Healthcare security

Keyfactor, a provider of secure digital identity management solutions, announced the acquisition of Spain-based Redtrust, a digital identity solutions company providing centralised certificate and digital signature management. “Like Keyfactor, Redtrust is fiercely committed to offering best-in-class identity management innovation to customers in industries where trust and reputation are a top priority,” said Jordan Rackie, CEO at Keyfactor. “This acquisition supports Keyfactor’s scale and global expansion efforts. We’re now able to address a broader number of use cases for our customers and appeal to a wider market, from the Global 2000 to small and midmarket businesses in North America and Europe.” Secures certificate lifecycle management Redtrust serves hundreds of customers operating in the banking, insurance, infrastructure and healthcare industriesIn January 2019, Keyfactor announced a $77 million growth funding round with Insight Partners, a global venture capital and private equity firm focussed on high growth technology and software companies. The company has doubled its revenue year-over-year and now secures more than 500 million certificates for Fortune 2000 clients worldwide. Founded in 2009, Redtrust serves hundreds of customers operating in the banking, insurance, infrastructure and healthcare industries. Its patented platform secures and centralises certificate lifecycle management, complementing Keyfactor’s end-to-end secure identity and code signing platform. “We found the perfect partner with Keyfactor, and I’m thrilled for Redtrust to reach this important company milestone,” said Daniel Rodriguez, CEO at Redtrust. “Together we have a shared vision for the future of trust, and an obsession with technical excellence and customer success. We’re now on an unstoppable mission to secure the digital identities for companies of all sizes, in any market.” Protecting certificates and identities We acquired the best company with the best technology to address these threats"“With the ongoing emergence of new technology trends like DevOps and IoT, the ability to protect certificates and identities has become increasingly critical,” said Garrett Bekker, Principal Analyst at 451 Research. “The purchase of Redtrust demonstrates Keyfactor’s ongoing commitment to provide customers around the world with a full range of certificate and key management services that both enhance security as well as keep up with ever-changing compliance requirements." “Pervasive cyber-threats that exploit common Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) vulnerabilities, digital certificates and unsecured code are on the rise due to digital transformation, IoT adoption and evolving DevOps environments,” said Kevin von Keyserling, Chief Strategy Officer & Co-founder at Keyfactor. “We acquired the best company with the best technology to address these threats. Full stop.”

Continental Access, a division of Napco Security Technologies Inc., is pleased to announce its uniVerse Series Single-Door Controllers, featuring “EZ-learn networking”, are now available in a surface-mount version, model CICP2100S. CICP2100S uniVerse Controller Ideal for cinder block walls and other hard-to-wire surfaces, often found in the construction of schools, healthcare facilities & other institutions, and used in a CA4K enterprise access control software environment, the CICP2100S Power over Ethernet Controller, with locking metal enclosure, supports two ID readers and/or one low current strike via Power over Ethernet (PoE). uniVerse Series also includes 2 Form C Relay outputs, for door and aux Up to 14 uniVerse controllers can be networked together or intermixed with Continental’s conventional, 2-16 door SuperTwo or Accelaterm Controllers, and/or integrated with Trilogy Networx Wireless PIN/Prox Access Control Locks. Compact but value-packed, uniVerse Series supports 200K cards, features a Superfast 54MHz RISC Processor, 4MB on-board memory, a 1000 transaction buffer (expandable to 10,000), 256 time schedules, 30,000 access groups and 5 x100 holidays. Seamless integration and cost-efficient The cost-saving uniVerse Series also includes 2 Form C Relay outputs, for door and aux. (MOV-protected) and supports AES-encrypted, IT-friendly POE or RS485, to downstream 10 controllers on 1 network drop. Mounted on the secured side of the door, CICP2100S’s 22-gauge CRS steel locking enclosure (9.18W x 5.4H x 2.1D”) includes 5 diagnostic ethernet LEDs, plus a power indicator, viewable from the closed cabinet. Like all its products, uniVerse controllers, in surface mount or original double-gang box model (CICP1200), are backed by Continental’s 3-year factory warranty.

UK organisations are failing to make progress towards strong cybersecurity and are facing paralysis as cybercriminals become more advanced. This is the conclusion drawn from the findings of the 2019 Risk:Value report – ‘Destination standstill. Are you asleep at the wheel?’ – from NTT Security, the specialised security company and centre of excellence in security for NTT Group. Examining the attitudes of 2,256 non-IT decision makers to risk and the value of security to the business, NTT Security’s annual Risk:Value report researches C-level executives and other senior decision makers across 20 countries in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, including the UK, and from across multiple industry sectors. Impact of cyber attacks on businesses Almost all respondents in the UK believe that strong cybersecurity is important to their business over the next 12 monthsUK respondents are aware of the risks posed by cyber threats, with over half (54 per cent) ranking cyber attacks on their organisation as one of the top three issues that could affect businesses in the next 12 months – second only to ‘economic or financial crisis’ (56 per cent). While global organisations rank ‘loss of company data’ in third place, in the UK, 44 per cent believe that cyber attacks on critical infrastructure is a far greater threat. Of the most vulnerable components of critical national infrastructure, telecoms, energy and electricity networks take first, second and third place. Almost all (90 per cent) respondents in the UK believe that strong cybersecurity is important to their business over the next 12 months, compared to 78 per cent who say the same about ‘growing revenue and profit’, while 93 per cent believe cybersecurity has a big role to play in society. According to the report, strong cybersecurity allows UK organisations to ‘ensure the integrity of their data’ (58 per cent) and ‘ensure only the right people have access’ to this data (56 per cent), while around half say it ‘helps protect the brand’. Good and bad practice in cybersecurity Businesses in India, a new country to the research, are now the best performing in the world for cybersecurityFor each organisation in the research for the last two years, NTT Security has analysed the responses for good and bad practice in cybersecurity, with good practice awarded positive scores and bad practice awarded negative scores. The results show a worrying lack of progress globally: in 2019 as in 2018, the average score was just +3, meaning that there is nearly as much bad practice as good practice. Thirty-two per cent of businesses score less than zero: that is, they are exhibiting more bad practice than good practice. Businesses in India, a new country to the research, are now the best performing in the world for cybersecurity, ahead of the UK. The performance of organisations in France, Germany and Singapore has worsened in the last year, as has the performance of the financial services, telecommunications, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas and private healthcare sectors, placing doubt on the robustness of critical national infrastructure. Areas where UK organisations are stalling Paying cybercriminals: A third (33 per cent) of UK respondents say that they would rather pay a ransom to a hacker than invest more in security because it would be cheaper, a significant rise of 12 per cent over 2018’s Risk:Value report. In addition, 34 per cent said they would rather pay a ransom to a hacker than get a fine for non-compliance of data regulations. Budgets: Security budgets in the UK are potentially failing to keep up with increasing cyber risk, with the percentage of IT budget attributed to security (15 per cent) in line with the global average. The percentage of operations budget spent on security has fallen by around 1 per cent since 2018, to 16.5 percent in 2019. GDPR compliance: Just 30 per cent globally believe they are subject to GDPR, a year on from the deadline, despite it affecting all organisations that have operations or customers in any European Union member state. The UK is a more respectable 48 per cent – still behind Spain (55 per cent) and Italy (50 per cent). Internal security policies: Businesses are still failing to be proactive internally. At a global level, 58 per cent have a formal information security policy in place, just 1 per cent up over last year. While the UK shows an impressive 70 per cent with a policy in place, this is down on last year’s 77 per cent. Less than half (47 per cent), however, admit that their employees are fully aware of such a policy. Incident response plans: In 2019, 60 per cent of UK organisations have an incident response plan in place in the event of a security breach, a 3 per cent drop. However, this is still above the global average of 52 per cent and among the highest figures across all 20 countries. Blaming IT: Around half (44 per cent) of UK respondents believe cybersecurity ‘is the IT department’s problem and not the wider business’, which is in line with the global average of 45 per cent. While Swedish organisations are most likely to blame IT (60 per cent), Brazil is least likely (28 per cent) to do so. Time spent on recovery from cyber breach The cost of recovering from a breach is estimated to be $1.2 million in the UK, matching the global averageThe 2019 Risk:Value report reveals that the time spent on recovering from a cyber breach continues to rise year on year, with UK respondents estimating that it will take 93 days on average to recover. The UK figure is a significant rise of nearly double over last year’s estimated 47 days. The UK now ranks as one of the highest figures globally compared to one of the lowest in 2018. The cost of recovering from a breach is estimated to be $1.2 million in the UK, matching the global average. Notably in the Nordics, costs are predicted to be much higher, with Norway at $1.8 million and Sweden in first place with expected recovery costs for a business suffering a breach of $3 million. Oil & Gas is the industry sector having to spend the most on recovery efforts to the tune of $2.3 million. The estimated loss in revenue in percentage terms is up year on year in the UK – 12.9 per cent, up from 9.7 per cent in 2018, and in line with the global average of 12.7 per cent. Integration of new technologies The execution of cybersecurity strategies must improve or business risk will escalate for the organisations concerned"Commenting on the 2019 findings, Azeem Aleem, VP Consulting, NTT Security, says: “The Risk:Value report is an interesting barometer based on responses from those sitting outside of the IT function – and is often very revealing. What’s clear is that the world around them is changing, and changing fast, with the introduction of new regulations, integration of new technologies and fast-paced digital transformation projects changing the way we work. "What’s concerning though is that organisations seem to have come to a standstill in their journey to cybersecurity best practice – and it’s particularly worrying to see UK businesses falling behind in some critical areas like incident response planning. “Decision makers clearly see security as an enabler; something that can help the business and society in general. But while awareness of cyber risks is high, organisations still lack the ability, or perhaps the will, to manage them effectively. The execution of cybersecurity strategies must improve or business risk will escalate for the organisations concerned.”

