Security monitoring system - Security beat

Most of us think of shrinkage in the context of the retail environment, where a host of video cameras, tamper-proof packaging, sensors and other technologies help control theft by customers and employees. However, the term shrinkage also applies to goods before they get to a retail store. Goods can be stolen at any stage of their manufacture and distribution, usually by employees, and there are fewer technology solutions geared toward theft along the supply chain. In fact, some distribution cen...

When you need to view video of an incident or information about an access point, you expect your security system will provide that information. But what happens if a camera or card reader isn’t working for some reason? It’s the security director’s worst nightmare. Sadly, the moment when a system fails is often the first indication an end user has that there is a problem. A useful trend I saw at ISC West this year is growth in various types of diagnostic, monitoring and control...

The recent terrorist acts in Paris defy any understanding or explanation. The events represent a level of mayhem that defies easy answers, emblematic of a global security threat that demands a unified, worldwide response way beyond what is achievable by any combination of technology gadgets. Simply put, the problem is not our industry’s to solve. It’s bigger than we are. Still, such events haunt the people in our market – dedicated as we are to protecting people, facilities and...

In its role to achieve “plug-and-play” interoperability for security system and device integration, the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA) is looking ahead to some new possibilities in its long-term roadmap. David Bunzel, PSIA executive director, shared with me some of the active discussions among alliance members about where the next wave of interoperability initiatives may lead. Integration of wireless locks is at the top of the list, a response to the growing and...

Commoditisation is the biggest problem facing today’s security integrators, says Bill Bozeman, president and CEO of PSA Security Network, an electronic security cooperative encompassing some 250 electronic security systems integrators, and aligning them with over 150 vendor partners. Multi-million-dollar manufacturers are taking advantage of economies of scale to drive down pricing of many of the components our industry uses, and lower prices are poised to have a long-term detrimental imp...

Abraham Maslow's "law of the instrument" says: If the tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. To avoid the pitfall Maslow describes, let’s remember that the nature of a threat profile should decide the choice of security equipment, not the availability of that equipment. When we hear about a school shooting, for example, some of us immediately think “they should have had a camera system?” The ones thinking that probably sell camera systems. Although we...

While riding the Tube in London during IFSEC, I came across an attention-grabbing headline in a newspaper someone left in the next seat: “Coming To a Workplace Near You: RoboOfficeCop.” The article was about a robot that can patrol an office, checking that doors are shut and desks are uncluttered, using cameras and scanners to see whether anything is out of the ordinary. If something is amiss, the 6-ft-tall machine can store information to a hard drive to be reported later to a huma...

Could drones be used for civilian/commercial surveillance within five years? Drone strikes in war zones are reported routinely now in the news, but unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are still not common in commercial and civilian applications. Commercial uses may still be several years away, but is it too soon to start thinking about the possible security applications? Currently in the United States, Congress has directed the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with a plan by Se...