ELECTION SECURITY PREDICAMENT IN U.S.A

Just weeks ago leaders from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), released a press statement confirming continued efforts to protect U.S. elections.

“Our agencies have been working in unprecedented ways to combat influence efforts and to support state and local officials in securing our elections, including efforts to harden election infrastructure against interference. Our goal is clear: ensure every vote is counted and counted correctly. At this time we have no indication of compromise of our nation’s election infrastructure that would prevent voting, change vote counts, or disrupt the ability to tally votes.”

“Americans should be aware that foreign actors – and Russia in particular – continue to try to influence public sentiment and voter perceptions through actions intended to sow discord. They can do this by spreading false information about political processes and candidates, lying about their own interference activities, disseminating propaganda on social media, and through other tactics.”

The departments continue to emphasize, “the United States will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from Russia, China, Iran, or other nations.”

The executive order that President Donald J . Trump signed on September 12, clarifies that persons attempting to undermine or disrupt the electoral process will be seriously punished.

However, following the Mid Term elections in the U.S.A, which took place this past week, which is voting for seats in the Senate and House, it doesn’t seem as though the interference is coming from outside international sources; the interference is coming from within America’s own wall….and the issue is between two American parties.

In Broward County, Florida, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz is appealing for the removal of Brenda Snipes, Supervisor of Elections. Reports and accusations of fraud are escalating as lawyers descend on Florida, the epicenter of a national election fight between the Democrat and the Republican party.

The question remains how 78,000 extra votes were found after election night was over and victory was announced to Governor Rick Scott. A recount of the ballot has been ordered and State Judge Carol Lisa Phillips has ruled it “a violation of the Florida Constitution” as well as”the state’s public records act”.

Immediate inspection is to take place, due to suspicion of Brenda Snipes’ “questionable” secretive history and the allegations of not turning over requested records.

BILL PASSED TO SECURE INTEGRATION OF UAS IN NATIONAL AIRSPACE

A recent bill has been signed by President Donald Trump, after being passed by the US House and Senate, which allows disabling or shooting down of drones that pose a threat to structures and proximities inside U.S. territories.

The bill, labeled by U.S. Congress, “Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018,” is designed “to assist the Department of Homeland Security in preventing emerging threats from unmanned aircraft and vehicles and for other purposes”.

Strong support is demonstrated from The White House Administration, for national security reasons; the bill includes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), the necessary legal authority “to detect, track, and mitigate threats from small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)”.

The safety of the National Airspace System is one of the highest priorities to the United States of America, and this legislation will also enable continued “development of the commercial drone industry” while additionally, “protecting privacy and civil liberties.”

A recent press statement from White House Press Secretary reveals the urgent necessity of development of “a legal framework that protects the public from nefarious uses of this technology, such as facilitating terrorist attacks, conducting espionage, or facilitating other criminal activities such as illicit surveillance, interfering with the safe operation of aircraft, interfering with law enforcement operations, delivering contraband inside prisons, or smuggling drugs or other harmful materials across our Nation’s borders”.

A released document informs the public, past Federal laws inhibited the Federal Government’s “ability to fully evaluate and use essential detection, tracking, and mitigation technologies to counter these rapidly advancing threats”.

Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018 will open up opportunities for committees of jurisdiction to work together with the US Administration and others, to ensure “safe integration of drone technology”.

2018 ASPEN SECURITY FORUM BRINGS TOGETHER VALUABLE DISCUSSIONS & IMPORTANT SPEAKERS

The 2018 Aspen Security Forum just closed its doors after a week of intense intellectual security events at Deloitte Base Camp. Attendees have gone home with forum badges, master programs and packets as keepsakes, but the most valuable souvenirs are the memories of listening to keynote speakers such a Christopher Wray, the Director of the FBI; Kirsten Neilsen, Secretary of Homeland Security; Daniel Coates, Director of National Intelligence; and Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General, US Department of Justice, to name just a few.

One of the topics on the 2018 Aspen Security Forum agenda, aimed at “China Rising”, moderated by David Ignatius, Columnist and Associate Editor, The Washington Post, who led a panel of experts, Michael Collins, Deputy Assistant Director, East Asia Mission Center, Central Intelligence Agency; Marcel Lettere, Former Under Secretary of Defence for Intelligence, Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Ambassador of Singapore to the United States; Susan Thornton, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

“ Having consolidated power and extended his term, President Xi Jinping is now the mightiest Chinese leader since Mao. And, his rise to political primary coincides with a moment in history when China itself is rising – economically, militarily, and geopolitically. It coincides, too, with a moment in history when America is both withdrawing from the global stage and riven internally by toxic partisanship. Is China on its way to becoming the new global hegemon and, if so, what are the geostrategic implications?”

