Targeting Supply Chain Theft

Visually concealing the contents of the pallets and boxes by using black wrapping or an overbox, and coding the paperwork to conceal the actual contents of the pallet or trailer will also help.Q: Is the shipping security dilemma a problem for technology to solve?A: Not by itself, and not without a careful analysis of the problem to determine if a technical solution is the appropriate path. Too often technical “solutions” are treated as a set-it-and-forget-it fix. There are interactive applications where technology is a force-multiplier, such as speeding up the inspection process or extending human capabilities using backscatter X-rays or passive millimeter wave imaging. Plus, technical advances are never-ending propositions because our adversaries immediately try to find ways to defeat or go around a new application.Q: Can you give us a sense of the scale of the problems you’re dealing with? That is, compared to pieces of luggage that need to be screened, how many containers are coming through the system? A: As you’re probably aware, there are millions of containers entering the United States through the various borders, and approximately 2 percent of those are screened by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. So the scale of the problem you’re referring to is really the nagging question of, What about the other 98 percent of the shipments? Well, it’s a multifaceted approach to the problem. Customs and Border Protection has to use other tools to supplement the risk assessment process, such as the 24-hour rule on paperwork submission for ocean shipments, to help further screen and identify which shipments need closer inspection. And programs such as CTPAT and the Container Security Initiative help to further refine that assessment.Q: Following on that, what happens to the shipping industry if security concerns are raised? In other words, if you’re dealing with the equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security’s orange alert in shipping, do the world’s ports get thrown into backed-up chaos?A: This is where our role as the CSO comes into play. Rather than being reactive to any particular alert level or color code, we should be advising our operations on proactive, flexible methods to harden our targetsin this case, containers. That way, minor midcourse corrections in security protocols can be implemented in response to a particular threat level. And the impact on our economy and industry is minimized.