Intrusion detection - Security beat

Constantly optimising deep learning algorithms yields better video analytics performance, even in complex applications such as facial recognition or in scenarios with variable lighting, angles, postures, expressions, accessories, resolution, etc. Deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence (AI), holds the potential to enable video analytics to deliver on long-promised, but not often delivered performance. Our AI series continues here with part 2. Adapting existing hardware Today, low-co...

There is a new event on the calendar for the security industry in 2019: The Security Event 2019, 9-11 April, at NEC, Birmingham. For additional details and a preview of the new trade show and conference, we spoke with Tristan Norman, Founding Partner and Event Director, The Security Event. Q: It seems recently that some trade shows have been on the decline in terms of exhibit size and attendance. Why does the physical security industry need another trade show? Norman: I think there are numer...

School shootings continue, as does a search for answers. What solutions are there to prevent school shootings and/or to improve the response (and thus minimise the death toll)?  In the physical security industry, we like to think we have solutions that can help, if not “solve”, the problem, but realistically speaking, how effective are they at the end of the day? We like to think we have solutions that can help, if not “solve”, the problem: but how effective ar...

ADT Inc.’s acquisition of Red Hawk Fire & Security, Boca Raton, Fla., is the latest move in ADT Commercial’s strategy to buy up security integrator firms around the country and grow their footprint. In addition to the Red Hawk acquisition, announced in mid-October, ADT has acquired more than a half-dozen security system integration firms in the last year or so.  Here’s a quick rundown of integrator companies acquired by ADT: Protec, a Pacific Northwest commerc...

The last day of Global Security Exchange (GSX) in Las Vegas proved to be the calm after the storm. But a slower third day could not undermine a largely successful 2018 show for exhibitors and attendees. Sometimes the success of a trade show isn’t measured by numbers of attendees (which were reportedly down again this year). Sometimes it’s the individual successes that make an impression. “Just learning about this made the whole trip worthwhile,” said one GSX attendee at...

IFSEC International 2018 kicked off last week at London’s ExCel Centre. Visitors were lucky enough to experience a rare three days of British sunshine as they came together to discuss the latest trends and technologies in the physical security industry. Many exhibitors commented on how the show seemed smaller than previous years, with stands more spread out, and fewer ‘double-decker’ offerings than earlier shows. Although exhibitors represented all aspects of physical security...

Mike Taylor has been involved in security industry sales for more than 20 years, on the front line of industry changes and watching how they impact customers. Among the changes is a shift in the nature of the sales function itself. As Director of Sales, Americas, for Milestone Systems, Mike Taylor currently oversees a team that brings to market the full suite of Milestone open platform solutions. We sat down at Milestone Community Days (MIPS) earlier this year to discuss the technologies and tr...

Security is more-than-ever linked to consumer electronics, especially in the residential/smart home market. CES 2018 in Las Vegas is therefore brimming with news that will have a direct impact on the security market, today and especially looking into the future. Products for the future of security   CES is a giant trade show for consumer electronics with 2.75 million net square feet of exhibitor space and featuring more than 3,900 exhibitors, including 900 startups - in cont...

Cybersecurity is a growing concern for manufacturers of life safety and security products, and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) wants to help solve the problem. Specifically, UL seeks to work with manufacturers to up their game on cybersecurity and to certify compliance to a minimum level of cybersecurity “hygiene.” UL cybersecurity certification UL is a familiar brand in consumer goods and in the security and life safety markets. UL certification is sought by manufacturers in a ran...

ASIS 2017 was off to a strong start on Tuesday, presenting a new wave of innovation to the U.S. security end user community. Many attendees to the Dallas show are well-placed in their companies to influence or direct the purchase of security products and equipment, and exhibitors sought to impress them with a range of new and enhanced options. Moving from integration to unification In general, the ASIS show has a quieter, less frantic feel than the spring ISC West show in Las Vegas. Conversat...

In 2017, SourceSecurity.com covered topics from all corners of the physical security industry - from video surveillance to access control to intrusion detection and beyond. But just how much have you been paying attention to the industry this past year? Does your knowledge of the cloud soar high above your colleagues and security friends? Can you recall your facts faster than 60-fps? Are you hooked into the mainframe with your expertise in cybersecurity? Now you can find out. We...

Protecting power grids is essential to deliver electricity that serves millions of consumers. Transmission substations are a component of the power infrastructure that presents unique security challenges. These important facilities often sit out in the open, in remote locations, and were historically protected by little more than cameras or chain-link fences. Much of the current concern about securing electrical substations in the United States originated in response to a 2013 sniper attack, us...

Axis Communications, the global provider of intelligent surveillance technology, yesterday held the official launch of the new Axis Experience Centre in Luton. The event was a chance for Axis’ partners to meet with the senior management team and explore how the new centre operates, all the while celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary over a glass of champagne. The centre was officially opened by Axis Communications co-founder Martin Gren, along with Bodil Sonesson, the comp...

Using an asymmetric approach to perimeter security is more efficient and cost-effective. The approach, advocated by Applied Research Associates (ARA), involves strategic deployment of the company’s Pathfinder seismic-acoustic sensors. Asymmetric placement of the sensors is in contrast to typical perimeter security systems, which are linear: Sensors are distributed at specific intervals along a perimeter and require infrastructure to communicate back to a control centre. Instead, asymmetr...

Audio has been slower to catch on in the security market because of lingering concerns about privacy laws related to audio surveillance. But audio analytics capabilities are increasing right alongside the more commonly used video analytics. Integrators who ignore audio are missing an opportunity to create better systems.  Privacy is generally not a concern. U.S. law is clear that audio monitoring is legal as long as there is no expectation of privacy among those being monitored. Public si...

