Law – Michael Coppola

The Power of Mindfulness in Combating Stress

Based in Totowa, New Jersey, Michael Coppola has spent close to 25 years in law enforcement before co-launching CJIS Solutions, a company that provides cloud-based solutions to members of the law enforcement. Michael Coppola is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), one of the nation’s largest professional organizations devoted to advocating for police leadership.

An article on the IACP’s website promoted the importance of reducing stress through mindfulness. Most policemen and women are busy from the minute they arrive at the precinct to the minute they leave. Moreover, their profession requires to use a lot their mental faculties throughout the day which contributes to stress.

Mindfulness refers to the act of being still and being aware of the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations in an environment. Mindfulness is reported to have positive impacts on a range of conditions including stress, and in the case of the military, one study reported it improved working memory and cognitive resilience.

The practice can be used to bring families together and reduce the stress that impacts the entire family. Used in the form of a family walk, mindfulness can redirect conversations away from common distractions toward conversations where each family member is engaged.

CJIS Solutions Provides Endpoint Protection for Cloud Users

New Jersey resident Michael Coppola’s career in law enforcement spans 30 years and includes roles with both local police and fire departments. In addition to his career in public safety, Michael Coppola co-founded CJIS Solutions, a company that is the intersection between law enforcement, cloud technology, and cybersecurity.

CJIS Solutions offers the leading antivirus and antimalware product for law enforcement agencies that would protect their cloud-based systems. MalwareBytes Endpoint Protection, this anti-virus product allows users to use a single, comprehensive product to track and remove malware, viruses, spyware, and other bugs that can cause harm.

The product offers users several tools to protect their computers including:

1. Exploit mitigation that protects against outsiders from finding weaknesses and gaining access to the network remotely.

2. Web protection that can prevent unwanted sites, networks, and neighborhoods from accessing the computer.

3. Using machine learning techniques, Anomaly Detection technology identifies viruses and malware.

4. Ransomware Mitigation uses behavioral technology to detect and prevent ransomware from accessing the network.

These are just a few of the tools the program includes. Designed for law enforcement, MalwareBytes Endpoint Protection allows users to design the program to fit their needs.

CJIS Shred Solutions for Compliance

A former chief of police for Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department, Michael Coppola has transformed his 25 years in law enforcement into a business. As the co-founder of CJIS Solutions, based in New Jersey, Michael Coppola has helped the company devise cloud-based solutions bespoke to this field.

The company launched CJIS Shred a few years ago to address compliance issues related to the disposing of media and devices. The CJIS Security Policy clearly outlines instructions for disposing of material that is “CJI or PII regulated by the CJIS policy.”

CJIS Shred shreds hard drives, laptops, cell phones, and tablets to get rid of data, and this process typically takes a few seconds. Because the information on these devices is sensitive, the person handling the equipment is CJIS compliant.

The program is appropriate for law enforcement because it includes a chain of custody (from pick up to recycling), which can be verified through video documentation or notarized certification. Moreover, the process of data destruction is compliant with code NIST 800-88 regulations.

CJIS Solutions Consulting Services

The recipient of nine letters of commendation from the Palisades Parkway Police Department, Michael Coppola is CEO of CJIS Solutions in Little Falls, New Jersey. Michael Coppola’s company helps law enforcement agents keep information safe from unauthorized access using CJIS-compliant technologies.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in collaboration with additional government agencies, created the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy. It provides guidelines to help law-enforcement agents use Criminal Justice Information under strict protection, preventing unauthorized access.

Periodically, newer versions of the policy are released, describing developments that should be given attention. In June 2019, the FBI released the CJIS Security Policy version 5.8. In addition to administrative and language updates, the new version included “Advanced Password Standards.” This adds many requirements, such as a check and balance system to ensure that all users meet the necessary complexity. Also, the version includes additional requirements for intrusion detection tools and techniques. This features an evaluation of a device’s behavior and user activity to determine if the device is compromised.

The Impact of Ransomware on Law Enforcement Agencies

Providing cloud solutions tailored to law enforcement requirements, Michael Coppola heads New Jersey-based CJIS Solutions. A focus is on responsive hosting and data management services that maintain compliance with Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) mandates. Michael Coppola has extensive experience mitigating the risks associated with malicious malware such as ransomware, which hijacks an operating system and places organizational data at risk.

Beyond the issue of no longer having access to information needed in critical real world situations until the ransom is paid, ransomware impacts law enforcement agencies in many ways. These span CJIS Security Policy violations, internal affairs, media exposure, and potential criminal and civil culpability.

Another major issue is continuity of evidence, with ransomware compromising the evidentiary value of all files that have been encrypted. Doubt arises within a legal setting whether the digital file custodian can, under oath, affirm that encrypted files have not been replaced, altered, or disseminated. This in turn can jeopardize the use of the data for evidence in courts of law.

What to Look for in a Law Enforcement Cloud Provider

Based in New Jersey and with an extensive leadership background in law enforcement, Michael Coppola manages CJIS Solutions and provides cloud hosting and data management services. In an officer.com article, Michael Coppola described the importance of police departments carefully vetting their cloud provider.

The “first and foremost” consideration, for security and liability reasons, is whether the provider is Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliant. The firm should also maintain a demonstrated track record of adhering to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Guiding Principles on Cloud Computing.

