Archives: January, 2010

Doug Bedell — January 29, 2010, 4:16 pm

‘Layered Security’ Still a Key Concept

Ray Bernard writes about “layers of security” in January’s Security Technology Executive and the concept remains a good one. There’s the: • Outer Protective Layer – natural or man-made barriers at the property line. (What PRO Barrier knows most about.) • Middle Protective Layer – exterior of a building • Inner Protective Layer – doors […]

Doug Bedell — January 26, 2010, 7:30 am

Coordinating Security at the Olympics

Next month’s Olympic games in Vancouver, B.C., require state-of-the art, coordinated security on both sides of the border, and they’re getting it. On the U.S. side, in Bellingham,  Wa., the  U.S. Olympics Security Committee has provided a high tech security center that will be manned 24 hours a day with two 12-hour shifts. It’s equipped […]

Doug Bedell — January 20, 2010, 3:18 pm

Disasters Require Higher Order Skills than Emergencies

A cogent post on the Homeland Security Watch blog advises of the difference between readiness for an emergency and response to a disaster. The latter, as we are seeing in Haiti, is far more challenging. Security planners will appreciate the differences in blogger Mark Chubb’s listing of the contrasting (though certainly related) skill sets for […]

Doug Bedell — January 18, 2010, 2:40 pm

Al-Qaida Continually Refining Basic Tactics

Here’s a grisly “trend” story we’d prefer not to have to pass on, but it’s out there and a sign of our continually threatening  times: In “Predicting the Next Bomb Plot,” James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation writes that a near-miss attack on a Saudi prince last summer illustrated three aspects of al-Qaida tactics. 1. They […]

Doug Bedell — January 15, 2010, 10:49 am

Threat Modeling Should Be Ingrained

Security pros can’t ever quit considering what sort of threats their organizations may be exposed to. Bruce Schneier makes that point while noting that a robber bored a hole through the wall of a jewelry shop in Tokyo’s Ginza district and got away with 200 luxury watches worth 300 million yen ($3.2 million). From his […]

Doug Bedell — January 11, 2010, 10:01 am

New X-ray Scanner Sees All

A newly developed body scanner might provide an ultimate level of confidence at airport and building security checkpoints. As announced by Nesch, LLC, based at the Purdue Technology Center incubator, the new scanner will be capable of detecting powdery substances on or inside the human body – like those a Nigerian man assertedly had with […]

Doug Bedell — January 5, 2010, 5:08 pm

Coast Guard Shows Its Rescue ‘Videos of the Year’

Time is running out on the U.S. Coast Guard’s “Best Video of the Year Contest.” But even if you’re not interested in voting on the 11 rescue videos the Coast Guard has posted on You Tube, simply watching them can provide helpful pointers on rescue and security techniques. The Coast Guard has been running its […]