Personnel Security: What Is Your Security Posture?Written by Felix P. Nater
1. The Security Consultant’s Perspective…With Workplace Violence becoming an emerging concern, employee dimension becomes a critical factor in conducting Vulnerability Threat Assessments against capabilities and weaknesses, similar to way we conduct a business SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). I wonder how much thought a disgruntled employee, angry customer, an armed robber or a specific act of terrorism, has given to real business threat of a violent act. Within each business or type of employment, there exists an intriguing combination of potential threats to safety and security of workplace. If you recall in recent incidents over past month on topic of workplace violence, that while critical structures are key targets, no type of business was immune. The ideologues and imbedded terrorists have now become objects of concern for those of us engaged in conducting threat assessments; evaluating risks and recommending risk abatement measures. Key to these concerns is free access of these employees, their familiarity with operations and their knowledge of company secrets. To combat this threat and to reduce risk, it would behoove decision makers to become creative in their approach to these potential threats. Just implementing technological resources may be insufficient. Taking proactive measures during hiring and screening process might identity a potential threat, implementing security guidelines might serve to deter or minimize threat and educating employees will increase security awareness. Key to this creative approach however, is collaboration of resources in a synchronized team fashion. The Threat Assessment Team is my recommended creative strategy to minimize threat while managing possibilities. 2. Workplace Security Concerns: People, Premises and Property… In preventing Workplace Violence in today’s volatile workplace nothing can be taken for granted. While it is employer’s responsibility to protect workforce, a predisposed individual is a company’s worst nightmare. The acts of a disgruntled employee can be predictive, while threat of a robber’s motives cannot anymore than motivations of professional ideologue with external grievances that might target a business to emphasize an opposing position. Verifiably evident is catastrophic capability of politically motivated threat whose methodical planning may take years. With access and familiarity critical factors in measuring risks, decision makes are encouraged to reconcile security impact to business disruption and business recovery in aftermath in terms of proactive and preventive measures during Threat Assessment Phase. Every business is a target of opportunity and value regardless of type: Production Plants Power & Light Utilities Dam & Water Purifications Sewer Treatment Telephone and Heating Food & Beverages Sports Facilities Entertainment Centers Suburban Strip & Shopping Malls Hospitals and Treatment Centers High Rise Building Complexes Unprotected Establishments
| | AntiVirus WarningWritten by Dawn Gray
It is a sad day when antivirus software messes up your computer more than @#$& virus you got in yesterday's email. The more complex antivirus software gets, more it becomes like a virus itself. In honor of my recent discovery of a new problem with my antivirus program, here are a few pitfalls of popular (and not so popular) programs:1. "Norton Crash Guard crashes my computer." This is first problem I noticed with Symantec's popular suite of computer protective software. Norton Crash Guard immediately forced my brother's new Compaq computer even with errors that would normally just shut down program involved. (That was just worse case.) On other computers, loading Crash Guard slowed down computer so much I felt compelled to take it off. 2. "Norton AntiVirus is keeping me from accessing internet." When I first installed Norton AntiVirus, I had to call our internet service provider AND Eudora in order to access email again. It turns out program tries to route all email through their server to check for viruses. You have to go into your preferences and reset them in a way that will work with your internet service provider. I'm not only one, either! I recently received a message from a direct mail guru who said he was offline for almost 12 hours because he loaded Norton AntiVirus to delete a virus he inadvertently picked up from an email message. 3. "Norton Systemworks is slowing down my computer." My Dad recently took a computer in because it was having some problems. The technician told him they recommended everyone uninstall Norton Systemworks computer monitor (the little window that tells you how much your drive is fragmented, how much of your CPU you're using, etc.).
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