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Security

Proactive security steps universities can take right now.

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In the wake of the Michigan State University mass shooting earlier this week, we face the same questions we face each time these incidents occur. Among those questions is “what do I need to be doing right now to keep my organization safer?”

I approach this as a business owner and try to think pragmatically about steps our customers and others can take right now, today, to mitigate a similar type of incident. Though none of these steps will 100% stop an intruder with a gun, it can slow them down and in these types of incidents, every second could save a life.

We’ve partnered with universities on multiple projects and always work to help these institutions keep their communities safer. Video surveillance, access controls and systems integration can all be a part of the process.

Universities do have security measures in place and for buildings like dormitories and even some classroom buildings, access controls are required to enter, whether that’s a card-access system, a security guard with a desk or a physical key.

But consider a student union.

A student union, in many cases, is a hotel, a restaurant/dining hall and a study area. Some also have gaming areas (pool tables, etc). It would be nearly impossible to lock up every entrance from the outside. For a state university’s campus of 40,000 undergrads, think of all the people who come in and out of that building each hour… not to mention professors, graduate students and other employees of the university. Additionally, for the hotel area of a student union, people are obviously coming and going who do not attend the school. And on a big game weekend or graduation? It would create havoc to have all those doors locked up.

On the other hand… even Hampton Inns have access controls on certain entrances of some doors. A guest can easily access the lobby, but not the back or side doors after a certain time of night. Sure, the lobby entrance to the union’s hotel would remain open to the public, but if other doors required card access, that could be a step in the right direction.

Think about the computer labs on campus. Those are definitely locked. Only people with access cards would need to be in that building or room, so perhaps universities need to start thinking this way about all campus buildings.

What I’m talking about here is deterrence. If there are less access points to the building then there are less access points to the people in that building. Deterring a perpetrator has to become the objective. None of these steps can prevent someone from getting in – but it could slow them down.

In addition to rethinking access controls for main buildings on campus, university security teams need to take a good, hard look at gaps in that security. There are some areas that need video surveillance in addition to the access controls. And main entrances that can’t be locked down because of the need to have people easily enter and exit buildings, video surveillance is critical. When you think of the situation at MSU, if the shooter had escaped, video surveillance would have been critical in locating him.

Lastly, there’s the people factor. While I’m a big believer in technology and systems that can support keeping people safe, there is still a need for people in a security role. Sometimes you still need security guards and officers patrolling. Don’t discount the value of that service.

Here’s the thing. We’ve got an issue in this country and few disagree with that, if any. While these suggestions cannot solve our problem, they can certainly work toward making it better.

At ECT Services our goal is to make our customers as safe as possible, arming them with the right tools to effectively keep people, equipment and buildings safer. If we can help your organization redesign your safety and security measures, we’d be honored to be part of your team.

Please contact us here.

What We Do: Partnering With Other Security Agencies

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Throughout the years, we’ve had the opportunity to not just work with our clients, alone, but also to partner with agencies like ours. You might think that seems counter-intuitive…how can we partner with competitors? Well, here’s the thing: security is a pretty big topic. While some agencies focus on security guards, others specialize in equipment. Still others specialize in monitoring. And, of course, some specialize in incorporating all the controls (temperature, security, video, etc) so that everything is kept as secure as possible. It’s important that customers have resources for getting the best out there for each kind of security.

Through our network of customers, we’ve had the opportunity to work with security agencies who focus more on the world of personal security – bodyguards, security officers – but want to bring the best and brightest in other areas of security to their clients.

Partnering with these types of agencies across the country allows us to bring our expertise in security systems, controls, integration, equipment, monitoring and surveillance to their team. In some cases we are a behind-the-scenes vendor (IE “white-labeled”) and in some cases we work directly with the client as a separate vendor. Either way works for us.

What we enjoy about this type of work is the collaboration, the partnership, to bring the best available services forward for any particular client. The security agencies who bring us in our typically the lead contact who have a long-term relationship with the client. They know details about what the client needs, but may not have the expertise or capability to handle the service in-house.

