Larry Anderson's Security Beat

Sooner or later (hopefully sooner), the novel coronavirus global pandemic will allow workplaces to reopen. But as we move into this recovery phase, there are many questions surrounding the transition. How can companies ensure facilities are in acceptable working order to reopen? How do they decide who is coming back and when? How will social distancing impact the operation of a company’s physical access control system? How can companies ensure that both visitors and employees are aware of...

Spread of the novel coronavirus has jolted awareness of hygiene as it relates to touching surfaces such as keypads. No longer in favour are contact-based modalities including use of personal identification numbers (PINs) and keypads, and the shift has been sudden and long-term. Both customers and manufacturers were taken by surprise by this aspect of the virus’s impact and are therefore scrambling for solutions. Immediate impact of the change includes suspension of time and attendance sys...

Arteco’s VCA video analytics system is their latest new product, signalling a move from machine vision-based analytics to deep learning video analytics. A server – separate from the Arteco video management system (VMS) – manages the algorithms for the analytics. Arteco has been field-testing the product for a year and a half and had planned to launch it officially at ISC West in March (which was postponed). In lieu of the trade show launch, the company has been presenting the p...

The next step in the journey of digital transformation, the fifth generation of wireless communications technologies (5G) will have an enormous impact on mankind, and on every industry including security. In short, 5G will disrupt the way we live and work. To discuss the changes, we presented our questions to Benoît Jouffrey, VP 5G Expertise at Thales, which is at the forefront of the transformation with an emphasis on trust and security. Following are his responses. Q: In layman's terms,...

The COVID-19 global pandemic will have a profound and lasting impact on the physical security industry. It will boost adoption of new technologies to address new types of threats. It will map out a path for new involvement of physical security technologies in areas of public health. It will raise new notions of privacy and turn previous thinking about privacy on its head. And the aftermath of the pandemic will give rise to all these changes in a breathtakingly accelerated timeframe. In the wak...

The drive for learning doesn’t diminish, even in times of a global pandemic. To accommodate the demands of social distancing, more training today happens online. “We have seen unprecedented international demand for our portfolio of online training courses ranging from small installation companies to the largest organisations, across a wide range of sectors,” says Jerry Alfandari, Group Marketing Manager of Linx International Group, a U.K. training firm. “More than ever,...

Axis Communications has introduced a body-worn camera solution, which the company says represents a natural extension of their corporate vision, business strategy and core competence. The new body-worn cameras and other elements of the system will provide Axis new opportunities to grow by tapping into existing and new customers. The fast-growing body-worn camera market is an attractive one, and Axis sees opportunities to extend the use of body-worn cameras beyond the current core market of poli...

Even though ISC West 2020 was cancelled, many of the product introductions planned for the trade show still happened. For example, physical security and secure identification company Identiv introduced the Hirsch Velocity Cirrus and MobilisID. Hirsch Velocity Cirrus is a cloud-based Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) solution. It is an optimal solution for both end-users and integrators, with lower upfront costs, reduced maintenance, enhanced portability, and the future-proof assurance of auto...

The global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus is changing work environments to an unprecedented degree. More employees than ever are being asked to work remotely from home. Along with the new work practices comes a variety of security challenges. Without the proper precautions, working from home could become a cybersecurity nightmare, says Purdue University professor Marcus Rogers. “Criminals will use the crisis to scam people for money, account information and more,” he says....

HID Global is introducing a new “flagship” line of access control readers as successors to the iCLASS line. The new HID Signo readers will support 15 different credentialing formats and communicate using the latest NFC (near field communication), BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and OSDP (Open Supervised Device Protocol) standards. HID Global says the new readers will simplify integration to more secure and mobile credentials.  HID Global has invested in a “future-proof”...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be participating at ISC West in a big way. Representatives of the federal department will be taking part in more education sessions this year, and the DHS tech-scouting team will be on hand to view the latest technologies on display at the show. Exhibitors – and anyone else at the show – are invited to the “DHS Town Hall” on March 19 (Thursday) at 3:30 p.m. in meeting room Galileo 1001. The aim is for DHS to engage with...

ISC West is being affected only minimally by the COVID-19 coronavirus, which is having an impact on international business travel, specifically to and from China. One consequence of coronavirus travel restrictions is a decision by Reed Exhibitions International not to proceed with a dedicated pavilion for Chinese companies at ISC West, March 17-20. In the main hall, however, some Chinese companies will remain in the show and staff their exhibit booths with U.S. office personnel and resources. I...

At a major music festival, a fan in the crowd aggressively leapt over a barricade to approach a famous artist. Personnel from Force Protection Agency immediately implemented extrication protocol to shield the artist from physical harm, quickly reversed course and calmly led the client away from the threat. Force Protection Agency (FPA) personnel intentionally did not engage the threatening fan in any way, as local venue security personnel were present and tasked with apprehending the rogue fan....

The Private Security Industry Act of 2001 gives the Security Industry Authority (SIA) the function of setting standards of conduct in the United Kingdom’s private security industry. Time is winding down to provide input during the SIA’s six-week consultation on a new draft code of conduct for SIA licence holders and applicants for SIA licences. The authority is inviting the industry, licence holders, and anyone with an interest in private security to have their say on the draft code...

J.D. Power is a well-known name when it comes to measuring customer satisfaction, and they have been measuring satisfaction in the home security industry since 2016. Changes affecting the marketplace – both in terms of disruptors and technology – make this a unique time. For example, in 2019, J.D. Power expanded the Home Security Satisfaction Study to not only measure the traditional pro-install/pro-monitor companies, but to separately evaluate self-install/pro-monitor brands. ...

The Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) has a mission to be the voice of the electronic security industry on issues involving municipal alarm management for the approximately 18,000 public safety agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Specifically, SIAC works to minimise the number of false alarms, which are a costly waste of resources for law enforcement jurisdictions. SIAC works directly with leaders in law enforcement at the national level, such as the International Association of Chiefs of P...

Facial recognition continues to be a political football and a target of privacy activists in the United States. For example, San Diego has suspended its use of facial recognition scanners by law enforcement after a campaign by civil rights groups. The San Diego Tactical Identification System (TACIDS) programme included a database of facial recognition scans shared by 30 local, state and federal agencies. A California law, passed in the fall, puts a three-year moratorium on law enforcement use o...

Security’s intersection with consumer electronics is on view at CES 2020, the world’s largest technology event, Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas. The giant show features more than 170,000 attendees, 4,500 exhibitors and 1,100 industry thought-leaders featured on the CES stage. A range of technologies will be on display, from artificial intelligence (AI) to 5G, vehicle technology to AR/VR (augmented and virtual reality), robotics to home automation. Security plays a prominent role, too.The imp...

Across the security industry, power supplies are too often an afterthought and the first item in an access control system to be value-engineered. However, when the power supply fails on a high-end access control device, the system becomes a very expensive paperweight. Fortunately, there are now power supply units available that can enhance system reliability by providing remote diagnostics and real-time reporting and analytics. There is also a mistaken perception that all power supplies are th...

Most customers interface with their financial institutions using automated teller machines (ATMs), which have security issues. However, there are solutions available to combat all current security threats, and the cost of protection is coming down. The ATM industry is therefore in a position to minimise losses, while ensuring consumers continue to get the vital cash they need to lead their daily lives. It is important for the ATM industry to constantly innovate to meet new security challenges....

Kurt Takahashi, the new CEO of Pelco, says he will provide collaborative leadership to help build the Pelco team, work together hand-in-hand with team members, remove barriers and lead the company forward. He brings industry experience and relationships to the new post that will translate into new opportunities. Takahashi joins Pelco from AMAG Technology, where he served as President for the last couple of years. Earlier, he had stints at ADT, Tyco and Quantum Secure, where he was Global Vice Pr...

It is an exciting time at German intelligent video company MOBOTIX, which has launched a next-generation platform that builds on their legacy of video at the edge while opening up the system to third-party partners that can build even more capabilities. MOBOTIX unveiled the new M7 platform and M73 camera at the MOBOTIX Global Partner Conference in Mainz, Germany, in October. MOBOTIX M7 is a powerful, decentralised and secure modular IoT-video system based on deep learning modules. The feedback...

In the banking world, the threat of unwanted intrusions into premises leading to loss of property and even risk to life is always present. Small wonder then that banking institutions take so much care over their security systems and also over their choice of suppliers for those products. In the retail banking sector, requirements for intrusion detection and related security measures are necessarily more stringent and more specialised than in most other areas of business and commerce. The banks...

Using computed tomography (CT) security technology for cabin baggage screening at airports can eliminate the need for passengers to remove liquids and laptops from their bags, thus helping to make the security process easier and more efficient. As the latest in checkpoint scanning technology, CT provides 3D images with much more information to improve threat detection capabilities so decisions by the operator can be resolved quickly and more accurately, without the need for manual search. The wh...

We live in an age when private customer data is constantly under attack from hackers. Cyber-threats have taken a front seat in the line-up of primary risks facing banks and financial institutions. The fact that cyber-attacks are becoming more prevalent isn't the only issue; they're also becoming more complex and therefore harder to address. And although the convenient interconnectivity of the Internet of Things (IoT) creates many advantages for financial institutions, there is also an increased...

Nigel Waterton recently joined cloud video company Arcules to lead the sales and marketing efforts as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). He brings to the task the benefit of 22 years of experience building and managing large, high-growth technology organisations. Waterton joins Arcules from Aronson Security Group, an ADT Commercial Company, where he served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development. We caught up with the new CRO to discuss his position and to reflect on how indust...

The UK Government has been working to reduce the risks associated with illegal drone use since a high-profile incident at UK’s Gatwick Airport in December 2018, when a drone sighting triggered a three-day shutdown of the UK’s second busiest airport, disrupting the travel plans of 140,000 people and affecting 1,000 flights. To address growing security threats by drones, the UK Government has released its ‘Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Strategy’. ‘Counter-Unmanned Aircr...

Technology is expanding passenger screening functions and other capabilities at airport security checkpoints. For example, Smiths Detection is exploring the concept of a security checkpoint that integrates biometric identity management with screening solutions, says Richard Thompson, Global Market Director Aviation, Smiths Detection. Biometrics is the “unique identifier’” for passengers, and through integration of biometrics directly into the checkpoint, passengers can be matc...

As security embraces IT-centric solutions, it can provide business value over and above security. Now in charge of managing a variety of data – e.g., from video platforms – a company’s security function has access to a range of new metrics. While security may use video to analyse a security event, machine learning can analyse the same data for other business capabilities, such as quality control or when a policy has been breached. “It’s the same camera, but with d...

There is a growing trend towards more outsourcing of the monitoring function among security companies. Technology developments are accelerating and increasing the need for monitoring companies to invest. The barriers to entry are higher than ever. These are some of the trends covered in a discussion at Securing New Ground 2019 titled ‘Monitoring: New Models and New Monetisation Strategies’. A panel of monitoring company executives addressed topics centered on how the industry is cha...