Safi has had an extensive career in counterintelligence that has taken him around the globe. Most recently, he worked in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2014 as a U.S. intelligence officer.<\/p>\n
His comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Khushal-Safi.jpg\")
Khusal Safi oversees Northeastern\u2019s Global Safety Operations Center, or GSOC, a 24\/7 hub that monitors global risks and security-related events across all of the university\u2019s 13 campuses. Photo by Ruby Wallau\/Northeastern University<\/p>\n
Northeastern has 13 campuses in three different countries. What are the differences and similarities from campus to campus?<\/strong><\/p>\n The safety and well-being of our community is our number one priority, wherever they are. Our security infrastructure is tailored to support the unique aspects of each campus location\u00a0and is\u00a0tied together by the Global Security Operation Center.\u00a0The Boston campus is in a dense urban location across 73 acres, with a population of tens of thousands of students, faculty and staff. The technology and resources we have in place are designed to provide us with the ability to monitor our campus, assess threats and respond immediately in support of every member of our community.<\/p>\n Our London campus is also in a major urban city but has fewer buildings and a smaller population. Our Oakland campus is twice the size of the one in Boston and has about a thousand students.<\/p>\n We have thirteen campuses, and they are all different. But what is identical is the robust nature of the security infrastructure in each location, which is complemented by\u00a0partnerships with local law enforcement and third-party\u00a0security providers\u00a0who can assist no matter the issue a student, a professor, or a staff member might be tackling.<\/p>\n Describe the safety measures you have in place on the Boston campus.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Global Security Operation Center, or GSOC for short, is\u00a0located on the Boston campus and this is where all the different pieces of threat intelligence and security data\u00a0converge.\u00a0In Boston, there\u2019s police dispatch, monitoring the cameras, the doors, and the alarms, and they work with facilities and other teams to\u00a0enhance building safety.<\/p>\n There are communication nodes throughout campus \u2014 blue light or Code Blue phones \u2014 so if someone\u2019s phone goes down, they can push a button and speak to our\u00a0police dispatch.\u00a0They will receive immediate assistance.<\/p>\n Then there are various alarm systems. For example, in the library, if you push through a turnstile, an alarm goes off. The person at the desk gets alerted, and so does our\u00a0police dispatch.\u00a0If someone props open a door\u00a0with a sensor, pushes through a fire door, opens a rooftop door \u2014 we get alarms.<\/p>\n We have cameras providing comprehensive coverage\u00a0of our campuses. The technology is in addition to the robust staffing.\u00a0<\/p>\n We have\u00a0campus\u00a0police officers and security personnel ready to identify and respond to security risks. We have badge readers that provide access to certain areas of the university, like the residence halls and libraries.\u00a0We also have proctors in each residence hall as part of our Residential Security Office; they\u2019re the people sitting at the desks making sure that only authorized\u00a0people are coming into the facility \u2014 and you are only permitted to enter the facility if you have access to the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then beyond that, we have\u00a0community service officers\u00a0who provide security escorts for anyone requesting it. They work with the police department, and we strategically deploy them to different areas. They do a lot of the checks on our security technology infrastructure.<\/p>\n We have our police officers \u2014 armed and with arrest authority \u2014 who are patrolling around campus; and\u00a0many of them are trained as our incident containment team, which is a quick response force. These\u00a0are the police\u00a0officers\u00a0who\u00a0are trained to stop\u00a0an active threat.\u00a0<\/p>\n How quickly can those officers respond?<\/p>\n Almost immediately, because the incident containment team is on campus. Their close familiarity with every inch of our campus, including buildings, classrooms, alleys,\u00a0tunnels,\u00a0entrances and\u00a0exits, provides a significant advantage, and enables rapid deployment across the Boston campus.<\/p>\n Northeastern\u2019s global community extends beyond these 13 campuses. How do you support students on co-op in Asia, or a faculty member in Africa, who might find themselves in a crisis?<\/p>\n Our work is 24\/7. There is no time zone or location that is out of our reach. Our community travels for co-op, for research projects, for study abroad, for conferences, you name it. Our students are in 158 countries on all continents. The issues they may encounter can range from a medical emergency to a political coup.<\/p>\n \u00a0We have built a threat monitoring system that scrapes data and alerts from numerous open source, governmental, and subscription-based sources.\u00a0These alerts display in our GSOC\u2019s dashboard are\u00a0automatically\u00a0correlated with our global campuses map and the data in our travel registry.\u00a0If anything is developing anywhere in world, that is in close proximity to a campus or a traveler. The GSOC Analyst get an almost immediate reports of our campuses or any member of our community being in the affected area so we can reach out and assist.\u00a0As an example, when the October 7 terrorist attacks happened\u00a0in Israel, we were able to evacuate our students within 24 hours.<\/p>\n We also build and maintain partnerships and contacts around the world, including\u00a0with\u00a0security firms, healthcare providers, law enforcement, and even local drivers and other individuals who can help navigate the environment in high-risk areas.<\/p>\n Do students and employees have to register before they travel?<\/p>\n Yes. We have a travel registry for all members of our community who are planning to travel for university sponsored programs. In addition, they must carry an operational cell phone with international calling, SMS, and cellular data capabilities. \u200bIt is important that phones can\u00a0receive incoming\u00a0communication\u00a0and make outgoing phone calls without relying solely on data-calling or a Wi-Fi signal.\u200b<\/p>\n We also have a\u00a0dedicated 24\/7 Northeastern Global Health and Safety hotline, the number is\u00a0+1.857.214.5332<\/a> <\/strong>or <\/strong>+44.20.3467.1773<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0that can assist callers based\u00a0on their\u00a0individual needs. For example, the operators can help with health and safety advice through a team of on-call medical or security professional, provide medical\/hospital referrals, coordination of care, and help callers with urgent travel or immigration matters. It can also\u00a0provide emergency evacuation services\u200b.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to registering their travel, our team also works with each individual on pre-travel preparations, depending on the potential\u00a0risks\u00a0they may encounter at their destinations.<\/p>\n Tanner Stening is an assistant news editor at Northeastern Global News. Email him at t.stening@northeastern.edu. Follow him on X\/Twitter @tstening90<\/a>.<\/p>\n