Security camera systems - Expert commentary

We must leverage existing technologies like social media monitoring, gunshot and weapons detection, and real-time watchlist alerting. We owe it to our children. The recent news of the Dallas elementary school shooting absolutely gutted me. It’s a tragic and incomprehensible loss of life. A question I hear being asked again and again – could technology have made a difference? From my experience, modern technologies can help schools mitigate some of the damage and provide an early w...

Currently and unfortunately, there is no such thing as Cloud Police. If there were, two-thirds or more of the companies using ‘cloud’ in their advertising and documentation would be in Cloud Jail for seriously misusing the word in their marketing. The term ‘Cloud’ is over-used and misused—sometimes intentionally and knowingly, but also often in ignorance. It’s just a word—but in the context of cloud computing technology, it does have a specific meaning...

In the era of the ‘Great Resignation’, it may seem counterintuitive to say that people will power business security in 2022. However, a convergence of challenges over the past few years has led to an undeniable trend in the security industry: With more technology comes the need for more people to monitor, analyse and leverage the data that technology produces. Always-on approach to security Since businesses were forced into lockdown two years ago, we’ve seen technology adopti...

Most individuals have strong opinions about what is more essential to our civilisation: personal privacy or security. After more than a decade of technology enabling greater and greater amounts of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and data harvesting, now the pendulum is swinging towards a society that places more emphasis on individual rights and privacies. This shift is manifesting in a variety of ways, quickly changing the technology, security and cyber security landscapes, and requi...

Technology continues to transform the physical security industry, helping companies become more aware of the full spectrum of risks their organisation faces. Our new survey provides strong evidence that the use of these tools is solving some problems, but their implementation may create new challenges. In our 2022 State of Protective Intelligence Report, 93% of respondents said their company was actively adopting new threat intelligence, monitoring and alerting solutions for physical security,...

Most of the assumptions you’ve made about gunshot detection could be wrong. To those security professionals who stay on top of their homework, this is probably not true, but the ‘you’ in this context is directed to the collective security industry reader that, when looking into indoor gunshot detection products, sees terms like concussive force, percussion, or shockwave and wonders if these are important differentiators – or something the marketing department decided woul...

There is little doubt that security concerns have heightened in the near two years since the pandemic first swept across the globe. A report from Pro-Vigil reveals that nearly one in five companies experienced more physical security incidents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one in three of the 124 respondents surveyed anticipate further increases in 2021. The tragic terrorist attacks experienced during this period in the UK have caused many organisations to make changes to their...

As we navigate the new normal, the power of choice and flexibility continues to take centre stage. We’ve grown accustomed to the choice to work from home or virtually anywhere and the flexibility to have everything delivered (sometimes even right into your fridge!). Seamless access control With this, we are seeing heightened demand for seamless access control through smart locks and mobile credentials. This powerful combination creates exciting new opportunities to meet resident demand f...

Business owners know the security of their properties is one of their most important daily concerns, and that leads many of them to work with professional security integrators who can design and deliver robust systems that provide protection and peace-of-mind through modern technologies and services. That’s why security integrators, by their very nature, have an invaluable tool that can be leveraged into bigger jobs: clients’ trust. As highly-trusted partners with extensive experien...

There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the way we work. In May 2021, 31% of the countries workforce was still working remotely, with 71% of businesses in professional, scientific, and technical industries remote-working. Work patterns shifting Although the conversation often focuses on office workers, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way many other, non-office sectors operate. In the security industry, since the introduction of lockdowns and social distancin...

Cloud-based applications and platforms revolutionise supply chain management, helping stakeholders scale operations from small businesses to complex enterprises. Cloud supply chain solutions are showing significant increases in implementation – so much so the sheer number of organisations with a cloud solution outpace or far outnumbers the ones that don't. But there is one area that has still not made the switch to the cloud, most often the security department. But the advent of using vid...

They say nothing stays the same for long, and this has never been truer than in today’s world of technology and innovation. The 21st century has seen rapid changes and every day brings a new update in one of the many segments of technology. Technology is evolving at such a rapid rate, due to a phenomenon dubbed accelerating change. Each new improvement is now a stepping stone, enabling stronger and better generations of technology, at faster speeds. Accelerating change evolving across all...

Businesses large and small rely on their CCTV systems to deter intruders and provide recorded evidence of security incidents. Overtime, CCTV has evolved to offer real-time intrusion detection and monitoring, and businesses now expect easy, secure and anytime access to cameras, and data. For that, they need connected CCTV systems. These modern installations can benefit from cellular connectivity, helping businesses protect their sites, while also supporting enhanced capabilities for CCTV to deliv...

In the new era of work, our relationship with the workplace is defined by flexibility and mobility. Employees are working across the home, office, and blended spaces more than ever before, as well as working varied hours to suit the modern work schedule.  This new hybrid workforce model holds the potential for more diverse talent and better productivity, but it also comes with its challenges – one being how to ensure security, health, and safety in the workplace.  Strong a...

Metal theft is nothing new, but the impact of the pandemic has left many in financial uncertainty, couple this with the rising price of metal, and one result is an increase in the level of acquisitive crime. It seems there is no limit to the types of materials stolen. Just recently, lead stolen from church roofs has caught the media’s attention again, but this type of theft reaches to more commonplace materials too, including steel, cast iron, and aluminium, and even items like street sig...

