Campus Risk Solutions

Fighting Fire with Fire. It wasn’t long ago that warfare shifted from using kinetics to blow things up, to disabling targets through the software that runs them. Internet of Things (IoT) is the new battlefield. Billions of connected devices from critical infrastructure to medical equipment are being compromised at scale and record rates -- and many have hardware too old to accept software patches. Some of the costliest attacks are the ones where replacement equipment must be custom-built from scratch. Odd to think, perhaps the only way we’ll be able to fight IoT vulnerabilities is through more connectivity, not by unplugging. While adversaries need only find one gap, the response requires a high level, coordinated capability. How far along are we in having a zero-trust, segmented IP fabric that integrates AVoIP, emergency communications, physical/ logical security, and compliance? These functions are converging, and if built on a secure platform, could be the kill switch that ultimately allows us to take back control of IoT.

Preparedness ROI is Real. Every $1 invested in preparedness saves communities $13 = ($6 in damage reduction) + ($7 in preserved jobs, income, and economic output).



U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Unpacking the ROI of Disaster Preparedness New research reveals every dollar invested in disaster preparedness saves communities $13. Discover expert insights from our National Preparedness Month event on the economic benefits of investing in climate resilience.

Mascots With a Rap Sheet. The "Death Spiral" refers to the terminal decline of a college following an incident. The enrollment drop from a single incident with long-term effects is approx. 5-14%. In one case with fatalities, drop was estimated from 25% to 40%. Take a medium size college with 10K students that only experiences a single incident and a 5% drop, or 500 student decline distributed as follows: 400 less new recruits (resulting in 1,600 lost student-years over a 4-year cycle); and retention attrition at 40 freshmen, 30 sophomores, and 30 juniors. The average cost of tuition, per student in 2026 is $38,270. annually. The total estimated cost of enrollment drop in this conservative example is $69.3 million dollars. It can be well over a decade before colleges recover for reasons such as the suspension of accreditation and mandated structural changes. Leadership must analyze the financial metrics for each incident class and mature planning scenarios to protect reputation and assure sustainability.




References: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), FoxNews, SHEEO, Hanson, M., Education Data Initiative

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill yesterday expanding Florida’s K-12 public school Guardian Program to public, post secondary institutions. This legislation allows trained faculty and staff to carry fi****ms to deter campus shootings. The bill included other safety regulations as well and comes on the heels of Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D) passing of tighter gun laws for schools last week.

DeSantis signs bill expanding armed guardian program to colleges The Florida governor said expanding the program will make post-secondary institutions safer.

The U.S. must confront its loss of a critical skill: shipbuilding. A robust naval fleet is a sign of a prepared and resilient nation. A 2026 RealClear Defense article states U.S.-built merchant ships represent 1% and Chinese-built 75% of global commercial tonnage. Moreover, it says America must face decades of “structural policy failures compounded across procurement, workforce development, and institutional governance”. The Government Accountability Office mentions “despite allocating billions, the U.S. Navy struggles with chronic spare parts shortages, understaffing of qualified maintenance personnel, and widespread delays in scheduled overhauls”. While federal demand and funding are at the heart of the issue, the Center for Strategic & International Studies recognizes the complexity of the problem and suggests we expand shipbuilding and maintain continuous production of Navy ships; coordinate joint distributed production; and lean on allies for fleet acquisition and investments in U.S. shipyards.


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Stop claiming security succeeded at the WHCD. Conviction isn't truth. I propose a “Mission Area Rating System” (MARS) weighted over FEMA’s Mission Areas to score resilience as it relates to the incident.

· Prevention (0/40%) - The show did not go on, the event was upstaged. This incident is reminiscent of the sniper who checked into the Mandalay Bay Hotel, remained undetected, and proceeded to create a bloody nightmare. The gunman in this case, Cole Tomas Allen, was reported by his family to police and the feds were informed, albeit not long before the dinner.
· Protection (6/15%): There was no bulletproof shielding for, or built into the dais. Leaders were congregated and exposed. Top officials were evacuated or sheltered. A bulletproof vest saved one agent.
· Mitigation (7/15%): Luckily there weren’t multiple attackers or improvised explosive devices, however the general audience were sitting ducks.
· Response (15/15%): Agents acted bravely and swiftly.
· Recovery (2/15%): Post-incident, the President spoke to the nation in a timely manner. We remain numb and politically divided. There is no indication that the temperature will be dialed down or that steady state Recovery can be achieved.

Final Score: 30%. The WH Press Secretary blames Democrats for inciting political violence. The President persists in dividing our country with his love of shock-value spin. The U.S. remains stubbornly naïve, convinced the freedom we deserve shouldn’t have to be earned.

The Campus Incident Management System (CIMS) acts as a bridge, translating FEMA’s Incident Command System and National Incident Management System (NIMS) into campus level roles and procedures to build resilience. Our enterprise software aligns users with the National Preparedness Goal and helps IHE adopt a "Lifestyle Approach to Incident Management" (LAIM). CIMS provides proactive methodology for faculty, staff and students to give and receive support through the National Response Framework. The choice is simple -- reinvent incident management or follow protocol used by first responders and all branches of the U.S. Military.

A Single Point of Failure (SPOF) is any individual component -- a resource, process, or person -- whose failure or absence obstructs the entire system. In emergency management, identifying and resolving potential bottlenecks is critical for response and recovery. Likewise, in risk management and business continuity, sustainability depends on diversifying to fix choke points before crises arise. Whether it’s global reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for oil, or a company depending solely on one supplier or (tariffed) country for raw goods, high concentration creates logistical vulnerability and threatens survival. Even with the Strait reopened, the channel remains a SPOF threat unless engineered out. I'd love to hear about your SPOF challenges and solutions!

I recently spoke with a Seven Sisters school admin who had served on a committee formed to conduct an enterprise level risk assessment. They concluded the number of campus safety topics to be addressed was endless. So I asked, "What was the upshot?" She responded, "Not sure, I think they hired a Risk Manager". If a dedicated committee couldn't gain traction, or disbanded from shell shock, you wonder how a single hire could close countless security gaps. Today's campuses require no less than a whole-of-community, "Lifestyle Approach to Incident Management (LAIM).

In case you missed it, "All the Empty Rooms" won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film. The film explores the impact of school shootings by visiting the bedrooms of students who are no longer with their families and friends. Joshua Seftel, Director; Conall Jones, Producer; Steve Hartman, CBS News Correspondent; Lou Bopp; Photographer.

"All the Empty Rooms" wins Oscar for Steve Hartman's project memorializing children killed in school shootings The film follows CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman​ and photographer Lou Bopp through their seven-year journey to document the toll of America's school shooting epidemic.