United States
I am a steadfast enterprise reporter, creative wordsmith and dedicated editor driven to support and produce strong editorial content in print, in person and online.
Current author bio is available on SecurityManagment.com here: https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/resources/authors/claire-meyer/
Additional articles from SecurityMagazine.com are available here: https://www.securitymagazine.com/authors/2554-claire-meyer
Paywall may apply.
In a Pandemic, Preparation Hinges on Prevention nfectious diseases know no borders. So says the first Global Health Security (GHS) Index, a benchmarking assessment of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries, released in October 2019.
Breaking the Silence: Encouraging Domestic Abuse Reporting Dr. Tamara O'Neal called off her wedding. A few weeks later in November 2018, the emergency physician's ex-fiancé, Juan Lopez, confronted O'Neal at work at Chicago's Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. Lopez shot and killed O'Neal in the hospital parking lot, then proceeded to run inside the facility, firing at responding hospital police and employees.
Classrooms in Crisis: Helping Students and School Staff Readjust S tudents around the world learned a harsh lesson in 2020: pandemics can have devastating impacts on lives, economies, and schools. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, schools closed, academic terms were truncated, routines were broken, and uncertainty and anxiety permeated students' home and social lives.
Security on the Witness Stand I n a crowded Florida nightclub, an argument between two customers got heated. Security personnel eventually ejected the patrons from the club, but the individuals walked out to the Elks Lodge parking lot and began another altercation that ended with a shooting.
In 2013, China's then-president-in-waiting Xi Jinping vowed to crack down on corruption, promising to pursue both "tigers" and "flies"-powerful leaders, lowly bureaucrats, domestic and international businesses. The announcement was not an empty promise for President Xi. Later that same year, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) offices were raided throughout China, kicking off a 10-month investigation into bribery of nongovernment personnel.
On 12 February 2007, a lone gunman attacked shoppers at the Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, killing five and wounding four others. Afterward, retailers approached the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ask for industrywide guidance, leading the department to produce its widely shared active shooter resources, such as the "Run.
Nearly 55 percent of the global population lives in cities, and by 2050, the United Nations estimates that will rise to 70 percent. With such concentrated populations, natural disasters can wreak havoc-by 2030, disasters will cost cities around the world $214 billion annually in damage, the World Bank reports.
In 2000, the United States declared measles to be eliminated in the nation-which is defined as the absence of continuous disease transmission for 12 months or more. However, a few large outbreaks in populations with lower vaccination rates are leading to a resurgence of the contagious disease.
Whether you were hired to breathe new life into a stagnant security program or if your security system is just in desperate need of an overhaul, a retrofit is likely in your future. However, a high-impact retrofit doesn’t necessarily mean a high-cost system. Sometimes, the return on your investment can come from one lost key.
A few notes: We have a new recurring segment called "Profiles in Excellence." This issue, that is the "Securing the Future of Cannabis" feature. The article has a sidebar/call to action for people to submit nominations for future profiles.
In fact, the scope of this attack differs from any we have responded to in the past, as its purpose was to both destroy property and release confidential information to the public.
To transition from one career or one field to another, you have to learn how to turn your hat, how to redirect your previous experiences and lessons-learned to new goals,” says David LaRose, the Director of Safety, Security and Emergency Management for Lakeland Regional Health in Lakeland, Florida.
All too easily, there can be a vast disconnect between security and finance. Chief financial officers are looking out for every penny, and security departments can be frequently written off as cost centers. However, there has been growing involvement and partnerships in both directions, with CSOs now successfully proving security’s value to the enterprise and CFOs championing security and cybersecurity initiatives to better mitigate enterprise risks.
For a long time now, people (employees, users) have been touted as ‘the weakest link’ because of the tendency to make mistakes or try to bypass cumbersome processes, with no malicious or criminal intent in mind,” says Anthony Lim, Senior Cybersecurity Advisor, Asia Pacific, for Frost & Sullivan and Vice-Chair for (ISC)2 Application Security Advisor Council.
It's about time that our nation begins to focus more solidly on the security and safety of our schools. We've enjoyed a relatively safe existence in our schools for decades and decades. We have had some very high-profile tragedies in our schools recently, from weather to shooters to fires, but for the most part, our schools remain the safest place to be for our kids.
After a disaster strikes, enterprises likely are champing at the bit to get back up and running, but operations often hinge on one major factor: employees. If an employee’s home is flooded, he/she has to choose whether to stay home and repair the house or go to work.
On April 29, 2015, the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox played to an empty stadium at Camden Yards as Baltimore, Maryland, recovered from protests and riots following the funeral of Freddie Gray. Citing public safety, fans were barred from attending the game. Historians say this has not happened in more than a century of professional baseball.
