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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Connect the Dots, School Safety

September was a very interesting month and a very good month for connecting the dots – including international dots. Transcending Boundaries Together & Pilot Program On September 11, I boarded a plane headed for Trinidad and Tobago, more specifically Port of Spain. My trip to Trinidad was to be the keynote speaker for the Transcending Boundaries Together with a focus on “Violence Prevention: An Integrated Community Approach”. It was an honor to be part of this international conference focusing on preventing violence and an honor to share the stage with Dr. Patricia Elder who is the founder and CEO of Elder Associates Limited. Dr. ElderRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Connect the Dots, Government, School Safety, Security

August was a good month for connecting the dots. 2018 National School Security Roundtable August started with the 2018 National School Security Roundtable in Washington, DC.  The roundtable was hosted by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Academic Engagement and was attended by around 100 pre-qualified attendees. Day 1 of the roundtable started with speakers from DHS (Mr. Frazier) and FEMA (Mr. Long) and then Mr. Ryan Petty spoke about the horrific tragedy that took place in Parkland, FL.  Mr. Petty’s daughter Alaina was one of the 17 shot and killed in the massacre. Mr. Petty shared his heartfelt thoughts as well as whatRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Connect the Dots, Education, First Preventer, Incident Reporting, indicators, Risk Management, School Safety, Security

It’s no secret Security Cameras are on almost every school and organization’s wish list, especially at budget time. In fact, billions of dollars have been invested in Security Cameras and other security products… but questions about whether Security Cameras are the best solution for preventing Active Shooters and other acts of violence are emerging. Recent media stories are questioning the law of diminishing returns and Market Analysts are commenting on how anxiety is bolstering multi-billion-dollar security industry. Jim Dearing, an economist at the market research firm HIS Markit, commented how, “The U.S. spends a lot more per capita on security than any other country,” yetRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Connect the Dots, Education, Incident Reporting, indicators, Prevention, School Safety

Dear School Administrators, Community Leaders, and Lawmakers: “Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill  Each of you have a huge opportunity as you deal with adversity and as you make choices that students, parents, and others are demanding to fix and stop school violence and to make sure students will #NeverAgain face a tragic shooting attack in their school. The huge opportunity requires a combination of common-sense, evidence-based analysis, and an unbiased willingness to understand what must be done DIFFERENTLY to disrupt evil and stop school violence and tragic shootings.  You essentially haveRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Connect the Dots, Hackers, Prevention, Success

Making new year predictions about Information Security and Hackers is not difficult based on knowledge, evidence, and lessons learned from previous years. 2018 Prediction:  Hackers will continue to hack your weakest links, unaware people (employees, contractors, vendors, third-party service providers, etc.) and unpatched systems, to gain access to unauthorized information. 2018 Prediction: Hackers will continue to steal information from organizations (like yours) which they gained access to and then sell it or use it to make money. 2018 Prediction: Hackers will continue to encrypt information from organizations (like yours) which they gain access to and request a ransom payment for in order to unlock theRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Connect the Dots, Information Security, Regulatory Compliance

Connecting the dots with Cyber Security failures…Why are so many Cyber Security failures occurring? The data doesn’t lie.  The 2018 Global State of Information Security Survey from PwC surveyed 9,500 executives across 120 countries which helps explain why so many organizations and failing to prevent Cyber Security incidents: 48% of the 9,500 executives said they do not have an employee security awareness training program 54% of the 9,500 executives said they do not have an incident response process The Equifax breach exposed why PATCHING systems is critical and costly if you fail. (see VIDEO here) I also shared the DAM Analogy for why PATCHING yourRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Connect the Dots, Prevention, Risk Management, Security

Disruptive and Tragic Violence incidents are on the increase. Violence is scary, stressful, ugly, concerning, sad, evil, expensive, frustrating, disruptive, and tragic. Disruptive and tragic violence threatens innocent children and adults in schools, colleges, organizations, government, and communities every day… and all over the world. Do you need more security? How much security is enough? What else can we do? The questions above are part of a special guide recently released by Awareity to help you answer these questions and others too. As pre-season football is winding down, the “real season” is about to begin and to have a successful season football teams are practicingRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Connect the Dots, Government, Media, Prevention

Yes, there are stupid questions. Even though our teachers told us there are no stupid questions, there is at least one. Is this Terrorism or Not Terrorism?? Ok, two stupid questions… Is this a Hate Crime or Not a Hate Crime?? It is time for politicians, mainstream media, law enforcement, and others to stop with the political correctness. When someone intentionally tries to run over people with a vehicle, knife and stab people, shoot people, murder people, bully people, harass people, abuse people, attack people, use violent rhetoric to incite people, and more… …These are acts of Evil. Acts of evil are committed by evil people.Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Connect the Dots, Emergency Management, Media, Risk Management

I am not a fan of watching or listening to TV news, however, after the recent attacks in England, I was interested to see how TV news was covering the attacks.  Buried in their biased views with the news, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a common thread emerge – TV anchors were asking their go to security experts the following question: How do we start preventing and getting ahead of these attacks/attackers? This is a great question, and a question everyone should be asking their organization and community leaders.  Terrorism, community violence, campus violence, workplace violence, cyber-attacks, ransomware, acts of evil, and numerous otherRead More →