Blue Star Security llc

Tag: security services

  • Investigations

    Investigations

    Private Investigator Chicago

    Blue Star Security is a full-service, licensed and insured investigative firm. We provide professional, confidential and cost-effective investigative solutions nationwide. All of our investigators are off duty police officers.

    We offer investigative solutions for insurance fraud, workers’ compensation, claims of disability, infidelity investigations, cohabitation, civil investigations and criminal investigations.

    Our team provides our valued clients with the professional investigative consulting necessary to resolve conflict with fact-finding and analysis along with definitive, timely court ready documentation.

    Our experienced, skilled team of investigators with backgrounds within the law enforcement industry are dedicated to providing the detailed information that will assist you in making informed decisions.

    Blue Star Security’s investigators seek out new techniques and procedures as well as maintaining close ties to former law enforcement colleagues. We are committed to utilizing the latest technology available. Our investigative expertise resolves investigations promptly and discreetly with minimal disruption and superior service.

  • Five Things You Need To Know About Executive Protection

    Five Things You Need To Know About Executive Protection

    Protecting executives today is about much more than physically shielding them from danger. The cyber security risks are higher than ever, and organizations need to ensure that the network and data access many high-level executives have doesn’t become an easy entry point for attackers.

    CSOs and CISOs need to make executive protection a high priority for the organization. Here are five fundamentals that security leaders should keep in mind.

     

    1. Conduct a risk analysis

    The first step CSOs and CISOs need to take is to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis. This includes identifying those individuals in the organization who are critical to the business and likely targets, and assessing the impact to the organization if they are the victims of attacks.

    Some questions to ask as part of the analysis: Has there been a history of threats against any of these executives? Do they travel regularly to dangerous places? To what kinds of attacks are they most vulnerable?

    Once you’ve determined which individuals need protection, learn about their public and private lifestyles—to the extent that it makes sense and can help reduce the risk factor. This step requires the executive’s full cooperation, because you will need to know all about the work and home life of the individual. Look into how easy it is for someone to get information on the executive and his or her family.

    Based on what you learn about executives, you can get a clearer picture of what kinds of risks your facing and what security measures you’ll need to take. It’s important to keep in mind that risks are ever-changing, so you need to establish a baseline level of security for executives that can be increased as needed.

     

    2. Make a strong case for protection, even if executives resist

    Some executives will no doubt be unhappy about having their work and personal life under scrutiny, but that’s part of the price of achieving success in business and having lots of responsibility. To make this less of an ordeal for everyone involved, CSOs and CISOs need to demonstrate to executives why security is so important. One way to do this is to have executives pay attention to what they see when they do simple Google searches of their names.

    Another way to demonstrate to executives how much of a target they are is to have them look in their email spam filters to see how many phishing emails have been sent to them. Fortunately, these emails didn’t reach the inbox and trigger an attack, but the sheer volume of these attempts should get the point across.

     

    3. Ensure that executives’ personal and work devices are secure

    Many business operations and interactions today take place via mobile devices, and a lot of executives are likely to be using the same devices for work and personal reasons. It’s ideal if they use different devices, such as smartphones, for work and home, but executives often won’t accept this. You might want to consider pushing for a company policy dictating how many and which devices can have for work and how they can be used.

    In any case, it’s imperative that any devices executives use for business be highly secure and have the latest protections. All sensitive data should be encrypted and the devices should be protected via an enterprise mobility management (EMM) platform.

    Part of ensuring the security of mobile devices includes evaluating not just the devices used by the executives, but those of their immediate family members within the household as well. That means determining whether each of the devices has password protection, updated operating systems, updated antivirus software, and so on.

     

    4. Educate executives about attacks such as phishing

    Business executives are among the biggest targets of phishing and whaling attacks, in large part because they have such a high level of access to important data. It’s vital that executives know what to look for that would indicate such an attack.

    In general, it’s a good idea for executives to be vigilant in how they handle email. A big set of scams is now the ‘CEO phishing,’ when an adversary sends out email pretending to be the CEO working on a clandestine deal, needing assistance. Modern email clients can make it hard to tell when a message comes from outside the organization, but not all do. Consider advising your company to tag, or change colors, of all messages from outside the company.

     

    5. Create and enforce rules for executive travel

    Most executives are on the road quite a bit, for industry events, speaking engagements, or visits to clients. This puts them at risk, especially if the travel plans are well known ahead of time.

