Technology & Trends - Intruder Alarms

There has never been closer integration between physical and logical security systems, so there has also never been greater importance when it comes to defining and maintaining the security culture within an organization. Unfortunately, with increasingly complex security protocols required on a daily basis (and used by every employee), a security regime can easily become lax through apathy – which offers the perfect opportunity for potential intruders to take advantage. While securi...

In today’s world, businesses face a growing threat landscape. Looking back on just the past few months, there have been increased incidents of workplace violence (e.g. the recent New York city hospital shooting), terrorist activities (e.g. London Bridge attack, Manchester attack), and cyberattacks (e.g. Petya and WannaCry). While critical events have become more frequent, more complex, and costly to businesses, organizations’ emergency communications systems, plans and processes have...

Robots have been in the spotlight lately, as tycoons like Elon Musk discuss the perils of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), and roving robots meet their watery demise. These recent events have unmasked a particularly interesting topic: The value of robots in the broader sense, especially as a security tool. The emergence of robotics, automation and AI is not new, but the ongoing discussion about how best to use these continues to fuel critics and supporters alike. Seattle-Tacoma Inte...

Remember the old adage “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts?” Nowhere is that truism more evident than when you add network video to the current generation of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Whether we’re talking about industrial IoT applications, “Smart – X” (city, building, parking etc.) or retail operations, integrating network video into the solution provides value far beyond simple situational awareness. Optimising Sophisticated Video Tec...

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...

Did you hear the one about the bear that nearly caused a nuclear catastrophe? It was around midnight on October 25 1962, in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A guard at Volk US Air Force Base – home to a number of armed nuclear bombers – spotted a shadowy figure apparently attempting to scale the fence. The supposed Soviet saboteur tripped the alarm, which was fatefully miswired. As a result, the klaxon was accidentally sounded, triggering a maneuver to scramble...

Real-time location systems allow organizations to communicate with visitors, employees, and staff in the event of an emergency Today's threat landscape is bigger and more broad than ever before, with an increasing number of emerging risks falling on the shoulders of security professionals in a variety of markets. Many of these leaders face the growing concerns of finding efficient, integrated solutions that provide protection from threats, but also can be used in everyday comm...

By drawing data from a number of different sources and subsystems, including building automation, it is possible to move towards a truly smart environment Security solutions should be about integration not isolation. Many organizations are considering their existing processes and systems and looking at how to leverage further value. Security is part of that focus and is a central component in the move towards a more integrated approach, which results in significant benefits. G...

Customers want and expect quality service, whether it is searching for an answer online or speaking to a live person via telephone or face-to-face How do you provide unparalleled, personalized customer service and support in a high-tech, self-service world? This blue ribbon is achievable by fusing the human component of superb customer care with user-friendly, cutting-edge solutions that are available around the clock. Technology has made it possible for customers to get assi...

The new scanner can quickly screen large groups of people without needing them to stop or slow down Most body scanners are designed to work one person at a time, checkpoint style. QinetiQ has developed a scanner that can be used in crowded places without having to slow down or stop moving targets. The body scanner, capable of detecting hidden explosives or weapons on a person, has been demonstrated publicly in the United Kingdom for the first time. The QinetiQ SPO-NX SPO-NX...

Cloud-based solutions with mobile credentials and capabilities are simplifying multi-site management Facility managers and security operations staff are often bombarded with calls from multiple tenants, across several sites — each with unique needs — but traditionally they had no insight or control on the spot. Now, cloud-based solutions with mobile credentials and capabilities are simplifying multi-site management — enablin...

The Mexican border wall will be made of concrete; a substance that the president has used to some effect in his previous career The border with Mexico is an obvious starting point for the security community. Many had assumed that 'wall' would mean a high-tech fence or possibly just a virtual barrier of perimeter intrusion detection systems (PIDS), video surveillance with analytics and thermal imaging. However, during a press conference shortly before inauguration, Mr Trump put...

Counterterrorism tells antiterrorism about threats and antiterrorism tells counterterrorism about unusual or suspicious activities The most terrifying thing about terrorism is its reliance on the element of surprise. Most people don’t see the attacks coming, or don’t recognize the indicators when they see them. When terrorists strike, law enforcement is disadvantaged, the victims shocked and by the time an effective response is mounted the perpetrators are ofte...

The locks, alarms and access control solutions used for buildings have little impact outdoors Large campuses – colleges and universities, hospitals and office parks – face difficult security challenges in protecting people and property across wide-open outdoor spaces. Outdoor security requires a different approach. The locks, alarms and access control solutions used for buildings have little impact outdoors. Outdoor security may include protecting a student on an...

With the current state of economic uncertainty, there is a huge opportunity in 2017 for perimeter intrusion detection (PID) manufacturers to reach the commercial market. Petty crime rates, such as theft and vandalism, are on the rise and, as a result, small business owners are looking for new security options to enhance their current camera and alarm systems. Often thought of as complicated, expensive, and only for high-value applications, PID has a chance to change its perception in the years...

