Security Systems News

NOV 2017

Security Systems News is a monthly business newspaper that reaches 25,100 security installers, product distributors, central stations, engineers & architects, and security consultants. Our editorial coverage focuses on breaking news in all major se

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Brady A. Phelps, 32 Physical security supervisor, Grant County Public Utility District Ephrata, Wash. B RADY Ph E l PS manages a lot of the security projects for g rant County Public u tility District; " o ur county covers 2,700 square miles, so that's a lot of sites, and a lot of transmission lines and a lot of substations," he said. "I started at g rant County back in January 2016 and when I got there I had to completely redesign the security department—and the whole program—from the ground up," Phelps said. Phelps helped to establish g rant County's first district security operations center for access control monitoring and video surveillance in July 2016, as well as a new drone program around March 2017. Phelps manages the guard force, risk assessments and security assessments, cyber- and physical security awareness training in the district as well as g rant County P u D's requirements under the n orth American Electric Reliability Corporation. "We have 60-plus substations, we have two hydro-electric projects on the Columbia River in Washington State— that's how we generate all of our power via hydro." These projects are federally regulated dam projects, he noted. After serving in the u .S. Marine Corp., Phelps worked as a security officer in various industries, such as loss prevention, hospitality security, event security and private contracting. Phelps had a role as a field investigator for Tuscon Electric Power, "That really opened my eyes to the potential for a security career—in both physical and cyber—in the utility industry. … I decided that [is] what I really liked and that's where my passion was," Phelps said. Asked about the future of physical security, Phelps predicted more overlap with cybersecurity. "I think that each and every physical security professional is going to have to open up to the idea that they're going to have to be cybersecurity professionals as well," he said.—Spencer Ives Derrick Provencher, 35 Security specialist lead, MAPFRE Insurance Webster, Mass. A S T h E security specialist lead for MAPFRE Insurance, Derrick Provencher monitors all of the CCTV and other security systems for the company. "We had zero cameras when I first got here and now we have 48 that have been installed over the past four-and-a-half years I have been with the company," said Provencher. "I take care of the k antech controls, access IDs and badges, as well as overseeing the day-to-day stuff—monitoring cameras, patrolling areas, and investigations anywhere around the world. I also work with local authorities on investigations." Provencher said that he got into security as a stepping-stone to become a police officer. "Since I have been in security for the past 10 years, I want to stay in the industry as I really enjoy doing it—working with the customers and employees—helping people," he said, pointing out that he worked for five years with Securitas before coming into his current role at MAPFRE Insurance. o ver the past 10 years, Provencher said camera systems and access control have "come a long way, especially with all the card readers today going from keys to more mobile access control in the buildings, which will be a continuing trend. I look to eventually get it so everybody at the company will have a swipe card to get in and out of the building." h e also sees a continued expansion of access control for buildings—tightening of security in and around buildings—while making it more convenient for employees, customers and visitors. "I am very excited to check out all of the new and emerging technologies, seeing whether or not it is a good fit and can benefit the overall security strategy we have instituted here now," he said.—Paul Ragusa Dan Sadler, 37 Director – Security Shared Services, Exelon Corp. Baltimore D A n S AD l ER said he feels lucky to have spent his entire career at Exelon Corp., the largest energy company in the u .S. measured by utility customers served. "My professional security career started with an internship during my senior year of college and I have held several leadership positions at Exelon over the past 16 years," he said. "I started in the business continuity team, focusing on emergency planning and crisis management, and I excelled there and ultimately became the manager." Sadler also served as the senior manager for cybersecurity operations and served as director of security operations before moving into his current role where he "oversees our security strategy functions," he explained, including "security risk management, budget, projects, controls assurance, identity and access management, supply chain risk, and merger integration functions." h e also has served on the governor's emergency management advisory council of Maryland and co-founded and served as president of the Association of Contingency Planners chapter in Maryland. Sadler said he takes a very centralized approach to security. "We are responsible for protecting the grid for some of the most critical and highly populated areas in the country. So we aim to mitigate the evolving threats with our skilled personnel and our security capabilities, while keeping up with organizational growth and regional scale." Although physical security is a constant challenge, cybersecurity is a major emphasis for the company and energy sector. "There is no silver bullet but we feel we are leaning forward with our capabilities and our broader team," he noted. "But cyber threats are changing every day and the malicious actors out there are using more complex tools." In terms of emerging technology, Sadler is excited about "big data solutions on both the physical and cyber side that have analytic and real-time alerting capability, so you build certain use cases around physical and logical behavior."