    It’s important to have in place and enforce policies about what is and is not permitted during travel. This might include not allowing key executives to travel together at the same time and via the same mode of transportation.

    The travel policy should cover the use of mobile devices on the road. For example, executives should not be allowed to take their main work laptop computer on a business trip, but instead use a loaner device that does not have any sensitive data stored.

  • Airport Security Tips

    Airport Security Tips

    It’s that time of the year when everyone starts to plan vacations, or starts to travel more for work purposes. With airports busier than ever, airline staffing reductions creating longer lines at check-in, and airport security wait times that can be entirely unpredictable, the old airport “two-hour” rule often leaves just minutes to spare to buy a magazine, grab a snack or hustle your kids into the bathroom.

    If you plan to join the estimated 2.5 million people who go through TSA checkpoints every day, the agency has the following tips for you:

     

    1. You can carry small amounts of liquids or gels by following the TSA’s 3-1-1 rule. That means carrying liquid containers with no more than 3.4 ounces of capacity (or about 100 milliliters); collecting those small bottles in a single one-quart, clear plastic bag; and only one such bag per traveler. When you get to the checkpoint, place the bag in the bin for screening. If you’re traveling with large quantities of breast milk or infant formula, let a TSA agent know.

     

    2. Keep larger bottles of liquids, gels, creams and aerosols, such as shampoo or suntan lotion, in checked luggage. Given the fees airlines charge for checked luggage – and additional charges for exceeding the specified weight – it may be cheaper to buy the sunscreen at your destination.

     

    3. Don’t bring prohibited items. They won’t fly, regardless of whether they’re inside carry-on or checked luggage.

     

    4. Pack knives in checked luggage. Blades of any size – even that little bitty one on a corkscrew – cannot accompany a passenger into the cabin.

     

    5. Firearms can be transported in checked luggage only, and you’ll need to tell the ticketing agent when you surrender your luggage at the counter. If you try to pack your sidearm in the carry-on luggage – or you forget – you’re liable to be arrested.

     

    6. Consider wearing accessories that are easy to remove and leave the bulky jewelry and large belts in your checked bags. Be ready with your ID and boarding pass when you reach the checkpoint. Remove laptops and other large electronic devices. If just discovered that your driver’s license has expired or you lost your ID and lack a passport or other documentation, you can still fly. You just have to go through the TSA’s identity verification process.

     

    7. Apply for TSA Pre-Check or other programs such as, Global Entry that are designed to expedite the screening process. Travelers in TSA Pre-check do not have to remove shoes, belts, laptops and liquids.

     

    8. People with disabilities, or their families who have questions about screening can call the TSA Cares helpline toll-free at 855-787-2227. For assistance going through security, call at least 72 hours before the flight.

     

    9. If you have questions, you can check the TSA website’s feature “When I fly, can I bring my _____?” Type in the item and it’ll let you know if you’re good to go. You can also get real-time assistance by tweeting to @AskTSA or contacting the agency through Facebook Messenger from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays. You can also call the TSA Contact Center at 866-289-9673, which provides staff and automated service. Staff are available from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

  • So, you got hacked?

    So, you got hacked?

    Weak website security and poor personal cyber-security hygiene have made getting hacked these days just as common as losing your wallet. It has happened to me, it has happened to my friends and family and it will most likely happen to you at some point.

     

    So, in case you have just been hacked, or just wanted be prepared for if it ever happens to you, I asked some cybersecurity experts what you should do in case your personal information is stolen. Here’s what they had to say.

     

    Understanding the Scope of the Breach:

    There are many different ways that you can be hacked. You can have very sensitive information stolen, or just a few passwords and users names tied to accounts you no longer use. The first step is finding out how much information a hacker may have. If your banking accounts have been made vulnerable then try to track down the source of the breach. From there you can decide what passwords or information has been stolen.

     

    Immediately Freeze Your Accounts:

    If you have noticed suspicious activity on your banking accounts, notify your bank as soon as possible and freeze your account. Have them disable your current card information and send you a new debit card in the mail. It may take a few days to receive the new card, but you’ll be glad you cut off the hacker before they use your account information for more purchases. If it is one of your credit accounts that has been hacked, cyber-security experts advise that you close the account immediately and freeze your credit altogether.

     

    Change Your Passwords:

    Once you freeze all your banking accounts, or any account that has been hacked, the next step is to secure all your online accounts, and update your passwords.

