Estate and Mega-Yacht Security Systems and Safe Rooms
Why do I need a "safe room? I really don't need one; I'm not that high profile". This is typical V.I.P. client frame of reference or attitude concerning security systems and safe rooms. What most clients don't realize is "being high profile" has a definite impact on vulnerabilities, however, not being high profile does not mitigate the vulnerabilities and overall exposure caused by their "lifestyles" and "net worth". Firstly, security systems are usually designed and installed by security system companies.
The salesperson of the vending company is primarily interested in selling the highest dollar components and system. The viability of the system is usually important but not usually paramount to their operational concerns. The clients usually are persuaded to purchase the "high end" version of systems and usually get very good systems. Secondly, what they do not realize is they would have benefited immensely from the use of the services of a quality security consultant, who would have been savvy of security system requirements and the needs specific needs of the client. The experienced security consultant can save the client thousands of dollars in unnecessary expense on hardware and re-direct hardware expenses in the direction of need and viability. This having been said, there are other issues that are unknown to the clients. In addition, these other issues are also not first and foremost in the minds and focus of many security system vendors. One of these issues is the concept of security system redundant layering. The most effective systems are layered with detection device systems after detection device systems, all integrated into one intrusion detection system. Not to get into too much technical detail, the idea or concept is to set up mantraps and detection device systems that will back each other up and eventually detect and catch the intruder. The typical estate or residence burglary scenario: an intruder gains access to your residence or estate, the police typically do not respond quick enough to prevent an intruder from coming face to face with an occupant. The result is an unwanted tragic event will usually occur. Another issue is the concept of the "safe room". Most clients do not realize and most vendors do not stress the value of the "safe room" We are not talking about the Jodie Foster movie, the "Panic Room" We are not alluding that all estates and mega-yachts need internal, concrete and steel fortified sanctuaries. Far from that. Safe rooms do not have to be these ultra, internal fortresses. 'Safe Rooms' can be designed and constructed at various levels of security. They can be minimally reinforced and impregnated with ballistic materials. They can also be designed to achieve the highest levels of security, where the room is totally protected from exterior access and is constructed with steel reinforcements, ballistic materials and a door constructed by a "vault" manufacturer. This highest level of protection is routinely equipped with a separate AC system, security CCTV monitors, survival supplies, oxygen and a back up communications systems. Essentially, the primary focus of a viable and efficient Security Intrusion Detection System (alarm system) should be to warn and provide occupants of your estate, mega-yacht or home with sufficient time to access a 'safe room' and avoid confrontation with an intruder. True, although many people simply regard an alarm system as a deterrent, it should be also, at the same time, a warning system, allowing you and your loved ones ample time to access your 'safe room'. In order to facilitate a safe outcome, it is vital to ensure quick and easy access to a safe location ('safe room') and to remain secure until the police or security detail respond. The bottom line - police response time and access to your 'safe room' play critical roles in determining a positive outcome during a break-in or intrusion. Proper planning and the use of a highly qualified security consultant will provide clients with the optimum result and more than likely, save hem unwarranted expense. The consultant can work closely with the client's architect or builder to review preliminary designs in order to pro-actively implement design changes and modifications before construction or renovations are initiated. This involvement routinely ensures the implementation of the appropriate technical and physical security countermeasures. In conclusion, the client should wind up enjoying the safety and security of a viable intrusion detection system incorporated with the added feature of the safe room. Mr. LaSorsa manages J.A. LaSorsa & Associates, a South Florida based security consultancy and investigative firm. He provides: asset and executive protection, corporate security consulting, expert testimony as it relates to premises liability & security negligence; anti-wiretapping, safe rooms & security systems consulting, event and tour security & investigations; workplace & school violence intervention, threat & vulnerability assessments. Joe has over twenty-nine years of experience in the security field, which includes a twenty-year career as a Senior Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, Presidential Protection Division, the White House and extensive senior management private sector experience. Contact info: Telephone # 954-783-5020 or e-mail: jal@lasorsa.com or by visiting: http://www.lasorsa.com
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You need to know how to protect yourself, since your security department or
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dependable. Since September 11th, a number of businesses entered the security field with little to no knowledge of the trade itself; only of its profit potential. Even outfits that have been around for some time and well-established have not been able to stay current with the latest innovations.
