Security access systems - Expert commentary

The security industry can be like a house built on sand if there's a lack of professional standards set in place Picture the scene: You’re suffering from a persistent pain and so decide to take a trip to your doctor to get it checked out. You step into the consulting room but, before you can speak, he looks you up and down, haw and hums, and then writes out a prescription. Would you be happy that drugs prescribed in this manner will cure your ailment when your doctor h...

AlliedBarton actively seeks out and hires family members of veterans through employer assistance groups  AlliedBarton Security Services implemented its program to hire retired service veterans five years ago. “Our CEO Bill (William C.) Whitmore announced one day that ‘we’re going to have a lot of American heroes coming home soon, and I want to give them jobs,’” said Jerold Ramos, Director, Strategic Recruiting and Military Liaison with Alli...

Physical access control system architecture should be built to use the changing IT infrastructures of today’s organizations to their fullest It’s time to completely rethink physical access control systems with an eye toward the changing world of information technology. Today’s physical access control system architecture only leverages existing network hardware technology – it doesn’t utilise the organisation’s full IT infrastructure, which...

Security costs range far beyond the cost of security technology and security officer salaries Can you account for all of the money you spend on security? Most companies can’t. Do you know how much your company is spending on security? Don’t say yes too fast. Security costs range far beyond what the security director spends on technology and security officer salaries. In 2011, a survey by the Security Executive Council’s Security Leadership Research Institute...

Training and education are essential elements of success in the access control market for integrators and end users alike. Whether one is a seasoned veteran or still new to the industry, continued training and education are critical given that access control technologies continue to evolve at a rapid pace. System integrators who do not take advantage of manufacturers’ training seminars are short-changing themselves and their customers, contends Robert Laughlin, president of...

Access control can sometimes get overshadowed by video surveillance Technology is shifting rapidly in the access control market, but another obstacle is the need to communicate the value of the technology to users. Specifically, access control can sometimes get overshadowed by video surveillanceas it competes for a share of the customer’s security dollars. From a pure security standpoint, electronic access control is better suited than video surveillance to keeping...

Access control systems that leverage proprietary technologies severely limit system flexibility Access control’s ongoing transition from closed systems to more open integration provides benefits for integrators, and especially for end users looking to maximise their system return on investment. End users want greater flexibility, specifically in terms of hardware choice. As a result, more non-proprietary solutions are coming to market. For the integrator, offering more o...

Communicating access control information across multiple platforms is simplified with the PSIA's PLAI specification Managing access control across large companies or institutions, including those that span giant campuses or even multiple locations all over the world, is essential to optimum security. Too often, however, the effectiveness of a company’s access control system – or, more likely, of its multiple access systems that were installed in various locations o...

The Security Girl has become much more than a brand for American Fire & Security In the security industry, you want to be different, and what’s more memorable than a company avatar turned ambassador that sports some rockin’ pink hair? Only The Security Girl’s hairdresser knows for sure! Erica Wood, chief security officer and co-owner of American Fire & Security (AF&S) in Dayton, Ohio, is a mover and shaker of the security industry in many ways. S...

The secure inner doors of the vestibule at the front entrance of Park and River Forest High School Most school visitors have legitimate reasons for coming to school. A frightening few, however, show up with violent or other illegal intentions. Today, school security directors are actively managing visitors with secured front door vestibules and visitor management software. Oak Park and River Forest High School, a single-school district serving Oak Park and River Forest, Ill.,...

Integrators are embracing the many ways the cloud helps smaller companies succeed Hosted and managed security services aren’t for large enterprises only. SMBs (small-to-medium businesses) are taking advantage of the inherent operational and cost efficiencies of deploying managed services. Web-based or cloud services like access control and video provide convenience, ease of use and lower total cost of ownership. Cloud services are accessed without downloading and main...

Security standardisation reduces operational requirements Controlling identified risks at all of your sites, anywhere in the world, can be difficult. Especially when taking budget constraints into account. How can you ensure all of your people have a secure working environment? And that all employees, everywhere, adhere to your security policy? Nancy Wanders, Business Development Manager Asia/Pacific at Nedap, states that standardising security gives this assurance and more. I...

Cybersecurity is a critically important aspect in today’s increasingly IP-driven world of physical security The physical security market tends to dismiss issues of cybersecurity as outside its area of expertise, but cyber-threats are a problem that has been ignored for too long. The fact is, cybersecurity is a critically important aspect of the systems our industry provides in the increasingly IP-driven world of physical security. And the risk isn’t just reserved...

900 MHz wireless and Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) are sometimes used interchangeably in the access control world to describe solutions that do not require running wires all the way to the opening. It’s true that, as wireless options, both technologies offer some general advantages over traditional hardwired solutions. In this article, Minu Youngkin, Allegion, Integrator Marketing Manager shares her thoughts and knowledge regarding both wireless and Wi-Fi technologies.* First of all, wire...

Access Control is the second-fastest growing area in the security market. A major shift from PC-based clients systems to solid state, embedded operating systems, browser-based user interfaces, remote services, and changes in compliance legislation are just a few factors driving access control adoption both across the residential and commercial markets. John LaFond, VP of Integrated Systems at Linear LLC, explains these factors and how they contribute to the future of access control...

