Euralarm - Experts & Thought Leaders

Euralarm will organise a live webinar on the overhaul of EN 50131-1 on November 7th at 16:00 - 17:30 CET.  To protect people, businesses, and resources against burglary and robbery, the use of intrusion and hold-up alarm systems is widely spread. Many homes and buildings are equipped with such a system. The requirements for the design of these are laid down in the European standard EN 50131-1. Technologies requirements With technology evolving and remote access, cloud processing, smart homes, and smart buildings becoming part of the connected world these new technologies need to be allowed with guard rails into the standard. It will ensure that going forward EN 50131-1 will stay relevant for end-users, alarm response, and insurance companies and with that also for the industry.  Focus​ What are the key facts and outlook of the advantages of the overhaul? This webinar will focus on the overhaul of the EN 50131-1. How is the EN 50131-1 used and how this will change with the overhaul?  What are the key facts and outlook of the advantages of the overhaul? Find the answers by joining our webinar.  Audience​ This webinar is important for service providers, manufacturers, insurers, certifiers, installers, and those involved or interested in standardisation intrusion, and hold-up systems. 

The delegates of Euralarm’s Services Section have elected Dave Wilkinson as Vice-Chair of the section. He follows in the footsteps of Brian Cunningham. Robert Thilthorpe, Chair of the Services Section, stated, “I’d like to thank Brian for his efforts as the previous Vice-Chair and I am sure that Dave will be given the support that our delegates have always given Brian and I, to help us to move the Services Section to the next level." Development of service standards Thilthorpe added: "Dave has been a long-standing contributor to the work of Euralarm and previously held the positions of Vice Chair & Chair of the Security Section from 2015-2019.” Asked about his new role within Euralarm Dave commented: “The Services section has proactively and successfully contributed to the development of services standards and guidance. The work has been focused on the services for fire safety and security systems as well as remote services for fire safety and security." Services section Dave added: "When it comes to digitalisation the Services Section is at the forefront of the developments. By monitoring these emerging technologies and identifying the possibilities these technologies offer to our members, along with the challenges they bring to the market, the Services section continues to facilitate innovation. I am delighted to be part of the team.”  Dave Wilkinson represents the Euralarm member BSIA, the trade association for security manufacturers, installers and ARCs.

Euralarm has released a Position Paper in which definitions are proposed that can be endorsed by the European Commission in the Implementing an Act complementing the CRA.  Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is expected to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) in  September or October 2024. This new Regulation will provide essential requirements enforcing protection mechanisms on digital products (hardware and software) to improve their resilience against cyber-attacks.  Conformity assessment procedures Essential requirements will ensure that identified vulnerabilities are duly handled In addition, essential requirements will ensure that identified vulnerabilities are duly handled and result in updates to the products during the whole support period of the product. The Regulation also imposes conformity assessment procedures for the demonstration of compliance with these essential requirements.  Smart home products While most digital products are announced to benefit from the procedure of self-assessment, regardless of the existence of harmonised standards, and presumption of conformity when a harmonised standard (cited in the OJEU) is applied, categories of important products and critical products are listed in the CRA and associated with a stricter conformity assessment procedure.  At least 1 category of important products in Class I is of importance for the Euralarm members. This one is listed in Annex III of the CRA as “Smart home products with security functionalities, including smart door locks, security cameras, baby monitoring systems, and alarm systems”.  OJEU or an EU-type examination This category will require either the application of a harmonised standard cited in the OJEU or an EU-type examination by a CRA-notified body. It is therefore of utmost importance to have unambiguous definitions for it. Euralarm, the European trade association representing the electronic fire safety and security industry, greatly appreciates the opportunity to propose definitions that can be endorsed by the European Commission in the Implementing Act complementing the CRA. After due consideration of the wording of the category in Annex III and the criteria in Article 7(2) of the CRA, the present position paper provides such proposals for the category mentioned above. 

