Archive for Physical Security
Author: Dave Lewis
January 10, 2008 at 8:12 am · Filed under Airline Security, Physical Security
A security company named Clear has thrown down the gauntlet and I (along with many others) really hopes that someone picks it up. Why? The challenge is simple. Make security checks at airports easier. For that, you can pocket yourself a cool half million.
Here are the criteria:
* Achieves acceptance by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for deployment at Clear lanes as providing the same or better security than the current Registered Traveler checkpoint process.
* Reduces inconvenience by, for example, allowing for no divesting of shoes, outer garments, or any other item approved for carry-on aboard a US commercial flight, and thereby achieves an increase in throughput of 15% or more.
* Is compact enough to be deployed at security checkpoints in at least three Clear airports.
* Can be operated at a cost (including capital costs amortized over five years) of less than 25 cents per passenger screened when working at full capacity.
Read on and good luck.
Article Link
Tags: Airport Security, Airline Security, Half Million, Prize Money
Author: Dave Lewis
January 9, 2008 at 10:36 am · Filed under Physical Security
Doing physical security audits is a piece of my past and it still interests me to this day. I had a great time breaching offices and data centers with nothing more than a smile and some balloons. Everyone loves balloons. RSA recently did a survey of some govies in the US and here is the results of their survey.
- 32% said they had held a secured door open for someone they didn’t recognize.
- 34% had forgotten their access key and been let in by someone they didn’t know.
- 41% had noticed someone they didn’t recognize working in an empty office in their area of the building.
- 63% had asked for identification from or otherwise reported the stranger they observed
Read on.
Article Link
Tags: RSA Survey, Physical Security
Author: Dave Lewis
January 8, 2008 at 7:45 am · Filed under Physical Security
The height of absurdity. Now, you can listen to your mp3 collection…on the holster for your leopard print taser???
From CBC:
Taser wants to make it easy for people to integrate its C2 “personal protector” stun guns into their lives, company spokesman Peter Holran said.
“If people buy the C2 Taser and leave it in a drawer or under a shelf, it does them no good when they need it,” Holran said.
I have to admit. I’m at a loss for words this time.
Article Link
Tags: Taser, Taser C2, Personal Security, Leopard Print Taser
Author: Dave Lewis
December 28, 2007 at 8:18 am · Filed under Physical Security, Security Mgmt, Threats
As the Olympics approach in Beijing the Chinese are diligently preparing for the event. One aspect of it that can never be overlooked is the security of the event. Not only the physical as the world witnessed at the games in Munich in 1972 but, also from a network security aspect. There really is a lack of appreciation by the public with regards to the amount of work that goes into setting up for an event of this magnitude. I have noticed that there has been little press on this angle so far. There are a lot of multinational companies getting into the mix selling physical security solutions. I can only imagine sales folks are jumping in with both feet on the software side as well.
From Herald Tribune:
In preparation for the Beijing Olympics and a series of other international events, some American companies are helping the Chinese government design and install one of the most comprehensive high-tech public surveillance systems in the world.
When told of the companies’ transactions, critics of China’s human rights record said the work violated the spirit of a sanctions law Congress passed after the Tiananmen Square killings.
The Commerce Department, however, says the sophisticated systems being installed, by companies like Honeywell, General Electric, United Technologies and I.B.M., do not run afoul of the ban on providing China with “crime control or detection instruments or equipment.” But the department has just opened a 45-day review of its policies on the sale of crime-control gear to China.
The network security will be of paramount importance as well. Especially when you take into account some of the folks who have recently moved into the neighbourhood.
Article Link
Tags: Olympic Security, Beijing Olympics, Beijing Olympic Security, China Olympics
Author: Dave Lewis
December 27, 2007 at 8:32 am · Filed under Physical Security, Politics, Terrorism
Just got word that former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto was killed at a rally this morning. She was apparently shot in the neck by an assailant. The attacker was allegedly wearing a suicide vest. Details are sketchy right now.
More to follow.
[UPDATE] 8:24 am Reuters is reporting that she has been been gravely injured but, is in fact still alive.
From Reuters:
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was seriously wounded in an attack after a rally in the city of Rawalpindi, her husband said.
“I was informed that she is badly injured,” Asif Ali Zardari told Ary-One television from Dubai.
CONFIRMED: 8:32 am She has died. A tragic moment in history. Yet again the democratic process has been derailed by fanatics and madmen. Was this a terrorist group or a political assassination by rivals? Only time will tell.
References:
BBC News
CNN
Washington Post
ABC News
CBC News
[UPDATE] OK, after having watched 24 hours (not literally) of CNN’s “breaking news” on this story I’m struck by something. Have we seen this before? Shortly after the attack Pervez Musharraf was saying that it was a terrorist attack. OK, so that would be anyone’s first guess. But, consider the source. He has a lot to gain by having Bhutto leave the playing field as it were. Before you start crying conspiracy nut read this on CNN.
The source of the claim was apparently Italian news agency, Adnkronos International (AKI), which said that al Qaeda Afghanistan commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid had telephoned the agency to make the claim.
“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” AKI quoted Al-Yazid as saying.
According to AKI, al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri set the wheels in motion for the assassination in October.
One Islamist Web site repeated the claim, but that Web site is not considered a reliable source for Islamist messages by experts in the field.
The DHS official said the claim was “an unconfirmed open source claim of responsibility” and the bulletin was sent out at about 6 p.m. to state and local law enforcement agencies.
Hmm, the other sites aren’t chiming in. This is a group that is more than happy to take credit for bloodshed and mayhem yet, they are strangely quiet even as Bhutto is being laid to rest.
*cough* JFK *cough*
I’m just saying.
