Larry Anderson's Security Beat

Terrorism is amongst the more unyielding security threats worldwide, but a report on global terrorism from the Institute for Economics & Peace, Sydney, Australia, provides reason for optimism, especially outside the world’s terrorism hot spots such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Europe is the region with the biggest improvement from the impact of terrorism and has recorded a marked fall in terrorist activity. The number of deaths in Western Europe fell from 168 in 2016 to 81 in 2017. Turkey...

Cybersecurity has become a major element – and a major source of discussion – in the physical security marketplace as a result of the rise in networked systems. And we may still not be talking enough about cybersecurity. Here is part one of our Cybersecurity series. “Cybersecurity requires everyone in the security industry to be playing offense and defense at the same time, every single day,” says Bill Bozeman, President and CEO of PSA Security Network. “It needs t...

The excitement of ISC West 2019 continued until the very end – almost. Exhilarated by the first two busy days of the show, attendees and exhibitors seemed to welcome a slower third day. There were no complaints about booth traffic, and still plenty of thoughtful conversations taking place, everyone determined to maximise the value of face time with customers until the last second. Building an IoT ecosystem in SAST At a show lacking in high-profile new technology announcements, the bigges...

There are many new technologies at ISC West this year. There are also some tried-and-true solutions on display. More mature products have the benefit of being fully vetted and battle-tested, which may make them a more comfortable choice for security customers. I had a couple of discussions on Day 2 of the show about the advantages, and possible drawbacks, of new products. “To a security director, when you say ‘new,’ he translates that into ‘risk,’” says Bill...

Delivering on high expectations, the first day of ISC West 2019 kicked off with a crowded Sands Expo Center and exhibitors putting forward their best new technologies. Developments seemed more evolutionary than revolutionary, but attendees quickly found plenty of interest. Thermal cameras Hanwha Techwin also showed off a new Android camera that can deploy new apps The largest booth at ISC West, Hanwha Techwin, remained crowded throughout the first day as attendees checked out the company&rsqu...

Attendance has been growing steadily year-over-year for ISC West, and the 2018 show exceeded 30,000 total industry visitors for the first time. So it’s safe to expect ISC West 2019, April 10-12 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, will be bigger than ever. Preregistration for the 2019 show is on track to bring even more visitors than last year. “This is a show for everyone, for converged security,” says Mary Beth Shaughnessy, Event Director for Reed Exhibitions. “We bring a l...

Safety and Security Things GmbH (SAST) will be both a first-time exhibitor at ISC West and also feature a larger booth – 1,800 square feet. The Bosch startup is looking to make a big splash in its first-time appearance at the largest security trade show in the United States. The International Security Conference & Exposition (ISC West) will be held April 10-12 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Founded in September 2018 and based in Munich, Germany, SAST is building a new Internet of Thi...

Effective access control can be achieved without the use of cards using a new generation of secure facial authentication enabled by artificial intelligence and machine learning. Alcatraz AI is introducing a system that deploys a sensing device, about the size of a badge reader, with multiple colour and infrared cameras that can detect facial features and confirm an identity. Real-time 3D facial mapping avoids anyone using a photograph, video or mask to spoof the system and confirms there is a r...

MIPS (Milestone Integration Platform Symposium) Copenhagen 2019 saw Milestone Systems double down on the ‘creating an intelligent world’ theme from 2018 and expand it to ‘exploring an intelligent world.’ “The intelligent world theme was bigger than we could cover in one year!” said Malou Toft, VP of EMEA at Milestone Systems. Isolate important events With 865+ registered attendees and more than 47 exhibiting partners in Denmark, this is the largest Communit...

The Emerging Technology Zone (ETZ) at ISC West welcomes new startups to the security industry; a requirement for exhibitors is that they have been in business for five years or less. This year, the ETZ will be in the Venetian Ballroom, a new section at ISC West 2019, incorporating companies that were previously featured in the “Global Expo” area along with mid-sized domestic companies and the return of the successful Emerging Technology Zone section. Now located in the Venetian Bal...

Recent technology advances – from the cloud to artificial intelligence, from mobile credentials to robotics – will have a high profile at the upcoming ISC West exhibition hall. Several of these technologies were recently designated by the Security Industry Association as the Top 8 security technologies for security and public safety. Some of them will also be a focus at the ISC West conference program, SIA Education@ISC, April 9-11 at the Sands Expo Center. This article will highligh...

ISC West in Las Vegas is the first of several major security trade shows planned for 2019 as part of the Reed Exhibitions ISC Security Events portfolio. Next up will be Expo Seguridad México in May in Mexico City, followed in June by ISC Brasil in Sao Paolo, and ISC East this fall in New York. Expo Seguridad México, May 7-9, will serve the important Mexican market for security goods and services. In Mexico City alone, a large population translates into plenty of buildings and fac...

Keynote speakers will kick off ISC West Day 1 and Day 2. Keynote sessions are open to anyone, and ISC West organisers look for speakers with broad-based appeal, either from the government or related to security strategies, standards and measures. Timely and newsworthy topics are included as a means of educating attendees on the best way to protect their own facilities. On the first day of the exhibition, April 10 at 8:30 a.m., the Keynote Speaker will be William Bryan of the Department of Home...

Schneider Electric’s long-rumored sale of Pelco appears to be on the verge of consummation. Schneider this week entered exclusive negotiations with Transom Capital Group, a U.S.-based private equity firm, to sell the Pelco business unit. Pelco is a security industry stalwart and global specialist in the design, development, and delivery of end-to-end video surveillance solutions and services including cameras, recording and management systems software. Revenue in 2018 was about $185 milli...

