Mobile communications - Expert commentary

This time last year, we predicted 2017 would be the year digital identities began transforming trusted access and other interactions in physical and online environments. Continuous authentication experience Demand grew for unified identity and access management systems supporting both cards and mobile devices. Trusted identities began bridging the gap between connected workers and smart buildings. We saw new IoT use cases that employ location services technologies to create a continuous authe...

To say the surveillance industry has changed over the last quarter of a century is an understatement. From high-definition cameras and TVs to high flying drones and video analytics – the surveillance industry has shifted in ways we never expected to see in such a short space of time. What’s more, with such advancements in both quality and choice that’s now available in the market, it’s no wonder that revenue in the video surveillance market is set to double to $75.64 bill...

“Netflix,” “twerk” and “selfie” were added to the dictionary. Boston Marathon bombing. Activist Nelson Mandela and actor Paul Walker died. Edward Snowden gave NSA classified documents to Wikilinks. These events may seem like they happened only yesterday, but they are some of the top news headlines from four years ago. Four years can feel like a very short time, and in four short years, every security panel installed by dealers to date will go dark. The curren...

Colleges and universities have been targeted in the last several weeks with a series of bomb threats received via campus printers and fax machines. Targeted institutions included Vanderbilt University, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia and the University of Detroit Mercy, among others. Businesses were also among the targets. Around 100 organisations in all received print-outs, faxes or emails demanding that a $25,000 ransom be paid to a Brazilian citizen to avoi...

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

Manufacturers depend on consultants to get their technologies specified in customer projects. Consultants often depend on manufacturers to provide them current information about the technologies that are the building blocks of their projects. It’s a symbiotic relationship, but not always a perfect one. We recently gathered three consultants to discuss what they want from manufacturers, and a representative of HID Global to add a manufacturer’s perspective. Manufacturers also look to...

Part 3 of our Intercoms in Security Series: Zenitel’s Call Access Panel manages intelligible critical communications through a security operations centre or control room Greater connectivity, security software enhancements, more customisation, and better sound quality are some of the enhancements driving the intercom market.An advantage now offered on Code Blue’s emergency speakerphones include self-diagnosing software that monitors the status of the phones an...

  The global market for card-based electronic access control (EAC) is projected to reach $10.1 billion by 2020 according to Global Industry Analysts. However, as credential technologies have evolved over the years, so have the ways users interact with them.   Mobile credentials   One of the bigger developments over the past few years has been the increased adoption of mobile credentials, which allows users to access facilities via their mobile device. To m...

Physical access control has been a key component of many organisations’ security strategies for several decades. Like any technology, access control has evolved over the years, and solutions now offer more security and convenience than ever before. From swipe technologies, such as the now antiquated magnetic stripe, to a variety of contactless technologies and mobile access credentials, businesses now have several choices when it comes to access control. Upgrading outd...

At the end of last year, we anticipated that data gathering and analysis would continue to be a strong trend, and that certainly proved to be the case in 2016.   More and more organisations are seeing the value of the intelligence provided by diverse systems’ data. The number and variety of networked systems and devices – both security and non-security – continued to grow steadily in the last year, and the data these disparate sources create has proven highly...

Predicting where or how security access trends would develop in 2016 was an educated guess at best. We did, however, forecast continued growth in the areas of wireless readers; smartphone usage as a credential; and more migration to web-based software/hardware solutions.In hindsight, we were not so far off the mark. Wireless security systems proved to be a growing option for extending an access control system and a practical solution for retrofits. Smart phone credentials gained popularity by fr...

After two decades of advances from simple visual ID badges to smart cards, standards-based access control systems and mobile ID solutions, the industry began entering its next new chapter in 2016. We began “mobilising” security to make it more pervasive and personalised, with a better user experience. We entered a new era of secure connected identities will not only make us safer but fuel innovation in how we work, shop and play. The industry began paying much closer attention to p...

In our world we make mobile security equipment for surveillance on-the-go in moving vehicles There are too many moving parts to a mobile system to think we could just predict hardware innovations. In our world we make mobile security equipment for surveillance on-the-go in moving vehicles. To make it work it takes a village of components vendors to bring it all together into a system that will keep civilians safer in the future. Possibly to the point of preventing an event fro...

  Summary Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Time: 10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET / 5:00pm UTC Duration: 45 minutes + Q&A What's the webinar about? Mobile credentials are one of the most exciting areas of the access control market. The transformation caused by the development of various mobile solutions in payment, banking, ticketing and automation is poised to deliver similar changes in the access control industry. Mobile credentials are now entering the market...

What's the White Paper about? The mobile industry is known as one of the most innovative and fast-paced and what we have seen in recent years has been nothing short of remarkable. This rapid growth is affecting the underlying technologies and standards in mobile devices as more people use their devices in their daily life and new applications are developed. This white paper from HID Global explores the essential elements in successfully implementing mobile access, fr...

Part 6 of our Security in Healthcare series Lockdown capabilities are an important aspect of safety and security for hospitals, doctor’s offices and medical facilities Hospitals and healthcare institutions increasingly face a reality of workplace violence, attacks on patients, and threats to doctors and other support staff. When these types of conflicts arise, there is an urgent need to lock the facility down quickly. Security professionals and their teams need...

