A London Warehouse was recently the subject of a warehouse commercial security breach when it was at the centre of a heist on the 29^th – 30^th January 2017.

According to Scotland Yard, the planned attack resulted in a number of valuable books being stolen, which dated back to 15^th & 16^th century.

Three thieves were reported to take over 160 publications and the books included works by Galileo, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci and a 1569 edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy; plus, the most expensive – a 1566 copy of Nicolaus Copernicus’s De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, worth approximately £215,000.

Rare book dealers who stored their precious works at the warehouse in good faith that their property was protected securely with warehouse commercial security were devastated to hear of the theft, with one dealer losing up to £618,000 worth of material.

In a ‘Mission Impossible’ style attack, the three men in question were said to have bored holes through the roof of the warehouse and then abseiled down a forty-foot rope, avoiding and sensors in the building.

The Metropolitan police have asked anyone with any further information to get in contact.

Warehouse Commercial Security with SGS Systems Ltd

Are you an owner of a warehouse or operating a warehouse businesses? Here at SGS Systems we provide warehouse commercial security to commercial companies who dispatch their own produce from a warehouse or store goods at their premises on behalf of other third party retailers. Our integrated warehouse commercial security includes many types of protection from wireless alarm systems and CCTV to our effective Fog Security which is often ideal for larger commercial premises who are looking for ultimate protection.

For further information and for a confidential security review of your warehouse business premises, please contact our warehouse commercial security team to find out how we can help to support your business with warehouse commercial security.

Articles used to write this blog

• https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/12/thieves-steal-2m-of-rare-books-by-abseiling-into-warehouse
• http://www.thebookseller.com/news/2m-heist-sparks-disbelief-antiquarian-book-community-487036

Local business SGS Systems Ltd has been awarded accreditation from Alcumus SafeContractor for achieving excellence in health and safety in the workplace.

Alcumus SafeContractor is a leading third party accreditation scheme which recognises extremely rigorous standards in health and safety management amongst contractors. It is used by thousands of organisations in the UK including SMEs and FTSE 100 companies.

SGS Systems Ltd is principally involved in the security sector, specialising in Intruder Alarms, CCTV and Fog security.  Our most recent clients have included major players such as: Sainsbury’s.

The company’s application for SafeContractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business. SafeContractor accreditation will enhance the company’s ability to win new contracts, and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.

Gemma Archibald, Director of Alcumus SafeContractor said: "Major organisations simply cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies in place."

"More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that SGS Systems Ltd  has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector. SafeContractor plays a vital role in supporting our clients in meeting their compliance needs, whilst working with their contractors as they progress through the accreditation process.”

Kevin Foster, General Manager at SGS Systems Ltd added, “Gaining this accreditation has demonstrated our commitment as a business to Health & Safety and the welfare of everyone involved when carrying out security installations and maintenance repairs. Throughout the accreditation process we have provided evidence that we adhere to Health & Safety regulation and that all of our staff are trained to necessary requirements ”.

Your car is your pride and joy and taking care of it with Garage CCTV Security is the first step to keeping it safe.  Your vehicle is not only a status symbol, but also a machine that you rely on so much throughout your daily life. Losing a car can be disastrous and more than just manifest into an inconvenience, before taking into account the cost of replacing or getting by using alternative transport.

With the West Midlands ranked third in the country for the most desirable place to steal a car according to an April 2016 article written by the Express newspaper and stolen cars up by 9%, in 2015, despite previous years showing decline, according to a 2016 article written by the Guardian newspaper.  Luxury Cars such as Audi S3, Land Rover Defender, Range Rover Discovery and BMW X5: 3.1 top the list in terms of most desirable cars stolen by thieves who want to make money.

So how should we protect our beloved vehicles and how could Garage CCTV Security help?

1. Test the central locking – Lock the car and then double check that it’s locked before walking away from the vehicle.
2. Don’t leave valuables on display – Hide any possessions, especially valuable ones such as sunglasses, smartphones, audio & IT equipment.  Also, important paperwork with names, addresses and banking information which could be utilised for identity theft.
3. Don’t leave your vehicle running – It’s often tempting to let the car run whilst popping back for a forgotten item or warm up the car on a cold and frosty day. Unfortunately, this leaves the owner wide open to being car jacked, which often insurers won’t cover.
4. Lock your gates and garage doors – If your property is gated then make sure that your gates are locked after you arrive and after you leave the property to ensure that intruders can’t gain access easily.
5. Install Garage CCTV Security – Protecting your car port or garage with garage cctv security will not only deter intruders but also give you the owner evidence in any related car crime situations.
6. Install a security alarm – For extra protection, a security alarm will ensure the property environment for where the vehicle is stored is thoroughly protected.

