Robert Bonner, CBP Commissioner, announced during the recent Customs Trade Symposium in Washington, D.C., that he was ready to take the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program to the next level, which he called “C-TPAT Plus”. C-TPAT Plus would provide “no inspection upon arrival — immediate release” for low-risk shippers using technology that can detect and record whether tampering has occurred with a container seal after being affixed at the point of origin. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection should be commended for its forward-looking recognition of ‘Smart Box’ technology in helping to further strengthen Homeland Security while also providing economic value for its users,” said Omar Hijazi, an A.T. Kearney principal who oversaw the report, which was conducted for client Savi Technology. “Our study validated that logistics executives for major importers and exporters believe that a tracking and security solution using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies linked to a networked platform that goes beyond simple tamper alerts can provide significant value,” said Hijazi. “Based on a number of potential benefits, we calculated that users could realize net benefits averaging $1,200 per container shipment. This would be added on top of benefits received through fast-track Green Lane qualification, and could create major productivity gains that outweigh the costs of implementation.” From extensive interviews with logistics executives at 25 of the world’s largest importers and exporters (Retail/Consumer Products Goods, Chemicals, Automotive and High Tech industries), the A.T. Kearney study found that container security and inventory management are among the most important issues facing the over-ocean supply chain. Specifically, the A.T. Kearney study on synchronous and secure supply chain for global container shipments found that logistics executives believed smart box RFID technology going beyond simple “automated tampering alerts” can improve container security while also: — Reducing Inventory — Reducing Out-of-Stocks — Reducing Lead-Time Variance — Increasing Manufacturing Uptime — Reducing Administrative Costs and Fees — Preventing Theft — Preventing Lost Containers “It’s very clear now that economic security and physical security are inter-linked in the supply chain, and that RFID technologies networked on a software platform is the key driver,” said Mark Weidick, General Manger of Savi’s Collaborative Network Services group. “With new incentives from Customs for shippers to achieve green lane status through ‘Smart Boxes,’ combined with analyses on investment returns of these proven technologies, our customers are gaining distinct competitive advantages. “Our solutions, which have been literally battle-tested in over a million containers moves, are modular and extensible from the most simple ‘sense and respond’ tamper evident alert to a more networked supply chain management and execution solution that provides greater ROI for shippers.”

 The new DV-IP ATM is part of DM’s family of professional network video servers and has been designed specifically to assist the banks, by recording camera images and transaction data, to deal with the growing problem of fraudulent card use at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) The compact DV-IP ATM – slightly bigger than a telephone directory – readily fits within the confined conditions of an ATM and can be smoothly integrated into a bank’s security system through new or existing IP enabled computer networks. Once operational the unit is able to process transaction data and record this with video footage when attached to cameras within the cabinet, combined with views from external cameras. A post event text search engine allows bank security staff to rapidly associate transaction data with the relevant CCTV images to home in on suspicious activity, providing evidence of sufficient quality to secure a conviction. Other features of the DV-IP ATM include: local recording of high resolution JPEG format which means that even if there is network failure recording is not interrupted. In addition, data streaming in MPEG-4 format facilitates efficient data transmission over low bandwidth connections. Spot monitor support offers a visual deterrent and helps assure customers and bank employees that there is a safe and secure cash withdrawal facility.

Leading the research study, Dr Clive Alabaster (pictured) of the Radar Systems Group at Cranfield University, says: “This research study is important because MMW frequencies are increasingly being used in a large number of applications…including airport security check-points.  

“To date, only predictive studies have attempted to describe human skin at these very high frequencies. This research study is for the first time collecting hard data in order to assess the potential risks associated with this technology. 

“The simple fact is that skin exposed to these very high frequencies bears the brunt of radiation exposure. As a result, the skin absorbs MMW frequencies and is heated on the surface with very little power penetrating to other tissue types which are deeper in the body,” explains Dr Alabaster. 

The research programme, sponsored by Japanese measurement equipment manufacturer Anritsu, has arrived at some preliminary results.  

Using the safety benchmark set by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) of 10 milliWatts per square centimetre, Dr Alabaster calculated the temperature rise of skin exposed to this level of MMW radiation over a 30 second period.  

“The initial results on a single skin sample showed that this exposure would cause the surface of the skin to heat by only 0.2°C. The body will hardly notice this increase in temperature and so we can conclude that current legislation will avoid any burning hazard. Our future work in this area will reaffirm these results and seek to extend the study to a much wider variety of skin samples,” adds Dr Alabaster.  

Millimetre waves are radio frequency signals between 30 GHz and 300 GHz (one giga Hertz is 1 000 000 000 cycles per second). They are so-called because the wavelength of such signals is in the order of millimetres ie 10mm at 30 GHz to 1mm at 300 GHz. As such they are exceedingly high in frequency but are beginning to be exploited in a few specialist applications.

