Security Trends in K-12, Some Thoughts

For lack of staff, money, expertise, and time, school districts for the most part still can’t put a huge emphasis on education programs similar to those run in many colleges and corporations to continually remind people about the rules they need to follow when dealing with physical security and confidential data. Maybe 2013 will be the year that starts to change, especially since the Newtown, Connecticut shooting, making the mitigation of risk more palatable and far less pricey than the potential of extended legal actions.  I say this because it bothers me as a parent and a physical security professional, that we spend so much more protecting our Data Centers and Networks than we do in our schools.

The “Active Shooter Scenario” is everyone’s worst case situation, I work with this everyday in protecting hospitals (Code Silver), in malls or any other open to the public facility.  Based on all that I have read on the above incident, I do not believe that anyone could have handled that situation better than it was handled. The school staff did an outstanding job and Law Enforcement responded immediately keeping the carnage to a minimum. My point is schools do not need to be open. We can reduce access and push back the perimeter, which I believe is the only way to reduce the active shooter threat. 

Many times, when I would bring up K-12 school security enhancements I would get push back like “We want an open feeling in our schools and the employees won’t allow that.”  Hopefully what Richard Cantlupe, an American history teacher at Westglades Middle School in Parkland, Fla.: He called Newtown "our 9/11 for schoolteachers." If this is true and we can at least give our schools the same protection as our data centers will come a long way in making our schools safer.  

After 911 we had Presidential Directive 7 which was a Homeland Security Presidential Directive that established a national policy for Federal departments and agencies to identify and prioritize critical infrastructure and to protect them from terrorist attacks. The directive defines relevant terms and delivers 31 policy statements. These policy statements define what the directive covers and the roles various federal, state, and local agencies will play in carrying it out.  We need to add our schools to this list and give grant money to the school districts to get it done today.

The solution is available; it will just cost some money.  The school designs are mostly fine; we just need a few enhancements to reduce the threat, especially the perception of a school being a soft target. However you can never completely eliminate the threat completely.  I have many ideas on this issue and look forward to discussing them in future postings.  I have a check list I have used in the past that I picked up along the way that gets everyone thinking.  If you would like a copy please go to  https://dl.dropbox.com/u/62454695/k-12_School_Safety_Security_Checklist_McDonald_AACI.pdf.  If you have any questions, comment here or call anytime!

December 21, 2012 Keep your cool among the crazies.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas

One of my favorite TV moments in 1977.


Bing Crosby & David Bowie - Duet by beautifulcynic

Welcome to INFRAGARD

I am honored to be a new member of INFRAGARD and look forward to providing my support and skills to the organization. InfraGard is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the private sector. InfraGard is an association of businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and other participants dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the United States. InfraGard Chapters are geographically linked with FBI Field Office territories.

From drinking water supplies to communications systems, chemical production processes to agricultural resources, Americans depend on a select group of critical infrastructures to sustain our way of life. Any attempts to harm or destroy these resources would directly impact the security of the United States and its citizens.

Most of these systems and services are owned and operated by private industry. Therefore, the protection of our nation’s infrastructure cannot be accomplished by the federal government alone. It requires coordinated action from numerous stakeholders – including government, the private sector, law enforcement, academia and concerned citizens. My INFRAGARD E-Mail is James.E.McDonald@infragard.org.



9/11 Thoughts on 9/12

 

Never forget!

Driving to work yesterday it hit me that the day's weather felt the same as it did in 2001.  I took pause to remember the horrific and tragic events of 9/11: the thousands of lives lost, the bravery and dedication of first responders and ordinary citizens and the lingering  effects on us all.

Food for thought, are you happy?

Rhonda Byrne, creator of "The Secret" say's it this way...

"You must be happy now to bring happiness into your life through the law of attraction. It's a simple formula. Happiness attracts happiness. Yet people use so many excuses as to why they can't be happy. They use excuses of debt, excuses of health, excuses of relationships, and excuses of all sorts of things as to why they can't use this simple formula. But the formula is the law.

No matter what the excuse, unless you begin to feel happy despite it, you cannot attract happiness. The law of attraction is saying to you, "Be happy now, and as long as you keep doing that, I will give you unlimited happiness."  -  Rhonda Byrne, 9/3/2012

Thermal Imaging Software Detects Drunks

Thermal imaging software detects drunks - Vision Systems Design Greek researchers have developed software to analyze images from thermal imaging cameras to objectively determine whether a person has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol.

Georgia Koukiou and Vassilis Anastassopoulos of the Electronics Laboratory at the University of Patras (Rio,Greece) have devised two algorithms that can determine whether a person has been drinking alcohol to excess by analyzing infrared thermal images of the person's face.

The first algorithm measures pixel values of specific points on the person's face, which are compared to values in a database of scans of sober and inebriated people. Given that alcohol causes dilation of blood vessels in the surface of the skin, hot spots on the face can be seen in the thermal imaging scans, which can be used to classify whether an individual is drunk or sober.

The second algorithm assesses the thermal differences between various locations on the face. Using the approach, the researchers found that increased thermal illumination is common in the noses of inebriated people whereas their foreheads tend to be cooler. The advantage of the second technique is that no thermal image of the sober person is needed to determine whether the individual has been drinking.

Working together, the researchers say that the two techniques could be used to quickly scan individuals entering public premises or attempting to buy alcohol while inebriated.

The researchers presented the results of their work in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics in a paper entitled "Drunk person identification using thermal infrared images."