Larry Anderson's Security Beat

Visiting with the youngest "old company" in the security market: One of the newest companies at this year’s ISC West show is 130 years old. Allegion launched in December 2013 as a standalone, publicly-traded company following the spinoff of the commercial and residential security businesses from Ingersoll Rand. Making its high-profile debut at ISC West in Las Vegas, Allegion sponsored the kick-off ceremony and featured a big booth full of familiar brands like Schlage and Von Duprin. I ca...

After days of back-to-back meetings at ISC West, you start hearing some repetitive themes, but then something will surprise you. That happened to me at the NVT booth when I saw a display showing transmission of power and IP video signals over barbed wire (rather than the more familiar Cat-5 or coax cabling). Wondering about possible applications at correctional facilities (or cow pastures), I was assured the display was intended to make the point that NVT products can transmit video and power ov...

“These are children. There is no reason to scan a kid. Just because the government can do this is no reason the government should be doing this.” The impassioned argument, quoted by The Florida Current, comes from a Florida state legislator who introduced a bill aimed at stopping public school systems from collecting biometric data on children. The ominous-sounding practice actually has a practical side – use of a fingerprint or palm scan can enable a school system to get thou...

Data overload describes both my condition in the midst of a busy trade show and the current condition of the industry itself. At an opening session at ISC West in Las Vegas, I hear that technology development now means there are more sensors and cameras providing more and better quality data all the time. As if making the case, Axis introduced a 4K “super high resolution” camera for under $1,000. Other companies also introduced 4K cameras, including Sony, Bosch, and several more. Ho...

Smart phone video played a starring role in the investigation following the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. The investigation also highlighted limitations in existing systems related to incorporating crowdsourced information, including video, audio, still images and other data. What's needed, and doesn't exist yet, is a system that can unify the information – the thousands of video snippets and still images from smart phone cameras – into a “big picture” that reflects th...

I shot these photos of a room full of video surveillance cameras during my recent tour of Genetec's facilities in Montreal. And the photos don't even show them all. Definitely a lot of cameras, and they're just some of the ones Genetec uses to test and ensure integration with the company's software. How does a company like Genetec, and all the other video management system companies for that matter, integrate all these security cameras into their systems? My visit to Genetec reinforced the ongo...

In today's security market, nothing is really “Made in the USA” – or is it? Most components of security systems today are manufactured in places like China and Korea. Even products that are technically assembled (“made”) in the United States contain many components manufactured overseas. In the global marketplace, does it really matter? Is it fair to characterise goods manufactured overseas as somehow lower in quality? I was thinking about the variables of “M...

Hello, glad to meet you. Welcome to my new column, where I will write about the security marketplace from the viewpoint of a “seasoned veteran.” I won't say “old guy,” but suffice it to say that the lady at the grocery store no longer asks if I qualify for the “senior discount.” Somehow she knows. I should start by assuring you, dear reader, that I am a real person. It seems obvious, but in the days of Siri and other “pretend” people, you can't al...