Managing Risk more important now .....

2008 and beyond, we have moved into new territory for managing risk at the macro level.

Companies and individuals are starting to see that risks exist that can wipe them out.....it just could not happen to them.

From the banking sector, mortgages, to even the value of the dollar that everything you own is based on is at risk.

We have extreme concentration of power and money in sectors now, single points of failure that can fail three times or more removed from you, but can bring down your financial position.

Those are just the man made risks.

Japan has suffered from "the lost decade" where they have not recovered from their financial woes...they were the manufacturing jewel of the world but due to competition in India, China, and Korea, were never able to regain top spot and margins on their products. They face increasing competitive nations who can go lower on costs.

Add to that the recent nuclear accident caused by the earthquake and the tsunami. The costs are devastating.

If you think it can't happen to you, think again.....read about how Suzuki Motors is looking to move entire factories out of danger zones, even to move some of them out of country.

Short article here.

Convenience Store Clerk Stops Armed Robber with Samurai Sword

Corner stores are being robbed at an amazing rate in Toronto, almost all of the robberies fly below the radar because the main stream media does not cover them.

In Toronto recently one store owner saw a man who shoplifted from his store previously, he chased and caught the man and held him until police came (which can be quite a wait most times)...the police came and promptly charged the STORE OWNER....for assault and kidnapping.....eventually after much pain and actually going to trial...the charges were dismissed.  Trying to capitalize on this the government is introducing new legislation that will allow broader citizen arrest powers.

I shudder to think what the police would have charged this brave store owner for.

Chip and Pin Debit & Credit Cards Security Broken?

Here is a rather long, yet compelling video by an expert who shows just how the chip and pin cards are broken, and what they describe as the most open vulnerability they have ever seen in banking technologies.

How is the technology defeated.....essentially the pin is actually useless when hacked at the point of purchase, the copied cards trick the purchase device into approving the transaction as the card presented and signed for, which requires no pin.....in the demonstration they used the pin...... 0000  four times and the card was accepted every time.....but most importantly the receipt returned from the cash register shows it being accepted by the chip and pin being correct.

So the audit trail shows on all the banks records that the chip card was present and the correct pin was entered.  Why is this important and why are the banks not rushing to spend the money to fix it?

Because as the expert shows, new terms and conditions on the user contracts state that if the card is present and the correct pin is used, the card owner is solely responsible for any losses, because in the banks opinion their system is uncrackable.  So the only way they claim a purchase can be made is by you or your negligence with the card and your pin.    Not the banks problem they say.

The video shows a chart in the decline of fraud with the new cards, which is really the decline of the bank paying back cardholders their money for their flawed system.  So if you have a loss on your card and the bank won't refund you the money.....send them the link to this video.

Shrinkage are you safe?

How does one steal nearly $1 million worth of electronics and hardware from storage giant EMC? Easy: Just use a small bag and lots of patience. Unfortunately for the thief, not getting caught while doing this proved slightly more difficult.
The engineer in question is Kevin Kelly, who worked at EMC's North Carolina location as a tester. Also, as a catpurse, since he was able to smuggle approximately $930,000 worth of goods out the door in a small bag over the course of an undisclosed amount of time. He then sold those goods under a pseudonym to a company called BL Trading.
Eventually Kelly was arrested for his crimes and today faces up to 32 years in prison, even after pleading guilty. BL Trading is being charged with a host of crimes too, including receipt of stolen property, fraud and transportation of stolen property. [IT News via Slashdot]

Parking Garage Entrances - A Death Trap Liability?

There have been two deaths at parking exits and entrances in the GTA recently.  The most recent one at a hospital in York Region on Christmas day, killing a young mother of 3.

Earlier in the year another man died while trying to enter his apartment's underground parking entrance.

In both instances the drivers could not reach or had trouble getting to the device to open the gate or the garage door, opened their door and leaned out, but the vehicles moved forward and pinned them in their car door pushed up against the protective bollards around the parking equipment.

Likely, they never put their vehicles in park and their foot slipped off the brake.

Almost all parking garage and lot exits or entrances have similar setups.  But with the difference in vehicle sizes from Vans and trucks to Smart Cars.....and the differences in the devices.....push a button, insert a card, or even proximity card devices all may lead to being part of the problem.

No word on any lawsuit or insurance claim for the dead mother yet.

If you have an entrance or exit like this, at minimum consider getting up signage that tells people not to exit their vehicle to access the devices and if they must to ensure the vehicle is placed in park.

These are terrible tragedies .....but also potential liabilities for property owners.

False Fire Alarms & Planning for 2011

Toronto's Fire Services is planning for an unprecedented change to invoicing buildings and homes for "false, nuisance, and malicious" alarms.

Currently each location is granted one "false, nuisance, or malicious alarm" in any rolling 2 month period.  The department wants to change that to zero and massively increase the amount they bill in 2011.

The service wants to bill $1,050 for each alarm that they classify as "false, nuisance,  or malicious".  I have yet to find a definition for these.

Last year the department brought in over 5 Million dollars in 2009, they project that the new program will increase revenues to just under $11 Million dollars.  They expect to be so busy they have budgeted for a 95k per year analyst and two 75k per year assistant accountants to deal with all the increased invoicing.

This policy is wrong for many reasons, not the least of which is properties that have a malicious alarm problem or a system that is wonky....may try to stop having every alarm reported, until they confirm it is a fire....this could result of course in increased property damage and loss of life....as every second counts when fighting a fire.  So the problem for owners is just not theirs...they have to worry about their neighbors.

Things to do are to review your fire alarms and causes for the last 3 years.....make sure you have your vendor take action to correct any deficiencies or problems.  If you have problems with malicious alarms, consider how you provide coverage to those areas with cameras and signage.

Don't forget to adjust your budgeting for 2011, so you don't get caught.....the document is here...

http://bit.ly/hIKUT1

Merry Xmas & Happy Holidays....Efficiency in Line ups for Check Out

Here is a fun informative video that gets to the science of holiday line ups. I for one always wonder why it can take so long in some stores for me to hand them money..