The security industry will continue to see consolidation through acquisition in 2017. At the advent of IP camera adoption, we saw a great decline in large vertically integrated companies, which spurred a new era of innovation within smaller IP camera manufacturers, VMS providers and other hardware companies for storage and managed switches.   We are now living in a new era of consolidation that is taking us full-circle back to vertical integration. Ultimately, the industr...

As the whirlwind of 2016 quickly winds down, it is a good opportunity to look back at the significant trends from this year. As predicted, the industry experienced accelerated data growth, the continued convergence of security and IT, and the ever-expanding impact of the Internet of Things (IoT).Overall, 2016 was a good year. IT investments were strong and organizations rapidly adopted new data center advancements such as hyper converged infrastructure (HCI) to help manage the huge influx of cri...

The emergence of smart technology into the security sector is changing risk management economics and strategy in unique ways. Such technology leverages information management at its core for a more effective security program. Case in point is the burgeoning role of autonomous data machines (ADMs or robots) that are purposely built for security. Will the advent of robots eliminate physical security officers at a site? Not any time soon, but robots are a real force multiplier by adding effec...

SourceSecurity.com’s Expert Panel covered a lot of ground in 2016 about a variety of topics in our Roundtable discussions.   The very most-clicked-on Roundtable discussion in 2016 was about how to choose between a cloud-based system and a server-based system. Other hot topics that made the Top-10 list of Roundtable discussions included edge-based video storage, the challenges of commoditization, and mistakes customers make when buying and installing security systems. He...

Again in 2016, the most well-trafficked articles posted at SourceSecurity.com tended to be those that addressed timely and important issues in the security marketplace. In the world of digital publishing, it’s easy to know what content resonates with the market: Our readers tell us with their actions; i.e., where they click.   Let’s look back at the Top 10 articles we posted in 2016 that generated the most page views. They are listed in order here with the author&r...

Merger and acquisition activity has become a familiar topic in the physical security market. In 2016, SourceSecurity.com covered M&A news involving some of the industry’s largest companies, including high-profile names such as Tyco, Honeywell, Hikvision, ADT, and Ingram Micro. Here’s a look at the top 10 M&A stories in 2016, as covered by SourceSecurity.com:   1. Johnson Control And Tyco merge Johnson Controls and Tyco announced their merger into one comp...

The single largest group of consumer IoT devices being deployed is for home automation and residential security Business and technology analysts are in unanimous agreement that the number of IoT devices will explode into the many 10’s of billions within the next five years. These billions of new computing devices will produce enormous volumes of data about ourselves, our society, and our physical environment. The security industry is at ground zero of this upheaval. In f...

The holiday season generates 34% of annual sales for retailers but accounts for 37% of annual losses It is that time a year again, when shoppers and shoplifters converge on our retail outlets looking for that all important deal or steal. Peak Shopping Season This year, the National Retail Federation estimates holiday spending will rise 3.6% from 2015 to more than $655 billion. While the peak shopping season used to be defined as the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Ev...

Thermal cameras see heat rather than light, so they are a perfect “human detector” Safeguarding outdoor assets in a reliable and cost-effective manner often comes down to a single requirement: Accurate intruder alerts and timely information about the unfolding event. While there are many technologies available for outdoor security, smart cameras with video analytics have emerged as the solution of choice for detecting intruders in real time outdoors. Yet the best...

Vulnerability scans rely on mostly automated tools to find potential vulnerabilities at either the network or application level Security vulnerability in any network can be found and exploited by hackers and others in no time. The only questions are when this will happen and how much damage an individual could do once they’ve gained access to the network. Recognizing this reality, most organizations test their own networks for security weaknesses, whether to meet compli...

Currently some retailers operate two separate speaker systems in their stores: one for broadcasting background music and one for announcements Twenty years ago, IP network cameras launched a revolution in video surveillance. Today, network audio systems are about to do the same for the speaker market. Back in 1996, the predominant video cameras were analog. They weren’t intelligent. They required an expensive and complex head-end of recording and monitoring systems. An...

As the trend from analog to IP continues to progress, more and more security devices are IP-enabled for seamless network integration With rising concerns over organizations’ physical security and potential network vulnerabilities, it has become more important now than ever for security professionals and other decision makers to take actions that will guard against potential problems and help prevent system failures. One specific area of heightened focus is the implementa...

If all the components within a security and wider IT network have the ability to interact together, they can offer so much more than their individual capabilities The widespread use of open protocol systems is one of the most important developments in the security and safety sector for decades. With a heavy reliance upon various security softwares (even for physical security), using open systems has gone from being a desirable selling point to a necessity in the security indus...

Access levels of individuals based on their roles can be cross compared with their normal access patterns, it is also useful to look for anomalies in device behavior Threats to an organization’s physical and logical security are increasing in number and financial impact, according to several recent surveys. To combat this problem, security and IT professionals are fighting back with system upgrades and software solutions including advanced analytics. Using the analytics...