2021: Yes, Women ARE Breaking Barriers and Thriving in Security!

2021: Yes, Women ARE Breaking Barriers and Thriving in Security!

women
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Brittany Galli jokes she ended up in security by accident. She is now the Chief Success Officer for MoboHubb, the founder of Getting Security Done and the future chair for ASIS’s Global Women In Security. Starting out in the financial world for consulting and education, she moved to the East Coast and got more involved with corporate operations. Entering security as a young professional and a woman she saw some shortcomings.

That’s one of the reasons she organized Breakfast at Brittany’s at a GSX Conference in Florida. Brittany invited leaders in the industry to get together and chat about the changes they wanted to see. This is how Getting Security Done was born. Tackling everything from technology to business acumen, they have a meeting of the minds weekly and then host educational webinars.

Brittany credits the MeToo Movement as a partial reason for the expanded desire to have women in the security industry. She says men ask her how they can help women in the industry. Brittany tells them there are three things: 1) Help someone around you get promoted 2) You can get them connected 3) Support them, follow them on social media, like comments. She says the third sets women up for success by gaining respect from peers. Brittany believes women in security are no longer afraid to speak up and she has seen that progress over the past few years.

Women In Security
Click on the video to hear Brittany’s entire interview and come back to our website for more videos like this!

Meet Bill Cooper: 2021

Meet Bill Cooper: 2021

bill Cooper

We love our people at Premier Risk Solutions. Our entire philosophy of doing business is based around understanding people and then forming and building on relationships. That includes our clients and our employees….so…..we have spent the last couple of weeks introducing you to our people. This time, it’s Bill Cooper. Bill Cooper is one of our expert security consultants, who also has a rich history in law enforcement and corporate security.

Bill has decades of experience, as a former police chief and previously heading up security at T-Mobile. Now Bill shares his knowledge, teaching around the country as well as consulting. While Bill has too much experience to list here, we want to give you an insight into who he is on a personal level.

Bill hails from Chicago, where believe it or not, his family had ties to famous gangster Al Capone. Obviously, Bill chose to go on the other side of the law:) He has two daughters and a wife he adores and talks about constantly. The thing with Bill is, he may be a tough guy to some but to those of us who have the privilege of getting to know him, we get to see the nice guy who has “never had a bad day in his whole life”.

Click on the video to hear more about Bill Cooper and be sure to check back every week for more videos!

2021: Disney Magic and Security? Who Knew They Could Go Hand in Hand?

2021: Disney Magic and Security? Who Knew They Could Go Hand in Hand?

Disney

Natasha here, the Communications Director for PRS! As a former Disney cast member I could not be more elated to tie magic into security. All thanks to my old friend, Carlos Francisco, the Corporate Security Translator. Carlos applies the principles he learned at Disney to every security position he holds and believes if more people did that in our industry, leadership would be at all time high level of efficiency and brilliance. He has a rich history at Disney (21 years), as the Parks Security Manager and then moved on to Amazon and Facebook. In addition, Carlos’s passion is to help people cross over in corporate security and just launched his new book, So You Want to Get into Corporate Security?. 

The first thing that has to be set right in Carlo’s security M.A.G.I.C. tactics is “M”indset. Carlos says a security professional needs to understand that when they are walking into a potentially hostile/volatile environment, it’s probable the security agent will not be liked. If they can come in with the proper mindset, understanding the situation, they will learn to not take that personally.

Carlos says as a manager/leader, you have to take interest in what people are saying, whether that’s your clients or the employees.  Critical success points are vital for Carlos. He says for management brilliance, as a leader, you have to be vulnerable and individualize approach with everyone you come into contact with.  Whether it’s a guard, the VP of the company or an accountant, everyone should have the same mission and contributing to make that mission successful.  He always leads by example with all of his employees as well. At Disney, if there was a moment where bag checks needed to begin, he was the first to jump on and lead. Carlos’s favorite tactic was “friendship walks.” Watch the video to check it out what that means and be sure to continue to visit our website for more videos just like this one.