We find that working with agencies in this manner is invigorating for our team members. We can get creative and come up with the best solutions to fit specific needs. It’s really no different than designing and customizing a system for a commercial facility, but it brings a new level of privacy and we’ve proven to be trusted in that type of situation.

As we continue to scale this type of service, we continue to grow ECT Services and appreciate the many partnerships we’ve built through this type of collaboration.

Team spotlight: Jonathan Arnold

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Sometimes ECT is lucky enough to have not one, but two members of the same family on our team. Today’s spotlight features one such family connection.

Johnathan Arnold, Security Technician, has been in the industry for six years. Earlier in 2022 he joined his father, John, at ECT. We’ve shown a photo of them together on this post… see the family resemblance?

“I chose ECT because I knew the integrity of the leadership who work here and the knowledge I could acquire,” he says.

Johnathan, like all ECT teammates, is focused on quality and customer satisfaction. He believes it’s important that customers know you get what you pay for. The issues and concerns around security and technology are constantly evolving. He feels it’s important for customers to not try to go with the cheapest option when it comes to a security product. In his mind, it’s better to pay a little more and get as close as you can to the current top tier product instead of settling. The last thing you want to do is put yourself or your company in a position of being taken advantage of. He works hard to be sure customers understand what the product they’ve selected provides, and does not provide.

Of course, when it comes to customer service, he’s learned from one of the best, his father. We asked him to share his favorite quote and he said it’s “Strive to be better today than you were yesterday” by James Gordon. Seems like a great way to start each day.

Networking for buying power on behalf of our customers.

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A few years ago, our team made the decision to invest in membership in Progressive Security and Audio Visual (PSA).

PSA is a buying group for security products. In essence, security companies across country have joined together as a consortium. As a member of the group, we can pay a fee to be a member and can enjoy the buying power of the group.

PSA is tied to security products, and vendors sell through PSA. Many of the brands we represent sell through PSA and now that we purchase through the group, we still get the credit with the individual companies we did before, but many times we’re getting a better price.

“We have great relationships with our vendors and feel their products are the best,” says Jeff Murphy, ECT’s CEO. “Purchasing though PSA allows us to maintain those relationships but also have the best opportunity for the most-competitive pricing for our customers.”

The bigger issue for why being a part of PSA matters for our business is inventory. Like so many businesses, supply chain issues are a big challenge right now. We’ve written about this before. Now, being a part of a group offers more flexibility to available equipment. Through our partners and other members of PSA, we can come through for our customers more efficiently. Now, more than ever, this is critical.

We’re also getting great training for our team members. Last fall, as we celebrated our 40th anniversary in business, several of our team members talked in-depth about how AI and cloud-computing is changing the nature of the security side of our business. With PSA, we’re getting up-to-the-minute training on new products, which benefits our customers. We’re able to speak more knowledgeably about the new systems and provide options for our customers which put them ahead of the curve.

ECT has been a nationally-serving company for a long time now and the partnerships we have built through PSA, again, help us be more efficient for our customers. Many of our customers have multiple sites across the country. Knowing we can sub-contract, when needed, to a fellow member of PSA means we know the level of service will fit in with the expectation our customers have of ECT. Of course, the home office is always involved at the project management level to be sure we’re in the loop, but the sub-contractor serves as an extension of our ECT team.

This year, our Director of Sales, Scott Kohler and VP of Security, John Arnold are going to the PSA conference this year. They’ll attend networking events and key trainings. Their time at the conference will be focused on AI and cloud-based services functions. We’ll take what they learn there and will roll those ideas into ECT’s strategic plan for 2023. 

Be careful what you click on.

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As 2022 shifts into gear, reports are run, documents are exported, emails are drafted. All of this information – all of it – can become a valuable pawn in a cyber attack.

As companies continue to use less paper, more documents are shared on networks and those networks are susceptible to break-ins.

What does this mean?

Cyber attackers do more these days than put a virus on your laptop. Today, it’s a full-fledged business to attack a company’s network, locking employees out of systems until a ransom is paid.  That’s right, I said a business.  They are organized and focused, with specific account strategies and target clients (victims).  These criminals, who believe they are business people, might be watching your network right now. Sure, you do a weekly backup but they know where that backup is, and they know when it’s done. And they know when to attack so that your company loses the most amount of information possible. 

What does it look like?

You may come into your office Monday morning just like always… you’re catching up with friends, talking about Sunday Night Football, turning on your office light and waking up your computer when a ransom note appears on your home screen. Your next steps may vary among any of the following:

  • Contact your local law enforcement agency
  • Contact the FBI.
  • Check your insurance policy and call your agent
  • You may be asked to connect to the chat feature on a weblink provided by the ransom company to get more information
  • You may actually receive a call from the threat actors

The important thing is not to panic. Listen to the authorities who will guide you through the process and advise you how to handle it.

What can you do to prevent a ransom attack? Our top tips:

  1. Contact your insurance agent, be sure you understand your coverage for this type of attack.
  2. Stay current with IT attack information through your insurance company, or local and federal authorities.
  3. Store more information and move as many applications as possible to the cloud rather than local servers.
  4. Make sure all software ix up to date with the latest security patches.
  5. Make sure all remote login devices, such as VPN’s, are current with hardware, firmware, and software security patches are current.
  6. Implement password change policies.
  7. Consistently remind your team not to click on links from unknown sources.
  8. Run internal tests to see if your Team is complying with NOT clicking on unknown sources.
  9. Run backups throughout the week, at different times of the day.

 

How buildings have changed since 9/11

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Tomorrow we honor the events that took place 20 years ago. September 11th is a marker in history – for those old enough to remember, we reflect on pre- vs post-9/11 life.

In the facilities management industry, our day-to-day life was almost immediately impacted. Changes were made in the industry because of that fateful day and they continue to evolve now.

Architecture, alone, had to make changes in plans for future buildings – especially those of the magnitude of the World Trade Center, as described in this Wall Street Journal article.

In general, security companies and building managers have simply gotten smarter about keeping their occupants safer. Codes have changed. For instance, prior to 9/11, buildings higher than 120 feet must have elevators, specifically for firefighters to have access. Other changes:

  • An additional stairway for high-rises that are more than 420 feet tall
  • New codes on fire resistance
  • Impact resistant walls for elevator shafts
  • Pathway lights
  • Enhanced radio coverage

One of the biggest lessons learned that day were the limits on communication. Not only did the systems, themselves, fail, but there were no procedures in place for that kind of emergency. There are now.

At ECT, technology has evolved regarding security, specifically, and some of our other blogposts touch on these subjects. It’s simply not enough to have a keypad… you must know who is in your building through access controls, and your video surveillance system must be updated regularly and tested. The systems we install offer what our customers need to be sure they are keeping their people – and their facilities – as safe as possible.

As we think back on September 11th and remember those lost, we will continue to utilize the lessons learned from a facilities management standpoint to improve systems and safety.

Relationships matter.

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When I recently asked the team for an opportunity to grab a testimonial from an ECT customer, I had no idea the type of testimonial I was in for.

Sitting down to talk with Mike Notarangelo, US facilities Construction Manager for Computershare, Inc, was like a testimonial show.

Mike handles build-outs and renovations for the company, and when we began the call, I told him I’d be taking notes while we were talking and he said, “I’m a project manager, I spend my life taking notes.” Immediately at ease, we dug in.

Computershare’s relationship with ECT goes back to 2014 when the company decided to move an operational center to Louisville. ECT was one of three candidates and ended up winning the bid for the business.

That project began with work on one floor, it then turned into eight floors, and today, ECT and Computershare are North American Partners, handling about 12 buildings together currently (4 in Canada) and more on the way.

