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No Notoriety – Don’t Name Them

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DO NOT NAME THE PERPETRATORS.

This is the rallying cry of the hashtags #NoNotoriety and #DontNameThem.

According to a recent article in The Guardian, media focus on the victims of mass shootings is almost a peripheral issue to the event. After giving so much sensational coverage to the event and the perpetrator (the shooter), media outlets almost concede to adding precious media space to the victims. The clickbait is the shooter. The event. The weapon(s) used. The motives. The victims are not clickbait and thus are relegated to secondary status.

The No Notoriety campaign to put an end to naming the perpetrator of an active shooter event aims to deprive violent potential perpetrators the media celebrity and spotlight they crave. By minimizing the number of times a shooter is named or sensationalized in the media, the prospect of infamy may be lessened for others who may be inspired by copycat crimes. It also sends the message that the killer and his actions are less important than the lives and actions of the victims.

The Don’t Name Them campaign has a similar message – don’t sensationalize the names of shooters when reporting about a shooting event. A perpetrator’s name is important to apprehend them and bring them to justice. , but once a perpetrator has been captured, their name is no longer a necessary part of the story.

This concept should also inform people in their own social media use and even their discussions with their family, friends, and colleagues. If you are going to Facebook post about a shooting, don’t name the perpetrator. Don’t re-post his “manifesto” and don’t give a voice to his violent Facebook posts.

 

 

 

 

 

School Emergency Response Procedures

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Recently my children’s school district had a bit of an active shooter scare. It turned out to be a false alarm, but all district schools went into lockdown.

In my opinion, the district did a good job handling the situation – with one notable exception. Before the event, parents were not notified about the district’s emergency response procedures, so many parents panicked and there was a degree of chaos and confusion (not inside the school) about pickup and other logistics. While the administrators, teachers, and students knew what to do in a lockdown, the parents didn’t know what was going on or how to respond. A few days later the administration sent an email to parents detailing the school’s emergency response procedure.

Pasted below is a (edited for security reasons) version of the email sent to parents after the event. This is not intended to be used as a template for any organization, particularly since portions of the email have been cut and other portions have been edited. It is intended to be an example of how to inform parents about your school’s plan.

If your school hasn’t notified parents about the emergency response procedure, do it now! Don’t wait until after an event to let parents know what’s going on.

 

 

 Emergency Response Procedures

Parents, 

In light of last week’s events, please see detailed information below regarding our emergency response procedures.

Also, if you did not receive the text notification last week regarding the Lockdown, please make sure you are signed up for the Remind app, and that your information is updated by logging in to your account to confirm current information. All personal information is kept private. Teachers will never see your ….

To receive messages via text, text @xxxx to xxxxx. You can opt out of messages at anytime by replying, ‘unsubscribe @xxxxx’. 

To receive messages via email, send an email to xxxxx@mail.remind.com. To unsubscribe, reply with ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.

Emergency Response Procedures

How will my child’s school handle an emergency situation?

All ….. facilities have an emergency preparedness plan.  The response to each situation will differ based on the specifics of that situation. The flexibility of the plan is key to the success of the response. In general …..    kits that contain key information and supplies; designation of a primary and secondary relocation/ evacuation site; provisions for training personnel and updating the plan; checklists and student information for dealing with specific types of incidents; and resources……

What is lockdown?

An emergency may prevent the safe evacuation of a school building and require steps to isolate students and faculty from …. interior lockdown situation, all students are kept in classrooms or other designated locations that are away from the danger. Faculty members are responsible for accounting for students and ensuring that no one leaves the safe area. School personnel……

In the event of an emergency situation, will the school go into lockdown?

The specific actions taken by us in any emergency situation, will depend on the specifics of the situation. Any action taken would depend on several factors, including the level of threat and the advice of local…..

Lockdown Procedures      

A.  The Principal or designee announces the Lockdown Level.
B.  Law enforcement and the regional superintendent are alerted.

Level 1:  Threat is exterior to school. Criminal activity in area of school.
Lock exterior…..

Level 2:  Threat is inside school (or potentially could be)
Lock exterior door….

Level 3:  Threat is (or potentially could be) inside school….

What is primary or secondary evacuation site?

Primary or secondary evacuation sites are short-term solutions to a short-term problem. If an accident or attack that created an unsafe environment for  students and personnel to remain at ….  method for ensuring the safety of students and staff members in this type of crisis.

Can I pick up my child?

Parents are allowed to pick up their children unless public safety officials have declared a shelter-in-place response, or there is some other reason why access to the facility …… in emergency situations. Remember, school may be the safest place for children.

Why are you keeping children from their parents?

The administration does not intend to keep children from their parents if a crisis occurs during school hours or school activities. It is the schools intent to make sure that children are safe inside the school until such a time that the threat …. emergency messaging system.

Who can pick up my children?

Children will not be released to individuals who are not authorized ….. school year.  Friends and neighbors may sign a child or children out with written permission from a parent or parents. Both (or all) parents have to give permission in writing for the sign out ….. notes and sign out lists.   Schools will also ask for identification when the child is released to one(s) mentioned in the permission note.

