Counter terror - Security beat

Technology is driving new opportunities in the security industry. Innovation trends include artificial intelligence (AI), edge-based systems, mobile systems, a greater focus on software, and efforts to simplify operation of security systems, even as capabilities become more complex. ISC West 2022 reflected these changing trends. “In addition to emphasising technology innovation, ISC West also reflected an industry that is resilient, dedicated and passionate,” said Mary Beth Shaughne...

Security’s intersection with consumer electronics is on view at CES 2020, the world’s largest technology event, Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas. The giant show features more than 170,000 attendees, 4,500 exhibitors and 1,100 industry thought-leaders featured on the CES stage. A range of technologies will be on display, from artificial intelligence (AI) to 5G, vehicle technology to AR/VR (augmented and virtual reality), robotics to home automation. Security plays a prominent role, too.The imp...

The UK Government has been working to reduce the risks associated with illegal drone use since a high-profile incident at UK’s Gatwick Airport in December 2018, when a drone sighting triggered a three-day shutdown of the UK’s second busiest airport, disrupting the travel plans of 140,000 people and affecting 1,000 flights. To address growing security threats by drones, the UK Government has released its ‘Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Strategy’. ‘Counter-Unmanned Aircr...

As the deal/no deal prospects of Brexit are tossed in a whirlwind of UK and EU politics, the uncertainty of the back-and-forth has broadly impacted general economic trends, and by extension, the physical security market. The new deadline for a Brexit agreement is October 31, already postponed six months from the scheduled April 12 departure date. Numbers show that Britain’s GDP shrank in the second quarter, possibly reflecting fewer exports because of Brexit uncertainty. And beyond the cu...

According to the reports of not-for-profit organisation Gun Violence Archive, the year 2018 saw 323 mass shooting incidents as of November. This number is 346 for the year 2017 and 382 for 2016, with ‘mass shooting’ defined as cases where four or more people are shot or killed in the same time period and location. A variety of gunfire detection solutions and other technology approaches seek to address the problem. ShotSpotter SiteSecure and ShotSpotter SecureCampus provide critical...

A week of mass shootings this summer has again spotlighted the horror of gun violence in public spaces. A 19-year-old gunman opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California on July 28, injuring 13 and killing four (including the gunman). In El Paso, Texas, less than a week later, a lone gunman killed 22 people and injured 24 others. In Dayton, Ohio, a day later, a gunman shot 26 people during a 30-second attack, killing 9 and injuring 17. Rising active shooting incidents Beyond the gri...

Some of the electronic features we all love in our new cars depend on a connection to the Internet. But what are the cybersecurity risks involved in that connection? Could a widespread cyberattack turn our cars into deathtraps and create a traffic catastrophe on the scale of 9/11? That’s the scenario described in a report from the nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog, which warns that a fleet-wide cyberattack at rush hour could result in a 9/11-style catastrophe with approximately 3,000 dea...

Whether it is video analytic platforms to monitor traffic patterns or cameras deployed to help law enforcement ensure public safety, many cities are looking at advancements in video technology. Upgrade costs and technology compatibility issues are often front-and-centre when it comes to blending new technology with existing infrastructure. For example, if the city law enforcement officials want to improve video camera image quality, which can improve the evidentiary value of footage in prosecu...

The focus of the global security industry will shift to London this month for IFSEC International, Europe’s ‘integrated’ security event focusing on the latest technologies and the opportunity to learn from the industry’s top leaders and experts. IFSEC will be held from 18-20 June, 2019, at ExCel London, welcoming 27,000 security directors and managers, installers, integrators and distributors. The exhibition at IFSEC may not be as large as previous years, and several bi...

Simultaneous suicide bombings at several churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on April 21 were of a scale, sophistication and level of coordination that hasn’t been seen since 9/11. Nine suicide bombers targeted three churches and three hotels on Easter morning, and the resulting casualties numbered 359 dead, including 45 children, and about 500 injured. The complexity of the attacks suggests the bombers received help from an outside organisation, likely the Islamic State (IS). Sadly, securit...

Terrorism is amongst the more unyielding security threats worldwide, but a report on global terrorism from the Institute for Economics & Peace, Sydney, Australia, provides reason for optimism, especially outside the world’s terrorism hot spots such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Europe is the region with the biggest improvement from the impact of terrorism and has recorded a marked fall in terrorist activity. The number of deaths in Western Europe fell from 168 in 2016 to 81 in 2017. Turkey...

ISC West in Las Vegas is the first of several major security trade shows planned for 2019 as part of the Reed Exhibitions ISC Security Events portfolio. Next up will be Expo Seguridad México in May in Mexico City, followed in June by ISC Brasil in Sao Paolo, and ISC East this fall in New York. Expo Seguridad México, May 7-9, will serve the important Mexican market for security goods and services. In Mexico City alone, a large population translates into plenty of buildings and fac...

As the Internet of Things (IoT) and other trends drive the convergence of physical and information security, integrators and end users attending ISC West may be struggling to keep pace with new areas of responsibility and expanding roles in the larger security ecosystem. Help is here. The Connected Security Expo, co-locating with ISC West, focuses on building a holistic security strategy for the connected enterprise. Exhibitors will focus on how physical and information security can be used tog...

School shootings continue, as does a search for answers. What solutions are there to prevent school shootings and/or to improve the response (and thus minimise the death toll)?  In the physical security industry, we like to think we have solutions that can help, if not “solve”, the problem, but realistically speaking, how effective are they at the end of the day? We like to think we have solutions that can help, if not “solve”, the problem: but how effective ar...

