Blogs

I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about passwords. I mean, who doesn’t do that these days?  Using a new streaming service? Password. Changing financial institutions? Password. Starting a new job? Probably a dozen new passwords. In a recent blog I discussed just how prevalent the data breach has become in our daily lives and how much is affected by it. It reveals our security vulnerabilities all the way down to our habits. That kind of problem isn’t targeted at any...

In early July of this year, one of the largest known data breaches to date occurred that stripped files from a Shanghai police database. The hacker responsible claimed to have stolen terabytes of data relating to as many as one billion Chinese citizens. Known as ChinaDan, the hacker asked for a ransom in digital currency roughly equivalent to $200,000. While it isn’t clear how he got access to the data, it seems likely it could be related to the same method used to gather most of it: social...

Your perspective on current events, I’ve found, is largely shaped by your formative experiences. Being born in the middle of the 80s, I can still just see the last glow of the days where you could leave your door unlocked and children roamed on their bikes for miles unsupervised. The concept of having a phone on your person was almost unheard of. Certainly, security was the last thing on most people’s minds. Fast forward to Sept. 11, 2001, woken from bed before a day in high school...

I’m channeling my wife’s favorite band, U2, for this week’s blog. Why? Well, perhaps you still haven’t found what you’re looking for. I’m not talking about an earring or a set of keys that you’re tearing your room apart trying to find. I’m talking about filling an open job position with a qualified, or perhaps an unqualified candidate for your security company. It’s no secret that hiring good, quality security people has proven to be extremely...

When does security go too far? Of course, security is needed at any venue, indoors or outdoors, to ensure the safety of patrons at a sporting event, concert, convention or any other gathering involving smaller to larger groups of people. Trust me, I’ve been to literally hundreds of sporting events and concerts over the decades ranging from smaller college gymnasiums to baseball stadiums and concerts featuring more than 80,000 people (Billy Joel and Elton John together being the first...

The Fourth of July is supposed to be a day of celebration of America’s independence from Great Britain. But on this particular July 4th, as America turned a young 246 years old, I really was not in any mood to partake in any patriotic festivities. As my family was getting ready to celebrate the Fourth of July with a barbecue at my sister-in-law’s house, and my wife was stirring up her famous homemade potato salad, I flipped on the local news and, much to my dismay and horror, witnessed...

For this week’s blog, I’m straying from the norm, so to speak, and teasing an upcoming interview about someone who is more than up and coming in the security industry. Can you say entrepreneur before even turning 30? Yes, I can. Of course, I’m not talking about myself as I’ve already surpassed the half-century mark in age (and still finding that hard to accept), but for those who follow Suzanna Alsayed, MDEM, on social media channels, you know her story. With more than...

From the keyboard to the big stage! Growing up, I had aspirations of becoming a sportscaster. When I was in college, I took a major step in fulfilling that dream as I called basketball and football games on the school radio station, and even hosted a one-hour sports talk show on Sunday nights. After graduating, I took my goals of becoming a sportscaster one step further by enrolling in the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in, where else, New Jersey! Unfortunately, if I wanted a job right...

Say kids, what time is it? It’s “40 under 40” takeover time, it’s “40 under 40” takeover time! I’m channeling Howdy Doody for this week’s blog as our Security Systems News' "40 under 40" Class of 2021 is taking over our website for the second time this year! On the heels of celebrating our “40 under 40” winners at our SecurityNext conference in April, and with nominations now open to submit for our Class of 2022, we felt it...

Celebrate good times, c’mon! I’m channeling Kool and the Gang for this week’s blog because June is typically THE month for celebrations, whether it’s a graduation, a wedding, or just heralding the start of summer. We here at Security Systems News have a few reasons to celebrate during this second week of June, as we recently announced another award that we’re so proud to be a part of, and we’re also adding another prominent security professional to our Advisory...