Can I contact my child?

Parents are asked not to call in emergency situations so phone lines can remain accessible for handling the specific situation. Parents will be kept informed…..

What if my child is riding a school bus at the time of a crisis?

School bus drivers will be in contact with the Department of Transportation for instructions in the event that a crisis occurs while students are in transport. Bus drivers will be informed to use common sense and not travel toward the crisis location. Parents will be informed…..

Spending on Equipment

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Does your organization need facial recognition technology as part of your security system?

According to Forbes, facial recognition software is already being used to:

  • put Snapchat and Instagram face filters on your face (using object recognition)
  • identify your friends in Facebook photos
  • unlock your phone
  • create CG characters in movies
  • verify identity
  • identify imposters and screen passengers at airports
  • prevent crime in retail spaces
  • tailor advertising to you individually
  • find missing children / individuals

While there are security-related benefits to facial recognition, there are also hurdles with the technology. For example, the technology tends to have high rates of racial bias as well as insufficient rates of accuracy. Furthermore, many current (and future) applications are used without the permission of the public, causing serious privacy issues.

So, is the cost (both financial and social) of the technology worth it for your school or business? The technology doesn’t come cheap – companies selling facial recognition software make millions in revenue each year.

As we’ve talked about on this blog before, while we firmly believe in security technology, we find that improving your organization’s policies and procedures (and making sure your people are properly trained) can go a long way towards keeping your people safe. See these posts for more on this:

Read This Before You Budget for Security

Include Everyone in Your Emergency Training

Layers of Security

Technology is Not Your Crutch

Visitor Management

Yes, technology is good, and technology is important to keep your people safe. If you have unlimited funds, facial recognition software may be appropriate. But don’t rely on technology like facial recognition software to keep your people safe.

 

Most Small Businesses Don’t Recover from Data Breaches — Here’s How to Be an Exception

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Thanks to Oliver at disastersafety.info for a guest post today.

If customers don’t trust your business to protect their personal data, they’ll go elsewhere. It’s a hard truth that a growing number of small business owners are realizing: According to Experian, the number of data breaches occurring each year has more than doubled since 2015, and small businesses are a common target.

Small businesses that suffer a data breach struggle to recover. A 2018 report from Kaspersky Lab found that data breaches cost small business $120K on average — a sum that leads many small businesses to close up shop.

Even if your business can handle the financial blow of a data breach, it may never regain customers’ trust. Identity theft leading to credit card fraud is a common outcome of small business data breaches. After coping with the financial and emotional distress of identity fraud, consumers are reluctant to return to the business that exposed their sensitive data.

The Right Way to Respond to a Data Breach

The steps you take in response to a data breach has a big impact on your business’s longevity. If you want to preserve your small business’s reputation and recover financially, these are the steps to take.

1. Deploy your incident response plan

If you’ve prepared for a data breach, you’ll have an incident response plan and IT staff trained to enact it. Unfortunately, many small businesses don’t take this step before their first data breach.

If you don’t have an incident response plan in place, don’t improvise. You could make the situation worse or make it impossible to identify the source and scope of the breach. Instead, hire digital forensic specialists who can determine where a breach came from, stop the breach, and recover lost data. Contracting with a team like Secure Forensics is also a smart move for businesses too small to warrant a dedicated IT team.

2. Notify the authorities

Small businesses affected by a data breach have a legal responsibility to notify the authorities. Use this map to find the data breach notification laws in your state.

3. Inform affected customers

Never hide a data breach from your customers. The sooner you inform customers their data has been compromised, the better they can protect themselves against identity theft. Letting your customers learn about a data breach from a third party also degrades trust in your business.

The right response, on the other hand, mitigates damage to your small business’s reputation. Kroll explains how to notify customers of a data breach in a way that both helps your clientele and rebuilds confidence in your business.

Preventing Future Data Breaches

You might think your small business can’t stop a determined hacker from gaining access to your data. However, internal errors are at the root of most data breaches. Negligent employees and contractors are behind 48 percent of data breaches, and problems with internal systems contribute to 35 percent of breaches. By addressing these internal weaknesses, small businesses can greatly reduce their vulnerability to data breaches and fraud.

These are the steps to take to prevent another breach:

1. Conduct a risk assessment

In order to mitigate risk, you need to know where it is. If you have an IT staff with the expertise to run a cybersecurity risk assessment, make the task a priority. Otherwise, hire a company that can identify vulnerabilities and find solutions to your small business’s security risks.

2. Train employees

Do your employees and contractors use strong passwords, know how to identify suspicious emails, and understand the importance of protecting company-owned devices? Regular training is key to eliminating internal vulnerabilities.

3. Protect credit card data

In addition to using PCI-compliant payment processing, small businesses should protect customers’ payment data by using chip-enabled credit card readers, avoiding storage of credit card security codes, and encrypting all stored credit card information.

