Homeland Security Department Warns of More Mass Casualty Violence

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Homeland Security warns of individuals using high-profile events to justify violence against ideological opponents, public gatherings, schools and more

The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin Tuesday warning of a “heightened threat environment” over the next several months as they monitor both risks of domestic terrorism and foreign adversaries looking to sow discord within the U.S. to promote acts of violence.

“The United States remains in a heightened threat environment, as noted in the previous Bulletin, and several recent attacks have highlighted the dynamic and complex nature of the threat environment,” DHS said in a new bulletin from the National Terrorism Advisory System.

“In the coming months, we expect the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets,” DHS said.

The bulletin listed potential targets to include “public gatherings, faith-based institutions, schools, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, U.S. critical infrastructure, the media, and perceived ideological opponents.”

The department stressed that “foreign adversaries-including terrorist organizations and nation state adversaries-also remain intent on exploiting the threat environment to promote or inspire violence, sow discord, or undermine U.S. democratic institutions.”

“We continue to assess that the primary threat of mass casualty violence in the United States stems from lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances,” the bulletin said.

DHS pointed to several recent high-profile events including the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, where the suspect in the grocery store attack allegedly claimed that he was motivated by racist, anti-Black, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The department said it is monitoring online forums following the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that have been encouraging copycat attacks.

TMA’s Automated Secure Alarm Protocol nears its 100th ECC

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) has welcomed six new local PSAPs/Emergency Communication Centers (ECCs) from across the United States to its ASAP-to-PSAP service since December 20, 2021. These include: Albemarle County-UVA-City of Charlottesville VA;  Thurston County WA 9-1-1 Communications (WA); Talladega County Alabama 9-1-1; Valley Communications Regional 9-1-1 Center (WA); City of Colonial Heights VA Emergency Communications Center (ECC) (VA); and Elk County Pennsylvania Emergency Services. Launched in 2011 as a public-private partnership, TMA’s ASAP service is designed to increase the accuracy and efficiency of calls for service from alarm companies to Emergency Communication Centers (ECCs).

“In an emergency situation when every second counts, TMA’s ASAP service is reducing response time for our first responders by increasing the speed of communication from the security provider to the local ECC,” commented TMA President Morgan Hertel. “As we’ve seen over the course of recent months, this communication protocol is gaining broad adoption across the United States as municipalities learn more about its life-saving benefits firsthand from public safety peers. It’s rewarding for all of those within TMA who have contributed immeasurable hours and technical expertise, as well as financial support, to the development and advancement of this important service.”

Learn more about TMA’s ASAP service at www.tma.us/asap/.

ECC details:

Elk County PA (#99)

Elk County Pennsylvania Emergency Services became the 99th Emergency Communications Center (ECC) in the United States and the 6th ECC in the state of Pennsylvania to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Elk County went live on Thursday, February 3rd with Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring, Securitas, Affiliated Monitoring, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Protection One, Brinks Home Security, Vivint, Stanley Security, Quick Response, Security Central, Guardian Protection and ADT.

City of Colonial Heights VA (#98)

The City of Colonial Heights VA Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is the 98th public safety communications center in the United States and the 20th agency in the state of Virginia to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). The Colonial Heights ECC went live on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, with Rapid Response Monitoring, CPI Security, Stanley Security, Securitas, Guardian Protection, Protection One, Vector Security, Tyco (Johnson Controls), United Central Control, Vivint, Security Central, Brinks Home Security, National Monitoring Center, Affiliated Monitoring, Richmond Alarm, and ADT.

Valley Communications WA (Valley Comm) (#97)

The Valley Communications Regional 9-1-1 Center, based in Kent WA, also known as “Valley Com 9-1-1”, is the 97th public safety communications center in the United States and the 3rd agency in the state of Washington to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Valley Com went live on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, and Wednesday, February 2, 2022, with Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring, Guardian Protection, Security Central, Securitas, Stanley Security, United Central Control, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Affiliated Monitoring, National Monitoring Center, Brinks, Vivint, and Protection One. ADT and Washington Alarm will be live with Valley Comm later during the month of February.

