The concept of safety is a powerful thing. Citizens expect to feel safe in their homes and out in the communities where they live. If there’s an emergency, we expect our call for help will always be answered and that police officers, firefighters or emergency medical technicians (EMTs) will arrive armed with the information we provided, even if it was a text with a photo or video attached. We all want to live, work and raise our families in safer cities. And we are not the only ones with expectations.

First responders expect secure access to the latest communications technology – technology we take for granted in our everyday lives – to help them work smarter and handle more tasks while they are on patrol or at the scene of a crime. In fact, 86 percent of respondents in a survey of U.S. government professionals are already using their own consumer-grade devices for work-related activities. To keep up with these challenges and the rapidly evolving operating environment, agencies need to build a strong mission critical foundation. One that helps them extract intelligence from existing and new sources of data, improve the way they work and make faster, smarter and safer decisions.

If they don’t? Studies show that a city’s economy can suffer significantly. And that’s something everyone can see. To keep officers informed and ready for what’s next takes visibility to what’s happening in the field at all times. It requires an architecture that makes it easy for public safety agencies to unify data sources, dynamically prioritize information and integrate broadband and radio networks. An operating environment that will help them deliver greater levels of service, safety and community prosperity.

Having that architecture means first responders will be armed with smart devices that bring real-time, often citizen-generated, information to their fingertips and better situational awareness so they can make fast, life-saving decisions. Firefighters’ progress can be monitored as they move through a burning building and their status continually verified with locationing and biometrics applications. And the public can instantly access services and systems to report and resolve community issues or say thanks for a job well done.

Sometimes it’s what we can’t see that makes a visible difference.

Learn how you can harness the information that surrounds us to build a safer city in the Mission Critical Operating Environment white paper  or visit the website to learn more.

Alan Lopez is Director of Government Solutions Marketing for Motorola Solutions.

Learn more about the Mission Critical Operating Environment here.

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when personal and work lives were two separate things. A person worked at the office, went home, and usually had little to do with his or her employer until the next day. Since the advent of the home computer, the mobile phone, then telecommuting and social media, these lines have blurred. For better or for worse, our personal lives creep into our work, and we’re often working during our “off” hours. What many people don’t consider is the unprecedented security risk this poses to our employers. Our personal choices can impact the security of our organizations, and making the right choices can help deter attempts at theft and damage.

This is part one of a multi-part blog series.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

There’s no question - social media has changed the world. There are nearly a billion active users of Facebook, and half a billion active Twitter users. Collectively, social networking websites store a massive amount of data about people. Much of this information is publicly visible. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and other popular social networking websites provide privacy features that can restrict access to individuals’ information. Unfortunately, not everyone configures these features.  The information we post publicly can pose a risk to our organizations and to ourselves, and nothing can be reliably erased once it’s posted to the internet.

First, let’s look at how social networking data can be used to make scams more believable. Many people are familiar with the concept of ”phishing” - scams sent via email. Imagine a phishing email specifically targeted to an individual or group. The term for this is ”spear phishing”.  If Jane Hacker wants to trick you into clicking on an email attachment that contains a virus, or simply revealing your password, she will have significantly more success if she first researches your social networking profiles and identifies your interests, history, and connections. She can then tailor her emails to pique your interest, or to imitate a business or a colleague. A Trend Micro study showed that in 91% of targeted attacks, spear phishing was used to break into organizations’ networks. Be aware of the personal data you broadcast, and how it could be used to fool you.

Next, let’s consider the ‘security questions’ that are required for many accounts – for example, ‘birth date’, ‘mother’s maiden name’, or ‘favorite band’. Users must answer a combination of personal questions to access these accounts. Unfortunately, this security mechanism was developed before social networking was popular. If Jane Hacker is trying to access your account, she might find your birthday on your Amazon.com profile, your mother’s maiden name via your Facebook page, and (because Jane Hacker is rather clever), she might also note that you are following your favorite band on Twitter. Two-factor authentication is now offered by many providers as an alternate means to verify users’ identity. It is a smarter choice. Instead of relying on questions to which somebody else may find the answer, an external device such as your phone or a token is used to verify your identity.

Perhaps you avoid social sites like Facebook or Twitter altogether. What about LinkedIn? Online résumé websites are great tools for us to market our professional skills and network. However, they can also impact security.  Let’s imagine that the maleficent Jane Hacker is planning to launch an attack against your organization’s network. She’ll need to evaluate what software, security, and systems are in use by your organization before she can begin. However, Jane Hacker is a bit lazy. She does a quick search on LinkedIn for technical, procurement, or management staff from your organization. Several of their résumés contain detailed descriptions of systems in use, as well as your organization’s processes and procedures. Now, Jane Hacker has less work to do.

Social networking has become an integral part of our society, but there are some important security considerations to keep in mind when we use it. First of all, limiting access to our social networking posts and profiles is key.  If we post publicly, we need to be mindful about what we post. We should choose our account security questions carefully, and when possible, use two-factor authentication instead of relying on security questions.  Finally, we should police the technical or operational details which we include in our online résumés. Keeping these things in mind can help better defend our organizations and ourselves.

Lesley Carhart is a Senior Information Security Specialist in the Motorola Solutions Security Operations Center. She has 13 years of experience in information technology, including computer networking and tactical communications. For the past five years, she has focused on security, specializing in digital forensics.

Learn more about Security Services here, or read this white paper about Understanding Cybersecurity.

Read another blog by Lesley Carhart: Log Monitoring and Cyberthreat Detection.