[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
USSN Link 004-04 (January 23, 2004) (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 11:34:16 -0500
From: JimKing@xxxxxxxx
To: "goodman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <goodman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: USSN Link 004-04 (January 23, 2004)
If this e-mail does not show up in its correct formatting, please point
your browser to this address:
http://www.ussn.org/content/contentCT.asp?P=157
Thank you,
GSC Staff
[Link%20Header%20004-04.jpg]
www.USSN.org
DISCLAIMER
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT HAS BEEN ASSEMBLED FROM A
VARIETY OF SOURCES AND IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS PROVIDED AS RECEIVED AND DOES
NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT BY THE US SECURITY NETWORK, ANY MEMBER
COMPANY, OR PARTICIPATING PUBLIC AGENCIES.
INFORMATION MAY BE REPEATED, AS IT IS EXTRACTED EXACTLY AS PRESENTED BY
THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
[Red%20Bar%20.jpg]
"Policies Address Domestic Violence"
Domestic violence has the potential to become workplace violence if
angry ex-spouses or paramours begin stalking their exes while they are
at work. Current or former husbands and boyfriends have killed 10 women
at work in the state of Oregon during the past seven years. Jane Randal,
vice president for corporate communications at New York-based Liz
Claiborne, recalls an incident involving a Liz Claiborne employee in
Pennsylvania that could have turned tragic. In that incident, security
guards stopped the estranged husband of an employee from confronting the
employee at work. The angry man was carrying a gun and had threatened
the employee in the past. The security guards stopped the man because
they knew that a court order barred him from contacting the employee;
after leaving the Liz Claiborne site, the man was arrested during a
standoff with police. Randal says that domestic violence adversely
impacts a company's productivity through absenteeism and increased
health care costs, part of the reason that Liz Claiborne decided to
implement a family violence policy in 1992. Companies committed to
ending domestic violence can help in any number of ways, including by
changing employees phone numbers or moving their desks, by providing
employees with security guard escorts, and by placing posters in the
workplace that provide hotline numbers and other information about
domestic violence programs.
www.bendbulletin.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
"Software Gives Cell Customers Say Over Who's Tracking Them"
Bell Labs researchers will detail a network software engine that allows
cell phone users to pick and choose when, where, and with whom to share
location data, as well as what specific data should be shared, at this
week's 2004 IEEE International Conference on Mobile Data Management.
This personalized location information sharing can be achieved without
overtaxing the network's computing power by utilizing a "rules-driven"
programming strategy, the researchers claim. The breakthrough could be
an important step toward the introduction of wireless "location-based
services" that customers will appreciate for their convenience and
non-intrusiveness. Examples of such services include restaurants and
other businesses sending text messages to cell phones when users come
into close proximity, or customer and co-worker location. Most cell
phone owners, however, do not like the idea of their movements being
monitored 24/7, which is what makes personalization so desirable. The
flexibility offered by such personalization is highly sought after by
wireless companies that wish to service numerous customers on a single
network. Bell Labs declares that negotiations are underway with wireless
operators to test the technology, which could be ready for the
commercial market by 2005.
www.seattletimes.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
"Perdue Highlights Homeland Security Programs"
The federal Department of Homeland Security provided funding for several
homeland security initiatives in the state of Georgia during 2003.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue stopped in several parts of the state on
Wednesday to highlight those initiatives. The funding allowed the state
to purchase protective gear for first responders in Calhoun and a
decontamination tent in Paulding County. In Savannah and Thomasville,
the state formed Georgia Bureau of Investigation bomb teams equipped
with bomb-disabling robots. The Homeland Security Department provided
Georgia with $106 million in funding during 2002 and 2003.
www.accessnorthga.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
Data sharing by federal employees complicates security
The government faces difficulties establishing certain security measures
as federal employees increasingly use the Internet to exchange
information, according to a government report released last week. The
General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said
security assurances beyond passwords are needed to protect sensitive,
financial and personal data transferred via the Internet during
communication and transactions among government employees and business
partners and the federal government. The survey?requested by the House
Government Reform Committee in September 2002 to get a clearer picture
of the status of security measures?outlined several obstacles faced by
the agencies in employing the necessary hardware, software, policies and
people.
www.govexec.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
Weapons and methods of terrorism
From the ever-increasing insurgency attacks in Iraq - following the
US-led military action to effect regime change - to actions by Al-Qaeda
in the Far East, Africa, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the chosen weapons and
methods of the main terrorist groups in 2003 have been conventional
explosives carried and detonated by suicide bombers. The past year saw
an increase in frequency and intensification of this deadly form of
terrorist attack. Suicide bombers have largely replaced the
sophisticated timing methods originally employed by older insurgency
groups such as the IRA.
jtsm.janes.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
"Dealing With the Darker Side"
Plans by Benetton and Wal-Mart to monitor inventory with radio-frequency
identification (RFID) tags were met with strong protest by privacy
advocates worried that the technology could be abused by criminals and
the government by keeping track of product purchases without consumers'
awareness. Such issues must be resolved before RFID technology can
widely proliferate. Privacy proponents have voiced concerns that RFID
tags attached to items bought with credit or debit cards would connect
purchasers to store or card databases that marketers could exploit;
another worry is that RFID technology will automatically generate an
audit trail of commercial transactions that employers could use to keep
tabs on workers and their activities, while courts could regard the logs
of RFID tag readers as evidence. The industrial workforce could also
oppose RFID tagging, given the potential of RFID tools to render many
jobs obsolete. So that RFID may not be used for surveillance purposes,
it is suggested that a kill switch be built into each tag attached to a
consumer product, so that the device can be deactivated after purchase.