For more information on Garage CCTV Security and to see our selection of comprehensive security alarms, please contact our team to find out more about how SGS Systems Ltd can protect your luxury vehicle.

Articles used to write this blog:

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/how-to-prevent-car-theft/
• https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jun/25/hi-tech-thieves-keyless-car-crime-electronic-security
• http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/663660/Is-YOUR-town-on-our-CAR-THEFT-table

As West Midlands Security continues to be at the forefront of our agenda, here at SGS Systems we thought that we would begin January 2017, by showcasing West Midlands Security in terms of how the West Midlands Police operate in conjunction with local communities and how us as home owners can protect our property, streets and the community we live in, so that we all may stay safer throughout the coming year.

Police establishments across the UK regularly promote awareness by asking the public to be vigilant and take necessary care to secure properties and improve communities. So how can we get involved to protect ourselves and our neighbourhoods with West Midlands Security?

West Midlands Security – Staying Safe Schemes

The West Midlands Police run several schemes across the region which involve individuals and communities to improve areas and create safer places, these include:

Street Watch – Currently operating in Birmingham and Solihull areas, volunteer group street patrols are managed by a group leader to provide “advice, guidance and support in consultation with the local police” and can report incidents but not get involved. Volunteers are trained and asked to attend regular update meetings. They must patrol in pairs and carry mobile phones at all times.

Street Pastors – These schemes are run in conjunction with local church’s and are offered on a regional basis to cities, towns and villages for the purpose of caring for neighbourhood’s where issues could arise. With a staggering 2500 volunteers now operating in over 100 locations across the UK, street pastors are on hand to help people in vulnerable situations and often work late into the night and over weekends.

Neighbourhood Watch – Through the scheme, neighbours and communities come together to make areas “a safe and pleasant place to live” and have close and regular contact with dedicated police members to protect their street or group. Currently operating throughout Wolverhampton is Pub Watch, Horse Watch and Business Watch; whilst Neighbourhood Watch is the most common scheme used by individual streets and areas. Individual communities know what’s best for their areas and so this scheme allows voluntary representatives to report back to the police on behalf of their group as to where improvements could be made or if they have any concerning issues.

For more information on West Midlands Security or if you have a property or area which you are looking to advance in security protection, then why not speak to our West Midlands Security team? With over 25 years’ experience in House Burglar Alarm and CCTV Security installation for Wolverhampton, West Midlands and operating across the UK, we provide scalable security solutions to suit individual homeowners up to expansive commercial properties.

Articles used to write this blog:

• https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/keeping-you-safe/about-us/getting-involved/index.aspx
• http://www.heart.co.uk/kent/news/local/police-reminder-to-keep-homes-secure/

We would like to wish all of our customers, suppliers and associates
A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year
from SGS Systems Ltd

Please note that our office will close on:
13.00 hrs – Friday 23^rd December 2016
and shall re-open on:
08.30 hrs – 3rd January 2017

For emergency support
There will 24 hr emergency only support  throughout the holiday period please call our out of hours service on 01902 700687 where you will be directed to the emergency on call service.

Have you thought about putting Home Protection on your Christmas list for 2016? Christmas is often a joyous occasion when families and friends get together and gifts are exchanged. It’s also a time of year when we store the most newly bought goods in our homes; often high in value, new toys, perfume, jewellery, gadgets and gifts are plentiful.

With the dark nights continuing to set in throughout the winter season and people leaving their homes empty to attend evening parties, late night shopping and Christmas events, properties can often be left vulnerable for longer lengths of time than usual.

Home Protection – Being vigil is key!

All is not lost! By taking some simple steps in home protection, owners and tenants will have peace of mind that their belongings and their wellbeing is safe and secure.

• Don’t leave unwrapped gifts on display!  Especially under a Christmas tree or around window areas which are clearly visible to passers-by and intruders. Store gifts away from view and preferably in a locked cupboard which can only be accessed by a key holder.
   
• Put on your home protection head! Remember to lock all doors and windows, remove ladders from the exterior which could give an advantage of access into higher levels of the property. Inside, leave a timer light on in the evening to imitate that someone is in the property and draw curtains when and where possible. Don’t answer the door to unexpected guests – ask friends and family to telephone when they arrive.
   