    Invest some time in creating strong passwords for each of the websites you use. I suggest using a password manager that will keep track of and even create strong passwords for you so you don’t have to remember what password matches with what account.

    If an online account provides two-factor authentication to access the account, take advantage of that. By using two-factor authentication, you are making it that much harder for a hacker to gain access to your information.

    Usually if an account uses two-factor authentication, they will send a text or email to you with a code for you to fill out in order to verify that you are the authentic user of the account. This ensures the security of your account because the chances a hacker would have access to your account’s login information and your email login or mobile phone are very slim.

     

    Dispute the Charges with Your Bank:

    While getting hacked doesn’t always mean your all information is taken. In the case that your money is used to pay for something you did not receive, you can dispute the charges with your bank.

    Be sure to keep detailed records of the charges you are unfamiliar with, such as dates the charges were made, where and for how much. Have this information handy when you talk to the representative from you bank in order to speed up the process.

     

    Set Up Transaction Notifications:

    In order to ensure you know exactly what is on with your personal banking accounts, sign up for payment notifications. Usually banks will let you sign up to be notified every time your account is used to pay for something.

    If the transaction was made by you, then everything is fine! But if someone does have your information, you will know exactly the moment when they try to use your card. By doing this, you can hope to stop the hacker before any more purchases are made.

     

    Be Preventative:

    After you’ve finished those steps, work to be preventative from future cyber attacks. Implement and actually use your password manager and consider using a money sharing application like PayPal to pay for things online rather than giving your payment information to every online shopping boutique you purchase items from.

    When paying with your card in person, make sure that the device you are paying through hasn’t been tampered with. Many credit card thieves use devices known as “skimmers” that look like real payment devices but are used to lift your information. These devices often go undetected at gas pumps.

    Getting hacked is violating and inconvenient at best, but it doesn’t have to ruin your life. There are steps to take to get everything back on track and to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

  • Community Love and Support

    Community Love and Support

    At Blue Star Security LTD, we are committed to serving and protecting our community. We believe that we can make a difference through exemplary behavior and daily good deeds. We are committed to helping everyone and throughout their walks in life. It is through hard work, kindness, compassion and a helping hand that we can change the world.

    We could not be more than thankful for all of our clients hard work, and support. Blue Star Security believes that good business starts with good people doing good and giving back, as this drives the fundamentals of success. From participation in charity events sponsored by iF Charities, Susan G. Komen, St. Baldricks, and The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, to offering and encouraging company initiatives; we set our goals high when it comes to the well-being of our sponsors, employees, guests, and their communities.

    Blue Star Security specializes in event security like 5K Runs, Concerts or Charitable Fundraisers. We provide first class protection delivering a safe environment for all those in attendance which enhances their quality of life and makes our community safer.

  • Public Space Safety

    Public Space Safety

    Over the past several years we’ve seen an increase in attacks focused on public spaces. There is no safe-haven in today’s societal landscape that would allow any public service or business to conclude that they are not a target. Hospitals are no exception.

     

    Thwarting a terrorist attack through intelligence gathering or law enforcement techniques is always preferable, but securing our buildings and infrastructure is increasingly seen as a necessary line of defense in any coordinated anti-terrorist program. In particular are the vulnerabilities presented by open public space. These spaces are where you find the true exploitable “soft targets” that threat actors like to take advantage of.

     

    Increasing Terror Concerns:

    While the threat of terrorist attacks has increased over the last several years, so has the ability of security professionals to mitigate the physical, economic and social damage, as well as loss of life, associated with these events in a cost-effective way. By learning from past experiences, taking advantage of advancing technical capabilities and using state-of-the-art technology, the design community has been able to respond to the increased need for security.

     

    More Bang for the Buck: 

    Hospital administrators want to get the most out of the money they are spending on security. Establishing the foundation by outlining threats and vulnerabilities to the facilities creates a list to mitigate. This can be used to find the technology that will best address the security considerations. Hospital security professionals should be able to link the purchase of specific security technology to the risk they are looking to address. Some security technology platforms, such as video-analytics, can assist security teams in addressing a variety of concerns. More than ever before, security technologies can provide more situational awareness for hospital staff.

     

     

  • Summer Concert and Music Festival Safety

    Summer Concert and Music Festival Safety

    Music festivals and concerts are intended to be fun, exciting, and potentially transcendent, but they also raise safety and security concerns for people who attend them as well as organize them.