Preventing data breaches and fraud should be a top priority for any small business that handles customer credit cards, email addresses, and other sensitive data. With proper cybersecurity measures and employee training, many data breaches can be avoided. And when prevention isn’t possible, the proper response and the right team of professionals gets your business back on track.

 

Image via Unsplash

Mobile Security Operations Console

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A security operations console is a key part of security management in any given organization. In a perfect world, an organization’s security operations console would:

  • be housed in an interior room
  • have access control on the door
  • have camera coverage of the door
  • have integration of systems (e.g., cameras, access control, gates) inside the room
  • have video analytics
  • have dynamic presentation of alarms
  • be manned by security personnel
  • have the ability to remotely control gates, doors, etc.
  • have the ability to relay information to responding agencies
  • put the campus/building on lockdown
  • initiate mass notification

Because a proper security operations console could be a large undertaking for an organization that doesn’t already have most (or some) of the above points in place, decision makers sometimes shy away from deciding to install one. With that said, new technology means that a physical room with equipment and personnel isn’t strictly necessary anymore.

With a cellphone and a web-based login, it’s possible these days to hit most of the salient points of a security operations console without the physical location of one. Systems integration, video analytics, dynamic presentation of alarms, remote control of gates and other entrances, contact with responding agencies, and initiation of lockdown and mass notification can all be achieved with a mobile operations center.

Don’t let the price tag overwhelm you when it comes to a security operations console. There are multiple options on the market for all types of organizations and their needs.

School Safety

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A recent article by the Associated Press had some good points about selling security equipment to schools. “Many proponents of hardening a school like an airport or police station have backgrounds in law enforcement or the military. Some have little experience or qualification.” One person interviewed for the story had sold $500,000 worth of security equipment to a school to later say (after he was no longer selling security equipment) that the same school could have paid a fifth of the price for the same level of security upgrades.

Listen, technology and gadgetry are not going to solve all of your security problems. Here at Invictus Consulting we believe that your school’s culture of safety can go a long way toward protecting your faculty, students, and staff. Having an emergency action plan that your faculty and staff have been trained on is such an important part of school security. We believe that security plans for intelligent threats should be as commonplace as fire evacuation plans – everyone should know what to do in case of an emergency, everyone will have practiced what to do, and lives will be saved because of prior planning and training.

Beyond an emergency action plan, a culture of security means that faculty, students, and staff have been trained to keep all exterior doors locked and closed; children do not open doors for strangers (even though this goes against a polite culture in parts of the country); parents and other visitors are aware that they need a reason for their visit; visitors have their identification checked against offender databases; visitors are escorted while they’re on campus; and a record is created for each instance of a visitor on campus (i.e., there is a record of exactly who is on campus, when they were there, how long they were there, when they left, who they came to see, etc.).

There are 5 layers of security on any property: outer perimeter, visual perimeter, access control, alarms, and policies and procedures. Your emergency action plan and culture of security would be considered the innermost layer of security – your policies and procedures.

But the other four layers of security are also places where schools can implement cost-effective solutions that improve the security of their people. Lots of schools we assess actually already have some measures in place – fences, gates, cameras, intercom systems, burglar alarms. It’s just that a lot of these systems are mismanaged or not used effectively or to their fullest capabilities. Before you upgrade to a half-million dollar security system, look at your current security measures and see if things can be managed better (e.g., fix broken fences, learn how to use video analytics in your camera system) or used more effectively.

We absolutely believe in the efficacy of physical and electronic security measures. Card readers, cameras, door prop alarms, systems integration – these are all effective and important aspects of security. But don’t mistake expensive equipment for a cure-all to security issues.

Guest Post on Wildfire Safety

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Thanks to Oliver at disastersafety.info for a guest post today.

I know hurricanes are making a lot of headlines lately (and for good reason), but in a lot of areas of the country, the weather is dry and prone to wildfires. Since there seems to be an abundance of information being spread on hurricane and flood safety right now, I wanted to take a few minutes and share some important wildfire safety information.

The Ultimate Guide to Wildfire Safety
https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/wildfire-facts-and-safety/

Prepare for Wildfire – Pack a To-Go Bag
https://www.unce.unr.edu/blogs/livingwithfire/2018/07/26/prepare-for-wildfire-pack-a-to-go-bag/

Disaster Preparedness for Pets
https://www.freshfromflorida.com/content/download/11447/144978/Disaster%20Preparedness%20for%20Pets.pdf

Tips for preventing wildfires for farmers
https://www.dakotafarmer.com/safety/tips-preventing-wildfires

Prevention, Protection, and Evacuation: Fire Safety for Farm and Livestock Owners
https://www.redfin.com/blog/fire-safety-for-farm-and-livestock-owners

What YOU Can Do While Traveling to Wildfire Regions
https://www.travelingmom.com/travel-tips/wildfire-safety-tips/

Helping Children After a Wildfire: Tips for Parents and Teachers
https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/school-safety-and-crisis/natural-disaster/helping-children-after-a-wildfire-tips-for-parents-and-teachers

How to Recover From A Wildfire
https://aerindustries.com/guide-to-wildfire-damage-recovery/

 

 

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