IQinVision

Day 2 at ASIS 2012 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia started off with a focus on the massive convention center itself. I attended a panel discussion on the center’s recent security upgrade and then a tour to see some of those changes, furnished, installed and coordinated by Schneider Electric. Schneider and convention hall officials led us behind the public areas of the center, pointed out camera positioning and access control, showed us their perimeter control and then let us into the command center for a view of the inner workings. A lot of work goes into securing a 1-million-square-foot building always bustling with thousands of visitors per day.

Next, I visited with Karen Evans, president and CEO of Sielox and heard about her company’s new release of  Pinnacle 9 and integration with Salto wireless locks and with Ingersoll Rand’s Schlage Wireless AD-Series.

JuliAnn Tuleya, marketing communications manager of Brivo Systems gave me a brief tutorial on CloudPass for the federal access market, as well the company’s other cloud solutions.

At IQinVision, Wendi Burke, director of global marketing solutions, was kind enough to fill in a neophyte (as in me) on her company’s high-res cameras and their role in the marketplace.

Then I went to a panel presentation sponsored by Ingersoll Rand on its new NFC “mobile key” implementation on the campuses of Villanova University and the University of San Francisco. A select number of students in the early test runs have downloaded their dorm access credentials onto their iPhones and no longer need to swipe a plastic card to enter their buildings. They are also able to use their iPhones for certain purchases, such as in the cafeterias, for laundry services, at the copy center, and so on. Feedback has been extremely positive, university reps on the panel said.

Finally, I had a chat with Leigh McGuire, the learned ASIS marketing manager. I’m sure she’ll be a helpful source to me, as she has been in the past to my colleagues at Security Systems News.

It was a whirlwind trip, especially with me being new to the industry, but I appreciate everyone’s patience and the time they took to fill me in on their place in the marketplace and their impact on end-users.

The House committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Transportation and Infrastructure are today holding another joint hearing on the effectiveness of the Transportation Security Administration—the title of this post is how Transportation Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) approaches the hearings. Today's topics will include the TSA's full-body scanners, its behavioral detection officers and the TWIC program. Those testifying at the hearing include Christopher McLaughlin, the TSA's assistant administrator for security operations; Stephen Sadler, the TSA's assistant administrator for intelligence and analysis; and Rear Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, the U.S. Coast Guard's assistant commandant for marine safety, security and stewardship.

Following is a news release about the hearing from the office of Rep. Mica, a vocal critic of the TSA. Check back for an update from the hearing.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) program challenges and failures will be the focus of a joint hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Monday.

This hearing will be led by Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Transportation Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL). Mica is also a senior member of the Oversight Committee. Both committees have focused on the need for significant TSA reform in order to improve transportation security and eliminate the waste of taxpayers’ money on ineffective or poorly implemented programs.

The focus of Monday’s hearing will include Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT), the Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program, and other security initiatives administered by the TSA. The Committees plan to continue conducting joint oversight hearings examining additional TSA issues in the coming months.

More than a decade after 9/11, Congress in late February agreed to put in motion one of the major recommendations of the 9/11 Commission: The creation of the country's first nationwide interoperable emergency communications network for first responders. But the road to creating such a public safety communications network is still long, according to Gregg Riddle, president of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International.

The bill was tucked into the payroll-tax-cut extension legislation that President Obama signed into law on Feb. 22. It included three critical elements: the allocation of 10 MHz of broadband spectrum, known as the D-Block; $7 billion in funding to facilitate the build-out of the nationwide network; and a governance model to oversee said build-out.

What's important for public safety officials to remember is that while long-term evolution (LTE) technology, the chosen technology for the national network, is currently available to allow for data sharing, it is at least five years away before it will be able to allow for one-to-many voice capabilities, Riddle told Security Director News. That means public safety officials have to think about what to do with their existing systems until those voice capabilities become available. "A lot of people thought we had voice and didn’t realize the first phase is only data, and thought they didn’t have to fund, maintain or upgrade land mobile radio for emergency communication," Riddle said. "That is one thing that everyone has to come to grips with."

