Physical security - Expert commentary

H.265 compression, apps and the inherent security of security systems were some of the themes to be gleaned on the first day of IFSEC International. Almost every video exhibitor I saw on day one of the show mentioned that many of their products use H.265 compression in these days of high definition, bandwidth-hungry cameras. Over at Vivotek’s stand, for example, Emilio Sanchez, project consultant, spoke of the company’s H.265 Smart Stream compression algorithm. He said this saves an...

There is a contrast between high levels of security inside Westminster and little to no security outside the safe environment The fatal attack on 41-year-old Jo Cox, a Labour member of the British Parliament, on the street in her district in West Yorkshire in Northern England, is increasing calls for greater security of Members of Parliament (MPs). Cox was stabbed and shot to death June 16th outside a library in Birstall, where she was meeting with constituents. There have be...

Organisations have a duty of care to protect their employees wherever they work. But in the increasingly complex world that we all live in, the ability to deliver a risk-commensurate and cost-efficient security programme that adds real value to a business is extremely challenging, according to IFSEC International 2016 speaker Frank Cannon. He will be speaking on developing an employee security awareness programme in the Security Management Theatre at IFSEC International in London o...

IPVideo Corporation, Bay Shore, New York, recently announced a new OEM agreement with Milestone Systems Inc., Beaverton, Oregon, in an effort to provide deeper and wider options in its portfolio of video management solutions. According to Steve Rice, Director of Business Development, the partnership will allow the company to reach a broader number of enterprise customers and provide them with distinct choices – and two completely different video management system (VMS) offerings. On the t...

Multiple trends point to a maturing video analytics market that is poised to meet or even exceed customer expectations Systems that use video analytics, also known as video content analysis, have a chequered history in the security market. Since the technology was introduced amid much fanfare a dozen or more years ago, opinions about video analytics have sometimes been undermined by systems that did not live up to the initial hype. In fact, early failures continue to taint per...

There are resources to help guide an organisation’s management of cybersecurity risks, most prominently from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. NIST defines cybersecurity as "the activity or process, ability or capability, or state whereby information and communications systems and the information contained therein are protected from and/or defended against damage, unauthorised use or modification, or exploitation.&rdquo...

Cloud connectivity can provide a linkage between the mobile users and the facilities and systems they want to interact with From enterprise applications to small businesses, schools, health care facilities and beyond, investments in physical security systems provide valuable resources to help protect people, property and assets – and ultimately the financial security and well-being of the organisation. As need and demand for better security has dramatically increased ove...

Though primarily developed for consumer electronic devices, the advantages ofH.265 compression technology make it ideal for the world of physical security Ever since digital video systems were introduced the race was on to develop compression technologies to reduce runaway bandwidth and storage consumption. We’ve watched the industry roll out MJPEG, MPEG and H.264 advanced compression standards in direct response to each innovation. With adoption of HDTV and 4K solutions...

 PSIM systems extend their value beyond emergencies by including routinemanagement tools, that provide value during daily operations, such as automatingmaintenance activities Physical Security Information Management (PSIM), an acronym termed to describe a family of software platforms that claim to replace traditional command and control (C&C) systems, primarily used to provide situation awareness in control and monitoring centres of Critical Facilities. Traditional C...

From a network performance perspective, adding higher megapixel camerasaffects bandwidth utilisation The quest for higher megapixel, high-definition and high-resolution video imaging continues, only now, it has become a marathon of sorts. That’s because the migration will progress decidedly – extending into the foreseeable future and beyond – as technology advances and becomes increasingly affordable. Ultra-high-resolution video is finding its niche, even am...

As the technology in omnidirectional cameras continues to improve, they are becoming increasingly more affordable to a wider segment of the video surveillance market Just a few years ago, omnidirectional cameras were a novelty. Today, however, this technology has taken the leap to the mainstream. Think about how ubiquitous Google’s Street View is, and you can gain a better idea of the power of omnidirectional cameras. Even consumers are starting to see many forms of omn...

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...

Stringent security policies are necessary in an organisation to prevent incidentsof misplaced trust leading to an attack from intruders Trust is a word closely associated with both physical and logical security, after all, knowing who to trust is a key part of any security policy. However, when trust is wrongly assumed it rapidly becomes a key problem and a significant weakness in the security regime. Often the weak link is human nature itself. This means that to begin...

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

ISE’s research shows that healthcare facilities & hospitals security programmesto ward off determined attackers going after specific targets A well-known security axiom posits that an effective security programme can discourage would-be attackers, causing them to move on in search of softer targets. But it doesn’t always work that way. Take healthcare facilities such as hospitals, for example. Prospective attackers with no particular target in mind may see...

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...

Portable crash barriers & traffic access control systems allow security integrators to expand their deployments for municipal surveillance and critical infrastructure The Pope does it. The Democratic and Republican National Conventions do it. Leading universities and police departments do it. Just what does this diverse list of people and organisations have in common? They have all used high-security portable barriers at their events with good success. According to manufa...

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

IP hardware is enabling customers to break free from proprietary security systems,to embrace the system integration available on open platforms Proprietary, closed systems are the bane of security. Yet they still exist. Robert (Rob) G. Lydic, Global Vice President of Sales for ISONAS, Boulder, Colorado, addresses the importance of open platforms in access control and what it means to systems integration in this exclusive Q&A. Trends in access control technology SourceSec...

Access control now includes a strong focus on the data integration side ofthe business, as showcased at this year’s ISC West When the category of physical security emerged many decades ago, it was literally all about locks, hardware and creating barriers such as fences to keep people out. Fast forward to ISC West 2016 in Las Vegas this week, where the focus is on intelligent solutions, smart data, cloud-based access control and incorporating audio, video and a wide r...

Many transformations have occurred that have caused PSIM’s true definition to be misunderstood and miscategorised The evolution of Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) over the past ten years has been rapid and transformative. In fact, according to a recent report from marketsandmarkets.com, the global physical security market, estimated to be $65.41 billion in 2015, is expected to reach $105.26 billion by the year 2020. At the forefront of this movement...

UK citizens will vote on June 23rd 2016 on whether to remain within the European Union A significant aspect of the four-month operation leading to the capture in March of Salah Abdeslam, Europe’s most wanted man, is that French and Belgian police worked alongside each other with minimal protocol complications since the countries are not only geographical neighbours but members of the European Union. Abdeslam was arrested for his alleged involvement in the Paris attacks o...

Working with accurate and detailed product specifications saves time andreduces the possibility of errors throughout a project They’re coming from every angle. Things that zap your company’s profitability: lower hardware margins, escalating labour costs, simply the cost of doing business. So systems integrators have been looking — and finding — new ways to increase revenues. New sources of revenue are emerging from services and even the administration...

Barriers certified by the US Department of State can be trusted to withstand specified weights and speeds This time of year, in the early spring, there pops up a plethora of trade shows in which security vendors can present their newest marvels to potential customers. Not to be outdone are the barriers manufacturers. Their products will range from a large metal planter to be placed in an area where no traffic is allowed to movable barriers which lower to let a car drive over...

Employers are increasingly concerned about the risks associated with employees, temporary workers, independent contractors, and others who have the ability to wreak havoc on an organisation from the inside. This is often referred to as “insider threat.” There are numerous types of insider and post-hire threats that range from embezzlement, theft of trade secrets, workplace violence or active shooters, and everything else in between. Potential insider threats are...

A biometrics-embedded tablet can tag a guard upon entering the building & feed videoof what’s happening beyond secure doors as he/she moves through the facility The best way to make the case for biometrics is to consider a physical and logical access control scenario, according to biometrics vendor SRI Identity, a program from SRI International, one biometrics company. With advances in security technology, access control systems have come to play a bigger role in org...

Led by European nations, there is a global shift to e-passports, with over 100 countries using these technologies With the number of global international tourist arrivals standing at over 1 billion and increasing migration in Europe, good border and passport security means having a layered approach and plenty of co-ordination among countries, says David Belchick, VP of Government Solutions at Entrust Datacard. Ever-growing border security challenges “More than one bil...

On event days, representatives of emergency response & security agenciesare together and running sports venues as a unified group In the world of sports security, alliances are bringing together personnel and agencies that once only talked to each other during an emergency. Consider the recently announced agreement between the Security Industry Association (SIA) and the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4). This memorandum of understanding (MOU)...

Customers are looking for more than simple plug-and-play cameras. They wantgood, high-definition cameras to protect their driveways, garages & shops Surveillance and CCTV applications are poised for continued growth in 2016 and beyond as security dealers and their end-user customers turn to video technology for physical security, loss prevention and gathering data and intelligence to assist business management and operations. Overall, the CCTV industry is benefitting from...

The universe of biometric authentication applications is expanding rapidly invertical markets such as healthcare and retail Once used mostly to secure high-value government facilities, biometrics are now a basic tool used in a variety of vertical markets. This article will look at some of those opportunities. For healthcare organisations, for example, biometric authentication is being used for secure medical dispensing to streamline workflow and control drug diversion, and f...