It can be taken as proven that the trends in urbanisation, the mobility of the population and the demographics, have had and will continue to have tremendous impact on our daily lives. These impacts were and are supported by disruptive technology changes (such as the evolution of the internet and mobile communication) and result in higher dependencies of almost all economic and social processes. Compared with former generations, we are spending most of our time in buildings or closed mobile containments/compartments (cars, public transport...), which support us with comfort, efficiency, safety and security. We've learned to extend our social lives through new virtual networks and we've adapted our working style to an almost 24/7 online state. This, and the absence of obvious potential danger, have led to a dismantling of old WWII sirens and to a reduction of capabilities. The European Union and many of its member states have started tests and trials to study new methods that could be used to reach a large number of people Close and intense co-operation All this makes us vulnerable to unplanned manmade incidents disrupting our day to day life as well as business, routines, and so on. Meanwhile, the well-evaluated research on global warming projects higher risks by an increased number of severe weather incidents for the future. Such past incidents have not spared any geographical or any organisational boundaries, and therefore call for a close and intense co-operation to limit their impact. As a reaction to the past experiences in managing incidents, experts and officers have highlighted the need for better preparedness. This resulted in an intense discussion of potential measures, such as modern public warning systems. With this in mind the European Union and many of its member states have started tests and trials to study new methods that could be used to reach a large number of people in the shortest possible time. SMS and other wireless services, such as cell broadcast messages to mobile phones, are obvious choices. They have already been tested in several countries. But what at first glance seems a surefire, easy-to-implement method proves problematic in view of the fact that only 30 percent of the citizens contacted read the message in real-time. Alert4All notification system SMS emergency broadcast messages are one method of warning and updating the public of crises in real-time The public warning system was also addressed by several FP7 projects, which have concluded research in this area. One such project was Alert4All, which successfully demonstrated in 2013 a public alerting concept in a clearly defined and emergent danger zone by introducing an enhanced public warning messaging protocol. Messages, based on this protocol, were transmitted via satellite and terrestrial systems to smart phones, tablets, navigation systems and television receivers.These systems have an undisputed track record for saving countless lives by alerting and guiding people to safety in crisis situations Using the Alert4All concept, first responders can stay in contact with the population from the outset of and throughout the crisis. Using the “buzz” from social media networks provides the required input to adjust the communication content. The Alert4All protocol also allows for the translation of alarm messages into the language the receiver normally uses to display information or messages. This means that a Spanish user could read the message in Spanish even while in England. On the other hand, electronic fire safety and security systems have been installed in buildings for more than 50 years. Their purpose is to detect an emerging danger in a building or building complex and notify people in time. These systems have an undisputed track record for saving countless lives by alerting and guiding people to safety in crisis situations. Millions of such systems are installed today in commercial and private buildings. Many of them are permanently connected to public and/or private alarm receiving stations. All of them are equipped with devices such as sirens, horns, strobe lights or loudspeakers. They could also be used to alert people of a public danger that might impact buildings or their occupants. PEARS emergency response Represented by a Euralarm team, together with the FP7 Alert4All project team, those systems showed their capability to take on a responsible role in public warning during the final demonstration in 2013 as well. Their installed base, their fault tolerance and their positive track record in securing assets and in preventing casualties could make them a perfect asset in the incident preparedness of modern societies, beside other technologies. Above all, civil protection organisations could lever “private” field resources in emergency management and extend the overall resources for big and disastrous incidents. Achieving this requires efforts at all levels and from all stakeholders, e.g. within CEN and within ETSI. Euralarm published a White Paper on such a public emergency alarm and response system (PEARS). Download the white paper here