Update: The blogger behind the video, Jonathan Corbett, posts on his blog—comically named TSA Out of Our Pants!—that the TSA is trying to persuade mainstream journalists to not cover his video and claim he's found a fatal flaw in the full-body scanners.

There are plenty of TSA haters out there, but one vigilante took it upon himself to personally prove why he believes airport security in America is nothing but security theater. He claims to have discovered a serious flaw in the full-body imaging machines being deployed at U.S. airports around the country. Here's the video. Decide for yourself.

Jeffrey Goldberg over at The Atlantic directed my attention to the video. He also got a response from the TSA:

The video is a crude attempt to allegedly show how to circumvent TSA screening procedures. For obvious security reasons, we can't discuss our technology's detection capability in detail, however TSA conducts extensive testing of all screening technologies in the laboratory and at airports prior to rolling them out the field. Imaging technology has caught many items large and small, and is one of the most effective tools available to detect metallic and non-metallic items, such as the greatest threat to aviation, explosives.

TSA deploys a layered, risk-based approach to security through screening technologies and applying intelligence to our security measures in real time. Our nations' aviation system is safer now with the deployment of 600 imaging technology units at 140 airports. It is completely safe and the vast majority use a generic image that completely addresses privacy concerns.

-Whit Richardson

I know it's an incendiary headline, but I believe it's warranted. It's amazing what politicians say sometimes.

Yesterday I watched a Congressional hearing on the TSA's Screening Partnership Program (SPP) in front of the House Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Transportation Security. Basically, the conversation was about new language in the FAA reauthorization act that could make it easier for airports to hire private companies to provide security screening services in lieu of the TSA.

My jaw dropped at what Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, had to say about private security companies and their role at airports. She asked TSA Administrator John Pistole, who testified at the hearing, if the change means all 450 airports in the country could attempt to privatize their security screening. When Pistole said that could "hypothetically" happen, Rep. Lee made the following remark: "So then my comment [is]: We are looking forward to returning to 9/11."

Watch it yourself here. Rep. Lee's comments are at 30:21.

Public-private cooperation when it comes to airport security is nothing new. Before 9/11, airports were tasked with hiring private companies to provide their own security screening. But even after the events of 9/11 lawmakers saw the need to not completely shun private security from the airports. At the same time lawmakers created the TSA to federalize airport security, they also created a pilot program that would allow five airports to have private companies providing security. This pilot grew into the SPP, a program 16 airports currently participate in.

I'm going to put aside my journalistic objectivity for a minute and use this space to editorialize. For a politician to claim that private-sector security officers are so inferior to their federal counterparts that their use at airports would lead to another terrorist act on the scale of 9/11 is ridiculous and stinks of fear mongering. Her comments are even more comical because we're talking about private sector security officers versus TSA's security officers, who Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) points out during the hearing are recruited by the TSA via advertisements on the top of pizza boxes and about the pumps at discount gas stations.

Am I way off base or do people agree with me? What would you say to Rep. Lee if you had her ear?

Whit Richardson
Managing Editor
Security Director News

If you didn't see the latest TSA-related news item about a woman's cupcake being confiscated because its icing surpassed the legal amount of "gel" that could be taken aboard a plane, you must be living under a rock.

The news item, which began in late December, is still making headlines all these weeks later. Last week, the TSA on its blog claimed the cupcake, which is actually inside a jar and called National Velvet, had a thick layer of icing that the TSA agent considered a "gel." The TSA's blogger wrote the following:

"In general, cakes and pies are allowed in carry-on luggage, however, the officer in this case used their discretion on whether or not to allow the newfangled modern take on a cupcake per 3-1-1 guidelines. They chose not to let it go."

The cupcake's owner shot back that it had three layers of cupcake, each with a medium layer of icing, according to CBS News.

How comical can this get? Well, the company that made the cupcake, Wicked Good Cupcakes in Cohasset, Mass., says business is booming since the story of its cupcakes being considered a security threat hit the airwaves. It told ABC News that its website visits went from 100/day to 3,000/day. The company has renamed its infamous cupcake "National Security Velvet."

