Sint Maarten News

Security isn’t easy for schools and universities. As education institutions increasingly become vulnerable targets for threats and attacks, they face the security challenges of maintaining a welcoming and open environment while ensuring the comprehensive safety of the students, teachers and staff. The balance between providing high levels of security with a certain level of convenience becomes crucial, especially when considering the large audience schools work with – the staff, admi...

When it comes to emergency planning and response, there is an abundance of resources to help enterprises prepare to mitigate the impact of an incident. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has devised the National Incident Management System (NIMS), aimed at defining and standardising ways that resources can be used to manage and respond to an incident. An enterprise’s Emergency Operations Plan, or EOP, incorporates NIMS concepts and spells out what to do in an emergency. S...

The Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA) was founded in 2008 with a goal of creating ‘plug-and-play interoperability’ among physical security devices, systems and services. Since then, the organisation’s mission has both expanded to include logical security and focused more narrowly on identity, a critical aspect of security today. In recent years, PSIA has concentrated on its PLAI (Physical Logical Access Interoperability) specification, which provides a means t...

People are an essential component of any physical security system. Automation hasn’t taken over completely yet! But how has innovation changed the skillsets security operators need to operate systems effectively? The two elements – technology and manpower – must operate seamlessly and hand-in-glove to ensure that modern systems live up to their full potential. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How does technology innovation in security systems impact the skill...

The Aratek BIONE fingerprint algorithm recently achieved top scores in the MINEX (Minutiae Interoperability Exchange) III evaluations administered by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The test measures the accuracy and interoperability of proprietary minutiae templates along with their level of compliance with the U.S. Government’s Personal Identity Verification (PIV) program by extracting and matching the proprietary minutiae templates against the ANSI/INCITS...

Voip Unlimited successfully completed the interoperability testing with Yeastar and has since partnered with China’s PBX manufacturer. Users can now enjoy the simplified configuration with just the username, password, and DID number, and then one click with successful registration. Yeastar provides cloud-based and on-premises VoIP PBXs and VoIP gateways for SMBs to deliver Unified Communications solutions that connect co-workers and clients more efficiently. Established as a pioneer in th...

The Mobile Command and Control Vehicle is a custom-made, robust vehicle, outfitted with specialised surveillance, communication & monitoring equipment for homeland security applications. The custom designed Mobile Command and Control Vehicle (MCCV) is capable of supporting diverse mission critical applications of military, security or police forces. The Mobile Command and Control Vehicle can be easily deployed at the site of emergency or at a location that has potential threat, to take comp...

Time for an indepth review of IFSEC 2019 in London. This show had fewer exhibitors than previous shows, and the ‘vibe’ was definitely more low-key. Fewer exhibitors meant larger aisles and plenty of room to breathe, and the slower pace provided time for exhibitors to reflect (often negatively) on the return on investment (ROI) of large trade shows. There was little buzz on the first day of the show, but spirits picked up on the second day (when, not coincidentally, some exhibitors...

As public security concerns spread across the globe, public areas that lack guard during non-business hours are requiring reliable surveillance equipment in the case of high crime rate at night or poor lighting conditions. In response, Dahua Technology, a video-centric smart IoT solution and service provider, develops “Starlight Technology” with comprehensive camera portfolio including PTZ, IPC and HDCVI to serve various needs of low-light environment. Starlight cameras Compared to...

In five states in the Western United States, 200 video surveillance cameras keep are keeping watch to provide early warning of wildfires. In the near future, the number of wildfire surveillance cameras will be growing dramatically. Soon there will be more than 1,000 of the cameras in California alone, keeping watch on thousands of acres at risk of destructive events like last year’s deadly Camp and Woolsey wildfires. It is a striking example of how video surveillance technology can be use...

Pluralsight, Inc., the enterprise technology skills platform, announced that analytics and data management technology provider NuWave Solutions is using Pluralsight to achieve its career development initiatives. “We look at Pluralsight as the foundation for technology learning in our company,” said Mark Keyser, CEO of NuWave. “The ability to identify the skills our employees need, and then enabling our employees to follow their personalised learning paths, is helping...

Hubbell Incorporated announced the appointment of Allan Connolly to the role of Group President, Hubbell Power Systems (HPS).  As Group President, Mr. Connolly will lead all business units within the HPS Group. Mr. Connolly previously served as President of Aclara, coming to Hubbell as part of the acquisition of that company by HPS in February 2018. Mr. Connolly oversaw the strategic direction of Aclara, joining as President and CEO in May 2014....

In business and at home, the smartphone is a remote control for our lives. It’s a calendar and a credit card. We book holidays and do our daily banking. With video calling technology, we can even be in two places at once (or make it seem that way). Could there be untapped potential in using mobile phones for access control, too? According to official EU data, by 2016 94% of European large businesses were issuing their workers with some sort of connected mobile device. We seem to use our s...

Delta Scientific, a renowned manufacturer of counter-terrorist vehicle control systems used in the United States and internationally, announced that, on June 3, 2019, when a man couldn’t produce credentials at Mayport Naval Station, he gunned his engine and attempted to enter. The security staff activated their vehicle access barrier, a Delta DSC501, to pop out of the ground. The vehicle crashed into it and was brought to a standstill. The violator was taken to the hospital and died two d...

As a security service provider with a rich history in manguarding, Allied Universal is launching a new technology platform to increase productivity and accountability of security officers and to transform guard service operations from an ‘observe and report’ mission to a ‘detect and respond’ function. Mark Mullison, Allied Universal’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), says the new Heliaus platform also uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse data, predict outco...