Disney Magic:

2021: Vegas Necessities

2021: Vegas Necessities

Vegas

Are you planning a trip to Vegas anytime soon? I would like to give you a few tips and share my insights.  Normally, we stick to security in our blog but Las Vegas is one of our featured cities we provide service for and we love Vegas here at PRS. So, we are taking a minute to help you navigate concerns from a firsthand experience.

Las Vegas Trip Planning

You can see the effects of the pandemic in almost every city in America. That includes Sin City. One of the biggest things I noticed during my recent trip was around employment. Like many businesses, restaurants in Vegas are having a hard time finding enough employees to fully staff a restaurant. So what does that look like? Not as many restaurants are open and some of those are not at full capacity. That means you will likely have to wait longer to receive food or some of your longtime favorites may not even have the doors open (or, if you’re lucky, simply have reduced operating hours). Choices are obviously limited and hours vary greatly. This was especially noticeable during the breakfast hours. I could only find one restaurant open before 9am in the vicinity of my hotel, Vdara, on a Tuesday morning.

We provide security for large events/conventions in Vegas, so I went to look at the new addition to the Convention Center. If you are planning on attending a conference or similar event there, you should know to expect it to be a mostly similar experience to what it was like pre-COVID.  Mask mandates are minimal (only if you have not been vaccinated yet).  There are no temperature checks.  Attendees are ample; perhaps not at the level of pre-COVID yet but more than you might think for not being out of the pandemic just yet.

Rideshare services, while available, cost more than before (expect about double) as there is large demand but reduced drivers than pre-COVID.  For instance, a taxicab ride for an equal distance on the strip to that of a rideshare service on a Sunday afternoon was half the price of the rideshare service.

If you’re used to walking the Las Vegas strip and seeing entertainment and people all around, you will find them however not as plentiful as before COVID.  In fact, you are apt to see an equal number or more of undesirables walking the strip.

I enjoyed returning to Las Vegas and to what is mostly considered a return to normal however temper your expectations for a full return to normal for likely a few more months time at least.

Please feel free to connect if you have any questions, security or otherwise, michael@premierrisksolutions.com!

2021: Intellectual Property Protection

2021: Intellectual Property Protection

intellectual property

This week we are discussing TSCM, an important tool in protecting intellectual property. In today’s business environment, intellectual property is often the most valuable asset a company has, making it a prime target for surveillance and theft. TSCM—short for technical surveillance countermeasures—is a government term referring to methods used to safeguard against such threats, especially those that could compromise intellectual property, privacy, or sensitive communications.

According to Art Lesser, who has 25 years in the security industry and is the President of Merit Security: “TSCM entails things like de-bugging, sweeps, and looking for devices that could be eavesdropping.” TSCM investigators conduct technical audits to find hidden audio or video devices that may be surveilling you or your company. These sweeps are designed to ensure that intellectual property, trade secrets, and confidential information remain secure.

With the rise of corporate espionage and increasing cyber-physical threats, protecting intellectual property has become more urgent than ever. TSCM helps companies defend against unauthorized surveillance and data leaks that could result in the loss or theft of intellectual property. Without these countermeasures, organizations risk exposing their most critical innovations and ideas.

This is a concern in not only office buildings, where cell phones could very easily be leaking information unknowingly, devices could be planted….but also from someone’s home if that’s their new office. Working from home has increased the need to protect privacy and confidentiality because there isn’t that same level of security as the corporate environment. There are random people, cleaning and contracting, coming in and out of the house. That presents opportunities for listening devices to be easily placed throughout the home.

Lesser says there are so many things companies need to be thinking about. For example, telephone wiring could be running throughout the house that could be easily compromised. A reminder to also not forget about telephone boxes mounted outside the house. Those need to be frequently checked, as well as any other type of boxes outside.

As technology progresses, so does the opportunity for hackers to invade.  With new 5G technology, there is a larger spectrum which means much higher frequencies for monitoring. There is an exponentially larger space to keep track of essentially, and with that, new and much higher costs of equipment to meet that challenge. Art gives this food for thought, if your company is trying to decide whether to outsource this kind of job. “You have not only the cost of equipment itself, which quickly becomes outdated, but you also have the costs of training someone to use it.”

Lesser gives more specific details on exactly what kind of devices his team looks for in the video link. Be sure to continue to check out our weekly video series on our website!

How to Protect Intellectual Property