Amid all the discussion of security integration and end-to-end solutions on the first day of IFSEC 2016 was an undercurrent of uncertainty. The international trade show opened at ExCel London just days before the historic "Brexit" vote, when Britons will decide whether to remain a part of the European union or to exit the politico-economic fusion of 28 member states. With the Brexit referendum this week, the polls are neck-and-neck, so the vote could go either way, hence the uncertainty. If "le...

In a year of mega-deals impacting the security marketplace, one of the big news stories recently was a deal that did not happen – between giants Honeywell and United Technologies (UTC). Financial news pages have been full of the back-and-forth between these two companies. It seems Honeywell wanted to merge with UTC, but UTC declined because of “insurmountable regulatory obstacles and strong customer opposition.” So the deal is off, at least for now. Impact on the security mark...

In a school security lockdown, teachers typically display red or green cards on the doors or in the windows of their classrooms. The manual procedure uses red cards to alert to a crisis condition; green cards designate that everything is safe inside the classroom or office. Colour-coded crisis management system Physical security company Sielox has adapted the idea of using a colour scheme to characterise an emergency situation into its electronic security system. CLASS [Crisis Lockdown Alert S...

Time flies, and I’m sure it’s been 10 or 15 years since the term PSIM (meaning physical security information management) came into favour in our market. It was a variation on the term SIM (security information management), which in the realm of information security refers to a collection of data into a central repository for trend analysis. The idea was to apply the same concept to physical security equipment in the form of an over-arching software system that takes information from...

The sale of Siemens’ Security Products to Vanderbilt is expected to close by the end of March, and already the owner-to-be is making good progress to form a new stand-alone company. Notably, the pending transaction is not a sale of company shares but rather a sale of assets, in this case product lines in the access control, CCTV and intrusion categories. In effect, a company is being created to manage those assets, and Vanderbilt has been working for the last several months to create the...

January 5, 2015 is the deadline to suggest changes to the National Fire Protection Association’s (a US trade association) two documents that serve the security marketplace. Anyone can provide public input into the standards through the NFPA website. NFPA 731: Standard for the Installation of Electronic Premises Security Systems provides guidance on how to install, test and maintain electronic premise security systems and their components. Its specific requirements are written so that...

There’s a new international company in the security market this week with the acquisition of Siemens’ Security Products business in Europe by Vanderbilt Industries, a new U.S. company that rebranded the Schlage Security Management Systems (SMS) product line after acquiring it from Ingersoll Rand in August 2012. The European arm of the new global player will be called Vanderbilt International, based out of Germany and led by Managing Director Joseph Grillo, who many remember from his...

In a layered approach to security, the outermost layer increasingly might refer to an area outside a fence line. The sooner a facility is alerted to a possible threat, the better, and when a threat reaches inside a facility’s fence, it may be too late to mitigate it. Security directors need situational awareness that extends outside the facility and provides the ability to intercept intruders before they become a threat. Zones of interest, or buffer zones, outside a facility’s fence...

A pessimist might see the coming “Internet of Things” as the “Internet of Things that Could Go Wrong.” Clearly the networking of more machines in the home, including video and security systems, suggests that somebody (or something) needs to be available to make sure that the resulting home automation system is working as intended. If you need technical support for home automation, who do you call? It’s not just a theoretical question, given the accelerating trend...

If you had a super power, would you use it for good or evil? The question might typically be the subject of vigorous debate among third graders, but it’s also a question that comes up when you consider technology. Sometimes the benefits of technology are almost like super powers. As much as we seek to apply the powers of technology to security, there is also a criminal element that stands ready to use them with evil intent. Such is the case with drones. We have previously mentioned the po...

The security market it clearly sold on the value of video, but customers shouldn’t depend solely on video to protect their premises. Rather, they should implement a combination of video systems and other sensors for a more effective approach overall. That’s a message I heard when I visited the Optex booth at the IFSEC show. The supplier of many different types of sensors says a “deeper and wider” integration of video with sensors provides a higher level of security requi...

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” So said Herbert A. Simon, American Political Scientist, Economist, Sociologist, Psychologist, and Professor. I heard that quote at the Avigilon presentation at IFSEC, repeated by Ian Povey, Avigilon’s director of product marketing and product management. He used the quote to support the need for more (accurate) video analytics. In other words, without analytics, there is so much video information that the operator&rsquo...

It took a crowded ride during rush hour on the London “Tube” to get me there, including multiple transfers, but the first day of IFSEC at its new venue, the ExCel in London, yielded a couple of newsy announcements and busy traffic at many of the stands. The industry is still reeling from bombshell news last week of the acquisition of Milestone by Canon. The ink may be barely dry, but the agreement was celebrated at IFSEC with a press event and big photo opportunity involving Rokus v...

ADT is looking to "bring the voice of the customer" into the continuing development and expansion of Z-Wave, the radio frequency (RF) communication and product-level interoperability technology that enables wireless networking of battery-powered devices in the home. ADT is the newest Principal Member of the Z-Wave Alliance consortium. Z-Wave is one of the enabling technologies of ADT’s Pulse security and home automation system, which enables a home's electronics to communicate with each o...

Every security system has a storyOur industry’s technology solutions are at work almost everywhere, if you think about it. You might see Kelvin Hughes high-resolution radar pictures providing protection for Maryland’s oyster beds. At the 2014 Oscars, Axis pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras kept watch around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. At The Marque, an exclusive membership club in Houston, Texas, MorphoTrak 3D facial recognition technology secures access and enables the club to be &ld...