Seniors require and deserve peace of mind, knowing that help is easily available when they need it; they also need their boundaries respected, ensuring their privacy is paramount. Essence’s Care@Home solution delivers both. Essence will present its technology at Health+Care, June 26 & 27 at ExCel, London, to introduce the general availability of its offerings in the UK market. Essence SmartCare, part of the Israel-based Essence Group, is a pioneer in intelligent IoT and cybersecurity solutions for the monitored security, connected home, and senior telecare markets worldwide. Advanced speech recognition technology The system requires no wearables, so it’s available even when the senior cannot activate a panic buttonHighlighting its stand at the event will be the Care@Home Communicator, which is a significant differentiator for Essence SmartCare’s full line of smart Telecare technologies. They range from emergency alerting to a professional intelligent activity monitoring solution. Using advanced speech recognition technology – Intelligent Voice Activation (IVATM) – the Communicator’s two-way communication is activated only when a senior calls out a specific phrase that identifies that person is calling for help. The system requires no wearables, so it’s available even when the senior cannot activate a panic button. The Communicator immediately opens a two-way communication channel to the monitoring station, allowing them to get further details about the emergency to send an appropriate response. Monitoring and communications technologies Our breakthrough technologies provide this to the UK telecare market in a way that has not been seen here before"“Combining the most sophisticated senior monitoring and communications technologies delivers peace of mind to consumers and allows service providers to significantly expand their offerings,” said Dr Haim Amir, CEO, founder, and chairman of Essence. “Studies have shown that seniors live longer, happier, and more fulfilling lives when they can stay in their own homes, maintaining their independence. Our breakthrough technologies provide this to the UK telecare market in a way that has not been seen here before.” “Essence SmartCare leads by enabling reliable connectivity via digital, IP-based communication of the most advanced cellular networks with the flexibility to use an existing analogue channel on the same box,” says Barak Katz, General Manager of Essence SmartCare. Built-in speaker and microphone The battery-operated Communicator extension comes with a built-in speaker and microphone and can be located in any roomThe battery-operated Communicator extension comes with a built-in speaker and microphone and can be located in any room of the house – the waterproof system can even be installed directly in the shower. This enables complete coverage of the home with no areas inaccessible for assistance. Essence SmartCare provides flexible and scalable services for a person-centred approach, allowing providers to grow cost effectively with new offerings. Rich administration tools include operational capabilities to accelerate time to market as well as comprehensive account management and reporting. Essence SmartCare will also be previewing some of its upcoming products at the show, bringing even more emphasis to its commitment to improving the customer experience and level of safety. The Communicator will be among the products highlighted at the upcoming Health + Care conference, June 26 & 27 in London at ExCel. Essence will be at Stand #J62.

Advanced video projects delivered by SECOM, Johnson Controls and ISD Tech have been recognised at IFSEC with a special award event on the IDIS stand. Over the last 12 months, large-scale implementations and high definition IP system upgrades, harnessing the latest IDIS technology, have given enhanced video capability at NHS facilities, fashion chains, coffee shops, variety stores, and market leaders in the eating-out sector. Each year, IDIS invites VIP guests to recognise outstanding achievements by partners, with a presentation on its IFSEC stand followed by a drinks’ reception underscoring the value it places on long term partnership working. Awards presented to industry partners Our continued momentum in video tech development is guided by our close working ties with our industry partners"Recognising these successes, Joon Jun, President of the IDIS Global Business Division presented partner awards to Alan Blake, Commercial Director of SECOM Plc, Sean Lee, Retail Director of the Sensormatic Solutions Division of Johnson Controls and ISD Tech’s Managing Director, Nicky Stokes. “Our continued momentum in video tech development is guided by our close working ties with our industry partners,” says James Min, Managing Director, IDIS Europe. “We see the results of this collaboration with the impressive range of successful projects delivered over the last year, with ISD Tech, Johnson Controls and SECOM leading the field.” Implemented video integration projects SECOM Plc, which is a pioneer in tailored fire and security solutions operating internationally, was named as UK Partner of the Year. Over the last year SECOM has completed a number of notable video integration projects in retail, eating-out and various commercial sectors, and has demonstrated outstanding application of the IDIS Total Solution which has DirectIP at its heart as well as the analogue/HD-TVI solution DirectCX to leverage existing coaxial cabling. Johnson Controls has led the way in using analytics technology in the retail sector, including the IDIS VA in the Box solution Johnson Controls was confirmed as the UK Integration Partner of the Year, following a number of successful retail and healthcare deployments, including implementations for major high street fashion brands, popular variety stores and NHS facilities. Johnson Controls has also led the way in using analytics technology in the retail sector, including the IDIS VA in the Box solution, and has been among the fastest growing of IDIS’ partnership operations over the last year. Video solution for NHS healthcare trust ISD Tech was named UK Project Partner of the Year after delivering an award-winning video solution for one of the UK’s largest NHS mental healthcare trusts. The project helped to transform safety and security at child and adolescent facilities and, following its success, ISD Tech is now working on a second phase implementation due to be completed imminently with further deployments planned for later in the year. Speaking at the IFSEC presentation, James Min, Managing Director, IDIS Europe praised the achievements of this year’s award winners. “These awards once again demonstrate the benefits of close partnership working, not just for the companies involved but most importantly for their end-user customers who benefit from the best available video surveillance solutions.”