    This past weekend at Summer Camp Music Festival, in Chillicothe, IL, attendees are complaining about the lack of security. Whereas some people appreciate the lack of security, so that way they could get away with sneaking stuff in, which shouldn’t be happening. When first getting into the festival, GA security did search all bags, however, not as strong as what they should be. We are trusting the festival workers with our lives for the next 4 days, and the last thing we need to worry about it something tragic happening. Then people won’t be complaining as much of “too chill” of security once their safety is put at risk. I will gladly wait an additional amount of time if that meant my safety is put into more consideration.

    Make no mistake about it, bad things do happen, and if you don’t know how to stay safe at concerts and festivals, they can happen to you, too.

     

    Speaking as someone who’s lived it, here are my top tips on how to ensure you stay safe while you have fun! 

    Don’t go alone, and go with someone you trust.
    One of the key things to acknowledge when learning how to stay safe at a music festival is the power of large numbers. Going to festivals with large groups of friends is a good way to make sure that you have emergency contacts, that you won’t be stranded without a ride home, and that someone will help you out in the event that your stuff is stolen.

    If you have to go solo, make an effort to chat up people as soon as you get there.
    Chatting people up and introducing yourself isn’t just a good way to make new friends. It also can save your life. Groups are more likely to protect people they know, which means that chatting others up can boost your chances of staying safe.
    The buddy system works, even if you just met new friends. 

    Watch your drinks.
    As bad as it is for me to admit, I know there’s a reason why music festivals have such a bad reputation for date rape drugs. There are creeps out there who slip stuff in other peoples’ drinks, and only you can make sure they don’t do that to yours.

    Keep hydrated, and take a break if you need to!
    Even if you just drank 3 water bottles, force yourself to drink more. Know your limits and boundaries, don’t feel bad if you have to go sit off to the side for 15 minutes to rest and refuel!Always keep an eye on your surroundings. 
    If something, or someone seems off to you, go find a worker or an officer and alert them. Especially if you see someone trying to open someone’s backpack, pit-pocket, or break into someone’s tent, speak up!We here at Blue Star Security care about the safety and well-being of the people who attend any event. You can contact us today to learn more information about our event security, and all of our other security services!
  • Tips On Keeping Your Home Safe This Summer

    Tips On Keeping Your Home Safe This Summer

    Whether you’re on vacation, down the street at the farmers market, or in the backyard enjoying your summer, you want to make sure you’re house will be safe. There’s statistics showing that most home burglaries increase during the summer time months.

    One of the many things people tend to do is leaving the garage open, or one of the doors unlocked while just going down the street for 5 minutes, or being in the backyard with the kids. Which gives access to others to barge in.

    A variety of factors may contribute to the increased rates of home invasion, including:

    • More time away from home, due to vacations and family activities
    • Windows left open for ventilation
    • Children and teens running in and out and forgetting to lock doors or arm security systems behind them
    • More home repairs and maintenance, increasing the number of “strangers” with access to your home

     

    Following these safety precautions can help you to reduce the likelihood that you will be a victim of a burglary this summer.

    1. If you do not already have one, install a wireless security system from a reputable dealer.
    2. Remember to lock all windows and doors securely when leaving your home, even for short periods of time.
    3. If you have hollow doors, replace them with solid wood or metal. Hollow doors are easily kicked open.
    4. Use a piece of wood or track lock for sliding glass doors to prevent opening when you are out or sleeping.
    5. Don’t leave windows opened and unlocked at night.
    6. Remove shrubbery and trees that block the view of windows and doors. These can provide excellent screens for burglars forcing entry into a home.
    7. Consider adding security lighting to the outside of your home.
    8. When leaving on vacation, ask a neighbor to keep an eye on your house and bring in mail and newspapers, so it’s not obvious to passersby that you’ve been away from the home.
  • Top 10 Mobile Security Tips

    Top 10 Mobile Security Tips

    With summer and festival season getting into full swing soon, you’ll want to stay connected to travel and social media apps more than ever. But it’s important to be hyper-aware that cyber thieves are on the prowl for your personal, financial and location information.

    When traveling, like many of us will be doing this Memorial Day, your digital security risks can increase. But just a few thoughtful steps can reduce your digital security risks while traveling this holiday season.