In the wake of massive data breaches such as those at the U.S. government’s Office of Personnel Management, health insurer Anthem and retailer Target, an enterprise’s initial reaction might be to tighten the security around networks and data. However, you may be forgetting one critical component: the insider threat.
In North Carolina, High Point University is in its tenth year of a transition into a private, boutique university, and the security department is not exempt from the changes impacting the school. When Jeff Karpovich, CPP, CHPA, joined High Point University as its chief of Security, there were just 12 employees in the division and 62 surveillance cameras.
Every year, Security magazine honors top security executives and leaders who positively impact the security industry, their organization, their colleagues and peers, as well as the national and global security landscape.
On July 1, 1985, leaders from 15 major U.S. corporations and members of the Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security came together to develop a council to share security information and discuss terrorism and other threats facing U.S. interests abroad.
For MGM Resorts, having renowned resorts throughout the U.S. and the world means having to broaden its risk awareness. The Las Vegas Strip, despite being just 4.2 miles in length, is a massive economic center for the state of Nevada, and a tourism mecca, drawing more than 40 million visitors each year.
Having a solid cyber breach response plan in place is imperative when every day wasted brings the enterprise closer to litigation. The age of plausible deniability for cyber vulnerabilities is coming to an end, and the era of accountability is beginning.
A new cybersecurity support system is being developed in the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. Finding information on cybersecurity threats that is actually useful to the enterprise, either in timeliness, relevance or coherence, can be a challenge, especially in a threat landscape where a new cyber threat or attack seems to emerge every day.
Encouraging employees to report “near miss” incidents gave HCA the data to drive risk-based initiatives.
Encouraging employees to report “near miss” incidents gave HCA the data to drive risk-based initiatives.
Keeping up with risks, attendee profiles and VIP schedules makes convention and event security a 24/7 job for Ryan Briones. Hosting more than 60 events a year, San Francisco's three-building convention complex - the Moscone Center - changes its clientele almost every week.
School shootings have been a heavy weight on the mind of administrators and school safety officials for decades, but recent active shooter incidents and attacks in cafes, concert venues, schools and businesses have driven increased effort and investment in preparedness and risk mitigation for these high-risk, low-frequency, high-anxiety events.
More than 30,000 people regularly attend a University of Central Florida (UCF) Knights football game at the Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando. As students jump up and down to cheer for their team, a little over a mile away, in a secure building next to the UCF Police Department, a group of university and community leaders waits at the ready, monitoring social media, weather and security systems in the university's emergency operations center, or EOC.
As "mega-breaches" and cybersecurity risk alerts continue to spring up in daily news reports, enterprise leaders are paying much closer attention to their cybersecurity risk profiles.
A few months ago, cities around the world anxiously awaited for the results of the Global Cities Index, which identifies the world’s top 125 cities on the basis of their ability to attract and retain global capital, people and ideas, as well as sustain that performance in the long term.
Between illnesses, family tension and medical bills, hospitals are already harbors for stress, and nothing escalates a stressful situation into a dangerous one faster and more unnecessarily than poor customer service, says Jim Sawyer, Director of Security Services for Seattle Children’s Hospital.
It's your first day in your new enterprise and your new job as the security executive. There is a mountain of work to accomplish, dozens of internal stakeholders to meet, myriad risks to address and not much time to get up to speed.
With so many security solutions on the market today, it can be tempting to chase the brightest new technologies to improve security operations in your enterprise. However, it's important to take a long, hard look before you leap - cobbling together a security system out of myriad standalone solutions - even stunning, state-of-the-art ones - could produce a system that isn't interoperable, sustainable or even functional.
There’s a C- on your report card, but you’re not alone: The 2017 Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card found that the world’s information security practitioners gave global cybersecurity readiness an overall score of 70 percent - a six-point drop over 2016.
Hotels are notoriously difficult properties to secure. Not only are most of them open to the public 24/7, but property managers must maintain the tenuous balance between hospitality and security, while facing a wide variety of threats that can cross sectors and borders.
Whether it's an HVAC system, a point-of-sale terminal or a video surveillance camera, malicious attackers are looking for any way into your network and closer to your valuable data, systems and intellectual property.
The Center for Cyber & Homeland Security at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., is a "think and do tank," says Frank Cilluffo, its director. "We try to ground our policy and research in a practitioner-focused environment to provide those on the front lines with the knowledge and ammunition to defeat some of these threats."