Forescout Technologies, Inc., the pioneer in device visibility and control, announced insights from 75 real healthcare deployments with more than 10,000 virtual local area networks (VLANs) and 1.5 million devices contained within the Forescout Device Cloud, with a specific focus on 1,500 medical VLANs with more than 430,000 devices. Launched in July 2017, the Forescout Device Cloud is one of the world’s largest crowdsourced device repositories and now contains more than eight million devices from more than 1,000 customers who share anonymised device insights. Diverse and complex IT environments Our findings reveal that healthcare organisations have some of the most diverse and complex IT environments"“The Forescout Device Cloud provides us with game changing data from millions of devices around the world, and what we are releasing today is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Elisa Costante, head of OT and Industrial Technology Innovation at Forescout. “Our findings reveal that healthcare organisations have some of the most diverse and complex IT environments, which are compounded due to compliance risks. Every time a patch is applied, there is concern around voiding a warranty or impacting patient safety. These organisations are dealing with lifesaving devices and extremely sensitive environments.” Increased device intelligence The convergence of IT, IoT and OT makes it more difficult for the healthcare industry to manage a wide array of hard-to-control network security risks. IoT and OT devices are rapidly increasing in numbers, but traditional IT still represents the most vulnerable attack surface. Forescout uses the Device Cloud data to analyse more than 150 attributes per device to bring increased device intelligence and improved auto-classification to its customers. Forescout will leverage the increasing amount of data and intelligence gathered from the Device Cloud to generate future insights on the characterisation and risk posture of connected devices across industries. Forescout Device Cloud Report key findings: The most common devices on medical networks are still traditional computing devices followed by IoT devicesHealthcare OT increases attack surface The most common devices on medical networks are still traditional computing devices (53 percent) followed by IoT devices (39 percent), including VoIP phones, network printers, tablets and smart TVs. OT systems, including medical devices, critical care systems, building automation systems, facilities, utilities and physical security, comprise eight percent of the devices on medical networks. Within the OT device category, the three most common connected medical devices found were patient tracking and identification systems (38 percent), infusion pumps (32 percent) and patient monitors (12 percent). Considering the growing number of vulnerabilities in OT environments, we can see an increase in the attack surface in healthcare environments. Healthcare organisations riddled with devices running legacy Windows operating systems The report highlights that 71 percent of Windows devices within these healthcare deployments are running Windows 7, Windows 2008 or Windows Mobile, with Microsoft support planned to expire on January 14, 2020. Running unsupported operating systems poses a risk that may expose vulnerabilities and has the potential to impact regulatory compliance. Diversity of operating systems and vendor sprawl creates headaches Forescout’s research found that 40 percent of healthcare deployments had more than 20 different operating systemsThe diversity of device vendors and operating systems present on medical networks adds to the complexity and increases security challenges. Forescout’s research found that 40 percent of healthcare deployments had more than 20 different operating systems. When looking at the different types of operating systems found on medical VLANs, 59 percent were Windows operating systems and 41 percent were a mix of other variants, including mobile, embedded firmware and network infrastructure and many more. In addition, more than 30 percent of healthcare deployments had 100 or more device vendors on their network. Patching in healthcare environments, especially acute care facilities, can be challenging and require devices to remain online and available. Some healthcare devices cannot be patched, may require vendor approval or need manual implementation by remote maintenance personnel. Vulnerable protocols are leaving a door open Eighty-five percent of devices on medical networks running Windows OS had Server Block Messaging (SMB) protocol turned on, allowing uncontrolled access for attackers to get beyond the perimeter and move laterally. Device manufacturers sometimes leave network ports open by default — often unbeknownst to IT and security staff.

The healthcare sector is a crucial part of a functioning society as it provides life-saving care and reassurance to the population. A key part of ensuring the professionals in this industry have the best work environment is the ongoing security of the facilities. Overcoming environmental challenges Hospitals are challenging environments for security integrators. There is little room for mistakes because staff, patients and assets cannot be compromised. Medical centres and their facilities can be vast complexes and security teams must be confident in their ability to identify and nullify threats as soon as possible.  Chubb provided Queensland Children’s Hospital's security team with a simple and easy-to-use tool Chubb Fire & Security offers a range of intelligent video and access control systems to solve these challenges. The Queensland Children’s Hospital in Australia, formerly named Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, is the major specialist children’s hospital for families living in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. The facility not only provides care to the local families but also the state’s sickest and most critically injured children who need highly specialised care. This state-of-the-art hospital, coupled with a leading academic and research facility and the high calibre staff, provides a platform to continue to develop as a leader in paediatric health care, education and research. Comprehensive security solution Chubb developed a solution for Queensland Children’s Hospital that included access control, video management, communications and asset tracking. By creating a common infrastructure for all security systems managed through a comprehensive user interface, Chubb provided the hospital’s security team with a simple and easy-to-use tool that enables them to resolve situations as they happen and action events automatically on command. Chubb also developed a 3D model of the building that allows the security team to respond quickly to a wide variety of events. The protection of patients and staff is naturally a hospital's number one priority Also crucial to the implementation of security systems in a hospital is minimal disruption to its everyday operations. Professionals in hospitals are working 24/7 so there is little time when it comes to disabling security systems for maintenance or repairs. Continued maintenance and upgrades are vital elements to Chubb’s work and key to this is a great deal of collaboration with clinical and operational stakeholders. Securing mission-critical environment Hospital facilities are not always state-of-the-art and often face the slow upgrade process that a limited budget imparts. However, through the audit and update of security systems, steps can be taken to ensure continued operations without external disruption. The protection of patients and staff is naturally a hospital's number one priority and Chubb shares the same commitment to making sure the environment is safe and secure. Carrying out a technically demanding project in a large, mission-critical environment like a hospital takes strong teamwork, including expert strategic partners, and collaboration between stakeholders.

