Cyber security - Security beat

ISC West in Las Vegas kicked off Wednesday with an expanding focus on new technologies and new applications, including some that go beyond any narrow definition of “the security industry.” Qognify QBlock and Cloudscann “Technology is disrupting the market and executives are taking our solutions beyond security,” says Moti Shabtai, CEO and President of Qognify. “They are starting with security and quickly moving to other risk and business continuity issues in the...

What happens to a company’s data in the case of a disaster such as 9/11 or Hurricane Sandy? How can a company recover from a disaster and continue their business uninterrupted? It’s a complicated challenge – and one many security professionals and risk management professionals must consider. Companies like Recovery Point provide resources to help a company survive a catastrophic event and keep its computer programs and business processes running. Their customers include large,...

If you want more security, you have to give up some privacy. The familiar trade-off will be tested to new extremes in the United Kingdom in 2017 when the recently ratified Investigatory Powers Bill, a.k.a., the “Snooper’s Charter,” takes effect. Based on the levels of high-tech government surveillance of UK citizens ushered in by the bill, Britons should be very secure indeed. Britain’s new law is the latest reflection of the struggle to balance intelligence agencies&rs...

Arecont Vision created the category of multi-sensor panoramic cameras back in 2006. Now the market is taking off, and many manufacturers now offer panoramic cameras. I recently spoke with Jeff Whitney, Arecont Vision’s Director of Marketing, on the current market for panoramic cameras, and also about some other hot topics – from cybersecurity to making the installer’s job easier. SourceSecurity.com: Where do you see the category of multi-sensor panoramic cameras going from he...

A big cyberattack on Friday impacted Internet service on the East Coast of the United States and kept several high-profile websites offline. Cyber security attacks later in the day were more global in nature. But Oct. 21, 2016, will also be remembered as the day our physical security industry’s legacy of apathy toward cybersecurity came back to haunt us. Denial of service attack The cyberattack last week was carried out by a botnet, a network of bots, which are software applications (in...

Add March Networks to the growing list of companies in the physical security market that are addressing the possibility of cyber-threats. Cybersecurity is especially relevant to two of March Networks’ primary vertical markets – banking, whose focus on money requires stringent cybersecurity; and retail, which has been the target of recent cybersecurity attacks. “People just don’t know what to do with cybersecurity,” says Dan Cremins, Global Leader, Product Manageme...

There was another big trade show last week –  the four-day Security Essen event in Germany. I didn’t attend, but several of my SourceSecurity.com colleagues report it was a busy show from start to finish, with the halls devoted to video/CCTV and access control dominating the show. The other halls were quieter, with smaller stands. Hot topics included big data, machine learning, mobile credentials, storage and an emphasis on solutions (rather than products). The exhibit hall was...

I have been unpacking from last week’s ASIS show in Orlando. It was a good show, except if you compare it to last spring’s ISC West in Las Vegas, which was especially well attended and generated a lot of excitement in the market. ASIS was definitely smaller, lower key and less crowded. And there were no big product announcements. But there was still plenty of technology on display. In particular, I saw the show reflecting several ongoing trends in the market. Impact of M&As Me...

The new Pokemon Go video game, which has taken the world by storm, combines real-world landmarks and locations with virtual creatures in a smart phone video game that requires players to walk around in the real world to “find” the imaginary creatures. It’s a little like what the security industry has been trying to do for years: To achieve convergence of physical and cyber worlds. Pokemon Go security risks To be sure, the new game has presented its own set of security chall...

IFSEC International 2016 by all measures was a successful show. Two of the three days clearly met (or exceeded) exhibitors’ expectations. The third day was slower, but is it any wonder? Heavy rains and resulting commuter train complications would have discouraged all but the most determined. And there was another distraction, too: It was the day of the Brexit vote, when the United Kingdom made history. Results of that momentous vote underlined the sense of uncertainty I felt on the first...

No doubt about it: ISC West 2016 was a hit. Every comment I heard during the show (and since) has highlighted how busy the show was. There was plenty of booth traffic, even on the (traditionally slow) final day of the show. Some say it was the best ISC West in the last several years. Others say it was the best show ever. Quite a contrast to some other recent industry shows, plagued by meagre traffic and complaining exhibitors. Instead, there were people everywhere at ISC West, asking questio...

ISC West was hopping on its first day, with crowded aisles, packed booths and plenty of news to share. Much of the news consists of product announcements resulting from the rapid pace of technology development in the physical security market. It was enough to cause sensory overload. Educating integrators and end users about security technology Technology is moving so fast that it’s understandable integrators, not to mention end users, might struggle to digest it all and apply it to their...

ISC West is on the immediate horizon, and I asked several industry players what they expect new and different at the industry’s big show. The answers included buzz-worthy topics from Big Data to the Internet of Things, but also mention of a perennial industry theme – integration. Video embracing social media? Tom Chamard, Executive Vice President of Sales, Salient Systems, expects social media to emerge as a larger topic of interest at ISC West, especially considering how social...

Discussions in our industry about cyber-threats to physical security systems, including IP video, often centre around hypotheticals. How might a hacker gain access to a video camera feed? How might he or she enter the larger enterprise system through a software vulnerability related to physical security? We all know assessing threats often involves considering the hypothetical, of course, but we should also seek to learn from actual events in the past. In relation to vulnerabilities of video su...

Viscount Systems’ Freedom access control now secures the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which uses the physical security system in dozens of field offices of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the department’s largest agency. (Tentative plans by President Obama call for the number of USCIS sites to increase ten-fold.) For many access control companies, government business is difficult to win and may even prove elusive. It’s ironic, then, that Viscount’s...

Cybersecurity has been getting much more attention lately in the physical security market. One company ready to address cybersecurity of IP video products is DVTEL. The Israeli company’s roots in IT and networking make it a logical choice to take a lead in cyber-defence of IP video systems. DVTEL’s core research and development (R&D) in Israel includes cyber-defence expertise. DVTEL’s cyber-defence plan In fact, DVTEL is moving fast to implement its cyber-defence plan &nd...

For attendees at ISC West in Las Vegas, the show each year brings together elements that are comfortably familiar with elements that are brand new, even unexpected. The U.S. security marketplace’s largest yearly gathering is an unrivalled forum for new product introductions, and the exhibition sets the stage for much that happens in the market throughout the rest of the year. The ISC West exhibit hall at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas will be open April 15-17, and education sessions will be...

Cybersecurity is an ongoing concern in the realm of home automation and security systems. Joe Albaugh brought a unique perspective to the subject in July when he became Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Vivint, the second largest residential security and home automation provider in the United States. Albaugh’s approach to the cybersecurity aspects of home automation is based on his 20 years of experience including past positions as chief information security officer for three large, critical...

Video cameras were big news at the ASIS International Seminar and Exhibits in Atlanta, but the eagerly anticipated new 4K Ultra-HD cameras took a back seat to other camera innovations, including a rash of new panoramic view cameras in various flavours and types (including faster frame rates) and a renewed emphasis on cameras as intelligent system components. Samsung announced its new Open Platform program that leverages the added computing capacity of Samsung’s WiseNetIII computer chip in...