Airport security - Expert commentary

One of the toughest business decisions companies need to make is when selecting a new video surveillance system, as it’s a rigorous process to compare camera offerings and technologies, and to evaluate price structures. With its proven performance over the last several years, IP surveillance systems have become the defacto standard for most professionals. Those experts typically cite the numerous benefits that IP cameras offer, including higher image resolution, ease of installation, scal...

The air travel industry has evolved from one commercial passenger on the first commercial flight in 1914 to an estimated 100,000 flights per day. According to The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the total number of passengers who flew in 2017 is expected to reach 3.7 billion.   But it’s not just people who fly. Each day, more than $18.6 billion of goods travel by air, which represents one-third of all world trade, by value. Meanwhile, the aviation industr...

Video surveillance solutions have come a long way in recent years, including this past one, with IP-based imaging solutions delivering incredible resolution and detail to provide higher levels of situational awareness, information and overall security. In 2017, we also witnessed how video surveillance serves an emerging need and desire to acquire greater business intelligence. Today’s cameras and VMS are able to truly deliver on the promise of IP video without requiring end users to break...

Biometric identification technologies today are becoming pervasive. Many smartphones offer fingerprint unlock options, and most organisations have at least considered the technology as a solution for their identification and access needs. While biometrics have dramatically improved in the past several years to deliver faster, more efficient and more secure solutions, not everyone is ready for the change. New York MTA case study But does that mean that organisations need to hold off on implemen...

2018 will start to see facial recognition and other biometrics used in a combination of ways, but I’d like to look even further into the future. I believe that facial recognition will be utilised on a large scale and that it will be very hard to enjoy the enhanced speed and simplicity of travel and financial transactions of the future without relying on biometrics. Biometric ticket and passport For example, when you travel to another country your face will be your ticket and passport.&n...

With the changing “lone wolf” style of terrorism, there will be a trend toward many more installations of vehicle access control systems and smaller numbers of units. Where a university, military base or airport might have 20-plus systems scattered among its grounds, there will be a growing number of smaller applications needing one, two or three systems. These will include customers such as primary and secondary education facilities; pedestrian locations such as shopping centres,...

Video. It’s a central part of everyone’s lives — whether it’s streaming content to your home television, sharing your own recorded movies on social media or transforming video into actionable intelligence in the business environment — and the value of video from all aspects and markets in the world continues to expand. Use cases are growing as well: Employee training, student learning evaluations, marketing reviews, drone video capture for real estate sales and cu...

The 2017 decision of the British electorate to leave the EU was a shock to many within and beyond the UK. It is one of the most significant decisions in the UK’s history. It reflects a long-running uneasiness with the land mass across the Channel, not only because of geographical separation but also because of cultural disconnection. The UK is one of few European countries not to have been occupied or oppressed since the Norman invasion of 1066, and hence has an independence of spirit whi...

For many frequent flyers, the relationship between flyers and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been at times, turbulent. For the better part of the last two decades, going through airport security has been met with groans over long wait times as flyers are encouraged to get to the airport earlier and earlier. TSA Lean Six Sigma tactics reduce wait time However, the tide may be turning a bit, as recent reports have shown a decline in TSA’s wait times, which can be att...

With 60 percent of all of the world’s data expected to be created and managed by enterprises by 2025 according to IDC, it’s not surprising to learn that enterprise players have moved swiftly to help their customers and organisations maximise the opportunity around this massive data growth. However, when it comes to one of the most significant drivers of this growth in information—surveillance data— many enterprises struggle to understand how they can apply it to do more...

Today, almost every employee carries with them a smart device that can send messages, capture, and record images and increasingly live-stream video and audio, all appended with accurate location and time stamping data. Provide a way for staff to easily feed data from these devices directly to the control room to report an incident and you have created a new and extremely powerful ‘sensor’, capable of providing accurate, verified, real-time multi-media incident information. You need...

Did you hear the one about the bear that nearly caused a nuclear catastrophe? It was around midnight on October 25 1962, in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A guard at Volk US Air Force Base – home to a number of armed nuclear bombers – spotted a shadowy figure apparently attempting to scale the fence. The supposed Soviet saboteur tripped the alarm, which was fatefully miswired. As a result, the klaxon was accidentally sounded, triggering a manoeuvre to scramble US inter...

Security solutions should be about integration not isolation. Many organisations are considering their existing processes and systems and looking at how to leverage further value. Security is part of that focus and is a central component in the move towards a more integrated approach, which results in significant benefits. Gert Rohrmann, Technical Manager for the solutions division of Siemens Building Technologies UK, examines how by drawing data from a number of different sources...

The new scanner can quickly screen large groups of people without needing them to stop or slow down Most body scanners are designed to work one person at a time, checkpoint style. QinetiQ has developed a scanner that can be used in crowded places without having to slow down or stop moving targets. The body scanner, capable of detecting hidden explosives or weapons on a person, has been demonstrated publicly in the United Kingdom for the first time. The QinetiQ SPO-NX SPO-NX...

Real-time search analytics addresses one of the most important control room tasks - locating a person of interest If you have been to any of the many security industry tradeshows this year you will undoubtedly have seen and heard the phrase ‘next generation video analytics’. Is it just a catchy marketing phrase or is there more substance behind it? Video analytics as a technology has been with us for many years, but there has always been an air of confusion and mys...