Sales were $717.2 million in the fourth quarter, up 10.6
percent from $648.4 million a year ago. Diebold earned slightly under $184
million, or $2.54 per share, on sales of $2.38 billion, up 12.9 percent from
2003.

The Thomson First Call surveyed analysts’ expectation was
$2.56 per share for the year. Diebold earned $174.8 million, or $2.40 per
share, in 2003 as sales reached $2.1 billion.

Diebold earnings were posted Wednesday before the market
opened. Diebold shares fell $1.10, or 2 percent, to $52.26 in early trading on
the New York Stock Exchange.

Australia’s Vision Systems was 14th in the rankings, with a turnover in 2003 of $US63 million, up a solid 8.5 per cent on the previous year. The survey takes into account a company’s total turnover across 2 years, allowing a growth factor to be calculated.

Participants must give comprehensive financial reports to be eligible for a ranking. Coming in at number 2 was the ASSA Abloy Group, with Honeywell Security number 3, Bosch Security Systems number 4 and GE Infrastructure number 5.

Kaba was number 6, Checkpoint Systems number 7, John Controls number 8 and Samsung Electronics number 9. The UK-based Bell Group rounded out the Top 10.

The aim of the rankings is described by A&S as being: “To define world flagship companies in the security industry, to showcase industrial movement based on financial status and to indicate trends”.

 Installing such systems on commercial airlines would cost an estimated $US11 billion in the U.S. alone, with operating costs ramping up to $2.1 billion annually upon full operational capability, according to the RAND report. Over 20 years, the cost to develop, procure and operate these systems would amount to an estimated $US40 billion in America.

By way of comparison, the federal government currently spends about $4.4 billion annually on all transportation security. 

“If we decide as a nation to significantly increase spending on homeland security, then spending this much on anti-missile systems may be appropriate,” said James Chow, a RAND engineer who headed the project. “But given what we spend today, a large investment in technology still unproven in commercial airlines doesn’t appear appropriate.” 

“Resources available for homeland security are limited, so we must strive to get the most benefit from our investments,” said Michael Wermuth, director of RAND’s homeland security program. “There may well be other strategy alternatives that could prove to be less expensive and considerably more effective.” 

Laser systems designed to thwart shoulder-fired missile attacks have been used on military aircraft for some time, and some government officials and others have called for them to be installed on the nation’s commercial airline fleet.  

But RAND researchers found there are still many unresolved questions about how the systems would operate on commercial airlines, including issues such as the number of false alarms that may occur and whether terrorists could find ways to circumvent the safeguards. 

While developers of the laser systems work to refine and demonstrate the technology, other approaches should be adopted to guard against missile attacks, according to the report, titled “Protecting Commercial Aviation Against the Shoulder-Fired Missile Threat.” 

These approaches include expanding efforts to keep missiles out of terrorists’ hands, improving security around the perimeter of airports and improving commercial airliners’ ability to survive a missile strike, according to the report. 

Aviation experts have been worried for many years about the possibility that terrorists may attack a domestic airliner with shoulder-fired missiles, also known as man-portable air defense systems or MANPADS. 

More than 700,000 of the missiles have been produced worldwide by a number of nations. Many thousands of the weapons are unaccounted for worldwide, including some U.S.-made missiles sent to Afghanistan to assist the mujahedin who battled against the occupation by the Soviet Union. 

Concerns about possible attacks with MANPADS in the United States heightened after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and an unsuccessful attack by terrorists with MANPADS against an Israeli airliner at an airport in Kenya in November 2002. 

Chow and his RAND colleagues examined the types of anti-missile systems that soon will be available or are in development, estimating the cost of installing and operating such equipment. They also examined how those expenses compare to the cost of other homeland security efforts. 

The most-promising near-term solutions to MANPAD attacks are laser jammers, which soon will be commercially available. They are designed to disrupt a MANPADS’ guidance system, causing a missile to miss its target. 

Researchers acknowledge that a successful MANPAD attack might kill hundreds of people and create economic losses that could rise above $15 billion. In addition, such an attack would create a feeling of lost security among the nation’s population — something that cannot be economically quantified, researchers said. 

But given the enormous cost of installing anti-missile systems compared with other homeland security measures, researchers suggest that officials explore less costly approaches in the near term while launching efforts to improve and demonstrate the reliability of the systems. 

The project was supported with funds RAND has available to pursue discretionary research projects. Other authors of the report are James Chiesa, Paul Dreyer, Melvin Eisman, Theodore Karasik, Joel Kvitky, Sherrill Lingel, David Ochmanek and Chad Shirley. 

