May 2007
Features
By Matt Scherer
WHEN a student tried to steal a triple-beam balance from Jackie Steinocker’s science classroom, the principal needed the school's surveillance cameras to document the student hiding it in a dumpster.
The student had a friend distract the teacher’s attention as he hid the scientific scale under a winter jacket at the end of science class.
By Charlie Ross
Raising the bar is a phrase commonly associated with pole vaulting or high jumping. At the Utah Summer Games, officials also are raising the bar on efficiency and security with a speedier, more stringent ID card program for athletes.
By Luther Martin
THE privacy of healthcare information has recently received much attention. HIPAA defines national standards for medical records and other personal health information, and the government’s vision of a National Health Information Infrastructure includes better safeguards for privacy, confidentiality and security. But while the goal of protecting healthcare information is admirable, there are market forces making it more difficult to realize the goal. Fortunately, there also are new technologies available that promise to make privacy more obtainable.
By David Ting
SECURITY policy has typically meant different things to different people within an organization. The facilities management department covers all physical access points, teaching staff to lock all doors and windows before leaving for the night. IT managers keep up to date with the latest patches and ensure users only access the applications and data they are allowed to access. Despite the common purpose, physical and logical access technologies have existed in separate, parallel worlds for years. Physical access technologies, such as building security systems and employee access cards, are controlled by the corporate security department. Application passwords and firewalls are the domain of the IT department.
By Steve Langford
CHECK fraud, ATM card skimming and similar crimes cost financial institutions billions of dollars each year. Banks, credit unions and other institutions are developing more aggressive loss prevention programs and are taking advantage of new and existing security technologies. Video-based applications are playing a critical role. Having evolved from simple, standalone recording devices, today’s top digital systems are helping financial institutions identify criminal activity and criminals while providing high-quality video evidence authorities need to successfully prosecute offenders.
By David George
INTELLIGENT, spot laser smoke detectors perform two distinct functions in a fire-protection system. Capable of sensitivities 100 times greater than standard smoke detectors, spot laser units respond to incipient fire conditions as low as .02 percent-per-foot obscuration. Also, laser smoke detectors, functioning like standard smoke detectors, go into full alarm mode, activating a building’s fire-alarm or fire-suppression system if higher thresholds—2 percent-per-foot obscuration—of smoke are detected.
By Vincent Lupe
WORLDWIDE events have forever changed the concept of security. Today, people look at personal safety with a new perspective, and organizations view security issues with a new urgency. Organization officials understand they can no longer continue approaching security in a largely reactive manner. Instead, to protect people, resources and data from new risks, organizations must adopt a proactive approach. The challenge now is to aggressively find ways to anticipate security problems and keep the issues from occurring.
By Patrick Peterson
TODAY’S biggest security risk is loss of corporate data. This vulnerability originates from two unrecognized paradigm shifts—dissolution of the corporation’s physical and network perimeter and spyware-based data theft. These two paradigm shifts can be examined by looking at four data security incidents. The incidents will help to provide two solutions to minimize the risk of data loss: a new unified approach to IT and physical security and the need for advanced defenses against spyware.
By Chris Smith
IT networks at today’s colleges and universities are more distributed than ever. Academic networks that spread out allow students and teachers to communicate and interact in new and exciting ways.
Departments
By Ralph C Jensen
IN October 2006, the Baton Rouge, La., Fire Department conducted a week-long training exercise to test its Virtual Command Technology when responding to a fire. This was the first time the technology was tested by a city department.
By Security Products Staff
BOSCH Security Systems is a recognized name in the security industry, and recently, the company has redesigned its customer support initiatives by creating a customer solutions support team. The new team will offer superior service and cutting-edge technical support on all of the company's diverse product lines for its customer base across North America. We caught up with Leon Chlimper, vice president of Bosch, to ask a few questions about the new approach.
By Brent Dirks
BUSINESS for Blue Bell Creameries started slowly enough in 1907 when the company produced two gallons of ice cream a day and delivered it by horse and wagon in wooden tubs filled with ice.
By Karina Sanchez
It’s no surprise IT is moving into the physical security space. Even at ISC West in March, attendees welcomed Guido Jouret, Cisco CTO, as a keynote speaker. Being the IT powerhouse that it is, Cisco made quite a presence this year at the show.
Business Watch
By David Sullivan
THE security industry has seen a wave of mergers and acquisitions—some more successful than others. While there’s no secret formula, HID Global has a history of key acquisitions that have strengthened its brand, product offering and pool of key talent within the organization. The most recent acquisition, Fargo Electronics, is a great example.
By Apryl Griswold, CSP
TOA Electronics is know for its wide variety of products for the security industry—everything from DVRs to intercom systems. The company has introduced its latest DVR series, the C-DR161/091, and we sat down with Apryl Griswold, CSP, who is the national sales manager, Security Products division at TOA, to talk about the new product.