The industry faces numerous challenges in the coming year. Physical and cyber security threats continue to become more complex, and organisations are struggling to manage both physical and digital credentials as well as a rapidly growing number of connected endpoints in the Internet of Things (IoT). We are witnessing the collision of the enterprise with the IoT, and organisations now must establish trust and validate the identity of people as well as ‘things’ in an environment of increasingly stringent safety and data privacy regulations. Meanwhile, demand grows for smarter and more data-driven workplaces, a risk-based approach to threat protection, improved productivity and seamless, more convenient access to the enterprise and its physical and digital assets and services. Using smartphone apps to open doors Cloud technologies give people access through their mobile phones and other devices to many new, high-value experiencesEnterprise customers increasingly want to create trusted environments within which they can deliver valuable new user experiences. A major driver is growing demand for the ‘digital cohesion’ of being able to use smartphone apps to open doors, authenticate to enterprise data resources or access a building’s applications and services. Cloud technologies are a key piece of the solution. They give people access through their mobile phones and other devices to many new, high-value experiences. At the same time, they help fuel smarter, more data-driven workplace environments. With the arrival of today’s identity- and location-aware building systems that recognise people and use deep learning analytics to customise their office environment, the workplace is undergoing dramatic change. Improved fingerprint solutions Cloud-based platforms and application programming interfaces (APIs) will help bridge biometrics and access control in the enterprise, overcoming previous integration hurdles while providing a trusted platform that meets the concerns of accessibility and data protection in a connected environment. At the same time, the next generation of fingerprint solutions will deliver higher matching speed, better image capture quality and improved performance. The next generation of fingerprint solutions will deliver higher matching speed, better image capture quality and improved performance Liveness detection will ensure that captured data is from a living person. Biometrics authentication will also gain traction beyond access control in immigration and border control, law enforcement, military, defence and other public section use cases where higher security is needed. Flexible subscription models Access control solutions based on cloud platforms will also change how solutions are deployed. Siloed security and workplace optimisation solutions will be replaced with mobile apps that can be downloaded anywhere across a global ecosystem of millions of compatible and connected physical access control system endpoints. These connections will also facilitate new, more flexible subscription models for access control services. As an example, users will be able to more easily replenish mobile IDs if their smartphones are lost or must be replaced. Generating valuable insights with machine learning Machine learning analytics will be used to generate valuable insights from today’s access control solutionsEducation, finance, healthcare, enterprise, and other niche markets such as commercial real-estate and enterprises focussed on co-working spaces will benefit from a cloud-connected access control hardware foundation. There will be a faster path from design to deployment since developers will no longer have to create an entire vertically integrated solution. They will simply add an app experience to the existing access control infrastructure. New players will be drawn to the market resulting in a richer, more vibrant development community and accelerated innovation. Data analytics will be a rapidly growing area of interest. Machine learning analytics will be used to generate valuable insights from today’s access control solutions. Devices, access control systems, IoT applications, digital certificates and location services solutions, which are all connected to the cloud, will collectively deliver robust data with which to apply advanced analytics and risk-based intelligence. As organisations incorporate this type of analytics engine into their access control systems, they will improve security and personalise the user experience while driving better business decisions. 

The past decade has seen unprecedented growth in data creation and management. The products and services that consumers use every day – and the systems businesses, large and small, rely on – all revolve around data. The increasing frequency of high-profile data breaches and hacks should be alarming to anyone, and there’s a danger data security could worsen in the coming years. According to DataAge 2025, a report by IDC and Seagate, by 2025, almost 90% of all data created in the global datasphere will require some level of security, but less than half of it will actually be secured. Nuanced approach to data security Security is a circle, not a line. Every actor involved in the handling and processing of data has responsibility for ensuring its securityThe rapid proliferation of embedded systems, IoT, real-time data and AI-powered cognitive systems – as well as new legislation like the European Union’s GDPR – means that data security has to be a priority for businesses like never before. With data used, stored and analysed at both the hardware and software level, we need a new and more nuanced approach to data security. Security is a circle, not a line. Every actor involved in the handling and processing of data has responsibility for ensuring its security. What this means in practice is renewed focus on areas of hardware and software protection that have previously not been top of mind or received large amounts of investment from businesses, with security at the drive level being a prime example. The importance of data-at-rest encryption In a world where data is everywhere, businesses need always-on protection. Data-at-rest encryption helps to ensure that data is secure right down to the storage medium in which it is held in a number of ways. Hardware-level encryption, firmware protection for the hard drive, and instant, secure erasing technology allow devices to be retired with minimal risk of data misuse. Data-at-rest encryption helps to ensure that data is secure right down to the storage medium in which it is held in a number of ways A recent report from Thales Data Threat found that data-at-rest security tools can be a great way to help protect your data. However, it’s important to note that this must be used in conjunction with other security measures to ensure that those that fraudulently gain access to your key management system can’t access your data. Ensuring drives to be Common Criteria compliant One straightforward test any business can do to ensure its storage is as secure as possible is to check whether the drives are Common Criteria compliantDespite the clear benefits, this kind of encryption lags behind other areas, such as network and endpoint security, in terms of the investment it currently receives. The same Thales Data Threat report found that data-at-rest security was receiving some of the lowest levels of spending increases in 2016 (44%), versus a 62% increase for network and a 56% increase for endpoint security. One straightforward test any business can do to ensure its storage is as secure as possible is to check whether the drives are Common Criteria compliant. Common Criteria is an international standard for computer security certification, and drives that meet this standard have a foundational level of protection which users can build on. Providing an additional layer of security The retail industry has seen a spate of security breaches recently, with several major US brands suffering attacks over the busy Easter weekend this year. As frequent handlers of consumer card information, retailers are particularly vulnerable to attack. Data-at-rest encryption could enhance security in these instances, providing an additional layer of security between customer records and the attacker The advanced threats retailers face can often evade security defences without detection. Such a breach could grant attackers unrestricted access to sensitive information for possibly months – some breaches are known to have been detected only after consumer payment details appeared on the dark web. These types of undetected attacks are highly dangerous for retailers, which are relatively helpless to protect consumer information once their defences have been compromised. Data-at-rest encryption could significantly enhance security in these instances, providing an additional layer of security between customer records and the attacker which has the potential to make the stolen data valueless to cyber criminals. Industries in need of data-at-rest encryption Healthcare organisations, which hold highly sensitive customer and patient information, have a strong use case for data-at-rest encryption. With the widespread adoption of electronic patient health records, that data is increasingly more vulnerable to attack. Recent research from the American Medical Association and Accenture revealed that 74% of physicians are concerned over future attacks that may compromise patient records. With the widespread adoption of electronic patient health records, that data is increasingly more vulnerable to attack The financial sector would also benefit from further investment in data-at-rest encryption, given 78% of financial services firms globally are planning on increasing their spending on critical data, according to Thales’ Data Threat Report. It’s helpful to view security as a circle in which every piece of hardware and software handling the data plays its part SMEs and enterprises are not immune to security threats either – with growing numbers of people traveling for work or working remotely, the risk of sensitive business data becoming exposed via device theft is heightened. Usernames and passwords have little use if thieves can simply remove unencrypted hard drives and copy data across. Securing every hardware and software Technology vendors often focus on aspects of hardware and application security that are within their control. This is understandable, but it risks proliferating a siloed approach to data security. There is no single line for data security -- rather, it’s helpful to view it as a circle in which every piece of hardware and software handling the data plays its part. There’s a clear need for more industry dialogue and collaboration to ensure data security is effectively deployed and connected throughout the security circle and across the value chain.