Because law enforcement is not in the hardware or IT business, the provider should know law enforcement from top to bottom. In serving the public interest at a foundational level, law enforcement is unlike any other industry and requires many special operational considerations.

Another aspect of the equation is that providers offer around-the-clock responsiveness to ensure that assistance will be available when it is needed most. The provider should also know its client’s technology and have the ability to work with CAD/RMS companies and other third party vendors in ensuring a seamless transition to the cloud.

The Use of Toughbooks among Law Enforcement Marine Units

New Jersey entrepreneur Michael Coppola is the founder of CJIS Solutions, through which he developed the first ever hosting service that is Criminal Justice Information Services compliant and able to meet law enforcement needs. In a video featured on officer.com, Michael Coppola evaluated the Panasonic Toughbook and its benefits in various situations while chief of police with the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department.

A semi-rugged 2-in-1 laptop and tablet, the 14-inch Toughbook combines an innovative modular design with battery life extending to 40 hours. As Mr. Coppola described it, the Toughbook made a significant difference in a number of settings, including outside the patrol car. As a highway agency, “being out in the elements” is a major part of the job, and the rugged devices also proved themselves in use while on vessels with marine policing units.

Regardless of whether the Toughbook was “bounced around,” dropped, or got wet, it never stopped functioning. Vessel checks, vessel stops, and critical infrastructure checks could all be completed without issue. Tablet mode was particularly useful, as the data could be entered on the device while on a moving boat.

The next generation hybrid Toughbook 20 and 33 models were particularly valued, as they could seamlessly transition from laptop mode in the vessel cabin to tablet mode when responding to an incident outside on the boat.

CJIS Compliant Cloud Hosting for Police Departments to Save Money

The founder and president of CJIS Solutions in New Jersey, Michael Coppola draws on an extensive background in law enforcement with a forward-focused consulting firm. In an article published on officer.com, Michael Coppola posed the question “Do you think like a police (or sheriff’s) department…or like a successful business?”

With many law enforcement administrators facing a “do more with less” mandate today, cutting waste is a budgeting imperative. Technology outlays are one of the areas in which significant cost savings can be achieved without sacrificing capacities.

For many police departments, in-house IT capacities span multiple and often redundant switches, firewalls, internet connections, and storage. Placing this data in a hosted environment is complex and disorganized, with troubleshooting inefficiencies a continuous cash drain.

One major area of potential savings is to be found in implementing cloud based solutions that are Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliant and scalable from the get-go. The benefits of such cloud providers include doing away with the necessity of maintaining expensive hardware that needs to be upgraded and replaced every few years. More than that, hosted solutions boost efficiency and provide staff members access to data resources from anywhere, regardless of physical location. This is important both because of the geographically diffuse nature of law enforcement work and the assurance that data is backed up and in order in case of emergencies such as natural disaster or evacuation.

CJIS Offers Comprehensive Data Protection for Law Enforcement Agencies

A resident of Totowa, New Jersey, Michael Coppola is the former chief of police for the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department, and is the founder and president of CJIS Solutions. In his current role as president, Michael Coppola has substantially grown the organization into a half-million-dollar revenue company without external investment. Mr. Coppola’s organization provides a range of data management and technology solutions, including data backup protection that complies with the CJIS Security policy.

The comprehensive data protection services available through CJIS include built-in, two-factor authentication, retention policies, FIPS 140-2 encryption, and data destruction when required. This extensive range of services provides clients with a reliable and safe level of data protection required by law enforcement organizations across the nation.

CJIS also offers on-site data protection in combination with virtual server images, replication completed off site, hardware images, additional backup jobs, data deduplication and compression, and rapid operation restoration when hardware fails. Products offered at CJIS also identify ransomware-caused anomalies.

Without sacrificing compliance, CJIS can use their cloud environment or appropriate appliances for data backup to test a server that has failed. Clients never need to worry about a server being down for repair, since CJIS will maintain data processes while the repair is in progress.

What is Data Destruction?

Skilled law enforcement leader Michael Coppola leverages more than 20 years of field experience to lead CJIS Solutions as founder and president. Through his company, Michael Coppola and his team provide law enforcement professionals with CJIS-compliant solutions, from cloud computing and cloud hosting to data destruction services.

All businesses rely on data of some sort, either as a record of their internal processes and financials or customer contracts. When this data is physical, destroying it is more straight-forward: companies or individuals can simply shred the documents to destroy. But this isn’t the case when the data is digital. Unless digital data is properly destroyed, it can be leaked or stolen, thus resulting in a loss of revenue, loss of customers, or many other negative consequences.

Destroying digital data involves the permanent erasure of information contained on an electronic device. This does not mean simply deleting a file. While deleting a file does remove it from the computer, it often remains on the hard drive or in another storage area. People can often still access or recover this information. The same is true even if the hard drive or other physical technology is destroyed. In some situations, data stored on a broken or smashed hard drive can be recovered with enough effort.

Rather than relying on these methods, companies must destroy the data and ensure it is non-recoverable before any technological component is sold or ruined. Usually, this involves data sanitation, a process that leaves highly sensitive data irrecoverable via data erasure, physical destruction, cryptographic erasure, or a combination of the three methods.