ECT is Computershare’s official national security provider. They install and service all access controls and cameras.

But that’s just the job part. For ECT and Computershare, there’s just so much more to it.

“It’s the relationship we count on.” Mike said about ECT. “Consistency, dependability, quality of work… they just know our business. They know how we like to structure our controls and monitoring, and they can just go with it. When the ECT team is on the jobsite, their people are more like another employee than an outside vendor. To understand our configurations, what’s important to us and deploy it takes a true partner. The level of trust is so high, many times they handle the job without me on site.”

“When we are working on a new project and want to replicate something in another building, it’s just easy.”  

He went on to give this example: Computershare uses an older program for all their sites that was sunsetting a couple of years ago. Before that happened, ECT notified Computershare and helped them prepare. When changing a system like that to a new program, there is a lot of pre-work and analysis onsite. They helped the customer determine what equipment could be repurposed, and then made the conversion. 

“These guys have turned into not only a trusted vendor but truly friends as well. They come to our holiday party, they are just part of our fiber here.”

 

Cyber Security and a Virtual Workforce

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Last week, the New York Times reported that one item President Biden could not bring into the White House, without some changes, was his Peloton Bike. Sounds like they’ve worked it all out and will remove some hardware to make it happen, but this brings up an issue lots of companies deal with.

Work from home image

We work with companies who are consistently “upping” their game with building security. As we’ve written about before, the “Internet of Things” can pose a security risk to your company data, even with workers inside their offices. Add workers on their home networks, and we’ve got all kinds of security risks.

How do you keep your network safe when employees aren’t logging in from inside the building? This article talks about a lot of the issues related to working remotely and what companies continue to face from the changes in 2020.

One thing companies can do is help their employees secure their own network. Using a VPN or Virtual Private Network is one way to ensure employees are logging onto the office server from a secure starting point.

Other tips we recommend companies encourage (or possibly mandate) their at-home workforce to implement:

  • Be sure to update software regularly;
  • Create strong passwords and change them at any sign or notice of a breach;
  • Utilize two-factor authentication;
  • Use a secure email program;
  • Turn on mobile firewalls;
  • Utilize cloud data storage.

In 2021 we will see changes stemming from 2020’s work-from-home global environment, but many of the cyber security issues we’ll face are from years leading up to this moment. No matter if you’re working inside the office or from your bedroom, security measures need to be reviewed and perhaps increased – sooner than later.

Public safety through public cameras

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Companies looking to up their security systems with exterior video surveillance may be doing a public service for safety and security of their neighbors.

Your building may be considering adding in video surveillance for simple issues:

  • Entry of employees or customers during business hours
  • Monitoring of trespassers during off-hours

Now that there are so many more companies installing this kind of equipment, when needed, law enforcement is able to use footage to solve cases… from break-ins on the same block to stolen cars from the street, and more. While this may not have been the impetus for the system, it is a responsibility we as business owners take on.

Things to consider when installing a video surveillance system:

  • Once your equipment is in, what kind of support do you have for it? You don’t want to install it and never monitor it. Determine whose role and responsibility it is to do so.
  • Do you (or the person responsible) know how to properly use the system, to check that it’s functioning properly, to be sure it’s recording and that it is properly backing up?
  • Do you have a plan for which alarms should be set up, and have you checked to be sure they are, indeed, functioning? Examples might be a package sitting in your front lobby for a period of time, a person entering a prohibited area and you can even have a system check to see if people are properly social distancing.

Remember there is a reason why you put that system in.

Be sure you have it functioning properly once installed, and that someone is responsible for it.

If your team needs help with any of these issues (even with securing someone to be responsible for the equipment and footage), we can help. Reach out via our contact page or give us a call at (800) 567-1180.

How does a company add a human temperature check system right now?

