As reported this week in both the local and national news, the City of New York experienced a major physical security breech when unknown person(s) climbed suspension cable and gained unauthorized access to the top of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge—replacing the American flags with white flags.
While the intent and incident remain still under investigation by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the fact that people were able to gain unfettered access to the top of the national landmark, begs that security on the bridge be enhanced.
Glenn Tayor, Executive Director of Virsig said, “While the police have a strong presence on the bridge and a robust surveillance system, it seems some newly developed technology may help mitigate persons from gaining unrestricted access in the future.” “The obvious concern is that if non-terrorists can obtain access to a secure location such as a major bridge, so could terrorists,”said Brian Valenza, CEO of Virsig and former US Navy SEAL. In regard to the Brooklyn Bridge, law enforcement agencies have long known that it has been a target of groups such as Al Qaeda; the bridge has been spoken of either directly, or indirectly. In 2011, The New York Times reported 9/11 leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed told an operative to “destroy the Brooklyn Bridge”. Virsig is offering a top of the line laser-centric solution to the City of New York at no charge, a letter explaining this has gone out to the NYPD and NYC’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT). A solution such as Virsig’s can easily be integrated into the city’s DoITT network, and the NYPD’s citywide Domain Awareness System. “We have a solution which in real-time could immediately and simultaneously alert the police command center, and the officers stationed on the bridge in their cars. As a proud New York City firm, we are pleased to offer our support to the police department and the city,” added Mr. Taylor.