A week of high level discussions with the most powerful minds together at the 2018 Aspen Security Forum, highlighted the subject “ A New Nuclear Arms Race”, moderated by Michael Gordon, National Security Correspondent, The wall Street Journal, with panelists, Bonnie Jenkins, Former Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs, US Department of State; Frank Klotz, Former Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration; Franklin Miller, Former Senior Director for Defence Policy and Arms Control, National Security Council and Andrew Weber, Former Assistant Secretary of Defence for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs.

“Reminiscent of the Cold War, the US and Russia are racing to develop a new generation of more powerful nuclear weapons, making the prospect of cataclysmic war more realistic than at any time in generations. Can the nuclear arms race genie be put back in the bottle?”

Another hot conversation in the media that deserved a key panel was “Taking Fate into our Own Hands”, moderated by Terry Moran, Chief Foreign Correspondent, ABC News, who led panelists, Emily Haber, Ambassador of Germany to the United States,; John McLaughlin, Former Acting Director and Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency; Michael Murphy, Deputy Assistant of State for European and Eurasian Affairs; as well as David O’Sullivan, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States.

“Thus, German Chancellor Angela Merkel famously summed up Europe’s reaction to Trump’s America First agenda. For the first time since its founding, the strength of the NATO alliance is being questioned. Would a President who said that he was elected to “represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris” really go to war to save Vilnius? And, it appears that Europe is as much in the President’s crosshairs for trade imbalances as China. In short, is the Trans-Atlantic partnership, the bedrock of the global order since WWII, being consigned before our eyes to the dustbin of history?”

All in all, it was indeed a valuable week of international and national discussions and debates, with experts from all over the world, and everyone looking to find the same solid solutions – sound security for a better world.

MICROSOFT REQUESTS GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS FOR FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY

Highly regarded companies such as Goldman Sachs take great pride in boasting on their websites how “implementing facial recognition correctly”, may demonstrate great potential towards protecting one from a breach in cybersecurity. Securing the activity of one’s finance details with such advanced facial recognition technology has proven to be a positive and effective trend.

Microsoft, however, is questioning whether facial recognition technology is working for everyone’s advantage. In a recent blog posting, titled FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY: THE NEED FOR PUBLIC REGULATION AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, written by Brad Smith – the Microsoft President is crying out for “the need for government regulation”.

Smith makes a passionate plea, due to what he considers the rapid evolution of technology and devices, “Advanced technology no longer stands apart from society; it is becoming deeply infused in our personal and professional lives”. He is demonstrating his concern about government tracking. In some instances Smith highlights how positive facial recognition technology is indeed useful for finding missing children or helping first responders identify a terrorist, however, the issues he feels a strong objection to is how facial recognition relates to “US government projects related to separating children from their families at the border”.

The elaborate details Smith illustrates in his blog post, regarding how facial recognition ought to be addressed through government regulation are many, but the emphasis in his starting points, clearly show his concern is focused on personal privacy and personal consent.

• Should law enforcement use of facial recognition be subject to human oversight and controls, including restrictions on the use of unaided facial recognition technology as evidence of an individual’s guilt or innocence of a crime?

• Similarly, should we ensure there is civilian oversight and accountability for the use of facial recognition as part of governmental national security technology practices?

• What types of legal measures can prevent use of facial recognition for racial profiling and other violations of rights while still permitting the beneficial uses of the technology?

• Should use of facial recognition by public authorities or others be subject to minimum performance levels on accuracy?

• Should the law require that retailers post visible notice of their use of facial recognition technology in public spaces?

• Should the law require that companies obtain prior consent before collecting individuals’ images for facial recognition? If so, in what situations and places should this apply? And what is the appropriate way to ask for and obtain such consent?

• Should we ensure that individuals have the right to know what photos have been collected and stored that have been identified with their names and faces?

• Should we create processes that afford legal rights to individuals who believe they have been misidentified by a facial recognition system?

The President of Microsoft bespeaks passionate objectives in the area of facial recognition technology, “this is a national issue that requires national leadership by our elected representatives”.

To read the entire blog by Microsoft President, Brad Smith visit: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2018/07/13/facial-recognition-technology-the-need-for-public-regulation-and-corporate-responsibility/

RAPID DNA TESTS AND IMMIGRATION EFFICIENCY AT U.S. BORDERS

Rapid DNA is a program funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Resilient Systems Division, to verify legal kinship of family members. According to the DHS report, it is a DNA based, quick and cost efficient way to “ improve immigration efficiency for legal kinship applicants, reduce kinship fraud, identify mass casualty victims, provide for family reunifications, and conduct DNA watch list checks”.

Currently, The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USICS) is dependent upon “documentary evidence and testimony elicited during interviews to verify family relationships”. These procedures prove to be prolonged and drawn out.

Professional field officers will be able to execute the Rapid DNA testing quickly. Rapid DNA is promoted by the US government, as a biometric tool, to be used at the United Sates borders where a common overwhelming influx of illegal immigrants is causing national concern.

Due to the recent situation of migrants flooding the border of Mexico to enter illegally into the United States, the DNA testing is upsetting some, who feel it may be a breach of privacy.

Border Patrol officials have reported that many children crossing the border illegally, are not actually with members of their biological family and are being trafficked and exploited. Some adults produce birth certificates stating the children they cross with illegally are theirs, however instances have proven that a lot of these documents are counterfeit.

Agents at the border state that they would be working with this method of Rapid DNA, in the hopes that parents will understand that protection of illegal children, is the prime factor of importance and this type of verification ( although there are those that may argue), is said to be, ultimately, for the child’s best interests.

HIKVISON USA – A COMPETITIVE WINNER FOR IP CAMERAS

The Thermal Bi-Spectrum Camera System was selected among a pool of applicants at the 2018 ESX Award Winner, in the video surveillance category.

“The ESX Innovation Awards is an industry competition that recognizes the most impactful and groundbreaking technologies for the electronic security and life safety industry. This includes emerging technologies, as well as those that have been field-tested”.

Described as the DS-2TD2615-7/10 Thermal Bi-Spectrum IP Camera, a distinct attribute is the thermal imager feature. It bears a lens in 7 or 10 mm, and contains “matched field of view” with the MP CMOS DarkFighter visible camera.

The winning innovation is known to be extremely reliable, with groundbreaking technology that allows among other things image switching, high picture quality, and full frame with low light color imaging.

Hikvision boasts that the DS-2TD2615-7/10 Thermal Spectrum IP Camera is reported as “being used in some of the most demanding market segments”. The objective of Hikvision, according to published statements is that their newly recognized product will help “combat crime and terrorism, and safeguard North American Communities”.

DISCOVER ESX ELECTRONIC SECURITY EXPO

Starting today June 19th, until Friday 22, in Nashville Tennessee, is ESX – Electronic Security Expo. This year’s 2018 event, according to their program, as revealed to the public online, aims to feature “insights from tech experts, a heartfelt panel on school security, and more”.

The ESX Expo is a “nation-wide event, open exclusively to the electronic security and life safety industry”. It is designed to allow interaction of professionals and those alike in the safety and security community.

Divided into topics of education, events & experiences, Expo and Non-for Pofit, the week’s activities promises to energize its attendees to re-think the future. Key-note speakers are invited to voice their opinions and experiences on security integration subject matters; some of these sessions are also interactive so the community may participate in discussions and brainstorming.

Alongside the business and networking opportunities are anything from breakfasts to cocktail receptions as well as various forms of entertainment; one such highlight includes a performance set to take place in the exhibit hall on June 20, by Kristen Merlin, a finalist on NBC;’s “ The Voice”.

The ESX Expo website also boasts of an upcoming Shark Tank style contest called TechVision Challenge, where contestants enter their creative concepts and are judged by a panel of impressive industry leaders.

It is an Expo that offers expert advice on its showcased products, and services. With a keen intent to help the gathering security integration enthusiasts learn more about installation training, merchandising, marketing and sales, exhibitors are on display throughout.

As stated publically, “ESX is owned by the industry’s leading professional associations. All profits made from the show are reinvested into programs and activities that help grow the industry”.

For more information: http://www.esxweb.com/Schedule/Full-Schedule

HONEYWELL SAFE KIDS AT HOME

Honeywell is globally known for “inventing technologies that address some of the world’s toughest challenges in safety and security”. Their mission is “building a world that’s safer and more secure”. This is indeed proven as Honeywell focuses its attention to SAFE KIDS AT HOME PROGRAM RESEARCH.

In countries where household burns are prevalent, Honeywell’s Safe Kids at Home Program, is working with communities in creating preventative methods to help find positive solutions. Since 2015, Honeywell first introduced the program in Pune, India to inspire a “safety culture”. Together with civic agencies, it is growing in reach.

In compliance with the Indian government’s 100 Smart cities vision, the Safe Kids at Home Program consists of interactive educational training for children under the age of 14, in schools, alongside homework assignments, videos, games, songs and play. Through knowledge, training and awareness it has been developed to help prevent child injuries due to fires and burns.

