Richard Cantor
Amerigard Alarm & Security Corporation
Richard H. Cantor, CPP, CEO of Amerigard Alarm & Security Corporation, has taken a number of steps related to physical and IT security to keep the company, its personnel and its clients safe in this ever- challenging world environment. He has the office protected with a UL alarm system complete with a backup encrypted AA Internet transponder and backup radio that routes alarm transmission through Ademco's redundant, computer-based Alarm Net services. Access to the premises is controlled via an integrated CCTV/access control system with a combination biometric fingerprint reader and proximity card. Visitor access is controlled with voice and images routed to the receptionist through the digital phone system.
Sensitive materials and documents are stored in a UL safe, and sensitive data are protected by the ultimate firewall. Cantor has set up two independent networks, one connected to the Internet and a second high-security network on an internal network with no direct or indirect connections to any outside services. Backups are done daily and manually loaded on a stand-alone server configured identically to the one in the Amerigard office. It has no Internet connections and is located 25 miles from headquarters. Disaster recovery plans include the exchange of all personal phone numbers to all employees and the selection of offsite rendezvous points plus the use of geographically dispersed redundant central stations.
To protect clients, at Mr. Cantor’s initiative, we have provided a variety of products, software and services to enhance security. Many of these appeared in Mr. Cantor’s article “The Future Is Now,” printed in Security Director magazine, a publication of the ASIS-NYC Chapter. They include the use of smart cards; biometric readers; physical aspects of access control, including code-compliant “man traps;” and integration of access control software into human resources software so that once an employee is terminated his/her access control authorization is immediately, automatically and permanently restricted. Once a person is removed from the payroll, his/her access credentials no longer work.
The CCTV systems provided by Amerigard Alarm & Security come with Ethernet
cards and CD/DVD burners built into the DVRs and are assigned static IP addresses to enable remote access. We also offer services to monitor the status of the DVRs and send signals via e-mail and cell phones to alert security personnel in emergencies and when there is a system malfunction (e.g., individual camera failure) or when environmental
parameters are exceeded. We provide bandwidth chokes, where necessary, to enable the transmission images, and we back up all systems locally with UPS/line conditioner units and software to ensure an orderly shutdown in case of power failure.
Finally we provide unique software solutions to identify human targets, track movement, and initiate alarms of items removed and/or inserted into video fields. We even have a proprietary “vulnerable facility” alarm that alerts security personnel if a facility has been vacated without being secured.
These are some of the dozens of ways we marry physical and IT security under the leadership and foresight of Mr. Cantor. One does not need an elaborate system to take advantage of the power of integration. With practical application of common security knowledge and modern technology, the integration of physical and IT security can be effective on almost every level to improve security and lower cost.