In the field of access control, face recognition has come a long way. Once considered too slow to authenticate people's identities and credentials in high traffic conditions, face recognition technology has evolved to become one of the quickest, most effective access control identity authentication solutions across all industries. Advancements in artificial intelligence and advanced neural network (ANN) technology from industry leaders like Intel have improved the accuracy and efficiency of fa...

While the foundation of autonomous retail has been built up over the past few years, it is only now that retailers are beginning to fully experiment with the technology. There were an estimated 350 stores globally in 2018 offering a fully autonomous checkout process, yet this number is forecast to increase dramatically with 10,000 stores anticipated by 2024. This acceleration in the growth of unmanned retail stores has, in part, been boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a demand for a more cont...

How AI and humans can work together is a longstanding debate. As society progresses technologically, there’s always the worry of robots taking over jobs. Self-checkout tills, automated factory machines, and video analytics are all improving efficiency and productivity, but they can still work in tandem with humans, and in most cases, they need to. Video analytics in particular is one impressively intelligent piece of technology that security guards can utilise. How can video analytics he...

The COVID-19 pandemic is only accelerating the expansion of Automation, Robotics, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and changing how people live their daily lives. This expansion leads the way with technologies that are developed to solve problems, improve operations, streamline processes and assist people, to focus on learning new skills, creativity, and imagination. Transformation of the physical security industry One of the latest industries to be permanently transform...

Recently, the European Parliament called for a ban on police use of facial recognition. In the US, too, some cities have restricted police use of facial recognition. The first question that comes to mind is - why ban police from using technology that is allowed to private companies? Point of difference The key difference between the way police use facial recognition and the way commercial facial recognition products work is that: The police get a picture of a suspect from a crime scene and wan...

Today’s organisations face numerous diverse threats to their people, places and property, sometimes simultaneously. Security leaders now know all too well how a pandemic can cripple a company’s ability to produce goods and services, or force production facilities to shut down, disrupting business continuity. For example, a category three hurricane barreling towards the Gulf of Mexico could disable the supplier’s facilities, disrupt the supply chain and put unexpected pressure o...

Intrusion alarm systems are currently facing a growing number of potential error sources in the environment. At the same time, alarm systems must comply with increasingly demanding legal requirements for sensors and motion detectors. As a future-proof solution, detectors equipped with Sensor Data Fusion technology raise the level of security while reducing the risk of cost- and time-intensive false alarms. This article provides a comprehensive overview of Sensor Data Fusion technology. Anti-mas...

The concept of security has substantially upgraded because of technological advancements. We have seen a shift from mechanical locks to electronic locks and door access control systems which are more relied upon nowadays for watertight security and safety. But, choosing the system that is the best for you requires understanding how both these technologies work. In this article, you will get a clear idea of: How electronic locks are better than traditional locks The difference between access...

Owning and operating an entertainment venue comes with increasing levels of risk – whether it’s during the current pandemic or in a post-pandemic world. With the additional challenge of safe re-opening comes increased levels of social unrest, emboldened and unruly patrons, and increasing threats from weapons and other prohibited materials. The venue owners and operators have an obligation to keep patrons and employees safe from these kinds of security threats, while not negatively...

Cyber threats hit the headlines every day; however digital hazards are only part of the security landscape. In fact, for many organisations - physical rather than virtual security will remain the burning priority. Will Liu, Managing Director of TP-Link UK, explores the three key elements that companies must consider when implementing modern-day business surveillance systems.  1) Protecting more than premises Video surveillance systems are undoubtedly more important than ever before for a...

From analogue to digital, from stand-alone to interlinked, building systems are in a state of transition. Moreover, the rate of change shows no sign of slowing, which can make it difficult to keep up to date with all the latest developments. If asked to pinpoint the single biggest driver of this revolution, one could point out the growing clamour for platform convergence. A security guard in a building doesn’t want to use different systems to check video cameras, fire alarms or if someone...

Technology based on the cloud has become a popular trend. Most IT systems now operate within the cloud or offer cloud capabilities, and video surveillance is no exception: virtually every major hardware and software vendor offers cloud-based services. Users benefit from the cloud due to its numerous advantages, such as ease of implementation, scalability, low maintenance costs, etc. Video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) offers many choices, so there is an optimal solution for each user. Howev...

The ‘new normal’ was all we heard about when it came to the working model shift after the pandemic hit. Businesses worldwide adopted working from home, and then the hybrid model: a balance of remote work and office work. And according to a recent survey by 451 Research, nearly 80% of organisations surveyed said they have implemented or expanded universal work-from-home policies as a result of COVID-19, whilst 67% expect these policies to remain in place either permanently or for th...

As the number of connected devices increases worldwide, the ways that they are being used, designed, and tested have also expanded. The rise of connected devices is demanding engineers to harness the power of the internet of things, which is expected to hit 28 billion by 2025. A comprehensive approach to device design is needed more than ever to address the challenges that this rapid growth will bring. Why engineers should be using IoT technology in product design The demand for devices desig...

In the past decade, we’ve seen an unfortunate increase in gun-related incidents on school campuses, making security and policy efforts a top priority for educational facilities nationwide. While the causes for this increase are hotly debated in and around the education community, the facts remain that specific steps can be taken to mitigate risks. To tackle this issue, officials from campus stakeholders, law enforcement officials, architects, and security personnel, have met to find solut...