MOBOTIX as a manufacturer in Europe obtained “CNPP certified” product certification for its video surveillance cameras, offering a commitment to resist IT and electronic cyber-attacks. “This recognition is proof of quality, performance, and also of the trust of our customers at a time when digital security is becoming a key issue for all stakeholders,” says Patrice Ferrant, Regional Sales Manager, MOBOTIX. MOBOTIX announced its intention to focus more on cyber-security...

A supplier of global technology services, Bosch chose to partner with Gallagher and KW Corporation to help streamline its North American security operations. Operational efficiency Bosch required a comprehensive yet flexible security solution that could be tailored to solve their specific requirements and challenges. Presently 22 Bosch locations are on the Gallagher platform with a cardholder database of approximately 6,000. A key area of focus for Bosch was improving operational efficiency....

The ability to treat patients in a secure environment is a base requirement of hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Whether facilities are large or small, security challenges abound, including perimeter security, access control of sensitive areas, video surveillance, and even a long list of cyber-risks. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the security challenges of hospitals and the healthcare industry?

Johnson Controls introduces exacqVision VMS v19.06, with updates that include automatic transfer of video after a server failover, a new access control integration, support for ONVIF network loss recording, improved motion zone configuration and enhanced network security for mobile app users. exacqVision VMS v19.06 The latest version of exacqVision offers Enterprise Manager customers a more robust failover solution. In a failover scenario, transferring recordings from a spare NVR to the primar...

The global telecommunications operator LCRcom in cooperation with Alvaco, distributor in Spain of Yeastar, announces the end of the certification process that allows guaranteeing the complete compatibility of the LCRcom SIP trunk with Yeastar on-premises and cloud-based PBXs. Easy, safe, and faster device configuration Yeastar has been working on pure IP solutions, making regularly compatibility tests with different SIP providers. To offer a much simpler, faster, and safer configuration proces...

Allied Universal, renowned security and facility services company in North America, has announced the acquisition of Cypress Private Security, LP - a San Francisco-based company offering comprehensive security services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  Manned guarding “Cypress Private Security is a company that we have long admired and always wanted to partner with,” said Steve Jones, CEO of Allied Universal. “This security company has built a brand and a culture t...

Vicon announced that they have been awarded a new GSA Schedule 84 contract by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the centralised procurement arm of the federal government. For over 20 years, Vicon has served as a trusted security solutions provider of video surveillance, access control and security equipment for government agencies under GSA Schedule 84. The five-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract (IDIQ) provides federal, state and local government agencies with...

Pluralsight, the enterprise technology skills platform announced that its social enterprise, Pluralsight One, has formed a multi-year partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to transform its digital capabilities and bring technology skills development opportunities to displaced people and their host communities around the world. The partnership is designed to create sustainable social impact for displaced and crisis-affected populations around the world, as well as increase the tec...

Visitors to the 2019 edition of Secutech Vietnam will have plenty of opportunities to gather market intelligence, thanks to the introduction of the new ‘Smart Factory Conference’ to the show’s fringe programme. As the region’s leading trade fair for the security, fire safety and smart building sectors, the fair provides a programme of educational events that cover technological trends, government regulations and industry outlook. Smart factory systems “Vietnam&rsq...

With the rising number of active shooter events in the United States, Johnson Controls has released the new Detect360 Active Shooter Response (ASR) system. The system combines reliable gunshot detection with industry-leading notification technology to provide immediate warning when a gunshot is fired within a building. By providing early notification and precise location of the shooter, the ASR system gives occupants time to find safety and allows police and security personnel to mitigate the th...

The threat of drones is a growing concern around the perimeter and in the airspace surrounding airports. According to a UK Airprox Board report, the number of times a drone endangered the safety of an aircraft in the UK airspace rose more than a third in 2018 compared to the year before. The highest-profile recent drone incident was at UK’s Gatwick Airport, where a drone sighting last December triggered a three-day shutdown of the UK’s second busiest airport, disrupted the travel p...

Over a fifteen-month period, Sonitrol has opened new franchises and expanded current markets in eight states including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California and Florida. The expansion of current markets where Sonitrol has a footprint assists in the growth of the Sonitrol brand and secure more businesses with the best in verified electronic security, keeping our communities safe and keeping more criminals off the streets. “Sonitrol is excited to continu...

Sargent and Greenleaf (S&G), a manufacturer of high-quality mechanical and electronic locks, announces that it has been acquired by OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm. News of S&G and OpenGate Capital entering into an agreement to acquire was initially announced in January and financial terms were not disclosed. “With the support from OpenGate Capital, we are working to develop and release advanced locking solutions for safes, vaults, ATMS and highly sensitive environm...

Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company and manufacturer of network infrastructure solutions, announced Will Jensen as President of Berk-Tek and Vice President and General Manager of Nexans LAN Division North America, effective June 17. He will report to Steven Vermeulen, Nexans Executive Vice President, Telecom and Data Business Group. Jensen succeeds Paul Trunk, who is retiring after 22 years of service with Berk-Tek. In his new role, Jensen will be responsible for all Sales & Marketing, Operations, R...

The definition of a standard is “an authoritative principle or rule that usually implies a model or pattern for guidance, by comparison with which the quantity, excellence, correctness, etc., of other things may be determined.” In technology markets, such as physical security, standards are agreed-upon language, specifications or processes that are used across the board by multiple stakeholders to enable easier interconnectivity and smoother operation of systems. We asked this week&r...