Key Nigerian Security Professionals Gather in Lagos

A dozen security professionals from some of Nigeria’s key industries gather in Lagos this week and next to further their professional development by attending the ARC Training International Security Management Stage 1 course. The course provides Security Managers with the knowledge and skills to provide protection of their employers’ premises and operations using internationally recognised best practice.

The mixing of professionals from different business sectors and companies provides added value by providing a forum for the exchange of views and practices. At the end of this course, each delegate will return to their workplace with the additional skills and knowledge to allow them to increase the contribution that they make to their company’s success.

Alumni Focus: Abrar Ashraf

The ASIS Physical Security Professional (PSP) certification is the de-facto internationally-recognised certification designed to enable security professionals to select, recommend, and project manage the implementation of integrated physical and electronic security systems. Achievement of PSP certification through examination.

Abrar Ashraf (pictured) of VSG Security Group is the latest UK ASIS Chapter member to achieve this award.

Congratulations Abrar!

Threat to Critical Infrastructure Reiterated

Security managers charged with protecting the physical security of critical national infrastructure, such as oil and gas facilities, energy generation, utilities, communications etc, should remain alert to the possibility that their operations may be vulnerable to threats of a silent, but deadly nature.

A recent survey of US IT professionals found that 61% believe that there is a high probability that a foreign nation will launch a cyberattack against critical US infrastructure sometime within the next year.

IT experts have long been warning that the security of IT-based SCADA systems – the critical programmes and hardware that control operations – is inadequate, and that hackers could cause devastating events, such as a miss-operation, an explosion, fire, malicious contamination, or a loss of containment of a polluting or poisonous substance.

Security managers should remain in continuous liaison with IT professionals in this regard.

For background documents relating to the security of SCADA, please contact David.

BBC Interviews ARC Course Presenter about IT Secuity

Source: BBC News

US prosecutors charged a man with stealing data relating to 130 million credit and debit cards. Officials say it is the biggest case of identity theft in American history.

They say Albert Gonzalez, 28, and two un-named Russian co-conspirators hacked into the payment systems of retailers, including the 7-Eleven chain.

Edward Wilding, a fraud investigator and presenter of the ARC Training Investigating IT Misuse Course, told the BBC that this method was "a pretty standard way" for fraudsters to try to access personal data. Mr Wilding said there was little consumers could do to protect themselves against this kind of fraud.

For more information on the Investigating IT Misuse Course, 9-10 November, contact Janet or click here.

Advancing Security Management Professionalism in Nigeria

Nigeria is a country where levels of security management professionalism in oil companies are necessarily amongst the highest in the world.

Over the next two weeks Peter Horsburgh CPP PSP will be in Nigeria to lead a group of security managers from one of the world’s best-known oil companies through the postgraduate-level Security Management Stage 1 Course.

The “SM1” course has been attended by hundreds of security managers from all over the world, and for many of the world’s leading companies it is the de facto core skills course in how to manage security in a corporate setting.

African Security Experts Gather in Johannesburg

ARC, through its southern Africa regional partner AMC-INTSA, will be conducting its first Johannesburg Security Management and Coordination Course next week.

The course will be led by Barry Vincent MA MSc, who is well-known to delegates who have attended security management courses in the UK recently. A former police divisional commander in London, more recently Barry was Head of Security for the UK’s biggest retailer. Nowadays he shares his wisdom and expertise with delegates attending ARC security management courses.

The course includes delegates from a wide range of sectors, embracing Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique.

Beware the Pirates Within

Source: Workplace Law

A report published today by Microsoft suggests a third of people in Britain believe it is acceptable to use pirated software, while one in six admitted using illegal computer programs at home or at work.

Only a third felt they had a good understanding of the major risks involved, such as computer viruses, losing personal information and identity theft.

Microsoft’s 'Attitudes to Piracy' report found that, of those surveyed, one in eight employed adults admitted using pirated software at work!

Security Awareness Training

As well as providing professional development programmes for security managers, a very important area of ARC’s work involves delivering security awareness workshops for companies with staff who are locally responsible for security, alongside their regular full-time professional roles.

Next week David will be in Madrid to conduct the first of a series of global workshops for one such client, a global technology group. In the classroom, alongside professional security and safety professionals will be IT managers, lawyers, operations and export managers, and the facilities manager.

The programme will blend the client’s own security philosophy with the best practice taught on ARC’s security manager courses, and the impressive attendee list is bound to lead to healthy exchanges of views.

To facilitate better local understanding, all of the course materials will be in Spanish.