You may have thought all the security effects of 9/11 were
taking place in airports, but a major response to terrorism is also
taking place in the workplace. Security-related technologies are no
longer just water-cooler fodder--they're being implemented
among both large and small businesses.
Consider the services offered by PaperlessPOBox Inc., a San
Francisco-based company that opened for business September 11,
2001, with a demonstration of its e-mail service planned that day
in lower Manhattan. The terrorist attacks postponed the
demonstration, but the anthrax attacks that followed gave the
company an unexpected boost, though company founder David Nale says
most customers use his service out of convenience, not fear.
When customers sign up with PaperlessPOBox, they receive a P.O.
box at a post office near the company's processing facility in
San Francisco. Customers then give that address to mailers.
PaperlessPOBox employees pick up the mail delivered to the P.O.
boxes each morning and bring it to the processing center, where
it's scanned into a computer and e-mailed to customers that
day.
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"Some heard about us through the media after 9/11 and came
to us because they didn't want to touch their mail," Nale
says. "A mailing services company needed us to handle mail for
its clients, since its facilities were shut down as a result of an
anthrax scare."
One entrepreneur who signed on with PaperlessPOBox for its
convenience--but who's pleased the service offers an extra
layer of security--is Michael D. Moore, 39, president of San
Francisco-based EcoReefs, which manufactures ceramic artificial
reef systems. "The service definitely offers a security
bonus," says Moore. "We're in a home office
environment and don't have a mail room that screens our mail,
so when the anthrax scares took place, we were concerned."
After 9/11, entrepreneurs also became more interested in
smart-card technology and realized smart cards aren't just for
securing airline terminals. The size of an ID badge or credit card,
smart cards can store data, such as an individual's photo,
address and fingerprints, thereby providing easy and instant
identification of users.
More companies are looking at biometrically encoded smart cards
as a way to protect physical property, using them to validate
access to everything from data centers to executive suites. In the
future, companies may take smart cards a step further and use them
as universal employee ID cards that seamlessly control access to
specific networks and facilities.
While most entrepreneurs have yet to sign on for full-fledged
smart-card programs, "small businesses will benefit from the
advances the government and larger enterprises are
generating," says Randy Vanderhoof, acting president and CEO
of Smart Card Alliance, an industry association. "These
organizations and businesses are working on generating smart-card
systems and solutions right now that will then trickle down in the
marketplace for smaller companies."
It remains to be seen what the products or systems will look
like and who will manufacture them-whether it will be the system
integrators or the card manufacturers, for example. However,
Vanderhoof says that "a byproduct of these systems will be
available on a much smaller scale down the line, making this
commercially available to smaller enterprises and
entrepreneurs."
One reason entrepreneurs may want to take a closer look at
smart-card technology is because a recent Harris Interactive survey
found most employees and managers felt their employers should be
strengthening ID procedures for entering premises and accessing
computer systems, and doing more detailed background checks on job
applicants. Four out of five respondents also were willing to have
an employer-issued ID card to enhance workplace security.
What's the next step? Business leaders are developing a
secure phone network to efficiently communicate with each other and
government leaders in case of a terrorist attack or natural
disaster. The high-security communications network-called CEO
Link-will help bring CEOs and government officials together to help
communicate timely threat information and figure out what needs to
be done to ensure the security of workers and communities. CEO Link
will also fill several practical needs, such as keeping tabs on
energy and telecommunication issues in an emergency.
The network is being built by AT&T and members of the
Business Roundtable, a group of about 150 CEOs of major U.S.
companies. Initially, only members of the Business Roundtable will
have access to the network, but a BRT spokesperson expected it to
expand to more businesses, entrepreneurs and government
agencies.
Contact Sources
- The Business Roundtable
1615 L St. N.W., #1100, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 872-1260