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addressed security culture challenges that result when other companies are acquired. He's had experience with that, along with the day-to-day challenges of LP in the gro- cery industry. "The freezer is very impor- tant," losses there are huge losses, he said. His diligence in monitoring freezers has saved the company a half a million dollars, he said. Continuing to do more with less and also to operate at a high level of execution is a chief goal for Reeves in the coming year, he said. SSN By Amy Canfeld DELRAY BEACH, Fla.—It's diffcult to raise risk awareness among employees when everyone thinks everything is going just fne. Achieving security autonomy across different types of businesses that fall under one banner with almost 30,000 employees is diffcult, too. Those were just two of the challenges discussed by two of the "20 under 40" end user award winners at the Next Gen Security Series at TechSec Solutions 2015, held here Feb. 3-4. "Challenge is changing people's percep- tion of what security should be. Nothing changes unless something happens," said panelist David Avedikian, supervisor project development for Southwest Airlines. He referred to the message earlier in the day from TechSec's keynote speaker, Brian Katz of Google, who had a lot to say about access control, employee badging and the issue of tailgating. Avedekian said that his company has had "wear your badge" campaigns, although he joked that Southwest's efforts were "not as character-driven as Google," which featured an executive officer wearing an alligator outft. Southwest Airlines has increased its badge compliance through these efforts, he said. "Wearing a badge is good for everyone." There always are a number of contrac- tors present at Southwest's Dallas HQ who might not feel the need to be as compliant with badging protocols because it's not their company, Avedikian said. He is working on "getting in front" of that. Panelist Brad Reeves, director of loss pre- vention for A&P; with its 30,000 employees, "20 under 40" winners were honored at TechSec 2015 in Delray Beach, Fla. From left; David Sime, Brett Springall, Jim Lash, Jon Shimp, Sarah Jennings, Dan Krumme, Brad Reeves, Sharon Shaw, Nick Weber, Tim Ferrian, Randall Tecza, Dan Rose, Matt Johnson, Paul McGinley, Zachary Bettencourt, Christopher Belden, Brian Katz, John St-Ilma, and David Avedikian. By Martha Entwistle DELRAY BEACH, Fla.—Cybersecurity, work- ing with IT and the rewards of working in the security industry were topics touched on dur- ing the "20 under 40" Integrators' Perspective educational session at TechSec 2015, which took place here Feb. 3-4. Four members of the "20 under 40" inte- grators Class of 2014 participated in the dis- cussion: Sarah Jennings, COO, QuickPass; David Sime, VP of engineering and delivery, CONTAVA; Jim Lash, director of advanced IT installation, Diebold; and Sharon Shaw, client development manager, Tech Systems. Among the top challenges faced by integra- tors today is cybersecurity threats. "It's our world as a software company," said Jennings. "It's a very serious matter and we work on it daily." The problem is that "there are just so many different approaches," Sime said. "You have to have an IT culture that understands and integrators that understand the threat. Manu- facturers [also] need to understand," he said. What about getting a customer's security director and IT department to work together? It's an ongoing challenge, the panelists said. Sime said that without such collaboration "customers can get backed into a corner with the wrong technology if IT is not involved." And the integrator needs to have people on staff who can "talk the talk with the IT person at the customer site," Shaw pointed out. Lash said it is "absolutely the integrator's responsibility to be that team in the middle" that makes sure that conversation happens … "so that the end users can get what they want." His colleagues are well equipped to facilitate those discussions because "my team has a heavy IT background," he said. It's vital to have these discussions early in the planning phase, he noted. "Comeing late to the game makes it much more diffcult." Asked about technologies they're interested in, the panelists had varied responses. Sime said "thermal imaging, health monitoring of equipment, services and storage; and the opportunity to "play with analytics." Shaw said Tech Systems is having success with analytics these days and that "biometrics seem to be more reliable than they used to be for access control." Lash expressed an interest in health check- ing of systems and "overall PSIM applica- tions." Jennings said her company is "exploring NFC." She said she'd like to consider using biometrics and fnger scanning for access, "but NFC is cool because you can use your phone, [and that's very convenient] especially with gate access." The four panelists are all enthusiastic about working in the security industry. Shaw, who recently became a CPP, enjoys learning about security. "It doesn't feel like a chore to learn more about it," she said. Jennings added that she "grew up in a company [Safeguard in Scottsdale, Ariz.] that installed alarm and fre systems. We all have an opportunity to grow in this industry, to embrace new technology. Every day is fun." Lash and Sime both came to security from IT. Lash says he likes going to manufacturers 'training "and pushing them a little bit, bust- ing their chops a bit." He also likes to intro- duce his friends who work in IT to security, "showing them what we do, what kinds of systems we put in." Sime called security "the coolest profes- sion." He and his company are actively work- ing to spread the word and help young people get prepared for a career in security "work- ing with local colleges and lobbying technical colleges to put together a security certifcate program." SSN Security practitioners discuss badging, cultural challenges '20 under 40' winners at TechSec 2015 Integrators talk cybersecurity, working with IT departments SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS MARCH 2015 www.securitysystemsnews.com special report 35