IAVM

Just finished addressing 80 members of the International Association of Venue Managers, Dist. 6 on Event Security. These are event managers from arenas, stadiums and campuses in a 4 state area. With the evolving threats Special Events are facing keeping up with the newest techniques is critical. Most questions in the end dealt with active shooter situations in large arenas. Like everything, it requires planning.

Mexican Drug Traffickers Stuffed Mickey Mouse, Pluto With Crystallized Meth

There is no end of how they will smuggle these devices in. At one point they molded the drugs into miniature Statues of Liberty for import into New York and Washington DC. Plastic Explosives have been molded into the toys and figurines all over the world. Which is why CTI teaches our students to read people as much as you rely on tools like x-rays and metal detectors. Reading people and how they react to the world around them, can tell you much more that a lot of tools that do not think and can always be beaten for just that problem. Watching people react as they receive a package of counter-ban after being screened, can often tell you more that the screening tools can.

Federal agents intercepted $2 million worth of crystallized methamphetamine that had been…

THESMOKINGGUN.COM

Active Shooter & Medical Care Under Fire

This was a very well done and instructive talk. Probably the best to the point talk on the use of tourniquets I have seen. It would make a great YouTube training video for everyone, and would probably save a lot of lives.

Members and Invited Guests Only -- Special Agent Andrew Huminski has been in law enforcement as an uniformed police officer, US Secret Service Ageny, and as an FBI agent. He is certified as an instructor by the FBI ni firearms and…

EVENTBRITE.COM

ALERRT.ORG

If you get a chance to attend any of the ALERRT courses, you should do so. They are well done and thought out. There is very little difference between "Avoid Deny Defend" and "Run Hide Fight?", it's more of a change in lingo to make it sound less violent. The key in both is to plan before it happens. Get ready to run, have a plan, know the exits, do not stay at the X, for there you will die. Move, as soon as you walk into a room find the straight line to the nearest exit, then look for the next exit, and have a straight line to that as well. Start moving as soon as you feel something is not right, and keep moving till the situation improves, or you are out. If you can, get folks to follow you, but never stay in place. More people will follow you out than will listen to you tell them to leave. Anyone with a plan has a better chance of success, even if they do not follow the plan for some reason in the end. Without a plan you tend to stand in place and think about your next move, which can get you and those around you killed. So the plan is move on the straight line to an exit, even pick the exit as you stand there, it can always change if something happens, but your mind will react faster if you have at least an original plan.

alerrt.org

ESI Special Event Security Course

Just finished the ESI Special Event security course. The students are great, and they are ready to take on your special event security needs. As arenas and stadiums are upgrading their security to meet the every changing threats and security requirements, these students understand the new and existing threats, and how to use both technology as well as training to increase their security posture. In this course we also taught the students how to read crowds and how to recognize aggression that some people will show, and defuse the problem prior to them causing and incident. We need to understand ways to prevent incidents from happening, rather than just responding to incidents.

Mass Attacks

Security is a growing field and shows no sign of slowing down.

IoT

The Internet of Things, is the fastest growing field in Cyber Security. If you are looking for a challenging new career, that pays well and is in great demand from virtually every segment of the economy. IoT Security, is the place to be.

Troopers added to security detail at Stoneman Douglas High School after several security incidents

School officials are taking provocative instagram posts seriously, and they should. It’s not always easy to tell who’s fooling and who’s serious. Back in my intel days, we would have loved access to something like social media to identify security threats.

Eight Florida Highway Patrol troopers will report for duty Thursday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, to secure entry points to the…

WTNH.COM

Data hacked from 150 million MyFitnessPal accounts, Under Armour says

 Another data breach, this time at Under Armour. If you use the MyFitnessPal app or website, your username, email address, and hashed passwords may have been stolen.

The stolen information, which includes account user names, email addresses and scrambled passwords, is one of the biggest hacks in history.

NBCNEWS.COM

Here's what those who carried out 28 attacks in the US have in common: Secret Service

 A secret Service report details the common elements of 28 mass shootings in 2017: 100% were committed by males ages 15-66; 79% sent threatening or concerning communications and 64% experienced mental health symptoms prior to attack. Know the warning signs. 