Commentator Declan McCullagh thinks RFID tags used on consumer products
should fulfill four criteria: Purchasers must be notified of the tags'
presence; all tags should be visible and easily removed; they must be
deactivated by default at checkout; and they should be attached to the
item's packaging rather than the item itself.
www.sciam.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
"Robbery Reduction: When Developing a Security Program, Don't Forget
Robberies"
Convenience stores, gas stations, and other businesses can reduce
incidents of shoplifting and employee theft, and even protect against
robberies, by installing security systems. Statistics show that
robberies of convenience stores and gas stations are on the rise over
the past five years. Some industry observers, including Rosemary J.
Erickson, president of the Athena Research Corporation, believe that
companies are skimping on the basics of security--lighting, cash
control, visibility, and posting signs about cashier training and cash
control. Erickson says that the introduction of security cameras
sometimes results in employees being less attentive and alert to theft
or robbery because they become overly dependent on security cameras to
do that for them. Armed Robbery Training Associates CEO John D. Moore,
an expert on robbery prevention, advises companies to conduct a risk
assessment that emphasizes violent robberies before incidents such as
shoplifting. Following the risk assessment, companies then need to
conduct a security survey that focuses concentrically on the area and
environment surrounding the site of the business. The environmental
design of a site can help prevent crime, says Moore, noting that the
location of buildings, keeping stores well lit and windows clear, and
minimizing visual obstructions in the areas surrounding the site can
help reduce the chance of robbery. Erickson says that when robbers case
an establishment, their top focus is the escape route; companies can
discourage robberies by keeping this in mind and deploying security
fencing, fixing holes in fences, planting shrubbery, and installing
lighting.
www.petroretail.net
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
Homeland security seen spurring biometrics
A new government policy requiring the fingerprinting of foreign visitors
has ignited howls of outrage in many parts of the world, but for the
U.S. biometrics industry, it represents a multi-billion-dollar
opportunity. Later this month, technology companies are expected to bid
for a huge contract to build a biometrics identification system for
America?s embassies and consulates abroad so that travelers can be
screened before they reach the U.S. borders. Biometrics-identification
companies ? after toiling for years in relative obscurity ? are
reporting a growing interest in their products, which typically use
details of an individual?s unique physical features ? facial, eye or
fingerprint patterns ? to substantiate their identity. The catalyst,
executives say, is government spending on homeland security in the wake
of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The latest project is the U.S.-Visitor
and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, or U.S.-VISIT, which went
into effect on Jan. 5.
www.msnbc.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
"Intellectual Property Protection Is Critical to Combating
Counterfeiting in a Global Marketplace"
Since many patents, trademarks, and copyrights protect intangible ideas,
notions, processes, and other items from theft, many critics of the
patent system are concerned that the global nature of the marketplace
and the ease of Internet use will make it more difficult to protect
those assets. Businesses adhere to the notion of free competition and
innovative idea development, but critics contend that the extensive use
of patents and other protections has limited competition in the
marketplace so much that innovation has been stifled. Meanwhile, the
U.S. government and several other countries have passed laws to protect
patent, trademark, and copyright holders. The Lanham Act, for example,
provides victims with damages and reasonable attorneys' fees, and
prevents offending companies from moving or continuing the operations to
manufacture counterfeit goods. Other legal remedies set forth prison
sentences and fines in relation to intellectual property infringements.
Foreign treaties have also extended protections for patent holders
beyond U.S. borders, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights and the Paris Convention. Legal experts
note that these laws have set forth protections for not only companies'
brands and bottom lines, but also for the protection and safety of
consumers purchasing goods on the open marketplace.
www.corpcounsel.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx
"Seeds of Destruction"
Some computer security specialists believe effective deterrents against
viruses and worms could be developed by studying outbreaks of
agricultural epidemics, which have significant parallels. The spread of
worms such as MSBlast shares similarities to the Dutch Elm blight, which
was a foreign species introduced into an environment that had no defense
against it; "People have brought over species that we didn't expect
here, just like people have created viruses that Microsoft didn't expect
to deal with," notes Jeff Dukes of the University of Massachusetts. The
wide vulnerability of computers and networks to malware is attributed to
a technological monoculture, in much the same way that ecological
monocultures such as the Irish poor's dependence on one species of
potato in the early 19th century led to devastating famines. An October
report by major security experts warns that overreliance on Microsoft
technology has created a computing and Internet monoculture; one of the
report's authors, InternetPerils President John Quarterman, wrote that
nearly all of the most recent cyberattacks targeted monoculture
applications. Just as farmers are recommended to diversify their
plantings to avoid famines, computer researchers urge developers to
diversify programs so that they are less susceptible to viruses. The
October report suggests that the current software environment would be
much more secure by introducing non-Windows products made by companies
other than Microsoft. An even more critical monoculture than Microsoft
technology could be the Internet routing infrastructure's heavy
dependence on the Simple Network Management Protocol. Securing
technology through diversification is even more essential these days,
what with the U.S. economy's growing reliance on computers.
news.com.com
[Red%20Bar%20.jpg]
The US Security Network is an initiative of the GA Security Council, a
501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization.
Please forward your feedback to JIMKING@xxxxxxxx or call at (404)
525-9991.
If you would like to subscribe to this publication please click here.
To opt out of future mailings, click here.