INDUSTRY NEWS

At A Glance

We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry. Here's what's appeared on the radar since the last issue.

Bodyguard Sues Kris Jenner for $3m, alleging Sexual Harassment

Kris Jenner is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit after being accused of sexual harassment by a former security guard. He is asking for $3 million dollars in damages. Marc McWilliams accused the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star of behaving inappropriately while working as a bodyguard for the reality TV family.

“(The security guard) seeks to recover his damages, which arose from unwanted sexual and gender harassment. (He) repeatedly complained to supervisors and human resources, but no action was taken employer. Defendants clearly retaliated against (him) for lodging complaints about said misconduct and terminated him on or about September 2019,” the new filing reads. The ex-bodyguard alleges that he was the victim of unwanted contact, including— ”Massaging (his) neck, shoulders, arms and back without consent, causing her hand to rest on (his) thigh and groin, causing her pelvis to rub against (his) back and/or rearend without consent or approval, causing her hands to come into contact with (his) rear-end without consent or approval.”

Kris Jenner has denied the allegations and is threatening to countersue both McWilliams and his attorney for malicious prosecution. Jenner’s attorney issued a statement to the outlet, clarifying that the matriarch “vehemently denies” the claims, calling the lawsuit, “absurd claims as completely fabricated and false fiction without a scrap of truth to them.”

‘Industry-first’ ethical Automated Facial Recognition framework launched by BSIA

The video surveillance section of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has launched an ethical and legal use guide for Automated Facial Recognition (AFR), covering guidance for use, definitions, data privacy and more.

The guide is said to be the first of its kind, following recommendations on responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and encompasses useful terms and abbreviations, ethical uses, and further support and advice. The guide has a specific focus on distinctive application types verification (is it you?) and identification (who is it?). It is intended for use by system designers, installers/integrators and end-users. While it does not cover technical elements of AFR technology, it defines important steps to take into account, including an assessment of the need for AFR in given situations.

Dave Wilkinson, Director of Technical Services at the BSIA who is leading the BSIA’s AFR working group said: “This collaborative piece of work among industry experts has produced a guide with advice and recommendations on ethical and legal AFR usage, which will appeal to anyone in or out of the physical security industry. Its aim is to ensure it does not cause harm or discriminate against any persons in either a public or private setting.

Drone users face new rules across Europe and UK

New rules have come into force governing how pilots can operate their drones. They harmonise the rules across all EU member states, Norway and Iceland – and will also be mirrored by the UK.

A major change is the removal of the distinction between commercial and recreational use, which may result in an increase in drone uses. The new rules also make it clear where drones can be flown, while also making tracing of ownership more streamlined.

Under the rules, even small drones will need to be registered with the relevant aviation authority, which in the UK is the Civil Aviation Authority. This is to ensure that authorities can trace who owns a drone if they are used in an irresponsible way or flown somewhere they are not allowed to be used.

Under the rules, there will be three new types of drone category: high, medium and low.

The low-risk category, which accounts for the majority of hobbyist drones, will be managed through the CE mark, which is a process for products sold in Europe to ensure they meet health, safety and environmental standards.

But drones within this category will also have additional rules about where they can be flown.

With a potential increase in the use of drones, security professionals may want to reassess their airborne perimeter security processes, especially those in the critical national infrastructure sectors.

The new rules will also be useful for event management security teams. With hope for physical events and spectators returning to venues for 2021 as vaccines are rolled out across the world, there may be potential for an increase in drone activity that will need to be monitored and evaluated based on the new rules.

US House members ask for more security amid fears they're targets

Letter sent to Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy asks if Congress members can use personal allowances for additional security

Pervasive fear among some members of Congress that they will be the targets of further politically motivated violence following the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol has led more than 30 of them write a letter to House leaders.

The group sent the letter to the House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Republican minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, asking for more support over security concerns.