Seventy-nine percent of those who conducted a mass attack in the U.S. last year had previously engaged in threatening or concerning communications, with one-third…

ABCNEWS.GO.COM

‘Suspicious packages’ received at military installations in Washington area

As seen in Austin, mail and package bombs are serious business. But federal agencies and installations are well-equipped and well-prepared to deal with the threat. Many local entities and businesses are too.

No injuries are reported.

WASHINGTONPOST.COM

Churches that survived 9/11 give in to the 'madness of the world,' install metal detectors

 Protective measures like metal detectors can make some people feel safer, but also make others feel uncomfortable in a normally inviting setting like a church. Whatever you put in place, it needs to make sense based on your level of risk.

The two stone churches in the shadow of the World Trade Center have seen fire and calamity and the sweep of American history, and through it all have kept their…

LATIMES.COM

Here are the Smart Bags That Will and Won't be Banned Soon

The smart bag ban is in effect for the major airlines. Know which ones will fly and which won’t before you travel.

We took a look at the most popular smart bag brands to see if they'll make the cut under the new airline regulations. Here's the verdict.

THEPOINTSGUY.COM

Stats: 61% Want Faster Deployment of Biometric Technology | Travel Agent Central

Frequent travelers may be OK with increased use of biometrics, but be aware - not everyone has easily readable fingerprints, and casual travelers have yet to get used to fingerprint scans and facial recognition at the airport. 

The majority of travelers want faster deployment of biometric technology to expedite airport check-in, boarding, and security, according to a new survey by flight…

TRAVELAGENTCENTRAL.COM

City partners with Knoxville organizers to increase event security

Special event security planning is getting to be a big business and a career option for some security specialists and protection agents. ESI will hold a two day event security class with the added touch of behavioral analysis points for picking out the possible aggressors in the crowd. Rich Roth from CTI has been working special event security since leaving the US Secret Service back in 1985, to include Presidential national conventions for both Democratic and Republican and high risk high threat events for large and small convention centers. In these two days we will cover what is needed to make an event safer and more secure for both the crowds and the people preforming. In this day and age after the Las Vegas shooting at one high level concert to the Manchester bombing of the concert the field of event security has been expanding. The Paris attack included a stadium and the 1,500-seat Bataclan concert hall which was sold out. No one wants to be the next special event attacked, and both cities and the performers are adding requirements for security at their events.

The Crisis Management Emergency Plan helps organizers and first responders communicate to make security better at city events.

WBIR.COM

The Mojo Barriers » Barrier Load Monitor System

After a number of crush incidents in England, mainly at soccer matches, fixed barriers had to have breakaway load restrictions put on them, these Mojo barriers do not have a break away, but they do have a stress monitoring systems to warn when the pressure on the barrier is getting into the dangerous area. In most cases the performers should be evacuated, which normally reduces the pressure of the crowd on the barriers and the crowd, but if not the linking bolts can be removed and the barriers then pushed out of the way, once the performers are safely moved out of danger.

Worldwide crowd control solutions

MOJOBARRIERS.COM

Crowd Control Warehouse | Belt Barriers, Stanchions & Barricades

As you dive deeper into special event security understanding what products are available can be key to making your event safer and more secure. Simple barriers to include rope and stanchion, as well as bicycle stand type barriers are all that needed or available at times, but for larger high energy crowds you may want to look into an industry standard. These are very substantial barricades and optimal crowd presence, yet provide easy to manage systems for controlling crowds.

Buy Retractable Belt Stanchions, Post & Rope Stanchion, Wall Mounted Belt Barriers and Crowd Control Barricades direct at the lowest wholesale prices. Shop Now!

CROWDCONTROLWAREHOUSE.COM

New Slack Tool Lets Your Boss Potentially Access Far More of Your Data Than Before

It's not just Google and Facebook, a lot of apps are allowing spying, in this case on employers on their employees.

Slack, the ubiquitous workplace communication app, can be a bit deceptive when it comes to private channels and direct messages. Employers have long had the…

GIZMODO.COM

Atlanta hit by ransomware attack, city employees told not to turn on computers

This Atlanta cyberattack has wide-reaching effects, showing how malicious code can quickly penetrate city networks. Even the airport has shut down their wi-fi to mitigate the risk of spreading. All from someone opening the wrong attachment most likely.  