As the Internet of Things (IoT) and other trends drive the convergence of physical and information security, integrators and end users attending ISC West may be struggling to keep pace with new areas of responsibility and expanding roles in the larger security ecosystem. Help is here. The Connected Security Expo, co-locating with ISC West, focuses on building a holistic security strategy for the connected enterprise. Exhibitors will focus on how physical and information security can be used tog...

As digital transformation accelerates and touches more aspects of business operations, ASIS International is working to provide educational opportunities that security practitioners need to stay on top of those rapid developments. It’s a mission that will drive the ASIS Europe 2019 meeting, ‘From Risk to Resilience,’ this month (March 27-29) in Rotterdam. “What makes the event special is how it covers the full spectrum of security risks that organisations face, and in pa...

If you’re heading to ISC West in Las Vegas this year, it’s helpful to acknowledge immediately that there’s no way you can experience all aspects of the show. Just not enough time and too many options. Once you give up on seeing everything, you can immediately lower stress. But you also raise the stakes in terms of picking and choosing exactly what you have time for – or want to make time for. Hoping to help out as we all set our ISC West priorities, here are some ways to...

From robots to drones to counter-drone solutions, a range of new technologies will be displayed at ISC West 2019. The Unmanned Security Expo will return, including a dedicated complimentary education theater for attendees offering sessions on a range of topics. UAVs, UGVs and autonomous systems Also included will be demos of the best UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), UGVs (unmanned ground robotics and vehicles) and autonomous systems on the market. The market growth for unmanned technologies be...

Application of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning in the physical security market runs a gamut from cloud computing to edge computing. A variety of hardware solutions enable AI to be deployed at any level of a system from the cloud to edge devices such as security cameras. Smarter AI-powered applications A distributed structure can incorporate cloud computing and edge computing. It extends the Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm from the cloud, to an edge network of on-premises...

A hyperconverged infrastructure is a software-defined environment in which various elements of a physical security system – computing, storage and networking – are combined together and run more efficiently on fewer hardware devices. Rather than each element of a system being represented by a physical hardware device, those elements are combined on a cluster of hardware devices. Hypervisor software separates a computer's operating system and applications from the underlying physica...

Anyone looking to ensure customer satisfaction in the video server market for security integrators and end users need look no further than the supply chain. Eliminating the inconsistencies and time delays in the supply chain is a key strategy to ensure customer success, and certified systems builders can provide extra value in the process. Tom Larson, Chief Technology Officer, BCDVideo, says supply chain issues impact customer satisfaction for integrators and end users at all stages of an inte...

In the physical security industry, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning is most commonly associated with potential improvements in video analytics performance. However, AI is also applicable to a variety of content analytics beyond video. This is part three of our 'AI in Physical Security' series. It will be interesting to watch how companies that take the next step beyond proving viability for security purposes to deliver true business applications to the market. Right...

A futuristic alternative to plastic cards for access control and other applications is being considered by some corporate users in Sweden and the United Kingdom. The idea involves using a microchip device implanted into a user’s hand. About the size of a grain of rice and provided by Swedish company Biohax, the tiny device employs passive near field communication (NFC) to interface with a user’s digital environment. Access control is just one application for the device, which can be...

Constantly optimising deep learning algorithms yields better video analytics performance, even in complex applications such as facial recognition or in scenarios with variable lighting, angles, postures, expressions, accessories, resolution, etc. Deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence (AI), holds the potential to enable video analytics to deliver on long-promised, but not often delivered performance. Our AI series continues here with part 2. Adapting existing hardware Today, low-co...

Choosing the right server for a video surveillance application comes down to one question: What does the customer expect from the system? Is it a retail location with two cameras that only needs video stored for 24 hours? Does the system need failover protection? What are the ramifications if a system goes down? Does business have to stop? How fast does the customer need to have access to video? Is it a regulated industry where immediate access is a requirement? How mission-critical is the vid...

AI Is currently a buzzword in the physical security industry, and it is also a force that has the potential to transform the industry. Following are the basics of AI (and the related term “deep learning") in part one of our AI series. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the broad computing category referring to intelligence that is displayed by a machine, as opposed to a living creature. Informally, AI refers to machines that mimic the cognitive functions we associate with living creatures, s...

Security is arguably at the heart of the United States partial government shutdown: President Trump’s demand for $5.6 billion to start building a wall along the southern border with Mexico is the major bone of contention as gridlock in Washington prevents passage of a spending bill to keep the government in full operation. The partial government shutdown has affected security in other ways, too, and some of the impact could continue long after the impasse is settled. Some 800,000 federal...

A rapid string of merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions as 2018 passed into 2019 suggests the physical security industry may be on the verge of a busy year of companies buying other companies. Observers have noted a large amount of investment capital currently available to be invested in security M&A, and plenty of entrepreneurial companies are looking to be acquired. Joe Grillo, CEO of ACRE, previously hinted at upcoming M&A activity for his company by the end of 2018, foreshad...

Security integrators are often tasked with a multitude of responsibilities which could include a variety of installation, integration or design tasks made up of sprinkler systems, fire alarms, access control, HVAC, video surveillance systems and networks; and then pile on maintenance, training and analytics. Traditionally, most security integrators have installation backgrounds but are now expected to be IT savvy, too. Even the most proficient IT professionals may not fully grasp the complexit...

How’s this for a simple access control scenario? You walk up to a door, wave your hand in front of a button, the button lights up, and the door opens. That’s the simplified user experience that startup Openpath is promoting as it enters the crowded and mature market for physical access control. Openpath says a simple user experience provides the extra boost needed for mobile credentialing to gain momentum. In this case, it’s even simpler than using a card credential (no s...