Tags: Benazir Bhutto, Bhutto, Pakistan Prime Minister, Assassination
Author: Dave Lewis
December 4, 2007 at 2:06 pm · Filed under Military, Physical Security
Interesting. The Washington Post is reporting today that Wikileaks has published another SOP manual from Gitmo.
From the Washington Post:
The manual discusses the facility’s “behavior management plan” for the first two weeks after a detainee’s arrival, when he has no access to the International Committee of the Red Cross or a chaplain: “The purpose of the Behavior Management Plan is to enhance and exploit the disorientation and disorganization felt by a newly arrived detainee in the interrogation process,” the manual says. “It concentrates on isolating the detainee and fostering dependence of the detainee on his interrogator.”
Navy Cmdr. Rick Haupt, a Guantanamo spokesman, said officials received a copy of the manual yesterday and are trying to authenticate it. Wikileaks also published a copy of the 2003 Guantanamo manual last month. Haupt said the manuals are constantly updated and that “things have changed dramatically” in the years since.
Marked “for official use only,” the manual is not meant for public release but contains little if any sensitive information.
Very interesting reading. There was also reportedly a rendition manual on the site but, as of this writing that page was down.
Article Link
Tags: Gitmo, Guantanamo Bay, Wikileaks, Gitmo SOP, Rendition
Author: Dave Lewis
November 30, 2007 at 11:24 am · Filed under Dumbass, Physical Security, Terrorism
If ever there was a case for handing out prophylactics and saying “for the love of (insert deity) let it end with you”, this is it. An art student, Thorarinn Jonsson, from the OCAD placed a fake bomb behind the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto in what was apparently part of his final school project. The police were alerted to the device which resembled several pipe bombs strapped together. He affixed a note to the device that said “this is not a bomb”.
Indeed.
From Citynews.ca:
The 25-year-old remains relatively unrepentant about an escapade that also cost police hours of their valuable time and an equal amount in rustling up the necessary experts and equipment to defuse the phony explosive.
“I expected the police to immediately realize what they were dealing with,” he claims. Two videos surrounding the hoax were posted on YouTube, one here, the other here. One shows a girl going through the ROM when an apparent explosion takes place. Jonsonn calls it part of his final assignment for the school.
“I’m taking something that’s clearly a sculpture. It’s clearly not a bomb. But by taking it out of context and putting it into another context, by leaving it lying around … it suddenly takes on a different meaning.”
Does he feel bad about the effect it had? “I think the piece is pretty important … Police waste their time all the time doing all kinds of things.”
Yes, police do waste their time with these type of things because morons like Jonsson do stupid crap like this.
The video one and two
Article Link
Tags: Moron, Fake Bomb, Pipe Bomb Art Project
Author: Dave Lewis
November 14, 2007 at 10:10 pm · Filed under Military, Physical Security
From Wired:
A never-before-seen military manual detailing the day-to-day operations of the U.S. military’s Guantánamo Bay detention facility has been leaked to the web, affording a rare inside glimpse into the institution where the United States has imprisoned hundreds of suspected terrorists since 2002.
The 238-page document, “Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedures,” is dated March 28, 2003. It is unclassified, but designated “For Official Use Only.” It hit the web last Wednesday on Wikileaks.org.
The disclosure highlights the internet’s usefulness to whistle-blowers in anonymously propagating documents the government and others would rather conceal. The Pentagon has been resisting — since October 2003 — a Freedom of Information Act request from the American Civil Liberties Union seeking the very same document.
Article Link
Download Gitmo Document
Tags: Gitmo Manual, Sensitive Information
Author: Dave Lewis
November 5, 2007 at 11:24 am · Filed under Physical Security, Spy Game
Blackwater’s parent company continues to build out its mercenary army. Now, The Prince Group has announced a new operation.
From the Washington Post:
The operation, Total Intelligence Solutions, has assembled a roster of former spooks — high-ranking figures from agencies such as the CIA and defense intelligence — that mirrors the slate of former military officials who run Blackwater. Its chairman is Cofer Black, the former head of counterterrorism at CIA known for his leading role in many of the agency’s more controversial programs, including the rendition and interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects and the detention of some of them in secret prisons overseas.
Its chief executive is Robert Richer, a former CIA associate deputy director of operations who was heavily involved in running the agency’s role in the Iraq war.
Total Intelligence Solutions is one of a growing number of companies that offer intelligence services such as risk analysis to companies and governments. Because of its roster and its ties to owner Erik Prince, the multimillionaire former Navy SEAL, the company’s thrust into this world highlights the blurring of lines between government, industry and activities formerly reserved for agents operating in the shadows.
While I have little doubt these folks are imminently qualified I find pause in one thought. Who is holding the leash? When the US government needs to get a confession will they turn to this outfit in a bid to avoid being accused of torture? It might seem like a touch dramatic but, based on the current administration’s track record I would not discount anything at this point.
Article Link
Tags: Blackwater, CIA, Mercenary, Total Intelligence Solutions
Author: Dave Lewis
November 2, 2007 at 7:56 pm · Filed under Physical Security
Sometimes I just have to shake my head. I have done physical security assessments in the past and no matter how much the “sales guy” tells me that their site is secure I never buy it.
Nor should you.
Recently, I did a walk through at a site and the Guy Smiley character that was haunting me never failed to look for an angle to try and win me over. It was all for naught. Physical security far too often gets lip service especially in a office space. I found doors that would not close under their own weight and others propped open and so on. There was even a keypad access. That would have meant something if it wasn’t for the fact that three of the numbers on the keypad were worn off.
Several years back I reviewed a .mil office space stateside. I checked some of the ceiling tiles along the wall that was shared by a defense contractor down the hall.
When I lifted the tiles what did I find?
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