Robots such as those designed by SMP Robotics can handle a variety of tasks ranging from perimeter fence monitoring to snow removal Robots come in all shapes and sizes from small tracked vehicles to large upright cylinders and cart-like devices on wheels. They fly through the air and glide underwater. They’re becoming familiar sights and will become more so. The future of robots in the military, public safety and security is expanding for some very good reasons. The new...

It’s the 21st century already. Isn’t it time we all lived in smart homes? For technophiles everywhere, the smart home can’t come soon enough. The same might be said for the security marketplace, which is well positioned to thrive in the coming era of home automation. The wait could be shorter than we think, given some recent trends and events we are seeing in the home automation market. Let’s consider several of them: 1. Home automation is getting attention from Silic...

Wireless surveillance systems are attractive to customersas they are cost-effective and easy to install Various studies, market statistics and forecasts project growth for the surveillance market from 2016 to 2020. Besides needs ranging from traditional analogue cameras to IP network cameras, more and more consumers also have a high interest in intelligent surveillance systems. Along with safety, these systems provide additional details for users in applications such as p...

PIAM solutions ensure that credentials are onboarded to all the right systems The number of credentials people are carrying is on the rise. At any given time, an individual may be carrying badges, cards or other ID devices for their office, the gym, public transit and more, not to mention credit cards and government-issued identification. The more credentials people carry, the greater the challenge of managing and tracking these credentials poses, and the more likely that they...

Access control and visitor management are evolving and becoming more rooted in an organisation’s overall physical security structure Government regulations are driving increased security levels for visitor management. Private industry, where the need to manage and monitor visitors is an equally high security priority, is following suit. As a result, access control and visitor management are evolving and becoming more rooted in an organisation’s overall physical sec...

ISC West has seen manufacturers' efforts to simplify the installation, serviceand deployment of security solutions for systems integrators Efficiencies come in all shapes and forms for systems integrators in the security industry, and ISC West 2016 was a testament to manufacturers' efforts to simplify installation, service, maintenance and deployment of IP video specifications for installers. GURU smartphone app with audit reporting capabilities March Networks, Ottawa, Canad...

The disaster training exercise took place at four sites, with the primary locationbeing a disused power station in Kent (Image credit: London Fire Brigade) Europe's biggest-ever disaster simulation provided a test to evaluate London’s ability to "detect, prevent and if necessary to withstand, handle and recover from disruptive challenges." Exercise Unified Response replicated the aftermath of a tower block falling into Waterloo Station, a transport hub on the south bank...

It can be taken as proven that the trends in urbanisation, the mobility of the population and the demographics, have had and will continue to have tremendous impact on our daily lives. These impacts were and are supported by disruptive technology changes (such as the evolution of the internet and mobile communication) and result in higher dependencies of almost all economic and social processes. Compared with former generations, we are spending most of our time in buildings or closed mobile con...

Secure payment card technology at the point of sale and a strong authentication are effective defences against data security threats Data security is one of the top concerns to a retailer’s reputation and its customers’ privacy. The fall-out can be catastrophic, and organisations must understand the threat and take all necessary steps to protect their assets and customers. The challenge has become more complex with the explosive growth in mobile device usage throug...

In today’s connected world, our customers are focused on streamlining operations and garnering actionable insights to help drive success across the business. Modern security systems enable security integrators to offer remote access capabilities which in turn helps businesses to improve their performance. For example, security integrators continue to bring new value to customers through new capabilities enabled by the Internet of Things. By utilising connected technology and sensors, secu...

HID Global is looking forward to a long term investment in a complete range of secure identity solutions. Also, focusing on its global partnership program will be on the agenda. An increasingly global market for identity and access management is undergoing very rapid development due to technological advances, particularly in communications, where digital mobile solutions are experiencing strong demand. The year 2015 was a good one for HID Global, which has a strong global position and is invest...

The nature of risk has changed, and there is a blurring of lines between cyber, physical and online security. These changes are spurring organisational changes as well. Most recently, the unexpected attacks against Paris have escalated the importance of security worldwide – and there’s an even greater focus on leveraging even more sources of information in an effort to gain greater situational awareness to react faster, more efficiently and effectively.   Changing...

The vision of a utopian urban future restsheavily on the success of Open Dataand a Cloud Computing paradigm Confronting urban challenges using technology requires the private sector to work in tandem with governments to enable "smart cities." In fact, one report predicts the number of safe cities worldwide will quadruple in the next decade. It’s a topic that is increasingly top-of-mind. For example, the Safe Cities Asia 2015 conference in Singapore in May brought to...

Internet of things is worth the resilience trade-offs it demands – effort, thought and inconvenience ‘No society is more than three meals from revolution’ says the old adage. Updating the idea for the Information Age is a revealing, if somewhat worrying, exercise. How resilient are we as a society? Could your company function efficiently after a complete failure in IT? How effective would your employees be if forced to work from home following a collapse in t...