As the 2017-18 school year gets underway, many school districts are testing out newly installed and upgraded security systems. Due to decreasing surveillance camera costs and improvements in system capabilities, school security leaders are finding additional value in upgrades and new installations, from faster response to more satisfied staff to real budget savings.
You know the signs you're losing your audience - glazed eyes, extended smartphone use, yawns, repeated glances at watches and clocks. Whether you're addressing your security officer force, your CFO or the Board of Directors, it's imperative to hold your audience's attention so they can better understand security's role in enabling the business.
Every year, Security magazine is pleased to honor top security executives and leaders who are positively impacting the security industry, their organization, their colleagues and peers, and the national and global security landscape.
Iconic American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned to build a unique residential complex for Buffalo, New York, businessman Darwin D. Martin and his family between 1903 and 1905. Scholars consider the complex of six interconnected buildings as one of Wright's finest achievements, but the history of the house has been a rocky one.
The Art Institute of Chicago hosts 1.5 million visitors annually, holds 300,000 works of art, serves as the venue for hundreds of private events every year and is a cornerstone of downtown Chicago tourism. All of these factors make security absolutely essential and absolutely challenging.
Denver Health is an integrated healthcare organization in Colorado, serving approximately 150,000 individuals in the Denver area. Eric Smith, Director of Security Services, has been working to reframe the enterprise's security department as a business-enabling function instead of a quick fix.
Johnson, who joined the university located in Minnesota in 2014 after a career in healthcare security, is focused on his mission to ensure every student knows and is comfortable with the Public Safety department, so if there's ever an issue, they know what to do.
The County of Ventura in southern California stretches across more than 1,413,120 square miles, and the county government buildings area alone is 3.1 million square-feet. Rosalind Harris, Manager of Facilities and Security at County of Ventura, faces the challenge of keeping employees and property safe while maintaining an open and inviting atmosphere.
How do you get employees to care about security? For years, security leaders have been great at conveying the negative consequences of a data breach or security incident - the organization could be attacked, data could be lost, fines levied, employees fired, discipline issued.
In late 2015, Advance America - the largest payday lender in the U.S. with 2,050 locations across 29 states - wanted to see what other security integrators could do for their branches' alarm services and security video. "We knew our technologies were separate," says Advance America's Director of Loss Prevention Mark Odell.
Establishing a Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) may seem like a daunting task, given the utter complexity of pulling together so many disparate lines of intelligence, security systems, travel tracking and more. But then enterprise security leaders face the bigger challenge: funding it over the long-term.
So you've invested in your cybersecurity capabilities and upped your game on employee security awareness. But how can you be sure your efforts are working? It's time to put your security to the test.
With 11,000 IT and cybersecurity jobs currently unfilled in the state of Florida and state government agencies facing a very competitive talent market, the University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity and the Florida Agency for State Technology (AST) have tackled the issue aggressively on their own and teamed up to build a pipeline of talented, trained cyber professionals who can support the state's cyber resiliency and data security.
ldquo;The country’s come quite a long way. Fans now expect security, and it made me feel good that I could take my wife and daughter to a baseball game, spend a couple hundred dollars, and feel safe about it,” says Adam Stockwell, Vice President of Security for the Milwaukee Bucks.
ldquo;For us, a game day activity is no small matter,” says James (Jimmy) Johnson, Assistant Vice President for Campus Safety at the University of Texas at Austin. No kidding - Longhorn football games regularly sell out, hosting more than 100,000 fans in the Darrel K Royal (DKR)-Texas Memorial Stadium, not counting the small army of vendors, staff, security personnel and law enforcement that keep operations running smoothly.
Between 2016 and 2017, 724 people were killed by vehicular terrorist attacks, according to The Risk Advisory Group. Terrorist groups like ISIS and Al Queda regularly instruct their followers on how to commandeer large vehicles to attack crowds of people, leading enterprise security professionals to reevaluate security at the perimeter.
With 2.6-million square feet of exhibit space, McCormick Place in Chicago is the largest convention center in the U.S. Located in the bustling South Loop neighborhood of Chicago, McCormick Place is an essential factor to the economic health of the city, attracting close to three million visitors every year."Given today's climate regarding security, we have to be able to optimize our security presence on campus as much as possible," says Frank Solano, Security Systems Manager for McCormick Place.
With so many government agencies and departments involved in security operations abroad (such as eliminating key targets or searching for specific terrorists), the essential flow of information was so slow and clunky that only three operations could be coordinated each month.
As fans begin to trickle into Citi Field in New York City, home of the Mets, a room behind center field is already on full alert, monitoring for potential risks that could affect fans, players, employees and property.The Day of Game Command Center is fully staffed on game days with representatives from emergency medical services, the NYPD, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), the parking company, the concessions company, ballpark operations, and the security supervisor and...