There has been a lot of investment in safe city projects around the world in 2016, particularly in India, where Qognify is currently involved in a number of major initiatives, as well as upgrading of security systems at major public transportation hubs and international airports. At Qognify, we have seen a continual trend towards organisations wanting their security systems to deliver operational efficiency and effectiveness to the wider business.   Here are some notable trend...

Iris recognition measures the unique patterns in the coloured portion of the eye (the iris) and compares that ‘signature’ to the one on file Since the late 1990s, iris recognition technology has been used in banks and airports as a means of identity authentication. Today, its use is widespread in government facilities, schools/research centres, correctional/judicial facilities, healthcare and others. There are a number of reasons for its rising popularity, but firs...

Transport hubs will always be terrorist targets since people congregate in tight clusters (Image credit: deepspace / Shutterstock.com) The attack on Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, comes only three months after the bombing of Brussels Airport. Many are considering common elements in terms of modus operandi and likely perpetrators but the similarities are largely superficial. Airports, like any major transport hub, will always be terrorist targets since people congregate in tight...

The unfortunate reality in today’s world is that everyday places in our communities that were once thought of as safe – hospitals, schools, shopping malls and office buildings – are now places where people are at an increased risk for being injured by gun violence. Increase in gun violence Shocking incidents of active shootings have become all too common where we work, learn, relax and recuperate.  In the wake of the Orlando Pulse shooting, it’s hard to forget that...

Joining Pelco in late 2015, Sharad Shekhar is responsible for the entire global video business and is leading the charge to reinvigorate the Pelco brand with system integrators Back in the day, you literally couldn’t speak with a security company about a video surveillance project without the Pelco name coming up. It had a loyal following and an extremely large installation base. Over the years, that changed and the fervour with which integrators referred to the brand se...

What effect will the attacks in Brussels have on aviation security? Screenings inpre-security airport areas have been uncommon, but may become standard practice Will the Brussels airport attack herald a new era of aviation security? Like the bombing of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport in 2011, the Brussels attack took place “landside”, meaning that security precautions would have been low-key and limited to spot checks and the general watchfulness of police office...

Accurately confirming a person’s identity is one key to improving security forour workplaces, communities, and our nation Perhaps I’m sensitised to the term, but it seems to me that I’m hearing the word “identity” a lot lately.   Identity comes up in current news stories about Syrian refugees, for example. Candidates for the U.S. presidency debate how long it should take to confirm the identity of immigrants before allowing them to ent...

As we face 2016, identity management has become more critical to successful security operations. Recent acts of terrorism, border security issues, and the refugee crisis are just a few examples that remind us of the potential risks we face today. As a result, identity management is now firmly cemented into prospective security models across the public and private sectors.   In recent years, organisations and government bodies worldwide have begun to rely increasingly on biomet...

Stratus Technologies is a provider of “always-on” technology, which helps to ensurethe running of mission-critical access control and video surveillance applications Building security – especially high-security installations – requires technology that is reliable and minimises downtime. In some physical security installations, access control and video surveillance solutions are required to function uninterruptedly to ensure business continuity and maint...

An improving economy has resulted in additional spending on new and existing security initiatives in 2015, a solid year for the security industry. In addition, industry consolidation continued with the announcement of a few important mergers and acquisitions, which is further evidence of a vibrant and exciting time for our industry. As we move into 2016, we expect to see increased momentum for megapixel and 4K security products. The benefits of 4K are being realised by end users in outdoor cit...

The potential is huge for vendors in the security and technology industries that have gun detection-related services & products Gunshot detection systems are a fast growing trend that helps police and security guards to protect the public, capture criminals and collect forensic evidence for investigations. Gunshot detectors use digital microphones installed on (or in) buildings or along streets that listen for evidence of gunshots, provide near instantaneous notification,...

Preventive security measures and security training of personnel in the line of fire have improved dramatically Aviation security has significantly intensified since 9-11, and we’re making it more and more difficult for terrorists to get to us on the ground and in the air. In February the FBI arrested three men in Brooklyn plotting to hijack an airliner, and in the 14 years since the terrorist attacks of 9-11, officials have foiled dozens of plots against airlines, buildi...

Airport security has tightened ever since the September 9/11 catastrophic event. Post-incident investigation of such events often brings to light a particular weakness in security. As a result, security and safety protocols are developed in reaction to such traumatic events. Similar to the security measures adopted by airlines, school safety systems have also undergone major changes with a variety of electronic and mechanical access control products that prevent assailants fr...

Intimate body search at airports also takes a psychological toll on the person conducting the search SourceSecurity.com's European Correspondent, Jeremy Malies gives an account of the Body Search 2015 security conference that was held at Hounslow, London. Along with emphasis on aviation security, the conference also covered an array of safety and commercial applications. Some of the topics outlined in this article include: New techniques in body scanning, the exasperation publ...

If airport perimeter fencing is vulnerable then covert detection methods should be used Lack of airport perimeter security would be laughable, if it weren’t so serious. A recent farcical breach of security in London is drawing renewed attention to airport perimeter protection. I want to focus on airport perimeter security, but we’ll start with critical infrastructure in general: A nun, a housepainter and a gardener break into a nuclear facility. This sounds like t...