The city of the future needs smart, secure and resilient infrastructure solutions According to the United Nations, the world population will reach almost 8.5 billion by 2030. As populations grow, so do cities. Even now more than half of the world’s inhabitants live in urban areas, and more than one million move from the country to the city every week. This trend places enormous demands on people and infrastructures. Because only when communication, energy, safety, security and mobility of goods and people function seamlessly, can cities offer their citizens quality of life and a flourishing economy. For city planners, the answer to these challenges is the “smart city.” The foundation are uniform standards for intelligent, secure and resilient infrastructure solutions.  The current process of urbanisation is reflected not only in housing shortages and sky-rocketing rents. European cities, in particular, were built based on 19th-century principles, and the individual supply systems are often viewed in isolation. The exploding population is rapidly driving cities to their limits with respect to energy supply, security, digital communication, transportation and traffic. The concept of the smart city provides one answer. Its primary mission is to distribute existing resources efficiently. Networking individual supply systems through technical solutions should enable cities to respond dynamically to temporary demands, thus preserving their functionality. Megacities as security bottlenecks Urban space is especially vulnerable. Accidents, natural disasters or terrorist attacks and the resulting supply bottlenecks are even more severe in the face of dense populations, large numbers of people and an often overburdened transportation infrastructure. In addition, there is a clear correlation between the size of a city and its crime rate. 80 percent of recorded crimes occur in cities that account for a total of 50 percent of the world’s population. While that may be normal for tightly-packed urban areas, countermeasures are still needed to protect life and property as elementary freedoms and values. The World Bank has estimated that, depending on the country, the total cost of crime can be as much as 25 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). According to the European Commission, even the comparatively safe European Union spends at least five percent of its gross domestic product on costs resulting from crime and natural disasters. Such events have considerable consequences, not only for the persons directly affected but also for the community as a whole. Global value-creation chains and the war for talent pit not only economy against economy, but city against city. If city planners fail to guarantee safety, security, and supply, investors look elsewhere and highly qualified workers move to where they can expect the highest quality of life. To keep pace with global competition, cities have a vital interest in meeting these challenges. The exploding population is rapidly driving cities to their limits with respect to energy supply, security, digital communication, transportation and traffic Smart city: the unknown entity The concept of the smart city promises to improve the quality of public and private services through digital technologies. At the same time, the city’s costs and consumption of resources drop, which in turn raises the well-being of all. Seen in that light, every city, no matter how small or large, wants to be “smart.” But what does that really mean? What criteria need to be met? Among the most pressing issues large cities face are the constant rise in traffic, energy use and emissions, the security and safety of the population, a reliable high-speed network, and finally, how to finance it all. In spite of everything, however, there is no consistent definition of what a smart city really is. Different companies and business media have named initial indices. But those indices are as different as night and day, and hence inadequate in order to compare individual locations and their “smart city” qualities with any transparency. That would require uniform key performance indicators (KPIs). What the various indices do share, however, is the lack of a KPI for the degree of protection, security and resilience of a city. But a city that is not safe and secure cannot be smart. So the smart city approach must be seen more holistically. Comparable and transparent benchmarks must be created while at the same time taking into account elementary safety and security standards. Uniform standards are needed Investors and experts need transparent key performance indicators to be able to assess smart cities, although the cities themselves and other stakeholders, e.g., city administration, police, fire department and civil defence, also rely on standards. Only then will it be possible to make systematic progress. Initials results are already in evidence. The Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a special UN organisation, offers technical reports and specifications, such as in the areas of cyber security and data protection. In addition, a number of different KPIs have been defined to help rank smart cities in areas such as telecommunications. The ITU defines smart cities as follows: “A smart sustainable city is an innovative city that uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operation and services, and competitiveness, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic, social and environmental aspects.” A smart sustainable city is an innovative city that uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) and other means to improve quality of life, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations Likewise at the international level, the International Standards Organisation (ISO) has defined in ISO standard 37120 a total of 100 indicators for measuring city services and quality of life. 11 of them revolve around safety and security. This includes indicators that target security, fire safety and crisis management as well as water, energy and transportation. That makes ISO 37120 the only standard with KPIs appropriate for measuring the degree of security and safety in cities on a comparative basis. Approximately 250 cities in 80 countries are participating in the introduction of this standard, including London, Shanghai, Toronto and Rotterdam. To this end, they report metrics like the number of deaths due to fire per 100,000 inhabitants and the response time of the police and fire departments after the initial call. This makes it possible to indicate transparently and verifiably just how safe a city really is. The fact that ISO 37120 includes diverse safety and security indicators is no accident. Siemens security systems specialists actively contributed to the development of the standard in the relevant work groups. This led to the development of measurable and meaningful security standards. Safety and security as the foundation of the smart city The city of the future needs smart, secure and resilient infrastructure solutions. Smart city efforts that concentrate solely on smart energy use don’t go far enough. Until now, safety, security and resilience have often been viewed as convenient side effects that need no separate planning. But quite the opposite is true. An urban community can only function properly if normal life can resume as quickly as possible after an incident, such as a major fire or terrorist attack. Ideally, however, such incidents should be prevented in the first place. This requires intelligent linking of individual subsystems and taking advantage of the resulting benefits. Interoperable systems offer safety, security and stability for critical infrastructures such as airports and data centres. One essential component is the physical security of infrastructures and IT networks. Even the most sophisticated firewalls are of little use if the door to the server room lacks a reliable access control system. Protecting a city’s “virtual backbone” Cities house not only important economic and intellectual resources such as universities, public buildings, offices and production facilities, but also transportation networks and critical infrastructures. In light of the ever increasing role of IT in providing urban services, the protection of this “virtual backbone” is becoming more and more critical. In most cases, safeguarding critical infrastructures does not require reinventing the wheel. From security solutions in data centres and video surveillance to intelligent crowd evacuation, the security industry already has countless solutions in place. The task is to logically embed these solutions in a “smart city” context. This requires integrating a variety of systems – communication, automatic alarm, information and video surveillance systems – into a central command and control platform to ensure comprehensive and consistent incident response. Therein lies the heart of a smart, safe city. The city of the future needs smart, secure and resilient infrastructure solutions. Smart city efforts that concentrate solely on smart energy use don’t go far enough Implementing these security standards requires engaging all the stakeholders – from community administrations to NGOs and standards committees – in order to create policies that not only motivate their implementation but also set transparent international standards. ISO 37120 and the technical reports and specifications of the ITU are a good place to start. Weak points and possible countermeasures need to be defined and costs calculated. At the same time, we should not lose sight of the fact that the resilience of cities tends to be greatly overestimated and that in the end, technology is not the solution for everything. Committed citizens and efficient intervention forces are and will remain crucial for the security and safety of a city. Safety and security matter in global competition Cities have a fundamental self-interest in transparent and comparable smart city structures because safe and secure urban environments are especially attractive in the global competition for real and human capital. Often, even cities that see themselves as smart don’t adequately address the issue of safety and security. Therefore, one of the main responsibilities of politics is to identify the appropriate stakeholders and share in the development of solutions. This process requires defining clear safety and security standards for smart cities as well as providing or creating the means and incentives for their implementation. The smart city concept will revolutionise urban life much like the industrial revolution did. To shape this revolution successfully and for the good of all, it is absolutely essential to create the proper foundation from the start. Safety and security must not be left until the end of the process.