gavel law books

Penn State: Clery Act Implications

Amanda StricklandCompliance

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced that it would launch its own investigation into the now infamous Penn State football scandal. This investigation will focus on whether the university failed to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act) – the federal law which, among other …

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 …

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 …

The Cost of Security

Amanda StricklandSecurity Program Development, Theft, Embezzlement, and Fraud

The former director of a North Carolina Central University program designed to help minority students used an unauthorized bank account to divert more than $1 million from the program over six years, according to a state audit (WRAL News Story). What can we learn from this story? It’s usually easier and cheaper for companies and organizations to be proactive rather …

Business Continuity Planning and the Protection of the Supply Chain

Amanda StricklandSecurity Program Development

As security consultants, we have the privilege of working for multiple companies and agencies around the globe, which gives us deeper insight into how businesses typically view, plan, and prepare for the unexpected. Too often, however, it seems we are brought into the security process in a remedial role, after an unforeseen and unprepared for event. In the current economy, …