Editor's notes

I often read about a company hiring a new CSO, a security director being involved in some sort of scandal, or some other piece of news about security professionals. However, I haven't known quite how to handle these news tidbits. Until now. From now on, I'm going to begin posting them as a regular feature on this blog known as "Briefly noted."

In the future, please don't hesitate to send me news releases or just a quick email if you or a colleague has a new position or a promotion and I'll be sure to include it here. You can reach me at wrichardson@securitydirectornews.com.

Read on for a roundup of recent news, including new hires, a scandal, a death, an award-winner and a prestigious job opportunity, from around the security profession.

New hire: Last month, Iron Mountain Inc., a Boston-based information management company, hired Jack Faer as its new chief security officer. Faer will lead the company's global security team, and be "responsible for all aspects of Iron Mountain's corporate security and safety, fraud prevention, information security, crisis management and disaster recovery programs, as well as the vital security interests of the company's customers," according to a company news release. Faer most recently served as senior vice president and head of operational risk management and continuity planning for State Street Global Advisors. He is also the former chief security officer for Fidelity Investments.

A death: Last Sunday, John Lloyd Bergbower, vice president of security at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, suffered a fall at his home and died later that day at the hospital, according to the Baltimore Sun. Before transitioning to corporate security, Bergbower served 27 years in the Baltimore Police Department, retiring in 2001 as the commanding officer of the Special Investigations Section of the Criminal Investigation unit.

New hire: Swarthmore College has hired Michael Hill as its new director of public safety, according to The (Swarthmore) Phoenix. Hill previously worked at Bryn Mawr College, where he began as a patrol officer in 1988, before rising to his most recent position as bi-college director of public safety operations. Hill is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves and is a member of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.

Scandal: Patrick Sullivan, a former county sheriff and school security director in Colorado, recently plead guilty to charges of trading methamphetamine for sex, according to CBS News. Last year, after he was arrested in a sting operation, Sullivan was held in a jail named after him. Sullivan was sheriff of Arapahoe County from 1984 to 2002. He then served as security director of Cherry Creek School District from 2002 until his retirement in 2008.

Job opportunity: the Federal Emergency Management Agency is hiring a chief security officer, according to a government job posting. The position, posted on March 16, is the top security executive position in FEMA and "will oversee and coordinate security efforts across the agency, investigate security concerns, enforce security requirements and will identify security initiatives and standards," according to the job description. Think you have what it takes? You have until April 16 to apply.

Award-winner: The Women's Security Council last week at ISC West presented Michele Freadman, deputy director of aviation security operations at Boston's Logan International Airport, with the first annual WSC Woman of the Year award in the end-user category. The WSC also gave awards in a number of other categories, such as systems integrator, distributor, and manufacturer.

The rise in public-private partnerships to fight organized retail crime continues. The Tulsa Police Department has created a new Organized Retail Crime Unit, which is collaborating with local retailers to combat professional shoplifters, according to a news report from KTUL. Detective Lori Visser, a member of the newly formed ORC unit, said the group has already identified between 40 and 60 organized shoplifting groups operating in and around the city. She also said ORC has cost the local taxpayers more than $1 million in lost tax revenue.

With the increasing number of these ORC groups, I think it's time we had a clearinghouse of information about all these groups and points of contact at each.

A judge today sentenced five former New Orleans police officers to prison for their role in the Danzinger Bridge shooting, which took place less than a week after Hurricane Katrina struck and left two civilians dead. The longest sentence of 65 years in prison went to a former cop by the name of Robert Faulcon, who was convicted on charges related to both fatal shootings.

The New York Times has the full article.

ISC West is the Security Industry Association's annual conference. As such, its purpose is to give manufacturers the opportunity to show off their latest and greatest security technology to integrators, specifiers and potential manufacturing partners.

As you can imagine, it's a bit overwhelming and the majority of attendants were not end users. However, during my three days on the show floor in Las Vegas I was able to meet and interview several security professionals who were attending the show. In my previous blog post that recapped my first day, I mentioned interviews with Peter Miller, CSO of Florida’s Orange County Government; Linda Florence, dean of the doctorate program in strategic security at Henley-Putnam University and a long-time member of ASIS International’s volunteer leadership; Bryan Warren, senior security manager at Carolinas Healthcare System and newly minted president of the International Association of Healthcare Security & Safety; and Pablo Antonio Sanchez Urbina, security director for 10 prisons and the state police department in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

But before I get to the details about my second and third days at the show, I must mention the event that took place the morning of the second day: the Security 5K. The three-mile road race (there was also a 2K walk) attracted more than 350 runners to raise money for Mission 500, a non-profit that works with World Vision to feed needy children around the globe. The event ultimately raised $85,000, which will be used to sponsor nearly 300 children. (Security Director News and Security Systems News are sponsors of the race.) It's been a while since I ran a road race, but I was pleased with my performance. I placed 45^th overall with a time of 23:22.

During my second and third days at the show, I was able to catch up with a few additional end users in our media studio. On Thursday, I spoke with Mike Howard, CSO of Microsoft, about how security managers should demonstrate their value to the C-Suite and use social media to spread that message. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeHowardMSGS. I also spoke with Lauris Freidenfelds, director of security and emergency management for Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, about a newly completed construction project and the importance of including security in the early design discussions.

