Kristy Dunchak

Johnson Controls, which offers a holistic system approach to cyber security through its Cyber Protection Program for security products, is pleased to support National Cyber Security Awareness Month this October. Now in its 14th year, National Cyber Security Awareness Month presents an opportunity for businesses and individuals to become educated on the importance of cyber security and seek partners that can offer the tools and resources to reduce the risk of vulnerabilities. Five weekly educational themes Similar to previous years, the National Cyber Security Awareness program centers on five weekly educational themes aimed at consumers and organisations, acknowledging that the Internet and its connected devices—and thus the exposure to potential cyber-crimes—touch nearly everyone and every enterprise, public and private. The Cyber Protection Program for security products is a six-part, holistic program run by an autonomous product security team which drives and monitors cyber security for Johnson Controls’ line of access control, video management and surveillance products. It also provides application guidance to organisations for select regulatory compliance and identifies and reacts to new vulnerabilities as they occur. Spreading awareness of cybersecurity issues “Cyber security in the workplace is everyone’s business,” said Kristy Dunchak, director of product management, Building Technologies and Solutions, Johnson Controls. “Organisations of all sizes can protect themselves and others against cyber threats by being aware of the security issues in play and by seeking a partner who has developed solutions with cyber security in mind.” The Cyber Protection Program team reminds everyone that as individuals and businesses become more connected at home and at work, the same devices that make lives easier can also open a network to new threats.

Johnson Controls announces that its American Dynamics victor Video Management Software now integrates with the Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System from Shooter Detection Systems, providing users with an automated solution to react in real-time to shots fired in a facility. By reducing the margin of human error, the solution helps to eliminate costly false alerts while enhancing the overall security of any school, business, or public venue building. “We are excited to offer this integrated solution to our customers who are investing in technology to address the active shooter threat,” said Christian Connors, chief executive officer of Shooter Detection Systems. “By combining our indoor gunshot detection system with a robust video management system like victor, customers gain immediate, automated insights the second a shot is fired, providing exceptional situational awareness when every second counts.” Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System Active shooter incidents have been recognised by the nation’s top 500 enterprise security executives surveyed as a top security threat facing their enterprise. Based on military gunshot detection technology and SAFETY Act Certified by the Department of Homeland Security, the Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System combines an acoustic gunshot identification software with infrared gunfire flash detection to quickly identify gunshot incidents. When combined with the powerful victor video management software monitoring features, the system provides the ability for instant shot location information, lock down procedures, live and recorded video from cameras in the incident related areas. The integration provides immediate notification to first responders through victor’s event action and integration notification platform, and simultaneously alerts designated monitoring facilities around the globe. C•CURE 9000 These capabilities are also available through the integration of Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System and the C•CURE 9000 security and event management system from Software House. “This integration fully aligns with our vision to add mission critical solutions to our portfolio of integrations through our Connected Partner Program, where third-party technology partners have the opportunity to integrate into our security solutions,” said Kristy Dunchak, director, Building Technologies & Solutions, Johnson Controls.

Tyco Security Products has already successfully run its Connected Partner Programme for its Software House brand Tyco Security Products has announced the expansion of its Connected Partner Programme for third-party solutions to integrate to its Software House, American Dynamics, Kantech and Illustra brands. By participating in the Connected Partner Programme, technology partners are better able to create powerful solutions within the security marketplace because of their integration with various Tyco Security Products platforms for access control, surveillance and video and event management. Programme features As a qualifying partner in the Connected Partner Programme, companies have private access to Tyco Security Products’ fully equipped laboratories as well as contact with Tyco’s technical and engineering support professionals. Participants in the programme maintain control over their own integrations to utilise software development kits (SDK), application programme interface (API) or through web services. Managing integration timelines Using a self-certification process, partners can manage the integration timeline through its various stages at their own pace, including application, pre-development, development, testing and launch. Tyco Security Products has already successfully run its Connected Partner Programme for its Software House brand, with more than 300 integrations to date. Increased customer base “The expansion of the Connected Partner Programme allows new partners to leverage Tyco Security Products’ expertise across many platforms for product integrations while maximising their access to our wide-ranging and high-level customer base,” said Kristy Dunchak, Director of Product Management, Integration Solutions and Programs, Tyco Security Products. “This programme helps us to bring a broader range of solutions to our customers and provides them with valuable tools for continued growth and success.” Programme partners will be featured as a trusted and approved partner, giving both parties robust joint marketing opportunities and strengthening the partner companies’ position in the marketplace.

