Real estate and other company executives flooded security firms on Monday with requests for advice and more armed guards in the face of the new warning of possible bomb attacks on financial targets, officials said.
Bo Dietl, founder of investigative and security services firm Beau Dietl & Associates Inc, said his firm had been inundated with calls from corporate clients since the Sunday announcement of a heightened terror alert in New York, New Jersey and Washington.
"They all wanted to find out what they can do to deal with the current threat," Dietl said.
He and other security providers said they had received requests for audits of companies' current security plans, advice on what to look for, more security professionals and barriers.
Christopher Grniet, vice president of security consulting and engineering at Kroll Inc, a part of Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc, said many companies had already implemented the quick-fixes that could be done at little cost and were now looking to shore up longer-term programs more quickly.
Such measures often require huge budgetary commitments, including for a complete new plan for security.
Corporations and financial institutions also were signing up for more protection from armed security officials and local police.
The security executives said they expected corporations to spend more to protect employees and property, but it remained to be seen if the initial flurry of calls would turn into ongoing business.
Citigroup Inc, one of the firms named by the government as a potential target, and other large banks declined to detail security arrangements, but several companies said they had increased checks at their front doors and vigilance overall.
The New York Stock Exchange and Prudential Financial's Newark, New Jersey, building, were also named as potential targets.
Jerry Gibson, director of sales and marketing for Atlanta-based SecureUSA, said business was strong.
"It's hard to conceive it being busier than it's already been," Gibson said.
He reported solid demand for items such as bollards, or tubes that come out of the ground to keep cars from entering a certain area.
Despite the new threat, New York Stock Exchange chief executive John Thain declared the Big Board "open for business" as trading began on Monday.
"We intend to keep the exchange functioning ... and we are very comfortable with keeping our employees safe," Thain said.
Over the weekend, the security companies said they received calls from mostly New York and Washington based companies, but Grniet expected a pick-up across the US because many of the organizations named as potential targets have large domestic and international holdings.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS