Charlotte Firm
Provides Post-9/11
Security Solutions
e
ntering U.S. ISS Agency, LCC, (ISS) headquarters is like stepping into a high-tech spy novel or “Mission Impossible” movie – fitting for a firm that counts among its principals two former deputy police chiefs and a retired two-star Marine general. No sign is on the impressive Ballantyne corporate building, nor is there any mention of the company on the lobby directory or the reinforced metal door that serves as the entrance to the ISS office. Once the visitor passes through the security camera, two-way intercom system, and biometric fingerprint pad that guard the front door, a second line of security awaits in the form of an anteroom complete with armored paneling, gun safes, a magnetometer, and another reinforced metal door. Through a bullet-resistant glass wall, the visitor can glimpse the secure ISS command center. One thing is certain: If it is at ISS, it’s state-of-the-art technology.“We are not concerned with terrorists in Ballantyne,” says ISS President Robert Schurmeier, “but we are concerned about protecting our clients’ data and intellectual property, along
with our own.” Schurmeier, a former deputy police chief at the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), knows first-hand the importance of securing information.
Pre-Employment Background Investigations/ Post-Employment Investigations
Online security services tend to focus on databases that are often outdated. They also use services that can only identify criminals currently in jail, which significantly limits the value of the service. “There are no shortcuts in this business,” says Schurmeier, noting that ISS can ensure that a company is hiring quality employees and contractors. Potential employees may look good on paper, but professional investigations can turn up questionable backgrounds – including criminal histories, performance issues and violent behavior – before a person is hired or a contract is signed.
Even employees with no prior indication of criminal activity or inappropriate/violent behavior can develop problems. When theft, fraud, abuse, mismanagement or other security concerns occur with existing or previous employees, ISS will conduct discrete, independent, and objective investigations to help resolve the issue. The firm’s licensed private investigators have decades of experience in criminal and administrative investigations, and
they understand the nuances of criminal and civil law that are so important in conducting internal investigations.
Polygraph Testing and Biometric Fingerprinting
ISS handles some government sectors’ pre-employment polygraph tests and due diligence work, taking advantage of an on-site polygraph room. The company also fingerprints using biometric technology, allowing computers to capture the information, and portable units can be taken onsite. “This is a much cleaner and faster process,” says Schurmeier, adding that the ink pads of the past are no longer necessary.
Executive/Senior Level Management Due Diligence
The ISS team has handled a sizable number of pre-employment due diligence and background screenings for North Carolina’s chiefs of police in the past two years. Using a process modeled after the federal government’s top secret clearance, this technique produces the most exhaustive background reviews available.
After 9/11, federal authorities granted Schurmeier top secret security clearance so that he could help them evaluate the terrorist threat to the nation’s security.
Joining Schurmeier at ISS is a select group of experts including Jack Boger, who also served as a deputy chief at
CMPD, and General Jack Davis, a retired two-star Marine general who served as vice commander of Marine Corps Forces Atlantic and deputy commander of Marine Corps Forces Europe. After a stellar career in the military, Davis is now one of the most respected members in the security community, having served as one of our country’s key security
representatives at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
With cutting edge technological resources and the highest-level security experience at its disposal, ISS is a truly
Risk Analysis and Threat Assessment
The staff at ISS understands that too much security can be as bad as too little. “Too much, and you cripple business operations,” Schurmeier points out. “Too little, and you fail to protect what matters most: your employees, customers and assets.”
Public Safety Consulting
Government agencies use ISS to find objective ways to streamline security activities and solve problems. With more than 100 collective years of experience in law enforcement, ISS team members are able to meet with area groups, assess the problem and provide solutions. “We bring objectivity,” says Jack Boger, who was an instructor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before spending 26 years at CMPD. With a unique background in academia and law enforcement, Boger brings a discerning and intelligent mind to the complex security questions that confront the modern government agency.
Security Planning
ISS works with companies to design, locate, and build secure offsite facilities tailored to their specific businesses. Having worked through hundreds of scenarios at the highest level of government and private business, ISS can contain costs while implementing the right amount of security for specific business needs.
Because of its unprecedented security facility, ISS makes the perfect location for tabletop planning exercises. With secure communications in the command center, the ISS facility can be leased for developing and acting out a variety of security planning scenarios. These exercises not only let businesses plan their resources for a variety of threats, but also allow senior staff to use the actual equipment necessary in an emergency.
Executive Protection at Home and Abroad
As ISS has grown, its principals have noticed several areas
no sign is on the
impressive Ballantyne
corporate building,
nor is there any
mention of the
company on the
lobby directory or the
reinforced metal door
that serves as
the entrance to the
unique firm. “This firm has a lot of resources and a deep knowledge base, but at the same time it’s very nimble and mobile,” remarks Senior Analyst Nathan Brooks. “Any other organization with this kind of high-level experience will have a lumbering bureaucracy attached to it. You don’t find that here.” As Schurmeier sees it, this allows ISS to offer unmatched service. “Our clients deal directly with ISS principals,” he says, “and we are able to move quickly on investigations.”
