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 …
Protecting Competitive Intelligence
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
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
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
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 …
Sharing Protected Information
Jim was looking for ways to make Acme’s production process more efficient. He ran a search on the Internet for their new process, and he also wanted to see if their competitors had figured it out yet. One of the search hits was an image, and it looked like there was a TX1000 machine in the background. He took a …
The Cost of Security
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 …
Emergencies and Visitors
John looked out across the lobby at the growing crowd. Mondays were always busy, but the crowd seemed larger than usual today. Because of the storms on the horizon, no one was waiting on the front sidewalk. His phone buzzed, and he saw a notification from his weather app. At the same time, he heard a warning from the …
Business Continuity Planning and the Protection of the Supply Chain
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, …
Access Control – People, Processes, Technology
Sarah nervously approached the building to start her first day at the new job. The email from the HR manager told her to use the intercom at the front door, and someone would escort her to HR to fill out the new hire paperwork. As she walked up to the front door, an employee saw her and smiled. She smiled …