As the less senior politicians do not have personal protection services provided by the government around the clock, they are asking if they may use their personal allowances for additional security costs in their home districts, such as for hiring local law enforcement or other security personnel.

Fears are heightened in the wake of the Capitol riot on 6 January by supporters of the then president, Donald Trump, after he exhorted them at a rally near the White House beforehand to march on Congress and overturn his election defeat.

But given raised political tensions, they requested that their allowances should also cover security upgrades at their district offices, local law enforcement or other security personnel, and other security measures to protect them in their homes.

According to the letter, there has been a nearly fivefold increase in threats against members in recent years.

Macron’s former bodyguard to face criminal trial

Alexandre Benalla charged for wrongfully using diplomatic passports.

Alexandre Benalla, former head of security at the office of French president Emmanuel Macron, will face trial in a criminal court in Paris for wrongfully using diplomatic passports, local media reported citing judicial sources.

He was placed in a correctional facility for the trial on Jan. 25. The Paris Prosecutor's Office had asked Benalla to appear in court over the allegations last September.

Following his indictment in the 2018 case for violence against civilian protesters during May day demonstrations, Benalla was dismissed from the Elysee.

An investigation in January 2019 charged him for traveling on the diplomatic passport for his new role as an international security consultant, a report in the Le Monde newspaper said.

It added that last February, the investigating judges indicted him for “forgery and use of forgery” on the service passport, on a fraudulent letterhead of the Elysee, which was not signed.

The 30-year-old has also been part of security campaigns of former president Francois Hollande, and headed Macron’s security since his presidential campaign in 2017. Besides, he is under investigation in five other judicial inquiries. Source >

Security chief ‘burgled UAE London Embassy in blackmail plot’

LONDON: A security chief and his accomplice, a former Royal Marine, have been charged with burgling the UAE’s London Embassy in an attempt to use blackmail to secure £3 million ($4.1 million).

Dean Manister, the former head of corporate security operations at the embassy, and Lee Hurford, a former Royal Marine who also worked there, allegedly broke into the Belgravia building’s secure area to steal passports, money, and confidential documents.

A court in Westminster, London heard how the pair had planned to extort £3 million from a VIP at the embassy in exchange for the items, which were stolen on the night of Sept. 14, 2018, according to The Times newspaper.

Manister, 50, was previously head of security at a Bank of England cash center for seven years and has also worked as assistant vice president of security at JP Morgan. In his online profile at security firm FSI, where he is employed as a consultant, Manister is described as having “unmatched experience of manned guarding in the corporate sector” and a “vast knowledge of security systems, access control, fire, life and safety, and alarm and response.”

FSI told The Times that Manister “emphatically denies the allegations made against him” and that his lawyers are confident he will be acquitted.

Hurford, 48, from Leeds, is a former Royal Marines Commando who was employed as a close protection guard at the embassy. He and Hurford are jointly accused of burglary and conspiracy to blackmail.

Hurford appeared in court via video link from his home and was also charged with theft after allegedly stealing passports, a security card, and almost £70,000 in cash from the embassy.

The President's lead Secret Service agent is American

Following the inauguration of the U.S. President Joe Biden, internet observers began commenting on images of the new leader’s security detail, including an agent of Asian descent apparently in charge of the presidential protection team. For some, this led them to the racist and baseless conclusion that this agent was from the Chinese Communist Party, who was there to “protect their property”

the agent in question is a decorated Korean-American Secret Service agent who has also served in former president Donald Trump’s protective detail. As reported by The Washington Post in late December 2020, Cho was recently selected to be the lead agent for Biden’s detail:

The Secret Service … plans to name a new special agent to lead the Biden presidential detail, David Cho, according to the people familiar with the changes. Known as a perfectionist supervisor, he had risen to become the second-incommand of the protective detail during the Trump administration.

Cho was awarded the Department of Homeland Security’s gold medal for exceptional service in 2019 for his negotiations with North Korean officials to arrange security for Trump’s historic visit there, while still overseeing security planning at the White House complex.