Argonne has expanded its capabilities to protect U.S. interests at home and abroad. The VAT moved to Argonne's Nuclear Engineering Division in October of 2007 from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The VAT conducts multi-disciplinary research and development on physical security devices, systems and programs. "The VAT's expertise and capabilities align extremely well with Argonne's work in national and homeland security," said Alfred Sattelberger, Associate Director of Physical Sciences and Applied Science and Technology at Argonne, who helped to find the group a home at Argonne. "Since the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001, this lab has been actively bolstering its research portfolio to support the federal government's national security efforts. We expect that the VAT will be integrated into that work."

The VAT has worked extensively in the areas of product anti-counterfeiting, tamper and intrusion detection, cargo security, nuclear safeguards and the human factors associated with security using the tools of industrial and organizational psychology. The VAT also runs a rapid, one-stop microprocessor shop where Argonne scientists and researchers can have a microprocessor solution – hardware and software – for analog or digital measurements in about a week. Another VAT activity is playing host to the Journal of Physical Security, the first scholarly, peer-review journal devoted to physical security R&D.

The VAT made the move to Argonne because the team wants to make scientific research an integral part of its activities — a strategy not typically considered or employed when it comes to physical security, said Roger Johnston, who heads the team.

For more information:

•  visit our Current Projects and Seals sections;
• follow the links listed below.

In the Spotlight

Other Resources / News Items

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Brochures

• The Vulnerability Assessment Team at Argonne - Brochure
  [  PDF (881KB)];
• Philosophy on Vulnerability Assessments RG Johnston,
  [  PDF (24KB)];

News Releases

• Laura Spadanuta, “Lessons for Layering”, Security Management Podcast, January, 2010
  RG Johnston interviewed by "Security Management" Host Editor Laura Spadanuta
• IT Security: Maxims for the ages
  Michael Kassner writes on Tech Rebublic about the "Security Now!" podcast featuring the VAT Security Maxims.
  by Michal Kassner on Tech Republic (Sep. 29, 2009)
• Security Maxims
  Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte discuss the first portion of a collection of pithy and apropos "Security Maxims"(*) that were assembled by a member of the Argonne Vulnerability Assessment Team at the Nuclear Engineering Division of the Argonne National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy.
  A "Security Now!" podcast (Episode #215 | 24 Sep.,2009 | 74 min.)
  [transcript and mp3 podcasts]
  (*) More about the Security Maxims
• Pick a lock. For fun. (It's legal too)
  Give Eric Michaud a can of beer (Guinness works best) and a pair of scissors and he can open just about any garden-variety padlock in seconds.
  Chicago Tribune (Sep. 25, 2008)
• GPS Spoofing
  MAKE: Magazine blog (Sep. 19, 2008)
• GPS Spoofing by Bruce Schneier
  Schneier on Security blog (Sep. 17, 2008)
• GPS and Wall Street by Sheri Davidoff
  Philosecurity blog (Sep. 11, 2008)
• Tampering with Transportainers  by Sheri Davidoff
  Philosecurity blog (Aug. 25, 2008)
• GPS Spoofing by Sheri Davidoff
  Philosecurity blog (May 25, 2008)
• New bottle cap thwarts wine counterfeiters
  Argonne News Release (Aug. 1st, 2008)
• Security team makes its home at Argonne
  TheDoings-ClarendonHills.com (Jan. 24, 2008)
• Argonne bolsters efforts in security research
  Argonne News Release (Nov. 28, 2007)

Publications

For a selection of VAT papers available upon request, see Publications.

For copies of the VAT papers and presentations on a wide variety of physical security issues (tags, seals, product counterfeiting, vulnerability assessments, RFIDs, GPS, nuclear safeguards), contact Roger Johnston at

Other Related Publications

• 287 Security Blunders You Should Avoid, Jon S. Warner and Roger G. Johnston, ASIS International Annual Meeting, Sep. 21-24, 2009, Anaheim
• “Vulnerability Assessment’s Big Picture”, Sarah D. Scalet, CSO Magazine, June 2007, pp. 32-36
  Roger Johnston talks about how aliens, Elvis impersonators and your worst security users can help you find and fix security problems
• The (In)Security of Drug Testing, Roger G. Johnston, Eric C. Michaud, and Jon S. Warner, ANL-62762
• "The 5 Myths of RFID”
  Big pharma's RFID trials aim to keep fake drugs out of your medicine cabinet but the technology has significant limitations.
  CSO Online Magazine, May 15, 2007
• "Why Pharma's Anti-Tampering Strategies Don't Work”
  PharmaManufacturing.com Magazine
• "Do Random Codes Make Sense?”
  Medical DeviceLink.com Magazine, May 2005
• You can read about Roger Johnston and the VAT in the book "Safe: The Race to Protect Ourselves in a Newly Dangerous World," by Martha Baer, Katrina Heron, Oliver Morton, and Evan Ratliff (Harper Collins, 2005), pages 254-257 and 259.
• More about the work of the VAT can be found in a feature article that appeared in the May 2005 issue of Mechanical Engineering.
• "Get Creative to Reveal Unseen Vulnerabilities”, IOMA Security Director’s Report, Issue 05-11, November 2005, pp. 1, 12-13. SUBSCRIPTION NEEDED to read full article
• F. Kahn, "The Eyes Don’t Have It", Business Travel Executive, June 2005. SUBSCRIPTION NEEDED to read full article
• On Mar. 15, 1997, Roger was interviewed on National Public Radio (NPR) for "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED":
  "Tamper Proofers" the broadcast