Happy New Year

Vinson Guard Service, Incorporated would like to take this opportunity to wish all our clients, readers and friends a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. As you commit to your new resolutions for 2010, we sincerely wish you success with these resolutions and hope the results make positive changes in your life.

Vinson Guard Service, Incorporated is now entering its 47th year of business in the security industry. Over the past 46 years Vinson has gone from a three employee company to now an estimated 1600. Besides having one of the finest reputations in the security industry because of the commitment we make to our clients, did you also know that Vinson:

• Is still Family Owned and Family Operated
• Has 23 fully staffed branch offices in 6 states
• Is just a phone call away. You won’t be waiting hours to see a local supervisor or have to make several calls to eventually speak with the right person
• Has one of the best Employee Benefits Programs in the industry
• Offers the strongest Security Management in the industry at the most competitive price
• Recruitment, screening, hiring and training procedures exceed industry standards
• New Orleans office employees have over 200 years combined service for Vinson
• Logo is an impression of founder, Joseph D. Vinson, Sr's right thumbprint

Facebook and Twitter Threaten Cyber Security in 2010

Technical security specialist McAfee is predicting that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter may be major catalysts for cyber crime in 2010.  In McAfee's 2010 Threat Prediction report, the company warns that cyber criminals will target end users of social networking websites and other third party applications. "Over the past decade, we've seen a tremendous improvement in the ability to successfully monitor, uncover, and stop cyber crime," said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Labs, in a statement. "We're now facing emerging threats from the explosive growth of social networking sites, the exploitation of popular applications and more advanced techniques used by cyber criminals." Green concluded that McAfee was confident that cyber security professions would be successful in thwarting attacks in 2010. 

Source: IT Pro

Tighter Security Could Cost Airlines if Travel Demand Drops

According to analysts, U.S. airlines could lose hundreds of millions of dollars if a small percentage of travelers stay home rather than face tighter airport security. Vaughn Cordle of AirlineForecasts warns that a 1 percent drop in travel demand could be equal to a revenue hit of almost $1 billion. A 1% drop in demand is equal to just two or three passengers staying off every flight. And that shows how fragile the profit-and-loss picture is for an industry in which a group of 10 big U.S. airlines has lost about $60 billion over the last nine years. The good news for airlines, however, is consumers often adjust to new threats and to new security procedures quickly. Travel typically rebounds after an initial drop-off following a highly publicized attack. Major U.S. airlines did receive one good sign, preliminary results from a survey of corporate travel managers done for the National Business Travel Association indicate that only 42% say the failed Christmas Day attack raised new safety concerns for them.

Source: USA Today

U.S. Struggles to Recruit Computer Security Experts

As network attacks rise in frequency and sophistication, the U.S. federal government is finding it difficult to recruit and fill positions for computer security professionals ranging from technicians to policymakers. As demand intensifies, several government agencies have found themselves in a bidding war for top computer security talent. In some cases, the scarcity for top talent with security clearances is driving up potential salaries and benefits according to industry officials. The crunch comes at a time when the Pentagon is attempting to staff its new Cyber Command, and the Department of Homeland Security plans to expand their cyber force by 1,000 people in the next few years. The lack of trained defenders for these networks is leading to serious gaps in protection and significant losses of intelligence, national security experts said. The Government Accountability Office told a Senate panel in November that the number of scans, probes and attacks reported to the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team has more than tripled, from 5,500 in 2006 to 16,840 in 2008.

Source: The Washington Post

QUOTE: "Drama is very important in life: You have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper." - Julia Child