Surveillance & Security News for February 2021

London Ambulance Service announced that 529 violent incidents have been reported between April 2020 and January this year. To protect their frontline workers, the Ambulance Service has started to roll out Motorola Solutions VB400 body-worn video solutions to help their frontline workers to deal with assaults and threats. “The health, safety, and wellbeing of our crews are of utmost importance. We want to take every precaution possible to ensure that our frontline people are safe whilst at...

Our Expert Panel Roundtable is an opinionated group. However, for a variety of reasons, we are sometimes guilty of not publishing their musings in a timely manner. At the end of 2020, we came across several interesting comments among those that were previously unpublished. Following is a catch-all collection of those responses, addressing some of the most current and important issues in the security marketplace in 2021.

At an Oldsmar, Fla., water treatment facility on Feb. 5, an operator watched a computer screen as someone remotely accessed the system monitoring the water supply and increased the amount of sodium hydroxide from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million. The chemical, also known as lye, is used in small concentrations to control acidity in the water. In larger concentrations, the compound is poisonous – the same corrosive chemical used to eat away at clogged drains. The impact o...

Domino's Pizza is one of the largest and fastest growing food service company in India with a network of 850+ restaurants in more than 200 cities. The Pizza delivery expert is a renowned provider of the organised pizza market with 70% market share in India. With its most famous half an hour delivery strive, Domino's Pizza marks the importance of communication and time growing towards its vision of exceptional people on a mission to be the best pizza delivery company in the world. Today's retail...

Understanding access control technology has surpassed its core application as a security tool and is helping protect individuals from infection, Anviz has announced the release of a strategic addition to its product line, Go Touchless - FaceDeep 5 and FaceDeep 5 IRT face recognition terminals. Safely Returning to work and school during the post COVID-19 pandemic period leaves people with a key question - With what health and safety precautions? AI-based facial recognition terminal Anviz has i...

Armis®, the agentless device security platform, and Viakoo®, a pioneer in automated IoT cyber hygiene, announce a partnership that brings together IoT device discovery and remediation. The number of connected Enterprise IoT devices used in workplaces across all industries is exploding. Experts say that by 2025, one should expect more than 40 billion of these devices interwoven into our everyday lives. And although these devices help improve efficiency and reliability, they lack the mana...

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named a new chair and vice-chair to lead the SIA Identity and Biometric Technology Advisory Board (IBTAB), an exclusive advisory panel to the SIA Board of Directors comprised of biometric and digital identification experts. Benji Hutchinson –president of U.S. federal government business at NEC Corporation of America – will serve as SIA IBTAB chair, with Jim Black – director of security standards and controls within Microsoft’s...

Gradiant leads a project to develop a technology capable of verifying the identity of citizens in the online processes of public services in a secure, easy-to-use and private way. To do so, the alliance will work on the concept of Electronic Identity (eID), the way users can identify themselves through the network and will use Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technologies to ensure the process. This is IMPULSE (Identity Management in PUbLic SErvices), an initiative with a budget of around...

In response to gaps in the short-range air defence radar market, Numerica Corporation (Numerica), a globally renowned company in designing and deploying state-of-the-art defence technology, has announced the development of a new USA-made, 3D radar solution for Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) and other short-range defence missions, Spyglass short-range surveillance radar system. Spyglass 3D radar Designed to fill the need for exceptional C-UAS detection and tracking performance, Spygl...

Vimpex has supplied Agrippa wireless acoustic fire door holders to hold open fire doors at the HQ of one of England’s largest housing associations to provide an easy and effective method of infection control, while not impacting on fire safety. A COVID-secure risk assessment identified the need to reduce the touching of fire door locks and door handles at the organisation’s administration offices by staff and visitors. “Reducing the spread of germs and bacteria has never been...

The COVID-19 global pandemic had a life-changing impact on all of us in 2020, including a multi-faceted jolt on the physical security industry. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now see more clearly the exact nature and extent of that impact. And it’s not over yet: The pandemic will continue to be top-of-mind in 2021. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What have been the positive and negative effects of Covid-19 on the physical security industry in 2020? What impact wi...

Genetec Inc., a renowned technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations and business intelligence solutions, announced the launch of its brand new Virtual Experience Centre. The platform enables channel partners and end-users to easily and efficiently collaborate with Genetec employees to discuss projects, view demos and access materials, in one virtual environment from anywhere in the world. The online platform recreates the same personalised interaction of visiting the exi...

Ping Identity, the Intelligent Identity solution for the enterprise, welcomed Peter Burke as the new Senior Vice President of Research and Development. Burke is a highly accomplished business leader with a Ph.D. in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) and more than 25 years of technology experience spanning Silicon Valley start-ups to multinational organisations. Burke will drive product strategy and development across all Ping solutions, helping to further accelerate identity security an...

DICE Corporation (The New DICE Corporation) is empowering security integration companies with Matrix Integrator, a cloud-based video event monitoring, surveillance, and alarm notification suite for any video system, anywhere, and at any time. Interactive video monitoring  For the first time, security integrators can directly provide end-users with automatic and managed interactive video monitoring services, while also controlling their business operations at the same time. “In the p...

Videx Security appoints James Rose, an experienced professional in the access control and door entry market, to National Projects Manager. In the newly created role, James is responsible for Videx’s large-scale access control and entry projects, predominately in the social and private residential sector. A key element of his role involves onsite leadership for the project team, taking ownership of the full project life cycle from initiation to completion. Developing strong relationships...