A ransomware attack on the city of Atlanta means city works at city hall can't turn on their computers.

USATODAY.COM

Vehicle explodes at entrance to Air Force base in California, killing driver

 If the Facebook account of the incident is accurate, it would be a serious breach attempt. Gate personnel need to be on their guard and avoid complacency; many of the most serious bombing incidents overseas involve taking out the perimeter security first. 

Vehicle goes up in flames after gaining "unauthorized" access to the base in Northern California.

NBCNEWS.COM

How to Hack a Human

The old CIA acronym MICE (money, ideology, compromise, ego) is helpful in describing the insider threat. But the careless or unwitting insider can cause damage to an organization too. 

When cybersecurity measures become difficult to penetrate by technical means, people become the weakest link in the system.

SM.ASISONLINE.ORG

He Gambles. He Tips Staff. He Eats Alone. All the While, He’s Stocking His Vegas Suite With Guns.

This and the following video are a must watch for anyone in security from guards to directors. It outlines in video the days and hours leading up to the Las Vegas mass shooting. The calmness he shows throughout is nothing short of amazing, as a behaviorist it is extremely troubling on so many fronts. Taking each movement and the down times between the set up he is using, he really does not show any gotcha moments. Yes, his eyes are troubling, but could easily be because of his late hours at the tables. The maids and other staff may have noticed some very strange behavior at times, and the lack of him being in the room for extended times, but that is about it. This is a troubling video or set of videos to watch, but we must to try and understand what happen. For a strictly behavior profile, this is as disturbing as the Boston Bombers walking through the crowds to plant their bombs, they are just not flashing the behavior signals expected, much like this guy. But still don't stop working your behavior surveillance and awareness, these really are out of the norm. I have seen purse snatchers in stores flash more behavior clues than this, and almost all the time.

Surveillance footage obtained by The Times shows the mundane movements of Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas gunman, in the chilling prelude to a massacre.

NYTIMES.COM

Student suspect dead, girl critical, boy stable after shooting at Great Mills HS in Md.

et in on the shooter quickly. As for the students, while there's still a lot of information we don't know, your best chance at survival is to move out of the area as quickly as possible. Hiding under desks or in corners provides very little safety, moving is always your best chance of survival. We call it in bodyguard language getting off the X. A moving target is much harder to hit, and every foot you get away from the shooter, the greater your chance of surviving the attack. Even running past the shooter as fast as possible is better than standing still. It sounds counter intuitive, but the shooter is much more in control shooting at stationary targets. Do not be in the X. Move.

GREAT MILLS, Md. (WJLA) - The suspect, a student, is dead after a shooting Tuesday morning at a high school in St. Mary's County, Maryland, that has left a…

WJLA.COM|BY ABC 7 NEWS - WJLA

To Catch A Bomb-Maker

Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have been dealing with IEDs and roadside bombs for over 15 years. As the insurgents got better at disguising bombs, we had to get better at recognizing them. And the FBI got better at tracking them down.

The insurgent began with a cordless phone—one of the knockoffs of a Chinese-built Senao so popular in northern Iraq.

POPSCI.COM

Fifth package bomb strikes Texas, at FedEx facility near San Antonio

 Whether this is the work of one bomber or copycats, the end result is the same: fear and uncertainty. If you weren’t expecting a delivery, or see unattended packages or backpacks in public places, don’t even go near it. Call 911

A homemade bomb blew up at a FedEx Corp distribution center near San Antonio early on Tuesday, officials said, and the FBI was investigating…

REUTERS.COM

Please Forget to Change Your Password Every 90 Days

There's a sweet spot between long, complex passwords and the simple easy-to-guess ones. But not everyone can hit it, and trying to remember 50 passwords for all your accounts is difficult. Password managers help, but biometric identifiers are the future.

Some of the most basic tenets of password account management have failed, leaving us with a dreadful combination of poor user experience and inadequate security.

SECURITYMAGAZINE.COM