Security magazine is pleased to announce our 2018 Most Influential People in Security - 17 top security executives and industry leaders who are positively impacting the security field, their organization, their colleagues and peers, and the national and global security landscape.
Top Articles
You might already be on your way to a pink slip -- according to industry experts, the termination process might begin before a CSO even starts work at a new enterprise. But before you give up, there are ways to make sure your employment isn't teetering over the precipice of disaster.
October 2014 Cover Story: Communities and enterprises have much more to gain from advanced emergency preparedness than some refunded repair costs.
Storm, Hurricane. Workplace Violence, Terrorism. Missing Person, Kidnapping. A name is just a name, right? Not in insurance, it isn't.
It can be challenging to convince the C-Suite to invest heavily in planning for the unknown, so where should you start?
The world is shrinking. Or so it seems, when it comes to doing business. As many U.S. enterprises look to expand overseas, doing so comes with its fair share of unique security risks.
Executive Profiles
Feature Articles
How does your video surveillance cope with harsh elements such as heat, wind, rain, snow and hail?
Keys can be copied, codes can be shared, and investments can be lost. Small businesses and schools are no strangers to intrusions and crime, however, adding electronic access control, even in small-scale environments, can help mitigate the risks of a break-in.
Being near family can help patients heal better and faster, so enabling visitors to come and go without sacrificing security is key for healthcare establishments.
April 2014 Cover Story: Where the Vanguard Group's headquarters security installation differs hinges upon a solid, ongoing, honest partnership between the enterprise security leader and the security systems integrator.
"We have a moral obligation to our stakeholders and customers," says Scott Starkey, Security Manager for the Birmingham Water Works Board. "You can live without power or transit for a while, but you can't live without water."
As enterprises are forced to cut budgets and adapt to leaner times, proprietary security forces are often one of the first things to shrink.
Temporary events might be more difficult to harden, but with ongoing planning, many of these challenges can be overcome.
Small businesses face myriad challenges, but when it comes to surveillance, making an investment to protect the small business's assets is a must.
After tragedies such as school shootings, there is often a knee-jerk reaction to install more security technology. What is overlooked, however, is the necessary balance between technology and the human side of school security -- reporting programs, threat assessment teams, staff involvement and outreach.
RFID-based access control can build consumer-friendly functions for enterprises while still streamlining the business for smoother operations and security.
Violence in the workplace is more prevalent of an issue in the United States, but abroad, there are other issues to focus on.
Parents and students touring potential college campuses typically have a list of questions for the tour guide: What types of student accommodations are available? Does this school offer my preferred major? But one question is quickly climbing the ranks: What security measures do you have?
Start the conversation with administrators about how surveillance can boost safety, district efficiency and investigation success.
"Right now, the bad guys are winning." It's a bleak statement from Dave Frymier, the CISO for Unisys Corp., but one that many enterprise security executives need to hear.
Cloud computing has been the buzzword of the security industry for half a decade, but how much do we understand about it, and how much is just hype?
Top CISO thought-leaders share their opinions on the threats of the day, as well as the solutions of the hour for cyber security.
Conducting investigations within a security organization is very different than an episode of Miami Vice– from the timeframe to the interviews to, probably, the color of the investigator’s blazer. The process isn’t as thrilling as TV makes it out to be, but, as ACFE President and CEO James Ratley knows, that perception can work in your favor
An exclusive report from Security magazine from the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS) and Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) Workplace Violence Prevention Summit.
BYOD is a growing sensation in the business world, but the trend often leaves security as an afterthought. Three BYOD experts share their advice and experience on how mobile workers, home offices and BYOD can improve business while still managing data security.
Multimedia Projects
When Daniel Casillo swam from his sinking jet ski in New York’s Jamaica Bay last August, he had no idea he was going to be at the center of a huge perimeter security breach.
In Pittsburgh, Pa., residents of housing authority properties were afraid, and their quality of life was suffering. Shootings often went unreported, a lack of usable evidence kept criminal elements on the streets, and residents were being victimized.
Has the industry lost its edge of vigilance? At MetLife Stadium, a record-breaking event with 90,000 Jews required a united effort and more than a little vigilance.
Picture this – in 20 minutes, one enterprising hacker at the 2012 Defcon conference in Las Vegas learned one Wal-Mart store’s physical logistics – from the janitorial contractor to where employees go to lunch – key details about the make and version numbers of the Wal-Mart manager’s PC, browser and anti-virus software, and got the manager to upload the address of an external website into his browser – no questions asked.