I also had a chance to visit several companies' booths. I heard the latest about CheckVideo's Ruggedized Outdoor Mobile Sentry (dubbed the CMS4000), which is a self-contained, cloud-based, wireless video surveillance solution that only requires power be added to provide remote video monitoring capabilities, from company CEO John Estrada. Estrada told me CheckVideo is experiencing as much as 25 percent increases in sales month over month.

Mark Jarman, president of Inovonics, told me about Radius, the company's enterprise mobile duress system. The product, which was originally introduced at the ASIS show in October 2010, has applications across markets, but Inovonics for now is targeting the healthcare industry. Jarman also stressed his company's commitment to supporting the open standards trumpeted by the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance. Though the company's not ready to make any announcements or offer any details, he told me that Inovonics has developed a product in complete accordance with PSIA open standards. "We're walking the walk," he said.

I heard the from Verint about the facial recognition software it's beta testing and its new, all-weather 5-megapixel cameras. I also saw new cameras from Pelco and JVC. The latter is introducing 18 new cameras this year, including several analog cameras, which John Grabowski, JVC's national sales and marketing specialist, was not shy about admitting are still the company's "bread and butter."

I saw a demonstration of IDV Solutions' Visual Command Center. The demo was actually given by a shift manager of Microsoft's GSOC in Redmond, Wash., which uses the platform to monitor its facilities across the globe.

Over at the VidSys booth, I was able to get a demo of the PSIM provider's new collaboration with Bridgeborn to integrate 3D modeling into its software. Another big partnership VidSys recently announced was with BRS Labs to integrate its behavioral analytics software into its PSIM software.

For more updates from ISC West, check out the blogs from Security Systems News' team, who were blogging throughout the event: Martha Entwistle's On the Editor's Desk; Rich Miller's Monitor This!; and Tess Nacelewicz's This Blogs on Fire.

Not surprisingly, the news on everyone's lips the first day of ISC West were the security professionals enroute to Las Vegas who restricted a manic JetBlue pilot. The gossip I heard on Wednesday night was that stories of what actually happened were beginning to differ among people who were there. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I started the morning with a breakfast put on by Axis, which was introducing what GM Frederik Nilsson called "the world's smallest video recorder." It's called the Axis Companion Camera system and is built around storage on the edge. "Edge storage is the future and will have a huge impact on this industry," Nilsson said. What makes the Companion Camera solution unique, Nilsson said, is its ease of use and ease of installation, which consists of inserting a SD memory card into the camera, downloading the software that will find the cameras on the network. With that, you're good to go. A 32-gig SD card can hold about two weeks of video, Nilsson said.

Meanwhile, BRS Labs held a press conference to discuss the new patent it has secured for its behavioral analytics. As he did at ASIS in September, President John Frazzini stirred the pot a bit, claiming rules-based analytics are a dead end. He cited IMS Research data that forecasts the market for rules-based video analytics to reach $108 million in 2015. He said BRS Labs has surpassed that amount in three business deals, though he couldn't elaborate on the customers. Independent research conducted on behalf of BRS Labs forecasts the market for behavioral analytics to reach $2.1 billion.

Perhaps my most interesting interview was at the 3VR booth, where I interviewed Pablo Antonio Sanchez Urbina, who is security director for 10 prisons and the state police department in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. He has been installing 3VR's facial recognition software to aid in visitor management at the prisons, basically making sure the people who are leaving the prison are the same people that arrived to visit. They have the software installed in eight of the 10 prisons, but expect all prisons in the state to have the software by the end of the year, Pablo told me through an interpreter. From there, he expects to introduce it with the state police and city surveillance in the state. I'll be following up on this story with a print article, so stay tuned.

Security Director News and Security Systems News have set up the ISC West Media Studio at Booth #27065. I sat under the hot lights and interviewed people throughout the day, including Steve Van Till, CEO of Brivo and chairman of SIA's standards committee. We spoke about the progress the standards committee has made in the year since Steve assumed the chairmanship. For the first time ever, SIA's booth at the show includes a strong standards presence with equipment set up so that attendants can actually see standards in work.

I also interviewed Bryan Warren, senior security manager at Carolinas Healthcare System and newly minted president of the International Association of Healthcare Security & Safety. We spoke about the new security design guidelines the association just released, which were designed to help security professionals in the healthcare space get to the discussion table early whenever there's a construction or renovation project underway. I wrote about the guidelines, which are available for free at IAHSS' website, earlier this week.

I also spoke with Linda Florence CPP, the dean of the doctorate program in strategic security at Henley-Putnam University and a long-time member of ASIS International's volunteer leadership. We spoke about this year's upcoming ASIS conference in Philadelphia and 2012 being the 35th anniversary of the CPP certification. We also spoke about some of the new standards ASIS is coming out with in April.

Peter Miller, CSO of Florida's Orange County Government, swung by to give me an update on the facial recognition software he's been testing at surveillance systems throughout the county.

