Expert Says Security Breaches Happen Daily that No One Knows About

• By Matt Holden
• Aug 11, 2014

According to Rick C. Mathews, Director of the National Center for Security & Preparedness (NCSP) at the University Albany, State University of New York, security breaches happen across the country every day that no one knows about.

This comes in an interview following the security breach atop the Brooklyn Bridge, where someone climbed to the top and replaced the American flags with white ones. Some viewed this as a political statement meaning “surrender.”

Mathews said in the interview that New York City has layers upon layers of security, and just because someone broke through one layer doesn’t necessarily mean the city can be blamed. “There’s some of the best security around the world in New York City, but this incident should make you embarrassed,” said Mathews. “People climb the top of buildings, and jump off of them all the time. It happens. The fact that these guys changed the flags makes it unusual.”

Another expert, Tony F. Lemieux, Ph.D., said that police forces have to be mindful of this sort of behavior so they can better prepare themselves for it. Lemieux is a researcher with the National Center for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland.

“I think it’s something police should be mindful of,” said Lemieux. “And also an example of something that prompts our officials to take a harder look. Not just from a terrorism angle, but a safety perspective. How could somebody climb on top of the Brooklyn Bridge and do that?”

Despite these criticisms, Lemieux admits that anytime you have a city with the population of New York City, security efforts will be massive and the potential for someone to take this action will always be there.