Dunchak will present how attendees can identify security vulnerabilities in physical security products Tyco Security Products announced recently that Kristy Dunchak, Director of Product Management, Integration Solutions & Programmes for Tyco Security Products, will be speaking at PSA Security Network’s TEC 2016, one of the physical security industry’s premier networking and education events, in Westminster, Colorado, May 9-12, at the Westin Westminster. Dunchak will present how attendees can identify security vulnerabilities in physical security products and what to expect from physical security manufacturers if product exposures should occur. Recognising potential physical security vulnerabilities Dunchak will join three other industry experts for a panellist discussion entitled ‘Partnering for Cybersecurity: What Should You Expect from your Physical Security Vendors?’ on Thursday, May 12, at 2:45 PM, as part of TEC’s Cybersecurity educational track. The panel discussion will focus on how to recognise potential physical security vulnerabilities, reduce cybersecurity risks, assess vendors’ cybersecurity strengths and shortcomings, and outline how to establish best practices within an organisation. “Cybersecurity is a top focus for Tyco Security Products, not just in product development and performance, but also in our educational programming,” said Dunchak. “This panel gives attendees the practical tools needed to evaluate the quality of cybersecurity related to the physical security products that they are using or considering.”     Cyber Protection Program for physical security products Tyco Security Products also will be an exhibitor at TEC 2016, exhibiting its exacqVision video security, Illustra IP cameras and Kantech access control product lines in booth A42. Attendees can also attend the exacqVision technical training session on Monday, May 9, from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. This training class is a one-day, accredited course covering all aspects necessary to install, configure and use exacqVision video management system (VMS) software and recorders. In addition to offering educational courses at major industry trade shows and events, Tyco Security Products recently debuted its Cyber Protection Program, based in large part on its experience in providing critical solutions for the United States government and other multinational customers. The Cyber Protection Program for Physical Security Products looks far beyond components and devices. Scrutiny begins with the initial product concept and requirements, continues through analysis of system design and programming, and culminates with final testing, integration and evaluation. The programme also provides guidance to help users configure systems to comply with standards and evaluates and develops responses to possible vulnerabilities potentially affecting products as they are discovered.

Tyco Security Products has announced the release of version 8.1 of its Proximex Surveillint PSIM solution, which offer new capabilities for faster configuration, deployment and management of alerts so security operations personnel can respond more quickly and appropriately to events. Under the user-friendly centralised deployment and configuration wizard, integrators can create and configure event and video integration modules, manage sensors, zones or areas, and design operator tasks and configure related rules within the Surveillint Enterprise or Essentials products. “The evolution of Surveillint is predicated on making it faster for integrators to deploy and more intuitive for users so they can get the fullest level of benefits from their PSIM solution,” said Kristy Dunchak, Director, Product Management, Integration Platforms, Tyco Security Products. “The improvements to the deployment tool and new operator task management features speak to our ongoing focus on ease of use.” Many sites want to have the ability to specify a series of operator actions to be performed when certain types of alerts are received. With the Operator Task Module, Surveillint 8.1 enables administrators to define multiple step tasks within the Operation Console through an intuitive drag-and-drop Operator Task Designer GUI. These tasks may then be deployed using the Tasks Rule Manager, which enables administrators to define alert collapsing rules as well as a hierarchy of rules for specifying when operator tasks should be executed. Operators can follows the action on a display panel in the alert details window and optionally escalate or reassign specific tasks as necessary. Surveillint can also now export reports in Excel format, including information on alert details, badge use tracking, suspect tracking and search and report data.