Government & public services security applications - Security beat

In an emergency, information is pivotal. More information provides better understanding of an emergency and empowers potentially life-saving decision-making. Emergency response teams depend on information to guide their efforts and to deliver targeted assistance. On the front lines of emergency response are 911 and field responder agencies, which must direct reaction to life-or-death situations rapidly and efficiently. Historically, 911 operators had to respond based on very little information,...

Security professionals are recognising the intelligence value of leveraging publicly and commercially available information. This information can now be accessed more effectively from typically hard-to-reach regions. Also, the technological capabilities have matured in our age of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science. Intelligence has historically been based on classified data. However, today’s unclassified data, including open-source intelligence (OSINT), is increa...

Already a strong player, particularly in New Zealand and Australia, Gallagher is still climbing in the U.S. market, which it sees as a big opportunity to invest in the company. Active in the United States for 10 years, Gallagher undertook a more aggressive growth strategy about five years ago. There are 52 employees in Gallagher’s U.S. security business, and about half the workforce has been hired in the last couple of years. They have grown from three sales territories to 16, operated b...

As the physical security and cybersecurity worlds converge, many industry professionals are finding themselves moving from one realm to the other. Or, more likely, they are embracing both disciplines as integral to the future of security as a whole. One security professional bringing her cybersecurity expertise to the physical security market is Wendy Hoey, Director of Sales, US Sales Leadership, North America, for Milestone Systems. With more than 23 years of experience in cybersecurity, Wend...

Active shooter situations grab the most attention, but there is a long list of other threats facing schools, including bullying, vandalism and emergency medical situations. Broadly speaking, a comprehensive approach to school security should prioritise prevention, preparedness and response to all threats.  Holistic security approach “Fostering a culture of safety within a school, which involves strong relationships, trust, and communication, is highly effective and does not req...

GSX 2023 has its share of new product announcements, although many of the new products are enhancements to technologies shown at last spring’s ISC West show in Las Vegas. Booth traffic on the first day seemed busy at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, although one exhibitor complained that it takes some time for the traffic to make its way to the farthest areas of the show floor. Apparent throughout the GSX show is an expanding idea of what constitutes security. Incre...

When it comes to security cameras, the end user always wants more—more resolution, more artificial intelligence (AI), and more sensors. However, the cameras themselves do not change much from generation to generation; that is, they have the same power budgets, form factors and price. To achieve “more,” the systems-on-chips (SoCs) inside the video cameras must pack more features and integrate systems that would have been separate components in the past.  For an update on t...

Well attended and generating levels of excitement not seen since before the pandemic, ISC West may provide just the shot of adrenaline we need to drive industry success through the uncertain economic times ahead. Buzzwords like artificial intelligence (AI) and the cloud were still prevalent at the conference and exhibition in Las Vegas, but the hype of yesteryear seemed more subdued. Rather than breakthroughs to be celebrated, AI and cloud were discussed more as ways systems can realise even g...

PKOC stands for Public Key Open Credential. It is a new standard that will meet a 30-year industry challenge and strip away much of the complexity and cost involved in protecting and administering credentials for access control. It could also accelerate the transition from cards to mobile access control. PKOC is a standards-based mobile credential that is essentially free, vendor-agnostic, and interoperable across multiple devices and systems. It is a highly secure access credential that can l...

Intellicene is a new name in security, but not a newcomer to the industry. Intellicene is the new brand for a company with a long history. Previously known as Verint Situational Intelligence Solutions, the company spun off its cyber intelligence business in 2021, which was rebranded as Cognyte. The former Cognyte Situational Intelligence Solutions is now Intellicene. It still delivers the Symphia platform and portfolio of solutions that enable organisations to better understand and respond to m...

Collaboration among manufacturers in the physical security industry can result in systems that are easier to install for integrators and that provide a better customer experience for end users. Illustrating the point is the recent collaboration among a turnstile technology company, a supplier of short-range wireless readers/writers, and a biometric business focused on ‘frictionless’ access control.  “The more manufacturers collaborate with each other, the more benefits fo...

Clean, safe mass transit systems benefit everyone. Today’s transit operators face tremendous challenges, including declining revenue due to work-from-home policies, concerns about disease prevention, and high crime environments. Among these concerns, difficulty recruiting and retaining police resources has been exacerbated by the ongoing mental health crisis that disproportionately impacts public transportation networks. Mass transit systems Safe cities require an operational environme...

Milestone Systems wants to double its revenue in the next five years while also setting a new standard of how technology companies behave, spotlighting more responsible use of technology. In short, the open platform video management system (VMS) company seeks to revolutionise the industry, deploying data-driven video software in security and beyond. Milestone is also shifting the approach from tech-centric to emphasising business outcomes; that is, focusing on solving problems that keep their...

The Global Security Exchange (GSX 2022) in Atlanta in September 2022 is the latest example of the energetic post-COVID resurgence of security trade shows. On the vibrant show flow, discussions centered on topics such as the security industry’s need for more employees and the lingering impact of a months-long supply chain crisis. Against a backdrop of continuing industry challenges, exhibitors and attendees were diverted by a wealth of new opportunities as the industry rebounded. Several m...

GSX 2022 this week in Atlanta highlights the changing role of security in the enterprise. The role of the security director increasingly will encompass facets of cybersecurity as well as physical security. Transitioning to an operation that incorporates both disciplines requires a workforce that embraces education and building new skills. Education and the opportunity to build new skills are evident everywhere at GSX, including in the hundreds of education sessions and also in the knowledge sha...