Mr. Vikas Chadha, President, Honeywell India, recognized in 2017, “ Globally Honeywell understands the space of safety very well”. He proudly commented in an online portrayal of the program, “Honeywell can supply adequate products such as fire alarms, personal protection equipment which are aligned with the safety of a particular individual”

Safe Kids at Home aims to reach out to 25,000 students and 50,000 by mid 2018. This will happen via classroom sessions involving parents as well as caregivers and events with the communities at large. It is a positive initiative offering simple safety suggestions such as “Remember to blow out candles and turn off oil lamps before going to sleep”. In addition, the program includes distributing the correct contact information for first responders in case of an emergency.

Dr. Cinthia Pinto, Program Director, Safe Kids Foundation, stated in one of her previous appearances that the Safe Kids at Home Program was one of the “first of its kind in India, on child injury prevention”.

The Honeywell partnered program works in close collaboration with hospitals, fire departments, police departments, burn units, schools and communities. As it stands today, the Safe Kids at Home Program has become a model for “fire safe schools and fire safe communities”.

Honeywell and Safe Kids Worldwide are dedicated to working with partners to protect children from preventable injuries, and are already implemented and established with their programs in India, China and the United States.

Safe Kids at Home Supported by Honeywell – the power of connected

HIGH SECURITY IN SINGAPORE FOR TRUMP-KIM SUMMIT

All eyes are on the U.S. President Donald J. Trump, this week as he prepares to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong- Un, in Singapore. On June 12th, worldwide media with their cameras will be focused on the summit, as this most important geopolitical event takes place. In addition to reporters with their special broadcasting equipment, all set to zoom in on this historical period, Singapore will certainly have other cameras in full activation – its security eye.

A wealthy nation, that attracts world leaders and billionaires, Singapore will spare no expense in ensuring top-notch security. A country that has a strong reputation for law, order and rule, it is certain that Singapore will stand for no shenanigans. The country is extremely adamant that is doesn’t accept anyone who wishes to hold political rallies or protests its streets. Radical individuals with a tendency towards terrorism or other forms of violence are definitely not welcome under any terms. New laws have been created in recent months granting the police authoritive powers to take strict action on troublemakers.

It is reported that police are allowed to ban journalists if necessary, and prevent reporting; even possibly confiscating devices that present text, video, photographs, or audio communication. Loudspeakers, banners, flags and demonstration posters are seemingly prohibited. There will be no tolerance for those bearing firearms and even drones are forbidden.

Singapore is in full swing, and heightened checks underway. Whether pedestrian or vehicle complete scrutiny is the theme. Airspace around Singapore will be restricted during the summit and security with cover not only Singapore’s mainland but also the surrounding seas and Sentosa Island.

A country that is super clean due to charging enormous fines to anyone caught littering, and a government known to ban chewing gum from the streets, it still believes in common forms of corporal punishment such as caning, for certain offenses. Singapore officials will not tolerate theft, vandalism or disruption of any kind.

Trump and Kim have obviously chosen Singapore to host their denuclearization discussions in a country where intelligence, police protection, and security are of the highest standard. It indeed makes sense that the two leaders would feel most confortable sitting down together, in a country rated the safest nation in Asia, if not the world.

SECURING SOFT TARGETS & CROWDED PLACES

A recent report issued by the United States of America, Department of Homeland Security, has been making serious efforts to focus on public security. On June 8, Bob Kolansky, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Infrastructure Protection, highlights the release of the DHS Soft Target and Crowded Places Security Plan Overview.

Unable to forget the horrific terrorist type attacks on soft targets that have taken place of late, the Department of Homeland Security strongly emphasizes vigilance and preparedness. Complacency is not an option.

Anyone who frequents crowded public spaces should turn their attention to the Security of Soft Targets and Crowded Places Resource Security Guide. The catalogue matrix includes advice in the way of tools and resources for businesses, government, and first responders, as well as the general public. It offers resource descriptions and links to understand the basics of security; how to identify suspicious behavior; forms of protection, and ready responsiveness.

“Soft Targets and Crowded Places (ST-CPs), such as sports venues, shopping venues, schools, and transportation systems, are locations that are easily accessible to large numbers of people and that have limited security or protective measures in place making them vulnerable to attack”.

The Department of Homeland security aims to work alongside other organizations and countries to ensure that all citizens are better protected.

“An informed and empowered public is DHS’s greatest ally in its work to enhance the security of ST-CPs”.

The Security of Soft Targets and Crowded Places Resource Guide was released in April 2018 and can be found via link:
https://www.dhs.gov/publication/securing-soft-targets-and-crowded-spaces