Mail Screening Alert: Suspect arrested in connection with ricin letter addressed to White House and What Does This Mean For Your Business

A woman suspected of sending an envelope containing the poison ricin to the White House, has been arrested at the New York-Canada border and is also suspected of sending similar poisoned envelopes to law enforcement agencies in Texas.

The letter was intercepted earlier this week before it reached the White House. The woman was taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Bridge border crossing near Buffalo and is expected to face federal charges, three law enforcement officials told the Associated Press.

The letter addressed to the White House appeared to have originated in Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have said. It was intercepted at a government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and Donald Trump and a preliminary investigation indicated it tested positive for ricin, according to the officials. Envelopes containing ricin were also mailed to law enforcement agencies in the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, according to another law enforcement official. The official did not say which agencies were sent the envelopes but said they are believed to have been mailed by the same person who sent one to the White House.

What does this mean for your organization?

Whether real or hoax, intended to do bodily harm, disrupt business, intimidate, or blackmail, mail threats are a relatively easy to execute and difficult to trace back to the perpetrators. Given their potential impact and the widespread vulnerabilities of most organizations, mail screening plays an increasingly vital role in comprehensive corporate protection programs.

While convenient for consumers and companies, the huge flow of post and package deliveries to businesses represent a growing security vulnerability. Because anyone can send mail via these streams anonymously, the risk of detection is low for those who wish to do harm. Furthermore, carriers do only very limited screening in these streams. Interoffice or intra-campus mail is an often-overlooked vulnerability. Even though the organization might do some kind of screening, once inside, screening is rare. Envelopes and packages are often transported internally in open containers, making it easy for malicious visitors or disgruntled employees to end-run most mailroom screening procedures and introduce mail threats directly into the internal delivery stream.

Any corporate mail facility can be negatively impacted by disruptions if proper mail screening and security are not in place. One of the most common such disruptions is suspicious packages. In many cases, the mere investigation of a suspicious package can sacrifice hours of valuable company time. Entire buildings are evacuated daily due to suspicious packages. With The Millennium Group’s SafeMail secure mail screening, the chances of something like this happening are significantly reduced.

Basic Steps Are Often Overlooked

The mail handlers at SafeMail have second-to-none expertise in the risk assessment and processing operations of mail screening. They realize the many steps that need to be employed to combat fraudulent or dangerous mail parcels. Whereas many others will overlook the basic steps for prevention, they won’t.

There are many precautions a secure mailroom takes. These include employing professional security personnel, implementing CCTV, having lock-and-key accountability, installing adequate lighting, and setting uniform procedures for dealing with potentially hazardous mail. By working personally with your business’ team, we can decide how to best implement the various steps to effective mail screening without interfering with your company’s culture or day-to-day operations.

Mail-borne threats, especially those due to explosives and biological and chemical agents, are real, deadly, and on the rise. Contact The Millennium Group today!