ROBBREPORT.COM 121
systems can be programmed to turn on in the evening while
homeowners are on vacation. Generators and satellite phones
act as backups during unforeseen natural disasters, an increas-
ing concern of clients worldwide, according to experts. And the
list goes on. “With Alexa, Google Home, SimpliSafe and longtime
vendors like ADT adding video doorbells and cybersecurity to
their offerings, we’ve seen robust growth in connected-home
security solutions in the past year,” says Will Wise, group vice
president of security events at Reed Exhibitions and the head of
its ISC West, the biggest physical security and public safety event
in the US. The connected-home area of the expo floor at ISC West
has doubled since 2017.
Robbers or kidnappers likely won’t make it inside these tech
fortresses, but if they do, they might find themselves lost in a fog.
Several companies, including ADT, make fog machines that pro-
duce a haze so thick it cuts visibility to as little as 10 centime-
ters, while doing no damage to the building’s contents. Art Guard
has patented a Magnetic Asset Protection system; owners sim-
ply affix small magnets to valuables and the system’s sensors will
detect the tiniest of movements (and alert authorities) while min-
imizing false alarms. Thus far, parents have yet to tag their young
children or rebellious teens with radio-frequency identity chips
like they do their dogs, but you never know: Three Square Mar-
ket in Wisconsin is working on a next-gen microchip for human
implantation that will be able to track movements via GPS and a
little bit of cell or satellite signal. Kidnappers, be warned.THE NETWORK EFFECT
We’ve never been more connected globally, which means we’ve
never been more vulnerable to cyber threats that can have cat-
astrophic consequences. Juniper Research estimates that 12 bil-
lion records were swiped globally last year and that the figure
will grow to 33 billion annually in four years. Some 16.7 million
US consumers experienced identity fraud in 2017, according to
Javelin Strategy & Research, amounting to about $16.8 billion
stolen. And you’re not immune: Passwords can be compromised,
bank accounts can be hacked, travel plans can be made public,
and Social Security numbers can be pilfered. A hacker taking over
your social media account can irreparably damage your reputa-
tion, not to mention your company’s stock price.
Which is why firms such as WorldAware offer real-time threat
analysis and global cybersecurity, a $120 billion industry. “We
provide the same services as government intelligence agencies
but with the ability to drift overtly and legally among various
nation-states,” says the company’s founder, Bruce McIndoe. Long
before he helps negotiate a ransom for a kidnapping or steers a
client away from rioting about to break out, he implements a few
essential strategies: He gives each client at least two phones. One
is a burner, “so when they go to China or elsewhere...there’s noth-
ing on there that can be compromised,” he says. The second is the
client’s everyday phone, through which his team monitors loca-
tion. He loads an enterprise security message app, such as Silent
Circle or Signal, onto each phone and encourages a light presence
on social media when traveling. Even so, bad things can happen:
In one two-week period in winter, two naturalized American cli-
ents originally from China were detained by authorities there,
and his team negotiated their release.
McIndoe also recommends building what he calls a digital
persona, which masks real information, thus protecting clients
from hacker breaches: a Google Voice number, which can filter
out not only spam from your mobile phone but also any callers
not from your chosen circle; an email address that doesn’t use
your real name; a virtual mailbox that can forward snail mail any-
where in the world or scan it to read digitally; and an account
with Privacy.com, which sets up burner credit card numbers for
internet transactions that make a person’s true identity almost
impossible to detect. “No one can charge anything against my
assets,” says McIndoe, who worked with the NSA and CIA. “So
when anything happens, like the Starwood breach, I don’t care.
There’s nothing out there that will hurt me.”
K2 Intelligence’s Doherty reminds his clients who work at
home that every device is like a radio, transmitting data—which
means home owners should decide whether the convenience of
an Alexa is worth the risk of having a listening device on at all
times, he says. Whether they choose a smart speaker or not, every
strong home network should have a corporate-grade firewall and
a miniaturized network security monitor, with a segregated net-
work for guests. “You also want a VPN to encrypt data,” Doherty
says. One solution favored by experts is Fortinet, a cybersecu-
rity software and services provider, which protects connected
devices and cloud servers and uses predictive analytics to detect
and neutralize hacks and malware. Check Point and SonicWall
are also popular business firewalls that translate well to home
use. Reassessments of cybersecurity should be performed at least
annually to maintain a strong defense, most experts say.
Timothy Youngblood, a cybersecurity veteran who has
worked with highly visible CEOs such as Michael Dell, says all
the best firms will keep a constant threat-analysis watch on the
Dark Web. “We team with companies to set up key words cen-
tered on the client,” he says. Any time chatter about Dell or his
family spiked, he’d receive an alert, isolate the origination point,
then determine if a beefed-up physical presence was required.