     

    TOP 10 MOBILE SECURITY TIPS

    1. Before you leave, make sure that your device’s software is up-to-date. Consider removing older applications that you no longer use.
    2. Keep your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interfaces off when they are not in use.
    3. Avoid using PUBLIC WI-FI HOTSPOTS. Public Wi-Fi hotspots usually have no encryption. Such as, malicious actors within a certain physical distance from you can eavesdrop on your communications. If you do use public Wi-Fi, try to use it only for basic browsing and applications that do not involve personal data. Try to avoid logging into sites or accounts that contain sensitive data, such as your bank. If you find yourself needing to use public Wi-Fi often, you should consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The other concern with using public hotspots is that it is dangerous to have a saved Wi-Fi profile where the connection has no password or a well-known password. In this situation, it is trivial for an attacker to deploy a fake access point and trick your device into unexpectedly connecting to a hostile network.
    4. Consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). In the previous tip, it was suggested that you shouldn’t use public Wi-Fi due to unencrypted wireless communication unless you use a VPN. However, a VPN can be useful even if you don’t use Wi-Fi. A VPN will create an encrypted connection for you so that your data is protected before it enters the network. The VPN serves as a secure tunnel between your device and the Internet. This feature provides extra assurances that no sensitive data will be exposed to a malicious wireless operator.
    5. Password protect your phone with a PIN, or better yet a passphrase. Devices can be easily lost or stolen. This is never a fun event. In the unfortunate event that your device goes missing, keeping it secure with a PIN or passphrase will prevent malicious actors from accessing the physical device and then stealing your personal information.
    6. Encrypt your device. Similar to having the device PIN protected, encrypting the device adds a layer of protection to your data in the event that a malicious actor gets access to the physical device.
    7. Consider using the vendor provided GPS-based device location service. In the event that you lose your device, you can find the device or even remotely wipe it if you are worried about data loss. For those with Android devices, ‘Android Device Manager’ or the recently released ‘Find Device’ apps are both tied to your Google Account, while Apple users can use ‘Find My iPhone’, tied to their Apple ID.
    8. Prior to leaving your home network, you should configure any applications that you think you will require while you are out and about. For example, if you plan on using Uber, make sure that your Uber account is setup and that your payment information is configured. Not only do you avoid transmitting that payment information while you’re out; you avoid anyone reading off your credit card number as you enter it.
    9. Enable 2FA (two-factor authentication) for applications that support it.
    10. If you need to use your mobile device as a personal hotspot, ensure that the hotspot name reveals no personal details, use a strong password, and monitor the number of connected devices to ensure that no one else is accessing your connection.
  • Tips On Keeping Your Kids Safe This Summer

    Tips On Keeping Your Kids Safe This Summer

    Dust off your grill and grab your swimsuits, because summer is almost here! And you know what that means! A time for lazy days at the pool, exciting trips, and plenty of sun and fun. But if you’re like most parents, you struggle with the balance between allowing your children the freedom to gain independence and keeping them safe and protected.

     

    Summer Safety Tips:

     

    #1 – Sun Safety: Sunburns aren’t just painful; they can also increase a child’s risk of developing skin cancer later in life. Send your child to camp wearing a hat with a brim (preferably one that shades the face, ears, and neck) and apply sunscreen with at least SPF 15 and UVA and UVB protection. Encourage your child to drink 5 to 6 glasses of water a day to protect from dehydration.

    #2 – Safety Plan: Getting lost in a public area can be scary for unprepared kids – which is why it’s important to arm your child with a safety plan. First off, you’ll want to make sure your child has your phone number and address memorized. But in most generations now, children at the age of 8 have IPhones. Also make your child knows that if she/he gets lost, she/he should stay in the same area so that you can find her/him, and she/he should ask someone in a uniform or a mother with children for help.

    #3 – Personal Safety: Sit down with your child and teach her/him about personal safety rules. She/He should know that there’s a difference between “good” and “bad.” Also, that it’s okay to say “no” if someone asks him to do something that makes her/him feel uncomfortable, and that no one should ever ask her/him to keep a secret from her/his parents.

    #4 – Communication: One of the most important parts of keeping your child safe is making sure to keep an open line of communication at all times. Encourage your child to speak up if she/he feels uncomfortable about something, and if your child wants to talk, make the time to do so. Most importantly, try to be positive when your child does confide in you, rather than harping on what she/he did wrong that caused the situation.