Talladega County Alabama 9-1-1 (#96)

On Thursday, January 27, 2020, Talladega County Alabama 9-1-1 became the 96th ECC in the United States and the 3rd ECC in the state of Alabama to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Talladega went live on Thursday, January 27th with Rapid Response Monitoring, Vector Security, Securitas, Affiliated Monitoring, ADS, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Security Central, Protection One, Brinks Home Security, Vivint, Stanley Security, Guardian Protection, Alert 360, and National Monitoring Center. ADT will be brought online at a later date.

Thurston County WA 9-1-1 Communications (#95)

The Thurston County WA 9-1-1 Communications, also known as “TCOMM911”, is the 95th public safety communications center in the United States and the 2nd agency in the state of Washington to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). TCOMM911 went live on Monday, January 24, 2022, and Tuesday, January 25, 2022, with Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring, Guardian Protection, United Central Control, Securitas, Security Central, Tyco (Johnson Controls), National Monitoring Center, Affiliated Monitoring, Protection One, Brinks, Vivint, ADT, and Stanley Security.

Albemarle County-UVA-City of Charlottesville VA (#94)

The Albemarle County-University of Virginia-City of Charlottesville VA Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is the 94th public safety communications center in the United States and the 19th agency in the state of Virginia to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). The Albemarle-UVA-Charlottesville ECC went live on Monday, December 20th with Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring, Security Central, CPI Security, Securitas, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Richmond Alarm, Wegmans Security, Guardian Protection, Affiliated Monitoring, Stanley Security, National Monitoring Center, Brinks Home Security, Vivint, United Central Control, Protection One, and ADT.

Download Data Breach Report from ITRC

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Since 2005, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has tracked publicly reported data breaches in the United States. What began as a collection of basic information has grown into a database of more than 13,900 data compromises that include up to 90 data points per event.

Now in its 16th year, the ITRC’s Data Breach Report for 2021 looks at the number of data compromises, the types of data compromised, the root causes of data compromises, and much more. The 2021 Data Breach Report also previews a new free service for consumers that alerts them in the event companies they select issue a data breach notice. Please visit https://notified.idtheftcenter.org/s/resource#annualReportSection to download a copy of the report PDF. For questions about the report, contact notifiedbyitrc@idtheftcenter.org.

The ITRC uses information voluntarily collected from you to communicate effectively and efficiently with you and to provide best-in-class services. The ITRC does not sell or share any information about individual users. For more details, read our privacy policy.

Cybersecurity Risk Management – Topic of NIST Virtual Series

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NIST and the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law are pleased to invite you to the final event in a virtual series that will focus on the latest approaches to cybersecurity risk management. Over the last three virtual events, we have discussed international cybersecurity risk management standards and practices, supply chain risk management, and non-profit cybersecurity risk management. All these best practices come down to an ability to quantify the risks facing an organization and effectively and efficiently allocating resources to mitigate those cybersecurity risks. This session will bring together leaders from government and industry to discuss these important topics. It will feature speakers from NIST, CISA, and cybersecurity leaders from financial and healthcare sector. We hope you can join us for our final event in this series!

This virtual event will take place on January 27 from 11:30am-1:30pm EST.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cybersecurity-risk-management-virtual-event-series-part-4-tickets-242989878267

TMA Members May Attend Annual Meeting for FREE

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce that through the generosity of its meeting sponsors, TMA members may now register to attend its upcoming 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting for FREE. Nonmembers may also register at a reduced rate of $450 for the three-day education and networking meeting. The virtual meeting will take place Tuesday, October 12th-Thursday, October 14th.

The 2021 meeting sponsors are:

  • Platinum – Alarm.com; Johnson Controls; MAS; and Resideo
  • Gold – ADI; ADT; and UL
  • Silver – Altronix; CIBC; DMP; and Salesforce
  • Bronze – Bosch, OneTel; and TRG Associates, Inc.

“TMA has been overwhelmed by the magnanimous generosity of our meeting sponsors who opted to support our 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting,” remarked TMA Executive Director Celia T. Besore. “Their financial support has made it possible for us to extend this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to all TMA members to take part in this meeting. We are so grateful to our sponsors for making it possible for so many monitoring center professionals to acquire valuable new knowledge and to network with some of the industry’s leading authorities firsthand.”

TMA Executive Director Honored for Association Leadership and Professional Contributions

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The American Society Association Executives (ASAE) recently announced that TMA Executive Director Celia Besore was selected to join with nine other Association executives ASAE’s 2021 Class of Fellows.