Ingram Micro made an appearance at our media studio. I sat down with Brian Wiser, SVP of Ingram's specialty solutions division, and Tom Burns, its GM of physical security, to discuss Ingram's inaugural appearance at ISC West and its big push into the security space. Wiser explained the company's dual approach. It wants to help its existing IT resellers move into the security space and help its existing security integrator customers expand their knowledge of IP-based technologies.

More to come... Day 2 is already here.

I'm off to Las Vegas tomorrow for my first ISC West conference.

The week will be full of interviews with security professionals attending the show, as well as meetings with equipment manufacturers where I'll get to see the latest and greatest in security-related technology.

If you'll be at the show, don't hesitate to come by Security Director News' booth and media studio (my colleagues from Security Systems News and I will be conducting video interviews with end users, integrators and manufacturers throughout the show). It's booth #27065. Feel free to email me at wrichardson@securitydirectornews.com to get in touch. I'm especially interested in meeting with end users who will be at the show.

I expect to be blown away by the sheer size of the conference, and the amount of technology that will be on display. I'll do my best to absorb as much as possible and report back to you, my readers, on the highlights of the security solutions being showcased. Keep an eye on securitydirectornews.com for updates.

It feels like I just returned from Orlando and my first ASIS conference, but gears are already turning on this year's event.

Eduard Emde, current president of ASIS International, announced today that Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1997 to 2007, will present the keynote address at ASIS' annual conference on Tues., Sept. 11, in Philadelphia.

"You won't want to miss Dr. ElBaradei's timely insights on global security, the peaceful use of nuclear energy, nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, and international law," Emde says in a statement.

Emde also points out that Philadelphia, "a place of historical significance," is a fitting location for the first non-U.S.-based ASIS president "to show with pride the importance of international relations and global networking to the security industry."

Emde continues: "As a member of ASIS for 22 years, I can attest to the value of networking with colleagues from around the world at what I consider to be the largest and most essential security event of the year. There are vast opportunities to meet and greet fellow professionals and form lasting business relationships and friendships. The week will be full of activities where we can meet and learn from each other as well as from excellent speakers and presenters. I am sure there will be many elements in the program tailored to your interests. Also, the colocation of  the (ISC)² Security Congress provides greater opportunities for both traditional and information security professionals."

I'll see you there.

-Whit

For those of you with Kindles or other e-reading devices, I just discovered that Amazon is offering Black Market Billions: How Organized Retail Crime Funds Global Terrorists as a free Kindle book.

I'm not sure if this is book is always free, or if this is a freebie for a limited time only. In any case, here's the link to download the book for free. It was published in November.

I only downloaded it this morning, but the book's author, Hitha Prabhakar, seems well qualified to tackle the subject of ORC. She is a New York-based reporter for Bloomberg Television who covers business news and financial markets with a particular focus on retail. Here's the book's summary from the Amazon page:

"From piracy to counterfeiting to cargo theft, organized retail crime has exploded into a $38 billion industry. Synchronized global teams of thieves are pilfering immense volumes of high-value products, counterfeiting even more--and using the profits to support the world’s most vicious terrorists and criminal gangs.

In this eye-opening piece of investigative journalism, top business reporter Hitha Prabhakar connects the dots and follows the money deep into the world’s fastest-growing criminal industry. You'll learn how the Internet, social media, and disposable cell phones have opened the floodgates for a new generation of criminals--and how buying something as innocent as a counterfeit handbag or discounted cigarettes actually funds terrorist groups from Al-Qaeda to Central America’s drug lords.

Black Market Billions draws on extensive first person interviews with law enforcement, industry, and the criminals themselves to reveal how retail crime rings impact the security in every country in which they operate. Prabhakar goes "inside" to reveal why the piracy economy has exploded...why preventive measures have failed...and what to expect next, as organized retail crime reaches a terrifying critical mass."

I plan to read it on my iPhone, and will write a follow-up once I do. If anyone reads it, please let me know what they think. Again, here's the link.

-Whit Richardson

A gunman has reportedly opened fire outside the Jefferson County Courthouse in Beaumont, Texas, killing an elderly woman and sending several more to the hospital, according to local TV station KFDM.

No matter how extensive the security procedures in place, an active shooter like the one at the Texas courthouse this morning is difficult to plan for. But there are certainly things security directors should keep in mind when preparing for the worst-case scenario. Here's a page full of active shooter resources from ASIS International.

Scotland Yard today arrested several people related to the News International phone-hacking scandal, including  Mark Hanna, the media company's director of group security, according to The Guardian. There's no additional information available about Hanna's role in the phone hacking scandal at this time, but the newspaper reported that Hanna and the others, including News International's former CEO, were arrested "on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice."

Hanna has not been named in previous news reports—such as this breakdown by the BBC—as a key player in the scandal. According to Hanna's LinkedIn profile, he has worked as News International's director of group security since April 2009. Prior to that, he was VP & head of security for Nomura International.

It will be interesting to see how Hanna as the security director became involved in this tabloid phone-hacking scandal that has rocked the media company, which is owned by News Corp.

-Whit Richardson