the Qianjia Brand Laboratory.

HR Plus was awarded an Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve State Award for 2012.

IDenta Corp.’s Sniffer has received a provisional patent for detection and identification of suspected substances.

Morpho announced that its MorphoTop Model 100R fingerprint scanner has received certification from the FBI.

SecurTest, Inc., was ranked the number-one background screening company for 2012 in terms of customer satisfaction by HRO Today magazine.

Smartvue Corporation won the Reader’s Choice Award from Security Products magazine for its S9 cloud servers and the Cloudvue surveillance cloud.

Wick Hill was named security distributor of the year at the 2012 Computing Security Awards.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Bode Technology Group, Inc., has formed a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Bode will provide pro bono forensic DNA analysis to law enforcement agencies working on missing and unidentified child cases.

CNL Software has expanded its operation in the Middle East and North Africa with additional staff in Dubai.

Cylance, Inc., has unveiled its Presponse services to detect and solve security challenges by predicting the likely path of future attacks. The company also acquired Skout Forensics.

The District of Columbia Office of Unified Communications has implemented a computer-aided dispatch system interface enhancement, the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol, which will allow alarm monitoring companies to transmit alarms directly to the system. The interface was developed through a partnership between the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International and the Central Station Alarm Association.

Global Enterprise Technologies Corp. has opened a new office in Washington, DC.

Hunton & Williams has launched a Web site that provides status updates and links to relevant documents on the progress of the European Commission’s proposed general data protection regulation.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Security Industry Association are accepting nominations for the 2013 Michael Shanahan Award for Excellence in Public/Private Cooperation until May 1.

Israel Weapon Industries has launched a U.S. subsidiary in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has released Disaster Preparedness in Migrant Communities: A Manual for First Responders. The publication will help responders work with the ethnic community to mitigate disaster risk and deal with crises.

Morse Watchmans has launched a newly designed Web site with expanded features and information.

Securitas has acquired security services company Federal Resguard in Argentina.

SNR Denton has launched a cross-disciplinary board advisory and risk and crisis management team to help corporate boards and executive management address governance issues and respond to emergencies.

Monitor America, LLC, is a new full-service central station located at SecureWatch-24’s new Fusion Centre facility in New Jersey.

Tri-Ed/Northern Video Distribution has acquired Security General International, a Southwestern U.S. distributor.

Universal Surveillance Systems Foundation donated 300 new bicycles to low-income children in Michigan and Ohio.

WatchDox has acquired InstallFree to augment its secure file-sharing platform.

ASIS NEWS

ASIS Signs MOU with NCMEC
Nearly 800,000 children are reported missing each year and the number of reported cases of child sexual exploitation is increasing, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Researchers have found that when children are abducted, time is of the essence. “ASIS members are, in many cases, first responders in child abduction cases,” observes ASIS President Geoffrey T. Craighead, CPP. “As a community of security practitioners, many of whom represent private sector organizations, our members collectively have the potential to play a critical role in protecting children from all forms of abduction and sexual exploitation.”

Recognizing the potential for a collaborative partnership between private sector security and law enforcement, Craighead and NCMEC CEO John Ryan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday, January 17, at the ASIS Annual Volunteer Leadership Conference, held at the Ritz Carlton in Arlington, Virginia. The primary goal of the new partnership is to support public safety agencies around the world in their efforts to protect children from victimization.

Created in 1984, NCMEC is a private, (501)(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to serve as the nation’s resource on the issues of missing and sexually exploited children. The organization provides information and resources to law enforcement, parents, and children, including child victims, as well as other professionals.

ASIS, led by its Law Enforcement Liaison Council, and NCMEC will collaborate to provide private sector security management professionals with information, risk assessment tools, and training needed to protect children. Resources will be developed for specific business sectors such as retail, cultural properties, education, and entertainment.

Craighead also noted the vital role ASIS members and their employers play in ensuring that companies avoid hiring staff that may use corporate assets and reputation to victimize children. “By working in partnership to raise awareness, to inform, and to educate, our organizations together can impact the safety and security of our children,” he said.

Istanbul and Hong Kong Hold Roundtable Programs
CSO Roundtable members and guests convened in Istanbul, Turkey, in November and Hong Kong in December for high-level sessions specific to the regions. Istanbul was the site of a standalone CSO program sponsored by ESFOR; the Hong Kong event was conducted in conjunction with ASIS’s Asia Pacific Conference.

Hosted at the headquarters of Turkish Airlines, the Istanbul program covered regional issues, including aviation security, fraud and corruption, brand protection, and doing business in Syria. In the fraud session, attorney Filiz Toprak Esin explained that new antibribery legislation in Turkey is ushering in good business practices such as third-party due diligence reviews, compliance programs, and employee awareness. Turkey has accomplished a lot towards cleaning up corruption recently, “but it still has a long way to go,” Esin said.

In addition, Serhat Soydan, the senior vice president of security for Turkish Airlines, offered a comprehensive look at threats to air travel and how the airline attempts to thwart them. Discussing a 2003 attempt by a mentally unstable passenger to crash a Qantas plane into mountains, Soydan explained how the lessons from that case inform the airline’s profiling procedure.

The brand protection session focused on counterfeit medicines. Pfizer’s Steve Allen showed pictorial examples of counterfeit or tampered medicines that contained dangerous ingredients such as boric acid and lead paint. The company has found counterfeits in 106 countries, he said. A large part of the solution is to train law enforcement on what to look for and where, and to keep reinvigorating the message.

Finally, in the Syria session, TEMI Group’s Andy Williams provided historical background to explain how Syria got where it is today and how, with the ongoing strife, it risks balkanizing among Sunnis, Shia, Alawites, and Druze. ESFOR’s Alaettin Cangoz, formerly of Turkey’s National Police, noted that even if Assad is ousted and stabilization occurs quickly, “democratization will take a long time.”

Attendees also toured Ataturk Airport and got an inside peek at the many layers of both overt and subtle security screening. Turgay Sahan, General Manager of Security, Istanbul International Airport, conducted the tour.

Hong Kong offered an opportunity for CSOs there to catch up with the latest developments in that region. In one enlightening session, Rachel Shoemaker of Exclusive Analysis briefed attendees on China’s political instability outlook for 2013 and beyond, while highlighting investment opportunities. She told attendees that over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and health products are particularly promising sectors for importers and exporters. The aviation market is also growing “exponentially,” Shoemaker said, noting that by 2016, two-thirds of all airports being built will be located in China. Other areas of likely growth are alternative energies, petroleum, telecom, and power. Much tougher industries include mining, real estate, food, and construction, where government intervention is highest.

Michael Gips, ASIS Vice President of Strategic Operations