—Paul Ragusa Josh Wagner, 33 Security manager, Saint Luke's Health System Kansas City, Mo. A S o F o ctober 2017, Josh Wagner has been working with Saint l uke's h ealth System for 10 years. Prior to joining the security industry, Wagner served in the u .S. Army. "I did some armed security and then I started with Saint l uke's h ealth System in security. I started as a night security officer and just worked my way up to where I am now," he said. "I'm responsible for the coordination and the delivery of the security program, and that includes managing and monitoring our department's service activities, performance trends, resource acquisition and retention," Wagner said. o n the technical side of security, Wagner contributes to the planning, development, acquisition and implementation of Saint l uke's h ealth System. "I manage five hospital campuses where we have security teams. We do provide security support for the hospitals that don't have security teams. … We still manage their cameras for them and their alarm systems and access control," Wagner said. A newer security technology that Saint l uke's recently implemented is body-warn cameras. The health system started acquiring and implementing these systems about one year ago. "As far as health care security, it's pretty new and cutting edge right now—implementing those in hospitals," Wagner said. "The greatest value we've seen is the de-escalation factor." Wagner added, "The health care industry has some of the highest rates of workplace violence. … When somebody knows they're being recorded, they tend to act a bit better." In addition to the body-worn cameras, Wagner also said that Saint l uke's has "worked [over] the last several years to standardize all of our processes and technologies. So, we're finally now on the same camera system and same access control system and alarm systems."—Spencer Ives JR Webb, 35 Security Systems Lead, Square Inc. San Francisco A S T h E security systems lead for Square Inc., a financial and merchant services aggregator and mobile payment company based in San Francisco, JR Webb manages a small team that works on deploying new security systems as well as maintaining and supporting current ones. "I focus a lot on the security scope in office construction projects globally through project meetings and onsite visits, including the design, planning, vendor relationships, and implementation," he explained. "Building and supporting the physical security technology of the g lobal Security o peration Center ( g S o C) includes managing regular system updates or upgrades. The main systems we build and support are global access control systems, security video platforms, intrusion detection, intercoms, and digital radio systems." Webb has always had an interest in security, law enforcement, investigations, and technology. "I started out on the security operations side, and I realized that often our success or failure was heavily reliant on the condition of the security technology," he said. "This led me to want to learn more about security technology. I specifically sought to work for tech companies given the environment that is very receptive and supportive of innovation." With the expanded use of cloud technologies and mobile phones and other devices, Webb is excited to see "new and innovative ways that we can authenticate people faster, with more reliability, and more seamlessly," he noted. h e continued, "The movement for interconnectivity of security systems has not truly been realized. I look to see with the rapid expansion of smart devices, smart buildings, and IoT … new and more intelligent security products to be developed will deliver interconnectivity that can become the norm rather than a grand idea for the future."—Paul Ragusa Jeff Worrall, 33 Security systems lead, Palantir Palo Alto, Calif. J EFF Wo RRA ll works to maintain a standard level of security at all of Palantir's locations, despite a variety of differences among the build- ings. Palantir, a software company focused on data analytics, has more than 60 locations. "The unique challenge for me and my team is every office was built in a different era, or it has a different layout. … Trying to keep the standards across the builds for all of these unique office spaces has been very challenging," Worrall said, and this requires considering different cameras, access control hardware or sensors, depending on the office space. Worrall added that he and his team find this challenge to be a fun part of the job. "The day-to-day is basically: make sure all of our buildings worldwide are secured to our standard and keep them running, … building out new buildings but also keeping the same online—in addition to research and development to stay on the leading edge of the tech-wave," Worrall said. In high school, Worrall's interest in cars led him to take a job as a mechanic assistant at a local police department. h e stayed for eight years, becoming fleet manager. The role inspired Worrall to pursue a degree in criminal justice at California State u niversity-Sacramento, and taking a role in the campus police department. Prior to his job at Palantir, he held a role at Pixar as a safety and security officer. Worrall is keeping his eyes on drone defense; drones could be a threat for both residential and commercial sides of the business, he said. h e also highlighted the Internet of Things and cloud as technologies with potential.—Spencer Ives S e CU r ITY SYST em S N e WS November 2017 www.securitysystemsnews.com 20 under 40 31

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