Evolv Technology, a globally renowned provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-based touchless security screening systems, announced the appointment of digital transformation executive Merline Saintil to its Board of Directors. The 20-year technology industry veteran is widely respected for providing world-class innovators and market makers with strategic leadership, insightful guidance and operational expertise to dominate the markets they serve. Saintil has a proven track record of developing...

Electronic Security Association’s (ESA) National Training School has launched a valuable new tool to help employers with one of the biggest challenges faced when hiring new security technicians, gauging practical areas of proficiencies. Gauging proficiency areas “Many other professions use skills assessments to verify computer or accounting expertise, for example, so the Electronic Security Association felt with the thousands of test questions we have available from our courses tha...

Growing concern about deep-fake videos will make it increasingly important to be able to demonstrate the integrity of video evidence, warns South Korea’s largest in-country video tech manufacturer IDIS. Rapid advances in digital video manipulation techniques, and a rise in alleged deep-fake celebrity videos being reported in the news, will put pressure on both video tech users and on prosecutors to demonstrate the integrity of any footage they use. Internal disciplinary proceedings &ldq...

Synology Inc. has announced two additions to its enterprise-class M.2 NVMe solid-state drive line for SSD caching, and its latest generation 10/25GbE network cards to drive forward storage and networking performance on its storage solutions. New 800 GB models for the SNV3400 M.2 2280 and SNV3500 M.2 22110 NVMe SSD lines are designed to let users with larger data sets cache more data, allowing for higher and more consistent performance improvements over HDD-based arrays. Dual-port 10GbE SFP+ E1...

Evolution, the foremost integrated Fire & Security systems business, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the launch of its new company logo. The logo has been given a stylish and modern refresh to reflect the development of the business since its foundation in 1996 and to symbolise the company’s ethos of always looking towards future success. Delivering excellence Richard Lambert, Managing Director of Evolution, says this is an important milestone for the company: “Since...

Anomali, the globally renowned company in intelligence-driven cyber security solutions, has announced that Anomali Match is now integrated with Microsoft Azure Sentinel. By bridging the gap between these two major security solutions, Anomali and Microsoft have created an automated solution that significantly enhances and speeds joint customers’ threat detection, alerting and response capabilities. Azure Sentinel and Anomali Match integration Azure Sentinel is a cloud-native security inf...

Heavily used interior and exterior doors need an access solution that’s both robust and intelligent. The new SMARTair i-max Escutcheon from ASSA ABLOY ensures only authorised users pass through these doors, via a range of credentials including virtual keys stored on a smartphone. Fast, wire-free installation makes it easy to implement or extend a SMARTair access control system in any building. This new wireless escutcheon with an inbuilt RFID reader and Bluetooth compatibility handles the...

Johnson Controls, a global provider of smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, announced it has joined The Climate Pledge, a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism. Signatories of the Pledge commit to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, ten years ahead of the goal set out in the United Nations’ Paris Climate Agreement. Johnson Controls is one of 53 organisations that have now signed the Pledge, and the move comes hot on the heels of the company’s announcement...

PSA, one of the world’s largest consortium of professional systems integrators, announced the addition of Dedrone to its Managed Security Service Provider Program (MSSP). Dedrone is a solution provider in the airspace security. “Dedrone provides early warning, identification, location, and mitigation against all drone threats,” said Tim Brooks, PSA’s Vice President of Sales and Vendor Management. “As the market and technology leader in airspace security, Dedrone is...

Sensor solution provider, HENSOLDT is expanding its capacity to cater for the growth in its business. HENSOLDT is investing approximately 30 million euros at its Ulm site and creating an additional 300 jobs for highly skilled staff throughout the entire group this year, having taken on 250 new recruits in 2020. New radar for Eurofighters This investment is linked to strong order growth relating to the development of new radar for the Eurofighter combat aircraft and other projects. “In it...

Motorola Solutions announced the opening of its new, Video Security & Analytics (VS&A) manufacturing facility in Richardson, Texas. The 136,000 square foot building represents the company’s continued investment in North American manufacturing and the expansion of its production and shipping capabilities to further the growth of its video security portfolio which serves customers around the world. “We’re proud to be building upon our commitment to provide advanced video...

Ping Identity, the Intelligent Identity solution for the enterprise, announced Project COVID Freedom which leverages its recent acquisition of ShoCard personal identity to allow healthcare providers, businesses, and individuals to easily share proof of COVID test results and vaccinations. Project COVID Freedom creates a secure and privacy enabled way for healthcare providers, businesses, and individuals to verify test and vaccination results, while keeping users up to date on vaccination status...

Strategic Security Solutions (S3), the provider of information security consulting services for identity and access management (IAM), governance, risk and compliance, and SAP Security, announces it has formed an advisory board to provide support and guidance for S3’s strategic growth initiatives. The initial members include two widely renowned cybersecurity industry experts, Peter Tran and Michael Brown, Rear Admiral, USN (Retired), who will apply their experience to help S3 identify new...

Mobile credentials are set to become the mainstream choice for access control in office buildings as a new generation of workers are forcing employers and landlords to prioritise fast, secure and convenient access via their smartphones. Omdia predicts annual downloads of mobile credentials worldwide rising from 20 million in 2020 to 120 million by 2023 and 150 million in 2024. It is particularly bullish about Bluetooth, which it predicts to grow by more than three times the speed of the next hi...

Openpath, a provider of renowned touchless access control and security automation for the built environment, has reimagined the ideal digital badge for today’s modern workforce and workplace. As an industry disruptor, Openpath first revolutionised mobile access control by studying user behaviour to add obvious, simple, yet powerful tools that ensure a frictionless user experience while making organisations more secure. Now, Openpath’s new reimagined digital badge gives system admini...