Hiring a new employee can be a rushed process, especially if the position is a mission-critical one. But neglecting to follow through on pre-employment screening can be even more disastrous to the enterprise than having an empty seat for a few weeks. A foregone or limited background check, a lack of fact-checking or a single-minded policy about hiring could leave a company with rushed hire and an unsuitable new employee, or worse – a wave of new risks and liability.
Every job has new hire orientation -- you get the employee handbook; discuss the dress code and benefits; take the tour of your new workplace. But for security officers, training usually doesn't stop there. Security officers have to be the front line of an organization's security force, prepared with all the tools necessary to handle the worst situations.
After a laptop breaks, where does it go? Your old work laptop, perhaps too slow to keep up with the growing pace of the Internet, is retired to the IT department, which issues you a nice, shiny new one. But what about all of your old files? Your data? Your client information?
One-hundred and thirteen smartphones are stolen or lost every minute in the U.S. How much data is that?
An editorial slideshow: By this point, many of us at least will have broken or entirely forgone their New Year’s Resolutions. Diets, quitting smoking and other aspirations may have fallen by the wayside, but certain trends within the security industry can’t be forgone – workplace violence for one, collaboration with other departments for another, and – further still – mobile device security. You’ve already read what our industry experts think you need to remember from 2012, but here are 16...
Security integrators play an interesting and integral role in the security industry – they are part salesman, part customer service agent, part repairman, engineer, consultant… the list could continue. So with all of these competing roles, how do you, as a security executive, sort through the options to find a security integrator who will work with you in the long-term, not just plug in the cameras and walk away?
When you step foot in the largest skyscraper in Philadelphia, the first thing you notice might be the world’s largest 4mm video display, covering a full 27 by 87 feet, with the awestruck masses of tourists staring at the dancing figures on the wall. But the well-dressed personnel behind the counter notice you, and before you know it, you’ve been greeted with a smile, handed your appropriate visitor’s pass and sent up to the reception floor.
On a subway train in the middle of July, two men walk onto a crowded train car in black trenchcoats buttoned up to their necks. Would a surveillance camera notice anything suspicious? Other passengers do.
An editorial slideshow: As we move forward into 2013, industry experts take a few moments to look back at the developments of 2012 - from cyber breaches to technological advancements and everything in between.
Apart from breaking news, a lot goes on behind the scenes in the security industry. This slideshow includes a few examples of stories you might have missed over the past month, including protecting ports, delivering diamonds and cutting costs.
The problem is ageless – you want outstanding security to protect your organization’s assets, but where does the money come from? CSOs across the globe have to petition their CFOs and other C-suite executives for appropriate funding to meet compliance requirements, keep software up to date and, generally, keep the right doors closed.
No one wants their property to look like a potential danger zone, and there are always the typical ways to secure it – hardware such as surveillance cameras, blue light phones and barricades to name a few. However, there are ways of stopping criminals, and there are also ways of stopping clients from becoming victims.
Sauce Magazine blogs
Many institutions have been haunted by the memories of disastrous shootings and tragedies where, among other things, access control went wrong: Columbine, Virginia Tech, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
Online Exclusives
After a touch of research, I discovered that this Middle Eastern fruit, which has been sweetening dishes of the region for 6,000 years, is quite useful in a variety of cuisines. Alone, they look like prunes but taste like sweet jam. On menus, they often appear stuffed with candied citrus, nuts or cheese. I’ve taken to picking up packages of Medjool dates (no sugar added) and noshing on them instead of cookies for my after-lunch snack.
When searching for clementines, forgo political correctness. Buy the imported Spanish varieties instead of the Cuties from California. They’re bigger and have fewer seeds and more juice, which makes them perfect for baking.
The secret to cooking good venison is timing. Whether you marinate your deer in red wine and veggies for days or just toss it on the grill, keeping the venison medium-rare is your best defense against dry, chewy chunks of meat. For those new to the venison field, this quick and easy recipe will have you singing the praises of wild game very soon.
“You don’t want more than three cheeses for any plate,” advised Lehrer. “That’s plenty of different flavors for people to try. Any more and you’ll just get palate fatigue. Also, crackers are fine, but fresh bread is always the best foil for a good cheese.”
I was most excited to try the dark chocolate linguine, which the recipe on the package advised to serve chilled with macerated berries and whipped cream as a dessert. Instead, I went with the vendor’s advice and used it as a substitution for a mole sauce served beneath a gently sautéed chicken breast with a sweet-and-spicy chile pepper glaze. The result was fantastic. The chocolate pasta lent a rich, flavorful base to the simple chicken, and the chile gave the dish a truly elevating kick. I’m...