Privatized homeland Security
The tragic events of 9/11 opened everyone’s eyes to what is possible in today’s world and why it is necessary for companies to plan for worst-case scenarios. In addition, Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters have raised awareness about the potential for these events to interrupt business. With an impressive command center, showers and
kitchen facilities, ISS ensures that clients will be able to manage their affairs no matter what occurs.
The ISS command room uses six satellite television feeds from across the globe – including Al Jazeera,
Asian and U.S. networks – and police communications monitoring to create a secure location from which businesses and/or government agencies could continue to function in the event of a catastrophe. The command room
of growth for the business, one being executive protection. In keeping pace with the global economy, business leaders must be able to travel in the United States and throughout the world. With the current political climate, however, executives can become targets. In turn, more and more companies are looking for ways to balance protection and mobility. As Schurmeier points out, only a small number of professionally trained operatives can achieve this balance, making ISS a perfect fit for a company’s executive protection needs.
Innovative Programs
In growing their business, Schurmeier and ISS team members are also using their collective experience to develop technological security tools for clients. Insign®, for example, is a systematic and secure Web-based employment application process that provides initial automated screening and database generation. Customized to individual clients’ needs, this system both streamlines the information gathering process and enhances the utility of investigative results.
ISS is also ready to introduce an identity theft solution for
individuals, banks, corporations, law and accounting firms, and other institutions. While jurisdictional questions sometimes hinder local, state, and federal efforts to investigate identity theft, ISS is able to gather background information and provide it to the appropriate law enforcement agencies and banking institutions. This capability is particularly helpful, for example, when the individual whose identity is stolen is in Wisconsin, his bank is in Charlotte, and the perpetrator is in New York. Given the severity of the identity theft problem, government agencies are overwhelmed with identity theft reports and do not have the staff to investigate every request immediately. “We understand the bad guys and how they exploit the system,” Schurmeier says. “They are a pretty insidious group.”
Of course, as Schurmeier points out, a company that doesn’t even put its name on the door must depend on its track record, rather than advertising, to attract clients. “You will not find us in the yellow pages,” he says. ”Therefore, many of our clients come to us through word-of-mouth because of our reputation.” For more information, call Robert Schurmeier at (704) 525-5221 or visit their Web site at www.isecureus.com.
NPR’s Morning Edition®and Charlotte Talks.
Your morning drive news, only on WFAE 90.7FM. Celebrating 25 years of broadcast excellence.
includes two large “smart boards” for creating work and transmitting it anywhere in the world.
ISS uses a secure, Internet-based phone system that enables team members to send audio and video information throughout the world. This “voice over Internet provider” phone system is also loaded on ISS lap tops so that secure phone conversations can be made remotely anywhere in the world. The office space is eavesdrop-proof, and the area is swept for listening devices on a regular basis.
investigative Skills Critical
Even with the impressive array of technological tools at its disposal, ISS knows that these mean nothing without the knowledge to apply them. “We do have a lot of high-tech equipment because we are an investigative group,” Schurmeier points out, “but nothing can replace good, intuitive, investigative skills. We combine that with the advanced training and the intuition that you develop over decades in law enforcement and the military to serve you in many situations. Now we are taking this and applying it in the private sector.” In addition to former colleagues, the team has longstanding relationships with the FBI, Secret Service and various police departments, constituting a global network of expertise accessible to ISS. Drawing on this network, ISS can handle complicated investigative work throughout the world.
The ISS team has trained with some of the most respected law enforcement agencies and institutions in the world, including the United States Secret Service Dignitary Protection School; Senior Management Institute for Police; FBI National Academy; NATO Joint Warfare Course, United Kingdom; Reserve Components National Security Course; and Harvard University’s Executive Program for General Officers
of the Russian Federation and the United States at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. They are state-licensed through the Private Protective Services of North Carolina.
Clients select ISS over larger
competitors because ISS offers accessible,
highly-trained personnel, and not layers of bureaucracy. ISS has chosen not only its principals and associates carefully, but also its business advisors. One such person is ISS board member Robert Sterling, a Charlotte native long recognized as a change agent in the paper industry. His company, The Sterling Group Worldwide (now part of International Paper Company), has built a national presence assisting large corporations in consolidating their paper spend, and Sterling provides ISS with essential private sector experience and business acumen.
Sterling says that ISS is, in essence, a private company working for the public good. “Having been given a rare chance to assist such a fine group of individuals with an unprecedented pedigree has given me a whole new perspective on what it means to be an American,” he remarks, adding that “integrity is at the top of the list for these gentlemen.” V