• Get ultimate home protection! Install SGS Systems Ltd CCTV security equipment outside your home and internally throughout individual rooms, main corridors and hallways so that you may monitor any unexpected intruders and if necessary provide evidence.
  Commission a wired or wireless house burglar alarm through SGS Systems Ltd to act as a deterrent and alert your neighbourhood with regards to any uninvited intrusion activity.

Finally, we would like to wish you all a very safe and secure time this Christmas 2016. For further information about home protection and any of the security system issues or property security equipment highlighted in this article, please contact our confidential home protection security team on 01902 700 687.

You can also find out more about security and protecting your property, by accessing the UK Government Website at: https://www.gov.uk/contact-council-crime-prevention-community-safety​

Back in November 2016 security researcher Rob Graham, bought a cheap (wireless)  CCTV security camera from Amazon for just £45. Whilst some might have thought this was value for money and an economical method to successfully protect their home; what Rob discovered was from that!

The issue here was not just the CCTV security camera itself but also the other internet connected gadgets which Rob had running in his home. Most of us, these days have Wi-Fi in our property’s and at least one TV, possibly a Webcam, plus many other internet connected devices.

Earlier in November 2016 internet giants Facebook & Twitter, endured a substantial but temporary DDos (Distributed Denial of Service) attack, when the well-known Mirari botnet was launched with an attempt to scan and bring down services. The Mirari botnet works by scanning source code on internet connected devices and then entering through default passwords and factory settings to compromise networks and services.

On launching the in-expensive CCTV security camera, Rob found that in just 98 seconds the same Mirari botnet which had recently bought down Facebook & Twitter, had intercepted through his Webcam and into the manufacture default settings of the cheap CCTV security camera.

The problem was that the cheap camera had no protection against the Mirari botnet or other malware that could infiltrate. Cheap devices which are often manufactured in China, are built with hardwired default passwords further back in the source code and these settings are almost impossible for the owner to change.

CCTV Security Camera – Look for a higher level of security

The only way of avoiding this situation is to buy Western products which are built with a much higher level of security and are tested effectively according to cyber security guidelines. Here at SGS Systems we are SSAIB accredited which means that we only use industry regulated security products to protect homes and businesses in terms of CCTV Security, House Burglar Alarms and other types of security protection. If you are looking at purchasing a CCTV security camera for your property but would like to know more information as to how they operate, then please contact our confidential property security team to find out more.

Operating in the West Midlands and throughout the UK, SGS Systems provide Wolverhampton CCTV and West Midlands Burglar Alarm security services to home owners and commercial businesses.

Articles used to write this blog:

• http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2016/11/the-internet-of-things-is-still-hackable-as-hell/
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/moorinsights/2016/10/26/ddos-and-3-recommendations-to-secure-the-internet-of-things-iot/#6a720cd02c16

So, when you moved into your beloved new West Midlands home, did you change the locks?

In a recent research report conducted by Oceon Finance, astonishingly 60% of people don’t change their locks when they move into a new property, with 70% of us giving a spare set of keys to a non-family member and 17% of us giving an extra set of keys to a neighbour.

We should never trust the fact that the owners before us or even estate agents and letting agents who have had access to our West Midlands property, haven’t collected up all the key sets and so worryingly this means that as a nation, we don’t actually know who may have keys to our house!

It doesn’t just stop with home owners, but also rentals as well. In rental properties tenants come and go regularly and keys are passed around quite freely between occupants, whilst again not knowing who has access before. As a tenant, you are within your right to change the locks but will need to check your contract to comply, if you need to give a set of keys to the landlord or agent. The report added that, “just one in three tenants surveyed, changed the locks when they started their rental agreement”.

So how can we be sure that our West Midlands Home Security is covered?

Well the immediate answer is to change the locks as soon as you move into the new property. As a home owner with West Midlands home security, ‘our home is our castle’ and so with a fresh lock and new keys, we can take responsibility for knowing exactly who has access to our property, giving peace of mind that our wellbeing and possessions are safe.

Secondly have an SGS Systems Alarm fitted. Whether it’s a wired or wireless burglar alarm and / or together with a CCTV monitoring system, we assist home owners and tenant occupants to thoroughly protect their West Midlands Home Security on a day to day basis. To find out more, please contact our West Midlands Home Security team on:  01902 700687 or email: info@sgssystems.com

Articles used to write this blog:

https://moneyfacts.co.uk/news/home-insurance/are-you-sloppy-with-your-home-security/