As new technologies incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and overall uses of AI continue to expand, what protections are in place to prevent its misuse? Artificial intelligence, like any technology or security measure, is not inherently bad. It can, however, be used for nefarious purposes and in ways that were never intended or thought of. ‘Responsible AI Policy’ to protect users Prosegur has created a ‘Responsible AI Policy’ to protect users from potential AI threa...

For an enterprise, addressing cyber security requires that stakeholders have immediate access to critical information compiled from multiple sources and presented where and how they need it. Various data sources monitor the cyber security status of a company’s computer systems to provide real-time visibility. Aggregating that data into visual dashboards and presenting it to operators enables any cyber security problems to be flagged quickly and resolved. Software system enhances cyber se...

Access control systems are plagued by problems, such as false alarms and tailgating. Hakimo is a new company that applies concepts of deep learning to reduce false alarms and tailgating, and to make access control more accurate. False or nuisance alarms from access control systems take a lot of time and attention for operators in global security operations centres (GSOCs). It’s wasted time they could use to perform more high-level duties. Hiring enough GSOC operators to monitor and resolv...

ISC West is back in a big way in 2022, taking Las Vegas by storm with a level of attendance and enthusiasm that makes it seem like 2019 all over again. There are few face masks to get in the way of long-overdue person-to-person communications; no social distancing as the crowd gathers for the show to open on the first day. The only remnants of the pandemic are Reed Exhibition’s stringent health and safety guidelines, evidenced by a more complex registration process and the wearing of wri...

Metaverse is a familiar buzzword today, but few people grasp what it really means. In the simplest terms, the metaverse is an online ‘place’ where physical, virtual and augmented realities are shared. The term, Metaverse, suggests a more immersive online environment that combines elements of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Metaverse Expectations of the metaverse today are largely built on hype. You hear more about future and eventual potential than about the curren...

Since 2018, an open platform has been developing to enable the security and safety industry to work together smoothly across brands and systems to improve user experience and solutions. Pioneering the effort has been the Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA®). Delivering video-sensing solutions such as cameras and AI boxes, the open ecosystem is a reality. We are turning to OSSA President Johan Jubbega and OSSA Strategy Committee Chair Steve Ma for a progress update. Why is now the pe...

Topics that dominated our website’s Expert Panel Roundtable articles in 2021 included the effects of COVID-19, the benefits of mobile access, the upcoming potential of deep learning, and the future of access control cards. Our website’s Expert Panel Roundtable discussions in 2021 reflected some of the most timely and important topics in the industry. The very most clicked-on Expert Panel Roundtable discussion in 2021 considered the positive and negative effects of COVID-19. The seco...

Our most popular articles in 2021 provide a good reflection of the state of the industry. Taken together, the Top 10 Articles of 2021, as measured by reader clicks, cover big subjects such as smart cities and cybersecurity. They address new innovations in video surveillance, including systems that are smarter and more connected, and a new generation of computer chips that improve capabilities at the edge. A recurring theme in 2021 is cybersecurity's impact on physical security, embodied by a hi...

It’s been almost exactly a decade since HID Global launched the world's first university pilot of smartphones carrying secure mobile IDs. A lot has changed in the following 10 years. Today’s technology has matured, advanced, and proliferated across a variety of high-value use cases. To catch up on the latest developments in mobile access, we contacted Luc Merredew, Product Marketing Director, Physical Access Control, at HID Global.   Q: What has changed since the first pilo...

The trend of video customers moving to the cloud has reached a tipping point. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is being adopted on a massive scale. Combining the two trends adds a higher level of value than either component individually. Merging the power of AI and the cloud is a driving force behind cloud surveillance company Eagle Eye Networks’ acquisition of Uncanny Vision, an AI and video analytics company headquartered in Bangalore, India. Expensive AI resources Clou...

Video is an enormous wellspring of unstructured data in the enterprise environment. Finding new ways to use video data requires easy access for analysis. Gone are the days when video was recorded just to be played back later. New computer capabilities can analyse video to provide business intelligence and trends, all of which requires that a lot of unstructured data be captured, stored and kept immediately accessible. It's a driving force for companies specialising in video storage such as Quan...

A new generation of video cameras is poised to boost capabilities dramatically at the edge of the IP network, including more powerful artificial intelligence (AI) and higher resolutions, and paving the way for new applications that would have previously been too expensive or complex. Technologies at the heart of the coming new generation of video cameras are Ambarella’s newest systems on chips (SoCs). Ambarella’s CV5S and CV52S product families are bringing a new level of on-camera...

The city of Baltimore has banned the use of facial recognition systems by residents, businesses and the city government (except for police). The criminalisation in a major U.S. city of an important emerging technology in the physical security industry is an extreme example of the continuing backlash against facial recognition throughout the United States. Facial recognition technology ban Several localities – from Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco, from Oakland, California, to Boston &n...

For more than 22 years, Open Options, Addison, Texas, has developed access control solutions that connect to leading security technologies to deliver a full-scale solution based on each customer’s unique needs. In 2018, Open Options was acquired by ACRE, which already owned the Vanderbilt and ComNet brands. To find out the latest, we interviewed Chuck O’Leary, President of Open Options. Q: It has been two and a half years since Open Options was acquired by ACRE. Briefly describe tha...

Imagine a world where video cameras are not just watching and reporting for security, but have an even wider positive impact on our lives. Imagine that cameras control street and building lights, as people come and go, that traffic jams are predicted and vehicles are automatically rerouted, and more tills are opened, just before a queue starts to form. Cameras with AI capabilities Cameras in stores can show us how we might look in the latest outfit as we browse. That’s the vision from Pa...