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Realistically, viewing your threat level has to be considered since everyone
should expect some sort of impending privacy issue no matter how small. Thanks
largely to the Internet you can arm yourself with much of the knowledge and
equipment that the so-called experts use. If a respected agent of computer crimes
for the Secret Service in NYC had his T-Mobile Sidekick hacked, who knows what
else happens out there to others in any business.
We'll start acoustic ducting evaluation is the inspection of air ducts, baseboard
heaters, coffee rooms, lounges, bathrooms or any way the architecture of a building
can transfer sound. A simple example is to put your ear to a wall and listen.
Basically anything that requires the use of the naked ear is called an acoustic
bug. Softer surfaces can help muffle sounds but there are more efficient means out
there. So be aware that the way an office site is designed can act as a conduit for
conversations. Also, be aware of any changes can have adverse affects. Simply
playing music can do wonders for masking conversations.
Inspection of telephone equipment and wiring is called line analysis. This is
trickier than it seems since sometimes a possible weakness has an actual purpose to
the telecommunication system. Especially if it requires constant maintenance and
software upgrades.
All instruments should be opened and inspected. Ideally they should be
compared with a known safe phone or device. If you're not sure, just remove that
piece of loose components and wiring and see if the phone still works. The wiring
can be modified in a switch within the handset that essentially turns it into a
microphone. If you bypass this hook switch, you can listen in from anywhere on the
landline. Technical
equipment won't be able to detect this. Time Domain Reflectometry is the sending
of a pulse down a telephone line. If there is some sort of disruption; a wall outlet or
wiretap; a portion of the pulse will be
sent back to the device called a Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR). Then the time
difference between the reflection and the continuous run is measured. This helps in
determining the distance to the anomaly.
These devices can perform all sorts of diagnostics including mapping a wire
network. That can be useful in locating a hidden phone. Hidden phones have several
obvious uses such as making long distance phone calls to being placed in an office
across the street to receive betting requests by bookies; a practice called back
strapping. If you open up the modular jacks where you connect your phone, you'll
usually see four wires. In most cases only two wires are connected; commonly
known as ring and tip. If you see all four connected, be aware that is not usually
consistent for most wiring situations, especially in homes. The other two wires
could be used for a bugging device.
For instance, the microphone you use in a voice recorder can be cut in half.
Connect the mike head to one set of unused wires anywhere on the phone wire.
Then, so long as there are no breaks in the wire, connect the other end to the jack
that connects to your recorder. Now place your recorder to be VOX (voice) activated
and now you have an extremely reliable bug. By the way, this should be manually
inspected for since using a specialized bug detector may see nothing wrong or
inconsistent. A bug such as this that connects to a wire is called a direct tap.
The other general type is called an inductive tap. This is when an instrument is
outside a wire but can still distinguish what's transacting over a wire. They are
harder to detect since they don't draw power from the line such a standard
telephone would. These are referred to as snuffle bugs. A simple probe used in
hunting wire signals has a speaker, which can display sounds. By
accident one day I was working on an apartment intercom system while using a
probe. I could hear conversations throughout the building quite clearly just
through the intercom boxes mounted on walls from the master unit in the
basement.
If you're using wireless headsets or cordless phones, the radio signals can be
intercepted. A cordless phone acts like a radio, but depending on the frequency and
a few other factors, can make interception extremely difficult. With some
manufacturers, you can buy the same model as your neighbors or the office and
have it join their phone system. Double check Caller ID boxes to see if they also
record numbers dialed besides obviously those being received. If you're using VOIP
(Voice Over IP), remember that calls can be recorded in a fashion identical to
intercepting data between two computers.