Virtualisation offers multiple benefits to video surveillance systems, but the technology has been slow to adapt to the needs of video. However, the tide is turning. At ISC West, BCDVideo introduced a hyperconverged infrastructure tailored to video surveillance (HCI-VS) that answers the demand for higher and more efficient operating performance while also lowering the total cost of ownership for the integrator and end user. Hyperconverged infrastructure solution “ISC West attendees were able to get their hands on our hyperconverged solution and immediately see how easy it is to use and the benefit of adding virtual machines,” says BCDVideo’s Chief Technology Officer Tom Larson. Security integrators were impressed that BCDVideo continues to adapt technologies" Virtualisation was just one of the innovations in BCDVideo’s demo room. Many integrators and end users found their way to the conference room, located not far from the exhibition hall, and BCDVideo was also featured at partners’ booths on the show floor. “Security integrators were impressed that BCDVideo continues to adapt technologies to the video surveillance space,” says Larson. “BCDVideo ‘gets’ them, but often IT does not. The HCI solution is purpose-built for video, and it works.” Server, storage and networking BCDVideo’s HCI-VS is a virtualised, video-optimised and highly available infrastructure. It combines the server, storage and networking into one platform. Powered by Scale Computing’s HC3 software, BCDVideo’s HCI is a scalable, node/cluster-based infrastructure that enables integrators to virtualise their physical security appliances and software, meaning fewer devices need to be deployed and maintained. Physical security integrators can create an infrastructure that provides high availability to the VMS" “More importantly, our HCI makes it easier than ever before both to quickly create and deploy virtual machines, and to manage video surveillance infrastructure,” says Larson. Some of the unique needs that HCI-VS serves are those of multi-faceted projects involving video recording, access control, building management, etc. With HCI-VS, separate appliances are not needed for each of these tasks, which enables better use of hardware, reduces overall rack space and power/cooling costs. Essentially, this solution eliminates the “pizza box” model and serves the need in the marketplace where always-on video and high availability are necessary, and especially in situations where loss of video data cannot be tolerated, says Larson. Simplified graphical user interface (GUI) makes it easy for integrators to implement systems that use hyperconverged technology Tolerant to hardware failure “By leveraging the concepts of hyperconvergence, physical security integrators can create an infrastructure that provides high availability to the video management system,” he says. “When components within a video management system are tolerant to hardware failure, it results in less loss of data and continual access to the data from the failed component. You always have access to the video data even if the hard drive fails.” Defining virtualisation Virtualisation is the act of creating virtual copies of physical resources, including, but not limited to, compute, memory, storage, and network resources. This is achieved by employing software to manage all physical resources, known as a hypervisor. As servers become more powerful, the discrepancy between software and hardware capabilities result in inefficient use of resources. “By partitioning the hardware resources into smaller virtual environments, we can create multiple virtualised servers that share a common set of resources,” says Larson. “By sharing this common set of resources, the virtualised servers utilise the resources more efficiently with less waste.” Integrators and end users flocked to BCDVideo's demo room at ISC West to try out the new hyperconverged solution Education and physical security Learning about the benefits of why to virtualise and applications will be a first step” A challenge to greater adoption of virtualisation in the physical security industry is education. “Some security integrators will need to step out of their comfort zone,” says Larson. “Virtualisation for video has been slow to adapt, and other solutions are complicated. IT technology applications traditionally have not worked in the space either. Learning about the benefits of why to virtualise and applications will be a first step.” HCI-VS in new verticals While HCI-VS is vertical-market-agnostic, the solution is suitable for school districts looking to consolidate their hardware, for hospitals and the healthcare industry in general, for the rapidly growing cannabis industry, any mass transit system, as well as for Fortune 1000 companies, to name a few. “Our virtualised solution especially appeals to these verticals because of the number of cameras, the need for 24/7/365 video recording and extensive data retention requirements, and where loss of video data cannot be afforded,” says Larson. Purpose-built solutions BCDVideo’s HCI-VS is the latest example of products BCDVideo is creating for the physical security industry. “We purpose-build and engineer our solutions specifically for video surveillance with the ability to scale-out as needed,” says Kelly Kellen, BCDVideo’s Director of Marketing. “We engineer new products to address problems in the marketplace. Our CTO is really looking at the market and studying the security integrator’s pain points. Then we engineer solutions to best serve them.”

Effective access control can be achieved without the use of cards using a new generation of secure facial authentication enabled by artificial intelligence and machine learning. Alcatraz AI is introducing a system that deploys a sensing device, about the size of a badge reader, with multiple colour and infrared cameras that can detect facial features and confirm an identity. Real-time 3D facial mapping avoids anyone using a photograph, video or mask to spoof the system and confirms there is a real person that matches the stored facial image. System helps in tailgating mitigation Deep neural networks, powered by NVIDIA, enable the system to achieve new levels of frictionless access control, says Vince Gaydarzhiev, CEO of Alcatraz AI. Computer processing is achieved at the edge to ensure speedy and secure access control. We saw an opportunity to create a system that solves issues of tailgating and addresses the need for security without increasing friction"“We saw an opportunity to create a system that solves issues of tailgating and addresses the need for security without increasing friction,” says Gaydarzhiev. The accuracy of the system lessens the need for security guards, he says. The Silicon Valley startup, currently with 20 employees, was founded in early 2016 by a team from Apple, NVIDIA and Lily Robotics with a goal of targeting mid- to large-sized corporations that currently have deployed badging systems. The company has raised close to $6M from venture capital firms and individuals, and Johnson Controls/Tyco has invested in the startup. Alcatraz AI’s sensor device, mounted near a door, confirms a user’s identity and communicates the user’s badge number to the existing access control infrastructure. “The system improves the facial profile every time, using the neural network to be even more accurate in the future,” says Gaydarzhiev. He says it is the industry’s first “instant one-factor authentication for multi-person in-the-flow sensing.” The system is less expensive than previous facial authentication systems and does not require users to be very close to the reader Easy enrolment and deployment Enrolment in the system is easy. Companies can deploy a separate enrolment station, or any reader can be used for enrolment. After badging in a couple of times, the face matching system “enrols” the face with the associated badge number, thus allowing the user to dispense with the badge altogether. In the future, the frictionless system simply recognises the user and opens the door. A user company can quickly deploy the system at locations where thousands of employees have access, without requiring employees to go to HR for enrolment. Gaydarzhiev says accuracy of the system is no less than that of iris scanning, and the accuracy is configurable for specific needs. He says the system is less expensive than previous facial authentication systems and does not require users to be very close to the reader. Facial authentication is also more flexible than iris scanning or fingerprinting. Detecting intent from positioning of eyes The system detects intent from the positioning of the eyes and body to avoid opening a door unintentionallyIn contrast to near field communication (NFC) or Bluetooth systems, the technology does not require a compatible smart phone or have issues of communication range. There is no need for users to stop and perform an action or gesture to signal intent. The system detects intent from the positioning of the eyes and body to avoid opening a door unintentionally, says Gaydarzhiev.  Alcatraz AI is targeting high-tech enterprises, including healthcare, government and eventually banks. Currently they have three pilot installations among large global software companies and are undergoing trials with some government agencies. Today, they sell direct to end users, but the intent is to develop a dealer channel that will account for most of the sales.

