On September 19, 2013, 57-year-old Lynne Spalding was admitted to San Francisco General Hospital for a bladder infection. Last seen in her hospital room on September 21, she was found dead in a stairwell at the hospital on October 8th.
As all security experts know, one of the basic principles utilized in securing buildings or institutions is controlling access onto the property and into building by using basic security measures such as security officers, fencing, bars on windows or electronic access control systems.
Door hardware plays such a significant role in access control and identification. A door that does not close properly provides no access control. The alignment of the door: the door hinges, return and handle hardware all combine with an electronic access device or a key to secure a room, building or facility. It is the quality of door hardware that makes for an operational physical barrier or controlled access point.
As evidenced in this year’s Security 500 report, today’s leading organizations have understood that they cannot operate without Security’s participation. They see the security program as a value advantage. And security leaders, in turn, are creating value across the entire organization and “taming their risk tiger.”
In the beginning of September, a group of computer hackers calling themselves AntiSec announced that they had stolen a file containing unique identification data for 12,367,232 Apple iOS devices. They claimed the database was stolen from the compromised laptop of an FBI agent. Simultaneous to AntiSec’s release, the FBI denied the claim. To substantiate their claim, AntiSec released one million of the unique identifiers minus the personal data embedded in the stolen file.
In the past five years, city surveillance has become one of the largest vertical markets in the network surveillance industry. Throughout North America, cities of all sizes are deploying city-wide surveillance solutions. Even cities with populations as small as 10,000 are deploying systems.
Two topics that I can never discuss enough are the reduction of violence and the use of access control and identification as a major component utilized to reduce violence. A few months ago there was another devastating shooting in the U.S.: the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting that killed 12 people and injured more than 50.
In August 2010, the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS) published a survey of healthcare security executives which revealed an increase in violent crimes within the reporting hospitals.
With the advent of social media, personal and professional identities are beginning to blend together. I am linked, I tweet and am face booked. I have my own space; I can Skype and even FaceTime. By accessing all these sites, my professional and personal lives seem to be getting in the way of each other. In fact, my personal and professional identities are melding.
Using metrics provides a quantifiable way to measure the effectiveness of security programs and processes. As the popularity of metrics has increased over the past few years so has the number and type of metrics that are used to evaluate efficiencies. However, without proper vetting, metrics may not effectively evaluate the process or program that is being measured.