The Fellows program bestows an honorary recognition upon exceptional association leaders making noteworthy and sustained contributions of leadership to their organizations, ASAE and the association management profession.

Celia joins 273 association industry professionals who have received this designation since the program’s inception in 1986.

ASAE is a membership organization of more than 48,000 association executives and industry partners representing 7,400 organizations.

Please join in congratulating Celia on this momentous honor.

Attend UL’s Building Innovation Summit, Aug. 31-Sept. 2

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UL will host UL’s Building Innovation Summit 2021 on Aug. 31 – Sept. 2, 2021. This virtual event is for the building material and construction industry covering various topics of interest for architects and consultants,  building owners, manufacturers, fire safety professionals, and associations.

The built environment industry is transforming faster in recent times, as the COVID-19 pandemic changed how the construction industry does business. New technologies and practices, stricter safety and security regulations will continue to bring challenges to industry professionals. Construction Industry trends will bring rapid changes in global markets.

This three-day virtual event will feature informative sessions given by UL safety experts on a range of topics impacting the built environment, safety, and security. Hear what industry experts have to say about:

  • Enhancing safety and security in uncertain times
  • Innovations for a brighter tomorrow
  • Building strong foundations for a safer future

TMA members are invited to join us for this three-day summit and register to book seats in advance via the link below.

REGISTER NOW: https://www.ul.com/events/building-innovation-summit-2021

Preview the program schedule for each day.

The New Dice and Calipsa Present VPR on New Innovations of Interactive Video Monitoring

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Register now to attend a TMA Virtual Product Review presented by two TMA members who have partnered to innovate a new interactive video offering. The New Dice and Calipsa will provide a high level overview of DICE’s new generation of interactive video monitoring technologies – including cloud video recording, remote guarding, AI video analytics, data center (827), virtual scheduled guard tours and much more with Calipa’s event processing of video alerts.

REGISTER

New Standards Subcommittee Will Address NFPA 730 and 731

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NFPA 730 – Guide for Premises Security and NFPA 731 – Standard for the Installation of Electronic Premises Security Systems are two documents of interest to TMA and its membership.

 

TMA has created a sub-committee within the Standards Committee to monitor and influence these documents. Rick Sheets, who has been involved with these NFPA documents since 2005 and is a current sitting member of the Technical Committees, will lead this effort as the Chairman of the TMA NFPA 730/731 Subcommittee.

 

If you would like to take part in assisting TMA by volunteering to be on the TMA NFPA 730/731 Subcommittee, please contact Bryan Ginn at bginn@tma.us. If you have any questions about NFPA 730/731, please contact Rick Sheets at Rs8486@att.com or 940-390-6989.

 

We will schedule a meeting once the TMA committee members are onboard to begin reviewing the current public comments and discuss TMA’s position and any comments TMA should submit on behalf of our membership.

 

Below is the NFPA schedule for the documents:


Next Edition: 2023


Revision Cycle: Fall 2022

 

First Draft

• Public Input Closing Date: January 6, 2021

• First Draft Report Posting Date: October 27, 2021

 

Second Draft

• Public Comment Closing Date: January 5, 2022

• Second Draft Report Posting Date: October 5, 2022

 

Motions Committee Report (NITMAM)

• NITMAM Closing Date: November 2, 2022

• NITMAM Posting Date: December 14, 2022

Important info – Companies Operating in 540 Area Code

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To: Security & Alarm Companies doing business in the State of Virginia 540 Area Code

View information for the Virginia 540/826 Area Code Overlay as it related to providers in the 540 Area Code.

The 540 and 826 area codes cover the northwestern and southwestern portions of Virginia. Some of the larger cities include Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, Front Royal, Harrisonburg, Radford, Roanoke, Salem, Staunton, Waynesboro and Winchester.

As co-chairs of the Industry’s Virginia 540/826 Area Code Overlay Relief Implementation Committee, we ask that you read the attached information and distribute as needed within your organization.  We want to ensure all Alarm Companies and Security Providers have the information attached and are prepared with the dialing changes required.

If there are questions, you should reach out to your local service provider for more detailed information.

Co-Chairs for the VA 540/826 Area Code Industry Team:

Rita Schmitz, rita.schmitz@lumen.com

Chanda Brown, chanda.brown@verizon.com