The best route to greater adoption of robotics in the field of physical security is intellectual honesty, says Travis Deyle, CEO and co-founder of Cobalt Robotics. “Robots are not a panacea, so we must be clear and honest about capabilities and use cases,” he says. “If you are dishonest, people will lose faith. We must have clear expectations about what’s feasible today and possible tomorrow.” The robotics tide is turning in the security market, which is notoriously slow to embrace new technologies. “The tone has changed at recent security events,” says Deyle. “Previously, robots were thought of as a science experiment. But now, there are big-name users wanting to discuss proof of concept. It has evolved from being a novelty to now it’s time to give it a serious look. They want us to help them sell the concept up the chain of command. It’s helpful to have conversations with other parts of the company because it has an impact on the culture of the company.” The robotics tide is turning in the security market, which is notoriously slow to embrace new technologies Cobalt’s robots are purpose-built for a specific use case: providing after-hours support and security for corporate locations. Indoor environments, confined and controlled, present fewer navigation challenges for robots, which can quickly become familiar with the surroundings and navigate easily through an office space. Indoor robots can provide benefits beyond security, too, such as facility management, promoting employee health and safety, and emergency response. Cobalt's human-centred design Cobalt’s robots also interact well with people. They are friendly and approachable and make employees feel safe and secure. The human-centered design promotes that interaction, and a real person (located remotely) can enter into any interaction instantly as needed. “We combine machines with people,” says Deyle. “We allow the machine to do what it does best, such as dull and boring activities, and add the flexibility and cultural relevancy of having a person there.” Cobalt’s robots also interact well with people, they are friendly and approachable and make employees feel safe and secure When a robot is deployed, it performs a brief mapping phase (about an hour), in which it moves around and builds up a “map” of its space and develops its patrol route. Over time, it lingers more in areas where it encounters more incidents. There are 60 sensors on the robot, including day/night cameras, high-resolution thermal cameras, a card reader that integrates with the corporate access control system, a microphone, and environmental sensors for temperature and humidity.  The robot builds models of what’s normal in its environment in terms of people, sound, motion, open doors and windows, and even leaks and spills. And then it detects anomalies and sends relevant notifications to Cobalt specialists, who respond and manage any events in real time. The machine provides unwavering attention, perfect recall, and accountability. Cobalt robots have been designed to help bridge the problems faced with utilising guards and cameras  Accommodating various anomalies  The Cobalt robot is designed to blend into a high-end office environment, with flexible fabric and a corporate design aesthetic. It is stable beyond 45-degrees, so it’s hard to topple over. The 5-foot-2-inch robot can see over desks and cubicles. It is designed to bridge the gap between guards, who are expensive and underutilised during uneventful night shifts, and cameras, which are unable to respond to nuanced situations. Cobalt Robotics already has customers in defense, finance and manufacturing, and a handful of Fortune 500 companies are looking at the service Autonomous navigation uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to avoid static and dynamic obstacles. Over time, the robot accommodates various anomalies such as loud machinery noise, and “semantic mapping” adds intelligence to its map. When the robot figures out that a picture on the wall is not a real person, for example, it stores that information for future reference.  The technologies enabling robotics in the indoor environment are mature – there have been variations of security robots in operation for decades. What has changed is the costs of the technologies, which are now inexpensive enough to make a robot affordable to businesses. Cobalt Robotics offers an all-inclusive service providing hardware, software, service and maintenance as well as the remote human interface. All together, the service is a third to half the cost of a man-guard, and it bills monthly, says Deyle. Cobalt Robotics offers an all-inclusive service providing hardware, software, service and maintenance as well as the remote human interface Cobalt Robotics already has customers in defense, finance and manufacturing, and a handful of Fortune 500 companies are looking at the service. They are currently operational in the San Francisco Bay area and Chicago and will be in six other geographies in the next three months (in response to customer needs). Uses include offices, museums, warehouses, technology centres, and innovation centres.  A former Google employee, Deyle’s experience in robotics goes back to his Ph.D. studies at Georgia Tech, where he worked on developing a robot to deliver healthcare to homebound patients. Deyle and Cobalt Robotics co-founder Erik Schluntz departed Google in 2016 to form Cobalt Robotics. In just 12 months, Cobalt went from the initial idea to paid robot deployments.

Health services and their funding have long been in the news, with social care and mental health coming in for particular attention. Both of these core areas are seeing a growing need for their services. While nationally this is a problem, there is good news in East Anglia with the opening of the 16 bedroom Samphire Ward at Chatterton House, a new acute care mental health facility in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. The build comprised of a refurbishment of two redundant wards linked to create one modern compliant 16 bed facility at a cost of £4m which is operated by North and West Norfolk Care Group, part of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). NSFT provides inpatient and community-based mental health services in both Norfolk and Suffolk. It is also commissioned to provide in some of its localities, learning disability services, along with other specialist services including medium and low secure services and wellbeing. Continuim access control system Many of these sites use a legacy building access control system called Continuim The new facility is one of many sites across Norfolk and Suffolk that fall under management of the trust. Managing over 4,000 staff and controlling over 1500 access controlled doors across multiple sites. Many of these sites use a legacy building access control system called Continuim which is a bolt on module to Trend BMS, where all doors on this system are required to be wired on-line. Several years ago the trust wanted a more modern contactless access control solution for their facilities in Norfolk and Suffolk. They specifically wanted a solution that offered cost savings by not having to wire all doors. SALTO access control was chosen for fitting to new and refurbishment projects, with a view to possibly retro-fitting the new solution across all the existing sites on a rolling upgrade basis as time and future budgets allow. SALTO access control solution Security and Infrastructure Manager for the Strategic Estates department at the trust, Paul Evans, says “By choosing SALTO the trust were able to specify a mix of online and offline equipment. The cost saving for offline equipment enables the trust to specify more internal offline doors to become controllable as part of the access control system, thus giving us greater flexibility and security for our facilities.” Evans continues “Given the nature of our work and that some of our service users can have really challenging behaviour issues, it is vital that for their safety and that of the staff, we are able to control access simply and easily yet securely into and around the many different areas of the ward, the administration area and indeed the rest of the rooms in the building.” Contactless smart access control Reduced-ligature hardware working with contactless smart access control was needed in the user areas A standard off-the-shelf access control solution was not suitable as reduced-ligature hardware working with contactless smart access control was needed in the user areas together with anti-barricade doors, vision panels, automatic lockdown abilities, locker locks and a host of other special items and so we wanted a company with specialist experience in this field to carry out the supply and installation.” After going out to a competitive open tending process, local security specialist and certificated SALTO partner AC Leigh, based in Norwich, won the contract to secure the new facility. One of their lead designers, Simon Clarkson, worked with Paul and his team to design and deliver the system. Central monitoring system Clarkson, Health and Safety Director at AC Leigh says “We listened to what Paul and his team needed and especially how they wanted to manage and control the building and delivered a completely focused solution that allows central administration of the facility using hardware and software from SALTO Systems as the core of the solution.” On-line wall readers are used to control access into and around the building and these have been installed on main entry points, alongside bedroom doors and in ‘airlocks’ to control access from one area to another. SALTO slave control units Paul Evans says, “The latest SALTO online CU4200 control units were used on this project where data can be shared to SALTO slave control units via a single master control unit. This reduced the load on the already exhausted IT infrastructure which has meant that more online doors can be added to the SALTO system.” Bedroom doors are all fail secure with mechanical key override and are also anti-barricade. The facility has the bespoke ability to operate a standard 8 male, 8 female bedroom configurations. However, the trust wanted the flexibility to extend either male or female bedrooms to 10 bedrooms. This was achieved by two swing corridor doors. Electro-magnetic locks In standard operation, these powered swing doors are held open with electro-magnetic locks In standard operation, these powered swing doors are held open with electro-magnetic locks. In their swing scenario a key switch can be operated which releases the hold open magnet and energises the SALTO system powering a separate electronic locking device on the door. This enables the trust to easily maintain the required gender separation within the bedroom areas. Paul Evans comments “AC Leigh were able to configure the required solution easily and train the staff in its operation accordingly.” Aelement Fusion smart locks Other doors are fitted with Aelement Fusion smart locks. AC Leigh worked closely with the trust to design and manufacture special reduced ligature handles and reader covers to ensure that ligature points were reduced in conjunction with DHF technical specification TS001:2013 enhanced requirements and test methods for anti-ligature hardware. “The consultation between AC Leigh and the trust took several months with multiple prototypes being presented to the trust for approval.”, Evans says, adding “After looking at all the various options, the trust is happy that the best solution for this type of battery operated offline door has been chosen and installed at Chatterton house.” He also confirms that the bespoke design would be used as their preferred solution on future projects for this type of door. XS4 Mini locks Meanwhile in staff areas XS4 Mini locks are fitted. In open common areas, lockers are equipped with smart XS4 locker locks enabling each service user to have a secure storage place for their individual personal items. To operate the various doors, staff use their smartcard ID badges to gain access while service users use wristbands to access their bedroom, locker and certain permissible doors. SALTO SPACE electronic locking Tying all this together is SALTO SPACE a flexible, fully integrated electronic locking and software platform Tying all this together is SALTO SPACE a flexible, fully integrated electronic locking and software platform that enables operators to effectively manage every door and user access plan on-site via powerful web-based access control management software. Audit trail information from the doors is held for 31 days before deletion in accordance with the trust data policy.  Simon Clarkson concludes “The client needed precise tailoring of access levels and the SALTO access control solution has empowered them with an intuitive, easy to use but adaptive system. The use of this standalone largely battery operated access control system will provide significant cost savings over the years to come compared with other systems, and will deliver a reduction in engineer call-outs and simplify system administration making for a long term secure and reliable access control solution for the trust.”

