Lost in Las Vegas

Lost in Las Vegas

I like to think I have a decent sense of direction. I won’t say I never get lost, but as I’m walking or driving through unfamiliar territory, I do try to stay oriented and generally mindful of which way I came from and which way I’m going. It helps, of course, that most public spaces are laid out in such a way as to make navigation as easy as possible.

Las Vegas is not one of those places.

The Security Today crew is lucky enough to be staying at The Mirage, which is literally across the street from ISC West’s home base of The Venetian. I’ve never been to Vegas before, but even so, I didn’t think that forging my own path from the hotel room to the conference center 0.3 miles away (according to Google Maps) would pose much of a challenge. I was very, very wrong.

I’d heard about how casinos are deliberately designed to keep people inside as long as possible. The grid system does not exist. Carpeted pathways zig and zag and random through clusters of slot machines. A sign reading “Guest Elevators” with an indicative arrow will lead you the long way around past restaurants, stores, blackjack tables, and bars before begrudgingly depositing you at said elevators. You won’t see a hint of daylight until you’re a stone’s throw from the exit. If you’re looking to get lost in the Vegas experience, I’m sure it’s fantastic. If you’re trying to get to a conference in an unfamiliar city at 7:45 a.m. on zero cups of coffee, it’s a nightmare.

After finally escaping The Mirage, I crossed Las Vegas Boulevard and felt my heart sink as I took in the sheer enormity of The Venetian. I picked a double-door entrance at random and found myself in—you guessed it—another casino maze. Luckily, a steady stream of people wearing ISC West badges appeared to be flowing in a particular direction. I blindly followed them through hallways, around corners, and up and down stairs and escalators for another good quarter mile before the conference materialized around us.

I suppose there’s a metaphor to be contrived from the idea of getting lost in indulgence. If you’re at a casino for the Vegas experience, you don’t need to go looking for it, because it’s all around you. You don’t need to seek out your next place to gamble or drink or eat; it’s right there (and there, and over there, and another one over that way). The idea is to just give in, go with the flow, and enjoy yourself.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

Featured

  • AI Is Now the Leading Cybersecurity Concern for Security, IT Leaders

    Arctic Wolf recently published findings from its State of Cybersecurity: 2025 Trends Report, offering insights from a global survey of more than 1,200 senior IT and cybersecurity decision-makers across 15 countries. Conducted by Sapio Research, the report captures the realities, risks, and readiness strategies shaping the modern security landscape. Read Now

  • Analysis of AI Tools Shows 85 Percent Have Been Breached

    AI tools are becoming essential to modern work, but their fast, unmonitored adoption is creating a new kind of security risk. Recent surveys reveal a clear trend – employees are rapidly adopting consumer-facing AI tools without employer approval, IT oversight, or any clear security policies. According to Cybernews Business Digital Index, nearly 90% of analyzed AI tools have been exposed to data breaches, putting businesses at severe risk. Read Now

  • Software Vulnerabilities Surged 61 Percent in 2024, According to New Report

    Action1, a provider of autonomous endpoint management (AEM) solutions, today released its 2025 Software Vulnerability Ratings Report, revealing a 61% year-over-year surge in discovered software vulnerabilities and a 96% spike in exploited vulnerabilities throughout 2024, amid an increasingly aggressive threat landscape. Read Now

  • Motorola Solutions Named Official Safety Technology Supplier of the Ryder Cup through 2027

    Motorola Solutions has today been named the Official Safety Technology Supplier of the 2025 and 2027 Ryder Cup, professional golf’s renowned biennial team competition between the United States and Europe. Read Now

  • Evolving Cybersecurity Strategies

    Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to human-focused security approaches, as two out of three (68%) cybersecurity incidents involve people. Threat actors are shifting from targeting networks and systems to hacking humans via social engineering methods, living off human errors as their most prevalent attack vector. Whether manipulated or not, human cyber behavior is leveraged to gain backdoor access into systems. This mainly results from a lack of employee training and awareness about evolving attack techniques employed by malign actors. Read Now

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.

  • Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems, an industry-leading manufacturer of pedestrian and vehicle secure entrance control access systems, is pleased to announce the release of its groundbreaking V07 software. The V07 software update is designed specifically to address cybersecurity concerns and will ensure the integrity and confidentiality of Automatic Systems applications. With the new V07 software, updates will be delivered by means of an encrypted file.