Surveillance & Security News for December 2020

With the new UKNI mark fast approaching, security professionals in Northern Ireland must be up-to-date on the latest changes and deadline for the new product marking system, says UNION, part of the ASSA ABLOY Door Hardware Group. This covers door opening solutions such as fire-resistant and emergency locks, panic exit devices and door closers. Coming into force from 1 January 2021, the Northern Ireland Protocol ensures that Northern Ireland will continue to follow the EU’s rules on produc...

HID Global, the globally renowned company in trusted identity solutions, has announced that Collectors Universe, Inc. has added HID Trusted Tag Services to its Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) coins and banknote holders, so as to enable collectors to quickly and easily validate the authenticity, grade, and condition of their PCGS collectibles, with a tap of their NFC-enabled smartphone. Product authentication technology With the rare coin market exceeding US$ 3 billion, product authent...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is more than a buzzword. AI is increasingly becoming part of our everyday lives, and a vital tool in the physical security industry. In 2020, AI received more attention than ever, and expanded the ways it can contribute value to physical security systems. This article will revisit some of those development at year-end, including links back to the originally published content. In the security market today, AI is expanding the use cases, making technologies more power...

Securing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in the transportation industry is multi-faceted for a multitude of reasons. Pressures build for transit industry players to modernise their security systems, while also mitigating the vulnerabilities, risks, and growth-restrictions associated with proprietary as well as integrated solutions. There are the usual physical security obstacles when it comes to increasingly integrated solutions and retrofitting updated technologies into legacy systems....

In a world forever changed by the coronavirus pandemic, companies worldwide are now expanding their concept of physical security to best safeguard their facilities and employees. Few incidents have had as much of an impact on businesses globally as the COVID-19 pandemic; much of the world is still struggling to contain COVID-19, navigating the lasting effects and exploring what the “new normal” looks like. While some organisations are still engaged primarily in “anywhere oper...

Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, is pleased to announce a technology partnership with ELATEC Inc. of Palm City, Florida, to provide radio frequency identification and mobile device readers as a core component of Sharp's touchless secure print solutions offerings. Touchless solutions  High-touch surfaces such as door entrances, vending machines and multifunction printers can be vectors for spreading viral infections, such as the COVID-19 virus....

An impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been to accelerate change. In 2020, the security industry was among many others that sought to adapt to shifting norms. In the process, we grabbed onto new opportunities for change and, in many cases, re-evaluated how we have done business for decades. If necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps crisis is the mother of acceleration. This article will reflect on how these themes impacted the physical security industry in 2020, based on content we publ...

Consolidation continued in the physical security marketplace in the turbulent year 2020. There were several mega-deals in addition to shuffling among small and medium-sized companies. Here is a sampling of M&A from this year, compiled from our archive of company news. With the changing economic climate, how much more is ahead in 2021? Stay tuned. Wesco merges with Anixter WESCO International, Inc., a provider of business-to-business (B2B) distribution, logistics services and supply chain...

The coronavirus pandemic had a monumental impact on all aspects of the business world, including the security industry. However, amid the gloom and doom, many security professionals also saw opportunity: New ways the industry’s products could be applied to address the challenges of coping with the virus. This article will review some of those opportunities, based on our reporting throughout the year and including links back to the original articles. During and after the pandemic, security...

ASSA ABLOY announces that Medeco Security locks has been recertified for ISO 27001 compliance by Intertek, an independent, multi-national testing and certification firm. ISO 27001 certification affirms that Medeco’s Salem, Va. operation adheres to internationally recognised standards for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) in the production and sale of the Intelligent Key (electronic locking) systems XT and CLIQ. ISO 27001 certification provides requirements for setting up and...

The cloud is here to stay. Its resilience and ability to connect the world during during the COVID-19 pandemic has proved its worth, even to the uninitiated who have now witnessed first-hand the value of connected systems. Video and access control as a service provides a flexible and fluid security and business solution to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving industry, where the changing threat landscape means investing in the cloud is an investment towards success. This article will look ba...

Interface Security Systems, a front runner in managed service provider delivering business security, managed network, UCaaS and business intelligence solutions to distributed enterprises, shared its top predictions for the physical security industry. 2021: Slow beginning followed by biggest demand shock 2021 could prove to be almost as turbulent for the security industry as 2020. In the earlier part of the year, every one expected the industry will continue to grapple with the fallout from...

SaaS and subscription revenue of its VMware surpassed its on-premises licence revenue for the first time in its Q3 fiscal year 2021 which ended in October 2020. According to the research data analysed and published by Comprar Acciones, VMware’s SaaS and subscription revenue for Q3 FY21 totaled $676 million. That marked an increase of 44% year-over-year (YoY) and accounted for 24% of the company’s total revenue. It is $37 million higher than the $639 million revenue of its on-premises...

3xLOGIC, Inc., a renowned provider of integrated, intelligent security solutions, announced new staff appointments as the company continues to expand despite a year filled with many challenges. These staff appointments are in North America, but growth continues apace in all markets with the company recently announcing the launch of the VIGIL video line of solutions throughout EMEA. David Galante is the new Senior Director of Global Product Management, he and his team manage the product roadmap...

NetUtils, a renowned IT specialist has launched a new, highly integrated managed cyber security services portfolio to help businesses gain enterprise class protection at competitive price points to suit small and medium sized organisations. The new four tier bundles combine between 4 and 16 cyber security services ranging from Endpoint Protection and Email Security all the way up to fully fledged SOC services with prices starting at just £8 per user per month. With a heritage spanning ove...