In the aging trend of 21th century with rapid aging population and high healthcare costs are creating a growing demand for care at home, especially for seniors with long-term health conditions. Home care is moving towards tele-health monitoring and telemedicine, including video conferencing and remote monitoring technology to help increase caregiver efficiency while still providing constant convenience to the patients. Living independently and aging gracefully are the ideals that every individual seeks to pursue, and the challenge is to ensure that all people can age with dignity and security. Climax’s GX Cubic Smart Care Medical Alarm is an all-in-one wellness, and personal safety medical alarm solution, designed to help the elderly to manage their long-term health conditions, bridging medical health monitoring information to care providers/hospitals and create points of care to keep them safe in their own homes. GX Cubic medical alarm GX Cubic can be flexibly connected with third-party Bluetooth (BLE) healthcare sensors GX Cubic can be flexibly connected with third-party Bluetooth (BLE) healthcare sensors, like blood glucose monitor, pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, or weight for tracking health data and providing customised alerts to meet individual needs. The measurements can be automatically sent to a health professional who can review the results and continuously keep an eye on the patient’s health needs and provide early treatment as necessary. In addition to medical health monitoring, GX Cubic is also compatible with Pivotell Advance Automatic Pill Dispenser to keep secure of all pills, and remind the user to take the correct medicine at the pre-set time. The solution allows health professionals to monitor pill taking timely results and keep an eye on the patients’ treatment as needed. For situation when remote monitoring care given is insufficient and the user requires onsite assistance, GX Cubic can raise an emergency alarm to inform the caregiver or medical personnel for immediate action. Seniors can be assured that they are always being taken care of, and provide their family members with a peace of mind. Voice recognition solution Voice recognition has innovated over time and continues to advance, allowing products to become even more intuitive and easier to use. GX Cubic has built-in voice recognition and can activate an emergency call to care provider or central monitoring center by preset vocal commands or keywords. This allows seniors to receive emergency attention even in situations where they are immobilised or cannot manually reach the panic button. Working with the leading voice ecosystems Amazon Alexa and Google Home via cloud, GX Cubic also features voice control to activate home electronic devices, complete daily tasks, and seek help during emergencies. Voice over Internet Protocol With the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) feature, GX Cubic users can also initiate two-way voice callsWith the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) feature, GX Cubic users can also initiate two-way voice calls to contact their caregivers or family members at any time. With the additional add-on of DECT, GX Cubic can pair with voice extenders, talking pendants, call points, and voice extenders placed strategically around the home to create a safety net. Smart Home Automation Comprehensive elderly-friendly health care should also have a focus on preventive action to maintain a healthy ageing process. To realise independent living in a smart way, GX Cubic pairs with Zigbee or Z-Wave sensors to enable the whole-home control with various protocol-of-choice. GX Cubic can be programmed to turn on the hallway lights automatically when a sensor reports a senior’s movement in the middle of the night, to reduce a chance of falling; or automatically adjusting air conditioning when there is a sudden temperature-drop. The scenarios are unlimited to fit individual requirements, ensuring a safest living experience for the senior users. GX Cubic can also integrate IP security cameras and camera PIR motion sensors to deliver real-time visual monitoring and verification. When an emergency occurs, alerts are immediately sent to family members, and Monitoring Center to verify the event and sending immediate assistance as needed. Lastly, GX Cubic can support wireless sensor devices, allowing users to add in smoke detectors, water leakage sensors, and gas sensors to monitor environmental emergencies; and motion sensors, door contacts, sensor pad transmitters for inactivity monitoring, to build a healthier, safer independent living.

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH) is a public medical facility in Bangkok, Thailand. The hospital is operated by the Thai Red Cross Society and functions as the teaching/training medical center for Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine as well as the Thai Red Cross College of Nursing. With 1,479 in-patient beds, it is one of the largest hospitals in Thailand. Bhumi Siri Mangalanusorn Building (BSMB) is the largest Centre for Medical Excellence in Thailand. The building has 34 floors and total area of 225,000m. Gallagher security solution benefits Can integrate with other systems, such as Symphony video management software, building automation, parking and fire alarm systems Has a user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) Is highly reliable and scalable, to meet future security needs Can meet increasing compliance requirements Supported IT industry standards for integration, XML, SQL, OPC, BACnet, etc Gallagher and AES Group Ltd, the local Gallagher system integrator, worked closely with the designer to ensure that the proposed system met the tender requirements of securing the hospital and protecting staff, patients and assets. The system is fully integrated, scalable and expandable, digital-based, user-friendly and crucially, a combination of enhanced operational efficiency and cost saving. Gallagher Command Centre Through Command Centre, Gallagher’s site management solution, KCMH is able to integrate multiple systems Through Command Centre, Gallagher’s site management solution, KCMH is able to integrate multiple systems, including fire alarm, video management system, building automation and parking, and feed the information into Command Centre. KCMH Security Manager, Adul Karutbumrung, says having one central monitoring platform ensures operational staff quickly identify, locate and respond to any risks on site. “The Gallagher system provides us with a higher level of validated access control in critical areas”. Centralised operation platform Gallagher’s system streamlines operations for KCMH to lower total cost of operation through its centralised operation platform. The user-friendly GUI also delivers the best value to reduce training time. In addition to meeting KCMH’s requirements for security, privacy and compliance, Gallagher provides additional benefits and features not available in other systems. Its scalability ensures that future expansion requirements can be addressed in a cost effective manner.

It creates challenges when a mechanical locking system grows organically over the years: Managers at South Denmark’s Syrenparken mental health treatment facility no longer had a trustworthy overview of all their physical keys in circulation. Yet, to serve the people treated there, Syrenparken must store medicines and psychotropic drugs. However, it is critical that only trusted personnel gain access. On-site access control solution As part of a modernisation program, it was decided to upgrade on-site access control. One key aim was to replace old-fashioned keys, which can easily be lost, increasing the risk they fall into the wrong hands. Managers also wanted to make a working day more efficient for their trusted employees. They were each carrying three or four keys just to perform daily tasks in multiple areas of the site. Syrenparken installed the SMARTair wireless access control system from ASSA ABLOY to meet all their security needs Syrenparken installed the SMARTair wireless access control system from ASSA ABLOY to meet all their security needs. To date, 143 SMARTair wireless locking devices are fitted on resident bedrooms, as well as doors to offices, the medicine room and storage for patient records, plus other confidential areas. Staff and residents open doors with a standard, programmable MIFARE credential. SMARTair wireless access control system System reliability was a key factor in their choice of SMARTair, according to Henrik Jürs, Head of Syrenparken: "It is possible to put our access control system on a virtual server. Should a computer go down, we can put a new computer on and then we have access to it again. We trust the data security,” he emphasises. Another important parameter was flexibility in system management: SMARTair makes it easy to administrate who should have access to which areas, and when. Instead of a bundle of keys, each employee has a key-card encoded with access rights to the exact areas they need. Online, offline access management  With SMARTair, it’s easy to combine online and offline access management within the same installation With SMARTair, it’s easy to combine online and offline access management within the same installation. At Syrenparken, 133 offline SMARTair escutcheons and 3 updaters, plus 8 offline SMARTair cabinet locks, work side-by-side within the same system as 10 SMARTair online escutcheons. If a key-card is lost, it's quick to disable it and activate a new one. There is no danger anyone unauthorised will enter controlled medicine rooms with a lost card as a result. Because managers no longer need to call a locksmith to replace the compromised escutcheon, SMARTair is also a cost-effective solution for Syrenparken. SMARTair deployment is ongoing at Syrenparken — and currently projected to reach a total of up to 200 doors.

