YouTube shooting raises concerns over tech safety

“We are revisiting this incident in detail and will be increasing the security we have at all of our offices worldwide to make them more secure not only in the near term, but long term,” according to the memo posted on a corporate Twitter account Wednesday, April 4.

The announcement comes one day after Nasim Aghdam invaded an eating area on YouTube’s property with a handgun and shot three workers before killing herself. Aghdam, an avid user of the streaming service, was apparently angry with the company’s use policy and alleged it was harming her ability to capitalize on videos she uploaded.

People who post on YouTube can receive money from advertisements that accompany their videos, but the company “de-monetizes” some channels for reasons including inappropriate material or having fewer than 1,000 subscribers.

Though the company did not detail its planned safety enhancements, San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini confirmed his department is working closely with the YouTube to make the headquarters more safe.

The initiative begins with retracing Aghdam’s path onto the campus and attempting to address those security soft spots, then looking comprehensively at the rest of the existing security protocol.

“We are identifying the correct gaps and taking the most effective measures to address those,” said Barberini.

He noted the daunting nature of the effort though, especially when considering the motivations of a person fueled by a vendetta against an international online presence such as YouTube.

“It’s not feasible to say this is a foolproof site,” said Barberini. “For every step YouTube takes to make themselves safer, there is someone looking for a way to defeat that.”

Such challenges are spreading beyond San Bruno, as other notable members of the local tech sector are seeking more security as well.

Interim Menlo Park Police Chief Dave Bertini said his department ramped up its presence on the Facebook campus immediately following the shooting in San Bruno.

“Obviously people are on edge and uneasy after what happened at YouTube,” said Bertini, who added his department met with Facebook officials after the incident to more deeply examine protocol.

Bertini said police are starting a more frequent foot patrol on the company’s headquarters near the Bayfront Expressway, building on the department’s usual car surveillance presence.

“I think it’s important and we should always being doing it,” said Bertini. “In the past, having officers walk the campus would cause alarm. But we want to normalize the officers being there.”

Encouraging officers to get out of the car and walk the campus will also build the department’s familiarity with the constantly-changing facilities, noted Bertini, which will be useful for future emergency response.

To fund the initiative, Bertini said Facebook offered money paying for hiring additional officers who will ultimately be responsible for serving the eastern portion of Menlo Park near the company’s headquarters.

In the immediate term though, Bertini said his department is seeking to quell the raw nerves shared by some in the tech sector.

“They wanted more of a police presence,” he said.

Looking ahead, a business security expert suggested the YouTube shooting may cause members of the technology industry to more closely examine the trend of building open campuses offering public amenities.

Ken Wheatley, a former FBI agent and global head of safety for Sony whose Royal Security Groups offers corporate consulting services, said the nature of the company’s relationship with its users will influence its strategy.

But for those which offer platforms likely to evoke strong emotions among its customers, Wheatley said it is reasonable to expect more strict safety policies would be established to prevent a similar incident.

“To the degree that the company monitors social media and has a finger on the pulse of customers and people who may have strong feelings about the business, products and services they offer — if they currently have an open campus or offer amenities to the community, they may have to rethink that,” he said.

Precautions should expand beyond potentially prohibiting public access to corporate property, added Wheatley, who encouraged companies to more ardently monitor user feedback.

Tracking frustrated patrons who publicly express their disdain for a company — as Aghdam did on a variety of social media platforms prior to her attack — could be an effective preventative measure, said Wheatley.

“Having that capability to proactively diffuse and address these issues before it gets to a point where someone takes matters into their own hands is a key outcome,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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