On April 11th, Chris Autry, Managing Director of BYU Police and BYU Security, held one of his LGBTQ dinners in the basement of the Talmage Building on BYU campus. Ian Farris, a reporter for the Cougar Chronicle, attended the meeting using a pseudonym. Farris told the Chronicle that attendees were admitted to the meeting through a locked door using Autry’s keycard and were led down to the BYU police dispatch center. Farris’s ID and belongings were not checked, and nobody in the basement knew who he was. The Cougar Chronicle learned of the event by joining a discord server through a public email list.
Alleged Breaches
When a former BYU employee who worked in the Talmage Building basement for two years was asked about the meeting, they expressed great surprise. For anonymity, they will be referred to as Allie. “I was shocked to hear they were just letting people in. No one was ever allowed to go down there who did not have official business. The only time I saw an exception made was when my former boss was allowed to attend a work event down there,” Allie shared in a statement to the Chronicle. Allie explained that the university data center is located in that basement and likely holds large amounts of sensitive information, including financial records. Allie explained she was under the impression that the doors Autry opened for his dinner guests were part of the data center’s security. “[Farris] was one door away from the data center, which he would have passed close to,” Allie explained.
According to the student advertising the event, “the security room is typically the place for [Autry’s LGBTQ dinners].”
Farris shared a few additional apparent lapses in security in his statement, “I showed up late and Chris opened the door for me on his own, leaving the other attendees that were in the conference room without the presence of anyone with security clearance…we were [with] Chris for the remainder of the event…[after dinner] he took us through another layer of security to the dispatch room… [we were encouraged] to take pictures of the dispatch center [while] there [was likely] pictures of students up on their monitors with personal information being shown.” Farris also shared that Autry gave detailed information about BYU security during the tour, including the number of security cameras and how often they are monitored. Reflecting on his experience, Farris said, “I find the refusal to even vet attendees and flaunt the seemingly obvious security measures a great hazard. A hazard that could have been easily avoided if the correct protocols were followed.”
Attempts to Communicate
As part of its investigation, the Cougar Chronicle sent a detailed email to BYU communications and facilities management personnel inquiring about the university’s security protocols for the Talmage Building basement and asking if Autry’s meeting violated those protocols. The Cougar Chronicle has received no response from any BYU personnel they emailed.
After receiving no communication from university spokespeople, the Chronicle called the CES (Church Educational System) Security Operations Center (SOC). After a Chronicle reporter explained how Farris got into the Talmage basement, the SOC employee on the line seemed doubtful of the story. “So, just current situation, we don’t have any verification that this individual was able to get down there,” the SOC stated. When they were informed the Chronicle had proof, they replied, “Well they also have other robust security measures and procedures down there preventing individuals from getting to [pause] particular areas. Yeah, so in this case I don’t think it is a problem.” When asked if the entrance of the Talmage basement was part of the layers of security for the data center, the SOC employee declined to answer “The interworkings of the data center aren’t openly disclosed so that’s not something I could necessarily talk about.”
“That seems a little weird that you can’t talk about if [that door] is one of the layers of security or not, but unknown people can go through it without ID. I hope you can see how that sounds a little weird,” the Chronicle reporter responded. “As I was saying before,” replied the SOC employee, “we don’t have confirmation that an individual was actually in [there].” The SOC employee was again assured the Cougar Chronicle had proof of Farris entering the Talmage basement. “I would say this isn’t something to be concerned about, especially if the head of BYU police was bringing somebody along with them,” the SOC employee said at the end of the call.
Principles of Security
Guiding principles for security are well-established and interdisciplinary. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), “Security culture is a set of security-related norms, values, attitudes and assumptions that are inherent in the daily operation of an organization and are reflected by the actions and behaviors of all entities and personnel within the organization. Security should be everyone’s responsibility – from the ground up and top down.”
Allie highlighted what she perceived to be an inconsistent application of the rules in her statement, “As far as I know, policies apply to everyone – even the police chief. If they don’t apply to him, they should.”
Written by: Luke Hanson
Editor-in-Chief at Ward Radio News and Guest Contributor at The Cougar Chronicle
The Cougar Chronicle is an independent student-run newspaper and is not affiliated with Brigham Young University or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