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At ECT, we think of ourselves as a solutions company. We have several areas in which we typically help our clients: 

  • Security (access control, intrusion prevention)
  • Video Surveillance
  • Temperature Controls
  • Systems Integration
  • Fire System Monitoring
  • Active Shooter Detection

With today’s ever-changing landscape and new safety measures being discussed at every crossroad, we find our customers need direction and advice on different solutions nearly every day. 

One issue making the rounds now is how best to check temperatures of employees and/or customers when business begins to resume to some level of normalcy. 

Woman getting her temperature taken with a mask on

We’ve been working with companies on how best to research and implement these types of solutions, and we continue to do so every day. Here are some of the things we’ve learned along the way: 

Companies will need to determine the need, and how many persons they wish to ‘scan’ and at how many entries.  One challenge to consider will be who monitors the scan system and should it be determined as the only determinate or should it indicate a secondary screening? How far is the company willing to go and trust the system in place?

Other items to consider when comparing systems will be how quickly can they be delivered and installed, can they be scaled to keep all buildings on one system, and are they HIPAA-compliant. 

There are several companies bringing such systems to market. Our team of experts at ECT Services can help you navigate this road and determine the best solution for your specific needs. If we can support you as you prepare to reopen your business and help you navigate this new world, please let us know. 

We continue to adapt and implement new technologies and partner with our customers through this time.

For more information, please contact our team at (800) 567-1180. 

How companies are prepping for the return to work.

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During this time of businesses being closed and buildings mostly empty, our team has been hard at work.

 

We know when the workforce is allowed to return to their office and the world begins to get moving again, things will need to look quite a bit different. We anticipate in no way will doors fly open and office building lobbies will all-of-a-sudden be full of people again, waving their Starbucks in the air, high fiving each other on a great company party over the weekend or gathering for a bit of office gossip before heading up the elevator.

No, it will have to be different – much like the differences we saw with security post-9/11.

Companies are taking this into consideration now and are taking social distancing measures into account now so that when the government says everyone can go back to work, they can do it as safely as possible.

One of our customers is focused on monitoring building occupants and their movements in and out of the building to better allow for reporting a possible exposure. Working with their existing system and making a few additions we are able to make this a reality.

Another of our customers is focused on their turnstiles and how they can be used to affect change. We are currently working on upgrading some of those systems to allow for a break between people passing through the turnstile on their way in. In addition, we are upgrading these systems to no-touch card readers.

Another customer we are working with has decided to go with camera technology that will scan for temperature before allowing entry into the building.

Our goal is to work with each of our customers to implement a strategy that will make sure they have what they need to insure a safe re-entry into work when the time is right.

Stay safe, everyone. Please let us know if we can help your company reconsider future safety measures so that you, too, will be ready. You can reach us by clicking here.

The new, secure normal

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Working with clients throughout the past few weeks has been nothing short of interesting. Our customers have different levels of security, depending on the type of business they run. And these days, they’ve had to take a second look at their systems and procedures. We’ve been happy to work with them to find the best solutions.

 

One of our customers is in the logistics/fulfillment industry. We’ve worked with them for a long time on their temperature control system. Because their business typically runs 24 hours a day, they didn’t have an electronic security system in place. Rather, they had armed guards at the door keeping their employees safe as they enter and exit, and making sure only those who are permitted to enter the premises are, in fact, entering.

Now, because their company is not on the “essential” list, their employees are home, the building is empty. Rather than pay two armed guards to protect the building and, perhaps, not social distance from each other, the customer called and asked for our help.

Now they have an installed security system to be sure all products inside the building, and the building itself, are safe and secure while people are not in it.

Yes, this has led to some layoffs and furloughs for employees, and the company hopes to bring their team back on when the economy is moving again. In the meantime, their new system gives them peace of mind without keeping people on the payroll – in an effort to save their business.

We encourage you to continue to look at your business for areas where you impact security and protect your building and your customers from theft while less – or maybe no – people are coming to work everyday.

Reach out via our contact page and let us know how we can help you find the right solutions right now.