These packets of data can reassemble an audio file. Obviously electronic
devices possess semiconductor components such as diodes, resistors and such. The
method to hunt for these components is called Non-Linear Junction Detection
(NLJD). The NLJD unit emits a radio signal while listening for the return signal from
an electronic device. This becomes very useful when a bug is embedded in a picture
frame or wall. The eavesdropping device doesn't have to be active for it to be
discovered. If a device is active and transmitting wirelessly (or even on a wire), you
can detect it with a Radio Frequency Spectrum Analyzer. Depending on the detection
device used, you can determine whether voice, data or video is being sent, and
possibly listen to the data. Try to use different size antennas or buy one that
collapses. Different frequencies can be detected more efficiently by using various
sizes. The use of filters with antennas can also help pinpoint devices on specific
frequencies.
Electronics such as computers, FAX machines and especially CRT monitors can
radiate electromagnetic signals or pulses that can be received by other equipment.
This is known TEMPEST. One way to complicate the surveillance of this is to use
certain fonts and line walls or equipment with different gauges of copper mesh wire.
You can further enhance this posture by using special paints, which block radio
transmissions.
Radio waves will look for a leak or break, so be careful of defensive
applications. One-way window tints can help in blocking signals. Since an
electronic device could generate some heat they can be detected in another way.
The use of a thermal imagery device can detect and actually see minute amounts of
heat radiated for your viewing. You can hide the heat signatures by using creams or
neoprene. Technology exists to collect information from blinking LEDs of modems,
routers, print servers and similar devices. You can only see some general blinking
but with the use of properly tuned optics, filters, oscilloscopes and good timing you
can discern much more. One of the LEDs on your keyboard can be altered to blink
while you are typing in a fashion similar to Morse Code. You can also use a tap in
the keyboard that sends out radio waves again similar to Morse Code and no anti-
virus software will ever be able to find it. Even when a CRT computer monitor is
facing a wall the light can be in a sense read by its flickering emanations from some
distance. A good defensive measure is to buy new LCD flat panel types.
Another approach to attacking FAX machines is to simply record the noises it
makes and play it back to another machine. I used to do this for a client so they
could keep a record of all the faxes they made and received. There are creative and
potentially illegal defenses against wiretappers and Peeping Toms. One is to
transmit an extremely high pitch down the wire, thereby rupturing the listener's
eardrums. I knew someone who once sent a powerful electrical spike down his
phone wire thereby destroying his divorced wife's recorder.
By the way, this leads to another topic-expect the device to be discovered
someday. Don't leave your fingerprints on it. He found it and had it dusted, thereby
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Investigator that planted it. Advice to Private Investigators, a word to the wise: if you
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as well. He received some unwanted attention from the Feds because of his
telephone dealings went across state lines and also happened to involve the Post
Office.
There is another budding field related to this topic called Protective
Intelligence. Currently there are only a few experts who do this kind of work.
A laser or an infrared beam can be used at a considerable distance from a
target building. Conversational sounds can vibrate unto solid objects such as
windows. The beam's reflection varies in relation to the movement to the window,
which is received and converted back into something audible. To mask the sounds,
you could attach a vibrating device (basically an altered electric razor) to the
window.
Of course if the window is open, then a laser can target another object instead
of the window. A beam of light or laser can be directed to go through a window
onto a solid object thereby nullifying such defensive measures again. Generally you
really can't detect such attacks unless the laser, infrared or light beam is being used
that moment. Certain materials can be used to detect IR emissions, as well as the
use of passive night vision gear. Certain fabrics or even a curtain may actually show
the spot where a beam of light or laser is being focused. Unless the room is dusty or
you have an artificial can smoke, you can follow the beam up to a point and
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placed in the area of interest for transmission of the conversation to an infrared
receiver which will then translate the conversation into an audible format.
Many of these same procedures used can be applied to locating hidden
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originally intended to locate snipers by bodyguards.
I have listed the techniques, counter-measures and then the counter to the
counter-measures to prevent any false sense of security. Usually constant vigilance
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sweeper" with good credentials, certifications and experience, ask them detailed
questions. Not just to test them but also for your own peace-of-mind. This makes
our job easier and we appreciate greatly when dealing with knowledgeable
customers.
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