The London Clinic has installed bespoke Traka solutions to ensure accountable authorised access and instant audit control capability for keys across its state-of-the-art hospital facilities. Harley Street’s globally renowned London Clinic is one of the UK’s largest private hospitals, dedicated to providing the best, personalised healthcare with a breadth of surgical and medical expertise. With hundreds of keys and access points in operation across the hospital, the Security and Operations team was reliant on a manual logging in and out system, which was proving inefficient and risked time delays to patient care. In sourcing a more innovative way to keep track of authorised access, especially to drugs cabinets and the Clinic’s 10 specialist theatre areas, Traka was installed and networked across the site. The benefits of instant audit control capability and additionally being able to set curfews for different staff rotas has already made a significant difference in the efficient running of the Clinic. Ensuring safety of staff and patients Traka’s system is a breath of fresh air to monitor keys and instantly be aware of their location"“The vision and values of the Clinic have been developed through working with our Trustees, management teams and staff. As part of this process, we pride ourselves on being ‘pioneering’ not only in our attention to medical care but also in establishing better and more efficient ways of working,” says Lee Humphries, General Manager Security Operations at The London Clinic. “This is across every aspect of The Clinic, right down to daily operations. Security and key management are integral not only to the efficient running of the Clinic but also to ensure the safety of our staff, patients and guests. Traka’s system is a breath of fresh air to monitor keys and instantly be aware of their location; allowing our staff to focus on delivering high-quality service.”   In total, Traka has installed four networked key cabinets, which utilise its flagship Traka32 technology to provide all the administration tools needed for the Clinic to effectively manage operations from its server and still provide extensive real-time data capture. Enhancing the hospital functionality Within the system, the Security team has now set curfews so that keys not returned will automatically trigger a notificationWithin the system, the Security team has now set curfews so that keys not returned will automatically trigger a notification, sent via email and text. There is also an opportunity for authorised personnel to pre-book keys in advance, so they are reserved, which has proven especially useful to manage contractor access and work programmes. Ben Farrar, Traka Marketing Development Manager added: “Providing key management solutions for a hospital environment, such as The London Clinic, involves more than a choice of high-quality products and services – it encompasses best practices and an integrated approach to ensure the safety and security of staff, patients and visitors.  “We worked in partnership with the Security and Operations team, right from the initial design process to create a bespoke Traka solution that could instantly enhance the smooth running of the hospital, without compromising on ease of use in emergency situations. And by adding Traka32 software, we achieved the requirements with the flexibility to create own central control over authorised access to critical keys.”

With roots dating back to the year 1948, Italian pharmaceutical company Alfasigma is dedicated to advancing the state of healthcare under the company motto, ‘Pharmaceuticals with Passion’. Headquartered in Bologna, the multinational corporation was created in 2017 by the merger between Alfa Wassermann and Sigma-Tau. As a result, Alfasigma now employs about 3,000 people and markets a wide range of therapeutic drugs in 18 countries including the US, China, Russia and several European countries with annual revenues of EUR 1.06 billion. In order to keep up with the company’s ongoing evolution while emphasising building protection, Alfasigma decided to update the infrastructure of its corporate offices in Milan and Bologna. This large-scale remodelling project also required updating the fire alarm, intrusion detection and video security systems at both facilities to the highest standards. Security cameras for outdoor surveillance On the exterior of the buildings, FLEXIDOME IP starlight 7000 VR cameras were installed to provide 24/7 securityAssuming a long-term perspective, Alfasigma management headed into the project with three key requirements: First, saving cost by refurbishing already installed system components such as intrusion and fire alarm detectors. Second, accommodating for future building expansions and saving additional costs by installing a future-proof and scalable system. And third, adding around-the-clock security to the building’s exterior through modern security cameras built for outdoor use. For this reason, Alfasigma commissioned Bosch as the one-stop provider to equip the Milan office – home to the International Division – as well as corporate headquarters in Bologna with an IP-based solution. The video security set-up includes high-definition DINION IP 5000 HD cameras connected to recording stations and offering 1080p resolution images at 30 fps. On the exterior of the buildings, FLEXIDOME IP starlight 7000 VR cameras were installed to provide 24/7 security. Recording at 1080p and 60fps, the cameras incorporate starlight technology to deliver relevant images even in challenging light conditions. Extremely weather-resistant, water-tight and able to withstand high impacts, the cameras are highly suited for outdoor use, confirmed by IP66, NEMA type 4X and IK10 rating and installation in mission-critical environments such as airports and government buildings worldwide. MAP 5000 installed with LSN detectors The new fire alarm system is interfaced with the voice alarm system Plena via Smart Safety Link“The video surveillance products are excellent and have impressed me the most. We are very satisfied, above all, with the high quality of the products,” said Stefano Borsarini, Facility, Maintenance and EHS Manager at Alfasigma facilities in Bologna and Milan. The cameras are supplemented by the intrusion panel Modular Alarm Platform MAP 5000 installed with LSN detectors – a large portion refurbished from the legacy system – to safeguard Alfasigma’s offices at night. Fire alarm is provided by the Modular Fire Panel 5000 Series with four loops, processing signals from 190 fire alarm detectors and 28 manual call points. The new fire alarm system is interfaced with the voice alarm system Plena via Smart Safety Link thus optimising the operational security via a monitored connection. Successfully installed and customised according to client specifications, the Bosch fire alarm, intrusion detection and video security solution maintains the safety of Alfasigma’s employees and property at both sites. It also fulfils the key customer requirement of accommodating for future expansions in a modular, IP-based system that is able to keep pace with Alfasigma’s rapid evolution as an innovative multinational company.

The ability to treat patients in a secure environment is a base requirement of hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Whether facilities are large or small, security challenges abound, including perimeter security, access control of sensitive areas, video surveillance, and even a long list of cyber-risks. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the security challenges of hospitals and the healthcare industry?

The concept of how security systems can contribute to the broader business goals of a company is not new. It seems we have been talking about benefits of security systems beyond “just” security for more than a decade. Given the expanding role of technologies in the market, including video and access control, at what point is the term “security” too restrictive to accurately describe what our industry does? We asked the Expert Panel Roundtable for their responses to this premise: Is the description “security technology” too narrow given the broader application possibilities of today’s systems? Why?

Video cameras are everywhere, and hundreds more are installed every day. Our society appears to be reaching a point of perpetual surveillance. It certainly feels as if we are always being watched even though it is not yet the case. But as cameras are becoming more common than ever, we are also entering a new era of privacy concerns and sensitivities, as evidenced by GDPR and other such initiatives. We presented this quandary to this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Surveillance cameras can go anywhere, right? Where is it “not OK?”