12May/100
Portland Mayor Sam Adams Fires Police Chief Rosie Sizer
Just two days after Portland Police Chief, Rosie Sizer, publicly criticized the Mayor's proposed budget she has been removed from the Chief's job and replaced by former East Precinct Commander, Mike Reese. In addition to removing the Chief, Mayor Adams also transferred authority for the police bureau from City Commissioner, Dan Saltzman, directly to the Mayor's office.The Portland Police Bureau received negative national attention recently after several unarmed people were killed by police. The oldest incident in recent memory resulted in a $1.6 million wrongful death settlement between the city and the family of James Chasse.
According the Oregonian, Mayor Adams said that he wishes to take the Police Bureau in "a new and different direction." Read the Oregonian article here: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/05/sam_adams_calls_noon_news_conf.html Reliant Security is based in Portland, OR and provides security solutions for clients throughout the western United States. Sincerely, Matthew Cooper, CPP VP Reliant Security
6May/100
“Smart Dust” Will Revolutionize Security Monitoring
The first steps towards building a "Central Nervous System for the Earth" are about to be taken by Hewlett-Packard (HP) according to a recent article on CNN. See the article here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/05/03/smart.dust.sensors/index.html The concept for an easily distributable system of rice sized sensors is attributed to the thinking of UC Berkley computer scientist, Kris Pister. Pister imagined these sensors, which he named "smart dust," would eventually be sprinkled across the globe to provide real-time monitoring of everything from traffic to ecosystem health. An HP researcher has announced plans to distribute 1 million sensors over six square miles to aid Royal Dutch Shell in oil exploration by monitoring rock vibrations and movement. The HP sensors are about the size of a matchbook and are encased in an enclosure the size of an old VHS tape. That is bigger than a grain of rice but we all remember what the first cell phones looked like, right? http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/Telephones/SouthWestern_Bell_Motorola_Brick_Cell_phone_web.jpg The article does not devote much time to the potential security monitoring applications of this technology but the possibilities are endless. Rather than waiting for a motion detection system to detect someone who has already entered a building, a company could deploy sensors (with cameras) that would observe a person's movements from the moment they walked onto the campus. One can easily imagine what a boon this could be to the security monitoring industry. In the future, in addition to dispatching guards to investigate unusual vibrations along the fence line, the central station might also dispatch maintenance based on an alarm that tells them that the flowers need watering.
Reliant Security provides real-time security solutions to clients throughout the western United States.
Sincerely, Matthew Cooper, CPP VP Reliant Security
25Mar/10Off
Eight Criteria to Consider Before Purchasing a Biometric TWIC Reader
L-1 Identity Solutions (www.l1id.com) released an interesting White Paper outlining eight things to consider before purchasing a biometric TWIC reader.You can request a copy of the White Paper here: http://www.l1id.com/forms/product_info_request Here is a summary of the eight criteria to consider: 1) "Throughput" - Ports are busy places often with hundreds of vehicles entering and exiting daily. Biometric readers must be able to read TWIC's quickly and reliably. Long delays and equipment breakdowns can cost terminal operators thousands of dollars in lost productivity. 2) "Resilience" - Every component of a TWIC reader is a potential bottleneck or single point of failure. Every piece must be reliable including the enclosure casing, the electronics, the network capabilities, and the weather resistance. Will your reader function at negative 25 degrees or at 120 degrees? It should. 3) "Ruggedness" - Don't rely simply on IP rating which only state the enclosure's ability to withstand water. The components inside the enclosure that need to continue working smoothly in extreme weather, rain and snow. 4) "Multiple Authentication Mode Capability" - The selected reader needs to function appropriately at all MARSEC levels. Therefore the reader must be able to positively identify persons based on biometrics, photo identification and pin numbers or a combination. 5) "Flexible Workflow" - Readers must be able to accommodate the current business process as much as possible. Terminal operators do not want to completely upend their current access control procedures. TWIC readers must be flexible when integrating into current Physical Access Control Systems (PACS). 6) "Offline Operations" - TWIC readers need to be able to check access against the Credential Revocation List (CRL) and the TSA "Hotlist." What if the wider internet network is down due to issues with TSA servers. Only readers that can download and internally store copies of the necessary checklists will be able to function when the network is down. 7) "Wireless Capabilities" - In order to be cost effectively deployed at remote gates and locations, TWIC readers must have robust and secure wireless connectivity. 8 ) "Biometric Leverage" - Port security is complex, expensive and time consuming. Security managers can make it less so by leveraging the TWIC biometric and making this information the standard for all biometric identifiers that are being used at a facility.
While the L1 White Paper is primarily a marketing piece for their TWIC reader technologies, it raises a number of serious issues that security managers must consider in order to deploy this cutting edge technology efficiently and effectively.
Reliant Security monitors the latest security technologies and trends and provides up to date solutions for clients throughout the western United States.
Sincerely, Matthew Cooper, CPP VP Reliant Security