A thief sifts and examines shredded documents

Protecting Competitive Intelligence

Christine L. Peterson, CPP, ISPIntellectual Property

As the holiday season approaches, Hollywood will begin to bombard us with movies that depict good looking men, beautiful women, and fancy cars or other electronics in romantic stories of intrigue and espionage. As Americans, we love these stories where the main characters wear beautiful clothes and against all odds, often times with cutting edge electronics or personality, save the …

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Amanda StricklandIntellectual Property

The security manager receives a call from the front desk receptionist. She tells him that during lunch, the fill-in receptionist received a call from an individual who identified himself as a volunteer for Good Charity. The volunteer wanted to send an invitation for their annual fundraiser to the vice president, but he didn’t have the home address. He also asked …

RMA flooding in conference room

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

Amanda StricklandCrisis Management Planning

  Thank goodness for small blessings and the lack of a traditional work week! Who hasn’t been affected by the economy of the last several years? If someone tells you they haven’t, then they are either fooling you or themselves. Every business has on some level been affected, and this is evident on many levels. We all know that companies …

Crime in decline, but why?

Amanda StricklandNews, Security Program Development

We read an interesting article by Miguel Llanos, a reporter for msnbc.com. “Crime in decline, but why? Low inflation among theories” was published on 9/19/2011. Statistics released by the FBI showed that violent crime and property crimes were declining in 2010. Is this a figment of manipulation within the reporting of crime? Is it attributable to an aging U.S. population …

FBI Investigates Cyberjacking

Amanda StricklandTheft, Embezzlement, and Fraud

September 16, Infosecurity – (National) FBI probes over 400 cases of corporate bank account cyberjacking. The FBI is currently investigating over 400 reported cases of corporate banking account takeovers in which cybercriminals have initiated unauthorized automated clearing house (ACH) and wire transfers from U.S.-based organizations, an FBI official told a U.S. House panel the week of September 12. Through this …

Scientist Pleads Guilty to Stealing Secrets

Amanda StricklandTheft, Embezzlement, and Fraud

September 15, The Associated Press – (International) Ind. scientist agrees to plead guilty to stealing secrets from Dow, sending to China, Germany. A former Indiana scientist has agreed to plead guilty to charges of illegally sending trade secrets worth $300 million to China and Germany. A federal judge September 15 scheduled a plea hearing for October 18. The suspect could …

Suspicious Activity and Situational Awareness

Amanda StricklandSecurity Program Development, Workplace Violence

An article published on the website of National Public Radio (NPR) addressed the security programs in place at the Mall of America and the actions of security officers. The full article can be found here, and we leave it to the reader to determine if the actions of the officers were appropriate in the specific situations mentioned. The events of …

Disaster Planning

Amanda StricklandSecurity Program Development

With the onset of Hurricane Irene and the subsequent damage and destruction left in its wake, we are all reminded how critical disaster planning is to our well being as individuals, communities, and businesses. Our previous blog entry provided information from the National Weather Service National Hurricane Center that can be applied to any number of natural disasters and should …

hurricane

Hurricane Preparedness

Amanda StricklandSecurity Program Development

Source: National Weather Service: National Hurricane Center History teaches that a lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common threads among all major hurricane disasters. By knowing your vulnerability and what actions you should take, you can reduce the effects of a hurricane disaster. Be Prepared Preventing the loss of life and minimizing the damage to property from hurricanes are …