Monitoring Matters

Let me just say that in these fraught and uncertain times, I am absolutely thrilled to write a security blog discussing two chuckle heads caught on kiss cam. Yes, you really can’t escape it this week, the workplace drama is strong! And I think everyone was happy for some distraction. If nothing else the shock and realization on the faces of Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot as they were caught in elicit embrace at a Coldplay concert will give me a warm little...

Nineteen years of security precedent were overturned on July 8 as the TSA repealed the rule requiring passengers take off their shoes for security screenings. Foul things are afoot with this recent ruling that much is sure. I can’t say it hurts my feelings to not have to go through the extra effort of removing my shoes every time I go through airport security anymore. Any frequent flyer can recognize the TSA line for the inconvenient quagmire of human misery that it appears to be. However,...

This week the security industry showcases the latest in theft protection and prevention at NRF Protect 2025. Judging by how eye watering my last grocery bill was I’d say retail entities attending the National Retail Federation's (NRF) conference have a lot of expensive merchandise to protect. The battle to deter theft has two front lines as well now, thanks to the explosion of online retail. We should also consider that the rise of AI-assisted tools has...

Drones are in the news this week, and while not as much as some other topics, I had a fool’s hope that they would remain separate. They didn’t obviously, but we’ll get there. Last week the White House issued two executive orders aimed at expanding commercial and public safety use of drone operations domestically and establishing a drone task force to evaluate drone threats. That preceding sentence is as innocent as it could possibly be written and if you can’t...

No news is good news as they say, but "they" are wrong, and I think we could use some exciting developments to shake things up. Okay, that came out slightly more cursed than I was intending, I realize that things are a little too exciting all the time right now, but I mean in a fun way, not a log into my email and see just what went wrong today way. There have been a couple of high-profile acquisitions of course, but I see that all the time now. Show me the exciting new tech! Show...

This week in Monitoring Matters, we look at all the money flowing through the border, namely out of our pockets and toward the border. That’s right, President Trump’s recently released discretionary budget has no room for science, art, or education, but a blank check for so called border security enforcement. Towards which end the administration has called for 20,000 new ICE agents who, according to current events, don’t answer to the courts. To say the situation...

The current U.S. administration’s fixation on the dismantling of public agencies has set its sights on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and it couldn’t be at a worse time. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s oversight at the agency recently has painted a bleak picture of the future of the CISA, and all signs point to yet another tombstone on Capitol Hill in the name of “Returning money to taxpayers.” If you think any of that...

I want to take a step back this week from discussing the security industry to discuss a personal topic, the passing of a friend and a colleague who shaped my views on journalism. On April 7, former reporter and then editor of the Copper Era newspaper, Walter “Walt” Mares,  passed away at the age of 71. He was there when I began my first job in the newspaper industry, and he can’t be described as having been anything less than larger-than-life. He was as old-school as the...

Now, I don’t want to say I told you so, but if you follow this blog and you thought this wasn’t going to come up again you owe me a whole basket of Easter candy, or at least the acknowledgment that we are still going to be talking about tariffs. If you follow our articles and blogs closely, you’re probably not shocked by this week’s topic (or just read the news in general).  Editor Cory Harris talked about this in February, I posted my own blog about it in November...

If you smell something burning this week don’t be too concerned, it’s probably U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s ears. I really, and I cannot stress this enough, REALLY didn’t want to discuss politics this or any week, but I don’t think we can let such a huge disruption in the security sphere pass by without comment. Operational Security (OPSEC) has been a guiding principle for members of the military since antiquity, and the word has entered the lexicon in...