I have been thinking a lot about the U.S. government’s ban on video surveillance technologies by Hikvision and Dahua. In general, I question the wisdom and logic of the ban and am frankly puzzled as to how it came to be. Allow me to elaborate. Chinese camera manufacturers Reality check: the government ban is based on concerns about the potential misuse of cameras, not actual misuse. Before the government ban, you occasionally heard about some government entities deciding not to use camer...

One factor aggravating concerns about workplace violence in corporate America is the easy availability of firearms. In many states, citizens, including employees, have the right to carry firearms onto a company’s property even though firearms are prohibited in the workplace. In effect, an employee prone to violence may have a firearm as near as their vehicle in the company parking lot. Currently, 23 states in the U.S. have so-called “parking lot storage” laws, which enable em...

The 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament is bringing 32 national teams and more than 400,000 foreign football fans from all over the world to 12 venues in 11 cities in Russia. Fans are crowding into cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan. Given continuing global concerns about terrorism, security is top-of-mind. Protection of the World Cup games in Russia is focusing on an “integrated safety, security and service approach,” according to officials. Combining the term “sec...

Several recent terrorist and mass violence attacks have been directed at soft targets, or relatively unprotected locations where people gather such as outside a music venue or in the unscreened passenger areas at airports. Attacks in public areas have led to the development of new security technologies aimed at protecting soft targets. One company addressing the challenges is Evolv Technology and its Edge automated high-speed personnel screening solution. The system integrates walkthrough fire...

Activity slowed on the last day of ISC West in Las Vegas, but there was plenty of momentum remaining and plenty more to see. In the end, Reed Exhibitions declared 2018 the biggest and most successful year to date for the show. There were an additional 4,000 square feet of exhibit space compared to last year and a 6 percent growth in overall attendance, according to Reed.  The cloud, biometrics, deep learning and other technologies were among the big topics at the show, and even smaller exh...

Information can be a scarce commodity in the midst of terrorism or a mass shooting incident. Information can also save lives during the first critical moments of such events. The general public can now download a free smartphone app that provides instantaneous real-time information as a terrorism or mass shooting event is unfolding. TerrorMate crawler software Called TerrorMate, the app began development in 2013, in the wake of several terrorist attacks in France. People in the affected areas...

A USB drive from Heathrow Airport, found on a London street in late October, contained confidential information about accessing restricted areas at the airport and security measures used to protect the Queen. The drive also contained a timetable for anti-terrorism patrols at the airport and documentation of the ultrasound system used by Heathrow security to check perimeter fences and runways for breaches. The data was not encrypted, and the London resident who found it turned it over to a newspa...

The massacre in Las Vegas is both sadly familiar and terrifyingly novel. Because of the recent series of violent attacks on innocent people gathered in public places, high body counts are no longer unheard-of, although the 59 dead after the Las Vegas tragedy sets a depressing new record. These news stories have become so grimly commonplace as to dull our collective sensitivity to their shock. However, the modus operandi of the latest attack, apparently by a “lone wolf” – caref...

Millennials are an important market, and in one sense, they represent future possibility. The changing tastes and trends of this tech-savvy “Generation Y,” who came of age around the turn of the millennium (circa 2000), are an important consideration in the marketing of security technologies, among many other things. Fortunately, according to a recent survey from ADT, millennials will likely be dependable consumers of security technology products and services for years to come. Smar...

An expanding outreach and programming targeted especially to international visitors are among the ways ASIS International is seeking to attract more global attendance than ever to its 63rd Annual Seminar and Exhibits, which will take place between 25-28 September in Dallas, Texas. In addition to returning, long-time international visitors, ASIS International is looking to expand global attendance. One initiative is the International Buyer Program (IBP), a joint government/industry effort, whic...

Has there ever been a better time for a security trade show in Europe? Shifting threats such as terrorism and a volatile political climate serve as reminders every day of the importance of security in our lives, and even the role of technology. IFSEC opened in London on Tuesday at the ExCeL centre, covering every aspect of security, from access control and video surveillance to home automation and perimeter security. Amid sweltering heat, attendees came to find the latest-and-greatest innovatio...

The attack on Parliament in London is another reminder that a facility's security is only as strong as its weakest point. In this case, it was a frequently used gate in New Palace Yard that was left unlocked. Known as Carriage Gates, the entrance is generally monitored by police officers. Could the weakness have led to the attack? Could the attack have been prevented (or minimised) if the gate had been bolted shut? Planned ‘complete security overhaul’ Finger pointing in the wake of...

Using an asymmetric approach to perimeter security is more efficient and cost-effective. The approach, advocated by Applied Research Associates (ARA), involves strategic deployment of the company’s Pathfinder seismic-acoustic sensors. Asymmetric placement of the sensors is in contrast to typical perimeter security systems, which are linear: Sensors are distributed at specific intervals along a perimeter and require infrastructure to communicate back to a control centre. Instead, asymmetr...

A long and hard-fought primary season in the United States will culminate this month when the major political parties nominate their candidates officially at their national conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia. The rancorous campaign has raised concerns about possible civil unrest associated with both conventions, but security planners say they have considered every eventuality. Beyond possible civil disturbances, there have been no credible threats made against either convention, authoriti...

IFSEC International 2016 by all measures was a successful show. Two of the three days clearly met (or exceeded) exhibitors’ expectations. The third day was slower, but is it any wonder? Heavy rains and resulting commuter train complications would have discouraged all but the most determined. And there was another distraction, too: It was the day of the Brexit vote, when the United Kingdom made history. Results of that momentous vote underlined the sense of uncertainty I felt on the first...

The reason for long lines at U.S. airports is that the airlines now charge fees for checked bags. It’s as good an explanation as any of why airport passenger screening lines suddenly and mysteriously grew out of control during May (and then became manageable again in June). It’s not the only explanation floating about – there’s plenty about high travel volumes, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel shortages, etc. etc. – but it’s the one tha...