Not to miss a good opportunity, Silver Spoon Bakery in Providence, R.I., is marketing The Compliant Cupcake. According to a press release, "This cupcake is made of moist vanilla bean cake and is topped with a dollop of the company’s signature vanilla bean frosting. Three ounces to be exact. Prepared for take-off, this cupcake comes in its very own one quart-size bag for proper adherence to the TSA 3-1-1 rule."

And, a hat tip to the TSA blogger for coming up with the "Cupcakegate" moniker.

-Whit Richardson

I wrote last month about the controversy in Dallas over the firing of Lisa Chambers, the director of Dallas County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Now that the dust has settled, it appears Dallas County is looking for a new director of homeland security and emergency management.

However, judging by what happened last time around, I wonder how many applicants the county will receive.

A few TSA-related news clips making the rounds.

CNN has reported that TSA screeners at Norfolk International Airport in Virginia prevented a 17-year-old girl from bringing her leather purse onto her flight because it displayed an image of a gun—an Old West six-shooter, to be precise. A TSA spokesperson told CNN that replica weapons are prohibited because they can be mistaken for the real thing in the X-ray machine or by fellow passengers. "Security checkpoints may be impacted or closed because replica weapons like toy guns, novelty grenades, fake bombs and other items appear similar to the real thing when viewed through an X-ray machine," the spokesman said.

TSA screeners in Los Angeles discovered a stun gun in a passenger's possessions that was disguised as a pink Smartphone, according to the TSA blog. The comments on the blog post are interesting. Many people seem to think the TSA overreacted in taking the stun gun away from the passenger, which seems odd to me. One person said: "Big deal. My laptop is probably more dangerous than that stun gun." Another said: "Keep up the good work of stopping harmless items from getting on airplanes." Everyone seems to be a TSA hater.

I've reached the point where there is no longer separation between my work and private life. I am a security-honed machine. Last night I was trying to unwind by watching some back-episodes of Comedy Central and low and behold Jeffrey Goldberg was on the Colbert Report talking about the theatrics of airport security, per his article in The Atlantic (which I blogged about in an earlier post). Not sure how many of you are regular watchers of the Colbert Report (my guess is not many, but I hate to make assumptions), so here's the video for your viewing pleasure:

So just returned from a visit with the Randy Nichols, the director of safety and security at Bowdoin College up here in Maine. It's always great to sit down with a director, one-on-one, and really hear some of the issues he or she faces on a daily basis.

We discussed a variety of concerns including some of the hot topics like active shooters and IP camera systems, but when asked what his most significant concern was, the answer was alcohol. Now, I went to college, I remember how prevalent alcohol was for those of any age, but for some reason it never clicked that alcohol was such a direct security concern. Prior to his role as director, Nichols spent 27 years with the Maine State Police and said that nearly every incident he investigated, whether it was a car accident, assault or robbery, was directly associated with alcohol. And those concerns followed him into his current role. He said that all his officers are specifically trained in alcohol awareness, which makes so much sense, but it just had never occurred to me as a substantial part of a security training program. We all have our ah ha moments, I guess.

Nichols also discussed some unique initiatives he has developed for his security program including creating a career ladder for his officers. In order to move to the next level (and the next pay stage, I'm assuming) officers are required to be active in an ongoing community project. Nichols explained that while this initiative is required for career progression, officers can design their own program and choose how they want to be involved in the college community. For example, one officer is involved in the outing club and is working toward his wilderness guide certification, side-by-side with students. Nichols said this initiative gets officers directly involved with students and helps to break down the barrier between security and students. That is pretty much Nichols message as director: He wants students to feel like they can approach him and his officers and aren't afraid security is out to get them. To ensure students know who he is, Nichols meets with every incoming freshman in a small group setting during orientation.

In other interesting news, Bowdoin will be unveiling a new one card system which they will be activating over the winter holiday. To learn more about this, be sure to check out our January issue.