The RAND Infrastructure, Safety and Environment division conducts research and analysis to improve the development, operation, use and protection of society’s essential man-made and natural assets, and to enhance the safety and security of individuals in transit, at work and in their communities. 

GE’s “Yxlon XES 3000(R)” system, which uses X-ray diffraction technology to identify the chemical signature of explosives, is the first non-computed tomography (CT) based technology to meet the TSA’s certification standards for the detection of explosive devices.

To date, GE Infrastructure Security’s Homeland Protection subsidiary has received orders for XRD systems from six European airports and the Israeli Airport Authority. No company has more explosives detection technologies certified by the TSA than GE Infrastructure.

Louis Parker, President & CEO, Homeland Protection, said, “By combining this XRD technology with our family of CT-based explosives detection systems, baggage screeners will have yet another tool available to detect the presence of explosives and prevent dangerous materials from reaching an airplane, protecting travelers worldwide. This means greater peace of mind for the airports and their customers.”

For the first time since certification of GE’s “InVision CTX 5000(R)” system in 1994, a non-computed tomography (CT) based technology has met the TSA’s strict certification standards. XRD technology identifies the chemical signature of explosives, providing complimentary detection capabilities to CT based systems.  

Other systems based on CT technology, including the “InVision CTX 9000 DSi(R)” system, “InVision CTX 5500 DS(R)” system, “InVision CTX 2500(R)” system and “InVision CTX 1000(R)”system are all certified by the TSA to detect explosives in passenger checked baggage.

For the first time in Victoria, bodyguards will be required to be licensed and security equipment installers and security advisors will be required to be registered with the industry regulator, Licensing Services Division (LSD) of the Victoria Police.  

The new provisions outlined in the Private Security Act 2004 (the Act) reflect the changing nature of the industry, specifically the growing responsibility the security industry has in ensuring the safety of the Victorian community.

The Act was developed after extensive consultation with the security industry and the community. Victoria Police, through the establishment of POLSEC (an initiative of Victoria Police and the Victorian security industry) aims to strengthen the relationship between the two bodies as they work together to build a safe and secure community.

The Private Security Act 2004 is designed to raise the overall standards of the security industry. It is a result of the combined efforts of the regulator, industry sectors and government, all of which are to be congratulated for their ongoing dedication to the Victorian community.

Combined with the legislation, the revised training standards have set in place a future direction for the industry. The ongoing development of partnerships with the community has led to identification and understanding of community expectations and the requirements of the security industry in delivering a safer Victoria.

The new licensing and registration system has an increased focus on training competencies and probity requirements:

·         A new training package (only required for licence applicants), produced from the national Asset Security Training Package PRS03, has been developed aiming to increase the skills and capabilities of security industry participants. Registered Training organisations (RTO) are currently submitting materials for accreditation by LSD.

·         The new probity requirements for both licensing and registration will entail all applicants (and associated parties in the case of businesses) undergoing a police history check and ongoing monitoring throughout the lifetime of their licence or registration. Persons with disqualifying or particular indictable offences will be ineligible to obtain a licence or registration. As these probity requirements are more stringent than what was previously legislated, a small number of existing licence holders will be ineligible to hold a licence or registration in Victoria

The licensing and registration system will exist as follows:

* A Private Security Individual Licence must be obtained by bodyguards, security guards, investigators, or crowd controllers.

* A Private Security Business Licence must be obtained by persons wishing to provide the services of other persons in any of the above activities.

* A Private Security Individual Registration must be obtained by security equipment installers and security advisors.

* A Private Security Business Registration must be obtained by persons wishing to provide the services of other persons in either of the above activity.

* Interstate licence and registration holders and overseas bodyguards operating in Victoria for a specific event will require a temporary permit. The permit will only be issued for the period the event is occurring.

It will be an offence to operate in any of the above capacities without first obtaining the correct licence or registration.

Upon proclamation, the transitional provisions of the Act will accommodate people who currently hold a Victorian Private Agents Licence. These licences will continue in force until the date on which they would normally expire, however, they cannot be renewed.

Licence holders will be sent a new application instead of a renewal and will be required to apply according to the requirements of the Private Security Act 2004 (including supplying all required documentation). Bodyguards, security equipment installers and security advisors must apply for their relevant licence or registration within 6 weeks of the proclamation date in 2005.

After lodging their application with LSD, they will be eligible to continue employment while the application is being considered. All licence holders will be required to upgrade their training qualifications to the new PRS03 standard. Specific advice will be sent to licence holders outlining the requirements.

It is anticipated the new Act will have a substantial impact on the private security industry. LSD hopes all involved will adhere to and embrace the changes as it will result in an improved workplace and safer community for all.

For more information please visit www.police.vic.gov.au. Please forward all enquiries to licensingservices@police.vic.gov.au.