At what time of day do you have most people in your building? Do you have enough parking spaces for your employees? Are there always enough first aiders in the building to meet safety requirements? Security systems provide a wealth of data, which can provide the answers to these questions and more. By extracting reports from your system, you can gather valuable information to increase safety or improve business processes.  Wiebe Koopmans, owner of Linked Solutions, advises bus...

Bluetooth Smart creates new ways to open doors and gates The latest generation of access control systems offers more secure and sophisticated credentials, and new credential form factors including mobile devices that offer a more secure and convenient way to open doors and parking gates. Mobile access control also delivers a simple and user-friendly secure identity management process, and a platform for integrated, multi-layered physical access control (PACS) and IT security s...

In the digital world, people own personal information just like they own physical assets such as cash, keys and clothes in the real world. But because personal information is intangible, its value has been overlooked by many for a very long time. With the increase in cyber crimes on personal data and the infamous Snowden affair, this issue has become more prominent. Fei Liu from Nedap Security Management Research & Development informs that to improve the transparency of data collection and p...

Similar to schools, airports and other semi-public facilities, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are grappling with the new reality that dictates stronger and more enforceable access restrictions. In these new circumstances, the need for security must be balanced with the individual’s need to easily move about the hospital by allowing medical staff, visitors or contract workers to go about their business with relative ease. In this article, Ajay Jain, President and CE...

Threats such as Mifare hacking, the General Data Protection regulation coming in 2016, and the need for security to integrate with other IT-based systems – these are just some of the challenges security manufacturers and system users have to deal with and respond to. Daryn Flynn, Business Development Manager at Nedap Security Management, states that external factors such as these do provoke change in physical security systems, but it’s reactive change. In the...

With so much money flowing in and out in the form of cash and chips, casinos are a highly regulated world when it comes to security. One of the most critical areas of casino security is key control. Physical keys are used for access to all of the most sensitive and highly secured areas of the casino, including counting rooms and drop boxes, so the rules and regulations that relate to key control are extremely important to maintain tight control and minimise loss and fraud.&nb...

Applications that reside in the cloud offer enterprises previously unavailable levels of agility, productivity and vital flexibility – all at a crucially lower cost than ever before. However, with many enterprise cloud deployments now successfully up and running, plus the integration of the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) culture into the workplace, the complex issue of data security and access control have leapt to the fore. Ian Lowe, Senior Product Marketing Manager...

Significant technological advancements have created endless possibilities in how security is not only deployed, but also leveraged by the end user – the customer. For example, customers can now view surveillance at eight different offices in eight different states from a single, central location. A security director can manage an enterprise-wide access control system, including revoking or granting access control privileges, for 10,000 global employees from a company’s...

The biometric card provides an easy, low cost way for facilities to provide a biometric upgrade A convenient way to establish higher security within certain areas of a building is an appealing idea to many security directors. Whether it’s to more highly secure the pharmacy lab at a hospital, the laboratory at a government research facility or the tarmac at a small airport, some locations simply need to have more scrutiny paid to who is entering. Going beyond the card onl...

New security technologies have dramatically changed the security landscape over the last decade The security landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade with the introduction of numerous new security technologies to detect crime and deter criminal activity. With a long list of new tools, professionals now need to process vast amounts of information within seconds from many different security systems and then make important decisions about how to respond to an inc...

The best standards are often baseline, common-denominator standards that leave room for innovation The collaboration between ONVIF and SIA to develop new access control standards is just the latest standards-related news from the Security Industry Association (SIA), the American trade association headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., near Washington, D.C.  In fact, SIA has a long history and tradition of standards development, dating back to the 1980s. SIA has produced 1...

When specifying the vehicle access control system you need to stop a truck-bomber, errant driver or vehicle not authorised to enter your facility, you have to decide among bollards, barriers or barricades. Once you have decided the type you will use, you then have to pick the model to use. Finally, you then need to select the type of power unit you are going to deploy. And, going green is important to many companies and organisations worldwide who are trying to minimise their carbo...

A Managed Service solution ensures continuous system availability and functionality Managed Service methodologies have a proven record of improved operations, reduced ownership costs and the ability to migrate technology over time. Head of Enterprise Solutions for Siemens Building Technologies, Tony O’Brien, examines how this approach could impact the security and fire safety industries. How robust is your security and fire safety technology roadmap? A recent global sur...

Enterprises have typically focused on securing the network perimeter and relied on static passwords to authenticate users inside the firewall. This is insufficient, given the nature of today’s Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and internal risks associated with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) adoption. Static passwords can be a potential recipe for a security disaster. In this article Julian Lovelock, Vice President of Product Marketing, Identity Assurance HID Global expl...

What is it about biometrics that triggers so much worry?  Initial resistance gives way to mainstream acceptance when biometric technology allows convenient and secure access to healthcare, banking services, amusement parks, office buildings. What is it about biometrics that triggers so much worry? In the past, concerns seemed to have their foundation in the use of fingerprints in law enforcement; the association between fingerprints and criminality was strong.&n...