Youngblood and his colleagues also keep tabs on social media,Safe & SoundG2G_Aug_ModernSecurity.indd 121 7/2/19 3:49 PMROBBREPORT.COM 121
systems can be programmed to turn on in the evening while
homeowners are on vacation. Generators and satellite phones
act as backups during unforeseen natural disasters, an increas-
ing concern of clients worldwide, according to experts. And the
list goes on. “With Alexa, Google Home, SimpliSafe and longtime
vendors like ADT adding video doorbells and cybersecurity to
their offerings, we’ve seen robust growth in connected-home
security solutions in the past year,” says Will Wise, group vice
president of security events at Reed Exhibitions and the head of
its ISC West, the biggest physical security and public safety event
in the US. The connected-home area of the expo floor at ISC West
has doubled since 2017.
Robbers or kidnappers likely won’t make it inside these tech
fortresses, but if they do, they might find themselves lost in a fog.
Several companies, including ADT, make fog machines that pro-
duce a haze so thick it cuts visibility to as little as 10 centime-
ters, while doing no damage to the building’s contents. Art Guard
has patented a Magnetic Asset Protection system; owners sim-
ply affix small magnets to valuables and the system’s sensors will
detect the tiniest of movements (and alert authorities) while min-
imizing false alarms. Thus far, parents have yet to tag their young
children or rebellious teens with radio-frequency identity chips
like they do their dogs, but you never know: Three Square Mar-
ket in Wisconsin is working on a next-gen microchip for human
implantation that will be able to track movements via GPS and a
little bit of cell or satellite signal. Kidnappers, be warned.
THE NETWORK EFFECT
We’ve never been more connected globally, which means we’ve
never been more vulnerable to cyber threats that can have cat-
astrophic consequences. Juniper Research estimates that 12 bil-
lion records were swiped globally last year and that the figure
will grow to 33 billion annually in four years. Some 16.7 million
US consumers experienced identity fraud in 2017, according to
Javelin Strategy & Research, amounting to about $16.8 billion
stolen. And you’re not immune: Passwords can be compromised,
bank accounts can be hacked, travel plans can be made public,
and Social Security numbers can be pilfered. A hacker taking over
your social media account can irreparably damage your reputa-
tion, not to mention your company’s stock price.
Which is why firms such as WorldAware offer real-time threat
analysis and global cybersecurity, a $120 billion industry. “We
provide the same services as government intelligence agencies
but with the ability to drift overtly and legally among various
nation-states,” says the company’s founder, Bruce McIndoe. Long
before he helps negotiate a ransom for a kidnapping or steers a
client away from rioting about to break out, he implements a few
essential strategies: He gives each client at least two phones. One
is a burner, “so when they go to China or elsewhere...there’s noth-
ing on there that can be compromised,” he says. The second is the
client’s everyday phone, through which his team monitors loca-
tion. He loads an enterprise security message app, such as Silent
Circle or Signal, onto each phone and encourages a light presence
on social media when traveling. Even so, bad things can happen:
In one two-week period in winter, two naturalized American cli-
ents originally from China were detained by authorities there,
and his team negotiated their release.
McIndoe also recommends building what he calls a digital
persona, which masks real information, thus protecting clients
from hacker breaches: a Google Voice number, which can filter
out not only spam from your mobile phone but also any callers
not from your chosen circle; an email address that doesn’t use
your real name; a virtual mailbox that can forward snail mail any-
where in the world or scan it to read digitally; and an account
with Privacy.com, which sets up burner credit card numbers for
internet transactions that make a person’s true identity almost
impossible to detect. “No one can charge anything against my
assets,” says McIndoe, who worked with the NSA and CIA. “So
when anything happens, like the Starwood breach, I don’t care.
There’s nothing out there that will hurt me.”
K2 Intelligence’s Doherty reminds his clients who work at
home that every device is like a radio, transmitting data—which
means home owners should decide whether the convenience of
an Alexa is worth the risk of having a listening device on at all
times, he says. Whether they choose a smart speaker or not, every
strong home network should have a corporate-grade firewall and
a miniaturized network security monitor, with a segregated net-
work for guests. “You also want a VPN to encrypt data,” Doherty
says. One solution favored by experts is Fortinet, a cybersecu-
rity software and services provider, which protects connected
devices and cloud servers and uses predictive analytics to detect
and neutralize hacks and malware. Check Point and SonicWall
are also popular business firewalls that translate well to home
use. Reassessments of cybersecurity should be performed at least
annually to maintain a strong defense, most experts say.
Timothy Youngblood, a cybersecurity veteran who has
worked with highly visible CEOs such as Michael Dell, says all
the best firms will keep a constant threat-analysis watch on the
Dark Web. “We team with companies to set up key words cen-
tered on the client,” he says. Any time chatter about Dell or his
family spiked, he’d receive an alert, isolate the origination point,
then determine if a beefed-up physical presence was required.
Youngblood and his colleagues also keep tabs on social media,Safe & Sound