SURVEY: Career Progression in the Security Industry

As of late, I've become curious as to how one moves up the corporate security ladder.  In the military, it was quite simple - you took a test and did well on your performance evaluations.  I have become curious how different that is in the private sector so I've decided to ask professionals such as yourselves. Please take a few minutes to answer my survey.  I'll publish the results in a week or so once I have gotten replies back.  Feel free to comment below if you would like to further share your thoughts.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

BREAKING NEWS: South Korean Prisons Will Soon Have Robots on Patrol

Robotics has revolutionized the modern workforce landscape.  There is not a major good or product that is not manufactured, processed, or delivered without them.  In the proud tradition of innovating new technologies, the South Koreans have done something entirely new.  Quite frankly, I think its VERY cool.

Robots will conducting patrols within the prisons in South Korea.  The Yonhap news site says, "AFC Chairman Lee Baik-chul, also a professor at the Department of Corrections at Kyonggi University, said the robots will perform simple tasks such as patrolling during night hours and this will significantly help human prison guards focus on other more complex tasks."

What will be some of the priorities for these robot sentries?

“It’s at night when problems can occur. The robots will watch for any signs of suicide attempts or physical attacks on prisoners instead of the human guards. This will allow the human guards to work on more difficult problems such as educational work and counseling,” said Lee.

It appears the robots will be using video analytics and cameras installed in their faces. When it sees a deviation from a set parameter of rules, it will alert the central monitor station who will alert guards to take action. The robots will also be capable of being a communications conduit between guard and prisoners through an internal intercom.

Weighing approximately 165 pounds and being 4'11, the robots should be completed and ready for a field testing in March.  If successful, they could be fully implemented in Korea's newer prisons.

Can you imagine if there robots on patrol at San Quentin or your nearby county jail? It would dramatically reduce the workforce needed to patrol and supervise prisoners. It would be a deterrent against some prison violence and possible illegal activities by having additional "eyes and ears". 

Having the robot serve as a conduit between the guards and prisoners could reduce violence between the two adversarial groups. However, it could also drive a wedge further between the two. It might also cause some officers to miss certain areas during the patrols because they relied on the robotic counterparts to cover it. This occurs many times in the private sector where security officers miss their rounds intentionally because of an over-reliance on surveillance and intrusion detection systems which lull many into a false sense of security.

This is a very interesting development in the field of corrects and one that was bound to happen. It is speculative whether the robots will be successful during field testing or in real operational settings. Given the problems we see in video analytics with false alarms or missed deviations which were not in the programmed set of rules, it would be interesting to see how they overcome such obstacles. This is a development which could have profound effects not just for corrections but for the private security and law enforcement counterparts as well.

Check out this video of Korean robotics operational in a different environment:

HOT!!:: FREE ONLINE CRYPTO CLASS AT STANFORD

So when Ivy League schools give FREE classes in cryptography, I don't waste any time in signing up.  Looks like Stanford University is doing just that.

Here's some info direct from the FAQ section:

When does the class start?
The class will start in January 2012.

What is the format of the class?The class will consist of lecture videos, which are broken into small chunks, usually between eight and twelve minutes each. Some of these may contain integrated quiz questions. There will also be standalone quizzes that are not part of video lectures, and programming assignments. There will be approximately two hours worth of video content per week.

Will the text of the lectures be available?
We hope to transcribe the lectures into text to make them more accessible for those not fluent in English. Stay tuned.

Do I need to watch the lectures live?No. You can watch the lectures at your leisure.

Can online students ask questions and/or contact the professor?Yes, but not directly There is a Q&A forum in which students rank questions and answers, so that the most important questions and the best answers bubble to the top. Teaching staff will monitor these forums, so that important questions not answered by other students can be addressed. 

Will other Stanford resources be available to online students?No.

How much programming background is needed for the course?The course includes programming assignments and some programming background will be helpful. However, we will hand out lots of starter code that will help students complete the assignments. We will also point to online resources that can help students find the necessary background.

What math background is needed for the course?
The course is mostly self contained, however some knowledge of discrete probability will be helpful. Thewikibooks article on discrete probability should give sufficient background.

How much does it cost to take the course?Nothing: it's free! 

Will I get university credit for taking this course?No.

The course is being taught by Professor Dan Boneh who heads the applied cryptography group at the Computer Science department at Stanford University. Professor Boneh's research focuses on applications of cryptography to computer security. His work includes cryptosystems with novel properties, web security, security for mobile devices, digital copyright protection, and cryptanalysis. He is the author of over a hundred publications in the field and a recipient of the Packard Award, the Alfred P. Sloan Award, and the RSA award in mathematics. Last year Dr. Boneh received the Ishii award for industry education innovation. Professor Boneh received his Ph.D from Princeton University and joined Stanford in 1997.

Here's another look at the link for the class:

http://www.crypto-class.org/