CSO Online Proving To Be A Handy Resource

I posted on this over at the MN ASIS blog which reaches out to a geographically more diverse audience but thought you might be interested too.

I've been checking the CSO Daily Dashboard and it seems to be updated regularly and is free of advertisements. 11 of the 14 categories link directly to third party sources of information. The other three are clearly labeled as CSO Online pages.

At the bottom of the dashboard page are links to some other useful sites. Travel warnings from Travel.State.Gov is an old standby but good to have bookmarked. The corruption perceptions index offered by Transparency International is new to me and interesting reading. If you operate in the critical infrastructure space you probably already subscribe to updates from DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report. The daily reports run 20-30 pages each but the contents are organized by category for your convenience.

Is This Thing On?

Does anyone read this blog? 

Who within the sound of my voice is interested in sitting down with their fellow law enforcement, corporate, commercial, and vendor members of the 394 Block Club some afternoon this summer? 

Please respond here so that we may assess your interest. 

Thanks.

City of Minneapolis Traffic Alerts Update x3

Guess you picked the wrong weekend to own a car in Minneapolis...

Several Downtown streets close for Sunday, June 27 Pride Parade
Minneapolis will close several streets in downtown on Sunday, June 27 for the Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade. The following streets will be closed:

Beginning at 8 a.m.:

3rd Street South will close from Hennepin Avenue to Portland Avenue.

Beginning at 10:30 a.m.:

Hennepin Avenue will close from 3rd Street South to Spruce Place.

Traffic will be allowed to cross Hennepin Avenue at 4th, 5th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 12th streets.

Spruce Place will close from Hennepin Avenue to Yale Place.

Yale Place will close from Spruce Place to Loring Park.

These streets will reopen following the parade at about 3 p.m.

Stretch of I-35W in Minneapolis to close June 25 weekend for ramp work

A stretch of I-35W between I-94 and Highway 280 will close for the weekend beginning at 10 p.m. on Friday, June 25. Southbound I-35W ramps on this stretch will close one hour earlier at 9 p.m. During the full closure of I-35W this weekend, motorists will be detoured to I-94 and Highway 280. Motorists should anticipate delays or plan on taking alternate routes. The roadway and ramps are scheduled to re-open at 5:30 a.m., Monday, June 28.

The closure is necessary as Minnesota Department of Transportation crews begin a major rehabilitation of the ramp from Interstate 94 to 5th Street in Minneapolis. The 5th Street ramp spans Interstate 35W and necessitates the closure.

The ramp to 5th Street from westbound I-94 will be closed beginning at 8 p.m. June 25 and will remain closed until July 31. Motorists will be detoured to the 11th Street exit in order to access 5th Street.

In addition, overnight I-35W lane closures will occur at I-94 during the week before and after the full closure. For real-time traveler information anywhere in Minnesota, visit 511mn.org.

Buses to replace light-rail service June 25-27 weekend

Road and rail maintenance work will affect light-rail service on a significant portion of the Hiawatha line the weekend of June 25-27. Buses will replace trains between Target Field Station and Fort Snelling Station from 10:30 p.m., Friday, June 25 until 3:30 a.m., Monday, June 28. Trains will operate normally between Fort Snelling Station and Mall of America Station.

Buses will mirror the light-rail schedule during the shutdown, and Metro Transit staff will be at key locations to direct customers to their buses. In downtown Minneapolis, replacement bus service will operate on 4th Street.

Light-rail service is being suspended on this portion of the Hiawatha line to allow road work at the Fifth Street exit ramp off of I-94 into downtown Minneapolis and for other rail maintenance along the line. During this time, platform edge tiles at Lake Street/Midtown Station will also be replaced. Full train service will be restored in time for the Monday morning rush hour.

Metro Transit operates the Hiawatha Line. Customers boarded Hiawatha trains 4 million times during the first five months of 2010, 5.3 percent higher than the same period last year. Metro Transit is a service of the Metropolitan Council.

Project updates will be available on the Rail Maintenance Hotline at 612-373-3333, option 6.

Bankcard Skimmers Getting Smarter, Thinner, Harder to Detect

Made to order by eastern European gangsters...

Brian Krebs reports on Sophisticated ATM Skimmer Transmits Stolen Data Via Text Message This new twist eliminates the need for the crooks to return to the skimmer to collect stolen credit and debit card numbers and PINs. This is shaping up to be quite the arms race.

If you're interested in this sort of security concern Krebs on Security: In-Depth Security News and Investigation blog is worth a bookmark or an RSS feed subscription.

CSOonline Delivers

I subscribe to a variety of security, safety, business continuity, and management online newsletters. Most days they're mostly chaff but today's email from CSOonline is chock full of timely topics:
 
Social engineering techniques.

Banning worthless car alarms.

The concept of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) gaining traction.

Not safe for work: What's acceptable computer use in today's office?

And the new CSO Daily Dashboard.  This could be pretty handy for a one-stop snap shot of the day's security priorities.

Give Real Change

Although Give Real Change affects only one city in the 394 Corridor community it seems like an effort worth noting.  Give Real Change offers people and businesses in Minneapolis an opportunity to reduce panhandling, provide for the homeless, and serve the community, all at the same time.  One hopes this approach moves the panhandling homeless off the public sidewalks and entrances to Minneapolis businesses towards the social service organizations where they can receive life changing assistance.

High-rise rescue system evacuates buildings using exterior collapsible cabins

Here is a though-provoking solution to a problem we hope never to have.

Like the Gizmag article suggests, it's certainly better than rappelling or parachuting.

ASIS Private Security Officer Selection and Training Guideline

ASIS Commission on Standards and Guidelines of ASIS International has just released the ASIS Private Security Officer Selection and Training Guideline, 2010 Edition If you're a member of ASIS you can download once for free.  If you're not a member you'll need to pay for the report.  ASIS standards and guidelines are setting the standard of care for security functions.  Learn more today!