Given an opportunity most people will steal something at some point in their lives. It could be from their employer, a business, or even a friend or neighbor. As abhorrent and cynical as it may sound, theft is a condition of life to which we have seemingly adapted. We have grown up in a culture of theft and theft-related events our entire lives. From television to movies and from to music to media, property theft is truly woven into the fabric of our lives.

United States Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration
Statement of John Sammon , Assistant Administrator, before the subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Committee on Homeland Security, United States House of Representatives
July 15, 2008

Air Cargo Screening and Security: A Collaborative Solution for Compliance

Erik Hoffer, President, Rigsecure.

Walt Beadling, Managing Partner, Cayuga Partners LLC

Security is a state of mind. When the general shipping public looks at air cargo and its intrinsic vulnerabilities they see a dynamic system that moves freight efficiently throughout the world. Little or no consideration is ever given to any threat to commerce through theft of goods, shipping contraband and especially not terrorism. What the security professional sees is quite different. With air cargo’s vulnerability to a disaster being but moments away, any informed evaluation of the threat to world commerce through the use of air cargo is a given. The simple truth is that the commercial supply chain is far from safe and no where near secure, yet in all of this controlled chaos, the system performs efficiently. How air cargo functions within the world supply chain given these threats is the basis of this article.

The top of the supply chain

By Erik Hoffer

The Strongest Link.

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Trying to separate fact from smoke:

A critical review of cargo security

Erik Hoffer, Seal Committee Chairman, International Cargo Security Council, NJ, USA

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On the road security

Erik Hoffer

Read Here in PDF format

Transport profitability is a delicate balance between ones ability to operate efficiently all the while avoiding adversity in the form of damage claims, theft control, asset management, fuel costs and driver turnover to mention a few. Besides being a formidable task, transportation providers seem to compete more on price than on the value added service they perform, therefore losses in any form reek havoc with their bottom line.

TRYING TO SEPARATE FACT FROM SMOKE IN CARGO SECURITY
By Erik Hoffer

Between terrorist threats and criminals looking to swindle goods, cargo security seals have grown increasingly more important -- and more sophisticated. Companies can now choose from a variety of mechanical and electronic seal options to protect their freight. To help narrow the choices, Erik Hoffer of CGM Applied Security Technologies Inc., a unit of New Jersey-based Digital Descriptor Systems, offers 10 tips for selecting the right cargo seals.

MANY OF OUR CLIENTS HAVE ASKED ME WHETHER OR NOT PUTTING A SUPER SEAL TAMPER EVIDENT MARKING ON A PACKAGE IS OF VALUE IN DETERRING CRIME. THEY WANT TO KNOW IF THE SUPERSEAL ITSELF BECOMES THE TRIGGER FOR A THIEF TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE PARTICULAR BOX CONTAINS VALUABLE GOODS. IS THE EARMARK THE SEAL OR IS IT THE GOODS? I HOPE THAT THE EXPLAINATION TOP FOLLOWS HELPS TO BRING OUT SOME ANSWERS TO THIS QUESTION.

In the most personal sense, getting your possessions back after a theft is of real importance. The memories, the attachment, the sense of closure and the reversal of the personal violation make recovery the most important factor in the tragedy. This is debatable however in a corporate sense.