Safeture has announced a partnership with Maiden Voyage, a specialist in diverse -business travellers and COVID-19 traveller safety training. Maiden Voyage, based in Leeds, England, helps make travel business travel more accessible to diverse groups through interactive and engaging traveller safety awareness courses and eLearning. The company's mission statement is to “Make Business Travel Safe in a Diverse World’ because they believe that business travel should be safe, liberating,...

SecurityCEU.com, owned and operated by The CMOOR Group, has partnered with The Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA) to offer ALOA’s popular ALOA Fundamental Locksmith (AFL professional designation) in an interactive, blended format at a discounted rate. The online ALOA AFL course is discounted by $300. The full ALOA AFL designation online programme costs $1,200 (regularly $1,500). The ALOA member’s discounted rate (regularly $1,350) is also $300 off making the AFL designation $1,...

Pivot3, the provider of intelligent hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solutions for mission-critical video, announces the addition of HCI appliances to the Pivot3 HCI portfolio purpose-built for running and utilising intelligent video analytics at scale. In conjunction with these new solutions, Pivot3 has also developed a reference architecture for deploying video content analytics platform BriefCam on Pivot3 infrastructure. The new Pivot3 solutions and reference architecture are designed to...

Qualys, Inc., a pioneer and globally renowned provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions, has announced the establishment of a new cloud platform in particular for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) region. With nine locations across the globe, Qualys is expanding its highly scalable cloud platform that powers Qualys’ suite of integrated IT, security, and compliance cloud apps including its latest VMDR (Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response) and Multi-Vector EDR Solu...

Situated near the picturesque small town of Soliera in northern Italy, the dairy plant of Italian food company Granarolo is anything but small: More than 600 farmers, 70 trucks for the collection of milk and 720 vehicles handle 850,000 tons of milk every year. Its dairy products such as milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and lately also ham and pasta, supply several million Italian families every day. The plant’s huge production capacity is reflected in the size of the perimeter: The Solier...

Border Caravan Storage, a family run business that offers storage for 170 caravans, motor homes and trailers has been operated by Keith, Alison and Helen Rogers for over 15 years. The site used an access control system to control access to the site, but there wasn’t an ideal method of tracking which units were on site, at any given time. The management team had been using a manually operated display board that was prone to error, so they decided to look for a reliable automatic method of...

GJD, an award-winning manufacturer and designer of smart electronic perimeter detection and high-performance LED illumination equipment, announces the launch of its D-TECT 50 AM, an external motion detector with a 50m detection range and Anti-Mask technology. The D-TECT 50 AM is a long-range high-performance BS8418 compliant external movement detector; which can be used for intruder monitoring, CCTV surveillance and other alarm warning requirements. The detector’s dual PIR anti-mask sensi...

Bosch Security Systems has released version 4.8 of its Building Integration System (BIS) which offers safe, touchless access control solutions to curb the spread of viruses like Covid-19. Secure access control solution BIS 4.8 supports biometric and mobile device authentication and provides building managers enhanced integration of fire panels and intrusion panels to ensure the security of buildings. The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused building operators to rethink their access control so...

Security personnel must be able to quickly detect unauthorised vehicles and individuals at critical infrastructure sites. Without intrusion detection, entities like electrical substations can be subject to physical attacks. 88 percent of substations experience at least one break-in every year and 10 percent see more than 20 intrusions in the same time frame, according to CIGRE, a global electricity industry organisation. To safeguard remote substations from external threats, electric utilities...

Suprema, a global provider of access control, biometrics and time and attendance solutions, announced that its Airfob Patch was selected as one of the 30 Top Technology Innovations of 2020 by Security Sales and Integration (SSI), an organisation dedicated to providing technology and business content for security dealers and integrators. Security Sales and Integration has been announcing the Top 30 Technology Innovations every year for more than a decade. SSI’s Top 30 Technology Innovation...

ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions completed the integration of their Aperio wireless lock technology with vIDix Control, a security management system from Ban-Koe Companies, who provides workplace security and workforce management solutions to thousands of organisations worldwide. “Integration with the Aperio locksets provides vIDix Control customers with the ability to extend electronic access to areas of their facility that are typically off limits to a wired solution,” said Steve Lohm...

Synectics plc, the globally renowned control room surveillance solutions provider, has announced the release of its Synergy software platform, which enables organisations to monitor and manage increasing volumes of critical real-time data across their surveillance and security networks. New features of the Synergy software platform, such as enhanced mapping, system configuration, and edge recording mean that customers can save time, money, and resources, while enhancing their safety and securit...

Permanent video observation is in place at busy traffic junctions in many towns. With the Traffic Enforcement Module on the Dallmeier HEMISPHERE® software platform, public authorities can now capture traffic incidents or offences quickly and simply with an easy-to-use software tool. A precisely definable and adaptable process enables users to evaluate and follow up on incidents efficiently with digital tools – while adhering to the evaluation and data protection regulations. Capture...

Genetec Inc., a foremost technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions, shared the results of a state of the industry report based on insights from over 1,000 physical security leaders. The report looks at how the physical security industry is reacting to the threat of COVID-19, how security professionals are coping, and how day-to-day operations and plans are affected for the coming year. Physical security industry Challenges Not sur...

SMART SHOOTER, a world-class designer, developer, and manufacturer of innovative fire control systems that significantly increase the accuracy and lethality of small arms, was awarded a contract by the Indian Ministry of Defence for the supply of its SMASH Fire Control Systems to the Indian Navy. The contract calls for the supply of Smart Shooter's SMASH 2000 Plus fire control systems, which will be installed mainly on AK-47/103 rifles. Smart Shooter's SMASH 2000 Plus fully complies with the In...