ALKHOBAR, 8 April 2003 — “The security department of any company exists to protect their assets, be they people, property or information,” said Samir Raslan, regional vice president, American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) International, Middle East, Region 31. “Employers have a right to expect that their security professionals will maintain up-to-date knowledge. There is no excuse for having to learn by unpleasant surprises. In today’s fast changing world it is vital for security professionals to keep abreast of new developments. Not to do so could lead to considerable losses — the larger the organization the more far reaching the effects — on a national and even worldwide scale.”
Raslan was speaking after a meeting of ASIS International, Middle East Chapter 72, held at the Carlton Almoaibed Hotel. Describing the activities of ASIS International he said:
“ASIS is an international society with a membership drawn from security professionals. The aim of ASIS is to advance security knowledge and expertise worldwide. All members are kept informed about state-of-the-art technologies and developments, and have access to ASIS information, research and educational programs. ASIS provides training for security professionals in new technologies and responsibilities. The organization also assists companies and governments in designing security policies and standards.”
The ASIS International function was very well attended. More than 75 members, many of them Saudis, were on hand to view a presentation about IT based Security Solutions from Electronia, an international electronics and communications systems company, headquartered in Alkhobar. During the presentation, Tariq Husain, vice president, Electronia explained that many security systems in use throughout the Kingdom were in reality anything but secure.
“Companies need to understand the security lapses and threats in their security systems,” he said. “New solutions help minimize human error. Bilingual solutions support Saudization efforts.”
To illustrate his point, Husain showed a new vehicle undercarriage inspection system. Currently, at many inspection points in Saudi Arabia, security guards use mirrors to visually inspect a vehicle’s undercarriage for any threat. This is not ideal. The new inspection method uses a scanner placed in the roadway. The scanner takes an image of the vehicle’s undercarriage and sends the information to a computer. The computer quickly compares that image with an image of the expected undercarriage, stored in its image library. If nothing out of the ordinary is found, the car is cleared. If something unusual is found, it is noted by the computer and can be manually checked. The undercarriage inspection technology is functional enough that even if an image of that particular vehicle is not in the image library, the computer can still pick out an electronic device wired into the undercarriage.
“This is just one example of how IT can work with company personnel to enhance security,” said Husain. “Security guards still must verify the identity of the vehicle’s driver and look under the hood and in the trunk, but the unpleasant duty of manual undercarriage inspection has been eliminated. Let’s be honest, how many security guards have the mechanical knowledge to recognize an inconsistency in a vehicle’s undercarriage? This inspection system makes an omnipotent electronic mechanic available at curbside to enhance security.”
Keeping security systems up-to-date in Saudi Arabia is a challenge. Certain products and solutions are not available here due to the export restrictions of Western nations. Even if the systems can be exported, many international security firms insist that their own employees do the installation and maintenance on the systems.
“It’s no secret that every security system has a backdoor for hardware or software maintenance,” said Husain. “Who do you want to trust with access to that backdoor? At Electronia we are no longer simply purchasing technology from others. We develop many of our own state-of-the-art technologies. This means that these technologies are Saudi owned. In today’s world we believe that purchasing locally developed security and communications products brings Saudi companies an immediate enhancement in security over products purchased abroad.”
One product that Electronia takes particular pride in is its indigenously developed smart cards. At the presentation, this technology elicited more questions and comments from ASIS members than any other solution demonstrated that evening. Smart cards are set to replace standard magnetic swipe cards for many purposes. Electronia is the only Saudi company that owns the hardware, software and security technologies for IP-based contactless smart cards.
Smart cards are superior to standard magnetic swipe cards in many ways. A smart card contains a computer chip and can store larger amounts of information than a magnetic swipe card. Smart cards can also update this information and secure it at a high level. With contactless smart cards there is no need to place the card in a reader. Contactless operation requires only that the card be placed within range of the reader’s antenna. The information on the smart card is encrypted and the keys are never transmitted to the network on which the card is used. This means that no one can eavesdrop on the information transfer. In addition, a smart card can be sectored so that it serves many purposes.
“A company can use our smart cards for multiple applications,” said Husain. “For instance a card could be securely sectored so that information about an employee’s health plan, time and attendance, garage access and facility access are all stored securely on that one card. Because of the secure sectors, each corporate department would have access to the information it required, but not to other information on the card. With a traditional magnetic card, a person would need a separate card for every function and since those cards must be swiped through a reader, they wear out and have to be replaced. While our IP-based contactless smart cards cost more initially, their functionality, security and durability guarantee that they actually cost less that magnetic cards over time.”
ASIS International Middle East Chapter 72 welcomes new members. For more information contact asisonline.org.
