GE Security Announces Annual Strategic Partner Awards
GE Security Inc. has announced the winner of the President’s Award – its 2007 Strategic Partner of the Year -- as well as the recipients of four regional Security Solutions Strategic Partner of the Year awards.
The recipient of the GE Security President’s Award for the 2007 Strategic Partner of the Year is Floyd Total Security, which was honored with the central region award, as well. This year’s regional Security Solutions Strategic Partner of the Year award winners also included Bergelectric Corp. for the western region, Viscom Systems for the northeast region and Electronic Specialty Company for the southeast region....
2008 Olympic Venues Installing Panasonic Security Cameras
Panasonic will install a total of some 2,000 units of surveillance camera systems at various venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games which begin on August 8....
Secure Environments Are Key To A Focused School
One of the principal responsibilities of any school or university is to provide a safe and secure environment where students can further their intellectual growth. Likewise, the faculty and other staff whose work is essential to day-to-day operations should be able to focus entirely on their duties rather than their safety. The violent incidents at our nation's schools and universities over the last decade have driven home an ugly reality. Schools now must secure their facilities and campuses against not only external dangers, but also those found from within. These dangers require security strategies that are innovative, sensible and affordable, according to an article in the February issue of American School & University, a sister publication of Access Control & Security Systems.
Today, digital video recording (DVR) technology has revolutionized the security and surveillance field, and expanded the options available to education institutions. VCRs with videocassettes once were the standard, but they required a lot of maintenance and delivered unstable results. ...
Digital Video Interface Data Model Standard Approved
The Security Industry Association (SIA) has released an American National Standard ANSI/SIA OSIPS DVI-01:2008 SIA Open, Systems Integration and Performance Standards - Digital Video Interface Data Model, the first deliverable from SIA's Open Systems Integration and Performance Standards (OSIPS) body of standards.
"SIA's OSIPS family of standards are designed to be open; enable easy integration of diverse components; and provide a means to establish predictable levels of performance," says Richard Chace, executive director and CEO, The Security Industry Association. "DVI-01 meets these criteria and fills the market demand for video and IP related security solutions."...
Report Shows IT Security Improving, But Misaligned
Many organizations are doing a better job of creating and managing their IT security programs, but survey results highlight continued disconnect between security shops and the line-of-business teams they support -- according to a new research report published by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC).
Based on the results of the 5th annual Global State of Information Security report, most of the 7,200 organizations surveyed for the research showed signs of improving their overall security standing.
If one major problem was exposed by the report, however, it was that security departments often fail to communicate sufficiently with the business people they interact with, researchers said, according to InfoWorld....
Honeywell Study: Organizations Moving To Convergence
Honeywell has released survey results that reveal how some organizations are integrating physical security measures such as video surveillance and access control with traditional IT security systems....
Video Surveillance Market Poised For Explosive Growth
ABI Research says that the video surveillance market is poised for explosive growth, which the firm forecasts to expand from revenue of about $13.5 billion in 2006 to $46 billion in 2013....
Electronic Security Systems Market To Exceed $44 Billion By 2010
The global security industry is extensive in its scope, covering an extremely wide range of products and services associated with the security and protection of operations, life and assets.
Sales of electronic security systems market in the United States totaled an estimated $9.4 billion in 2006, while Europe is poised to retain its dominance as the largest regional market over the years 2000 through 2010. Sales of alarms in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) are projected to exceed $3.8 billion in 2009. Sales of electronic access control systems in the United States are projected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 14.23 percent over the years 2000 through 2010.
Key players listed in the report include Bosch Security Systems, Chubb Security Systems, Guardian Protection Services Inc., Honeywell Security, NAPCO Security Systems Inc., PAC International Ltd. and Tyco Fire & Security, among others....
Travel Company Says Security Is a Business Traveler’s Chief Concern
Expedia Corporate Travel surveyed more than 1,000 U.S.-based business travelers to better understand their security concerns while on the road....
Airport Study Reveals Wireless Security Risks
At Gartner Mobile and Wireless, AirTight Networks issued the findings from its study to assess information security risk exposure of laptop users at 14 airports in the United States, Canada and Asia....
Letter From Diebold Says Buyout Offer “Inadequate”
Diebold Inc. released a letter from its chairman to United Technologies that calls the Connecticut company's $40-a-share buyout offer ''opportunistic'' and ''inadequate.''
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the letter sent out last week also said that United Technologies Corp. has mischaracterized the history of discussions between the two companies and that the company previously had never made a firm offer for Diebold.
United Technologies, meanwhile, responded by issuing a release saying it remained interested in buying Diebold for $40 a share and is ready to begin discussions now....
One Year Since Virginia Tech, School Security Funding Still Debated
Almost a year after the deadliest shooting on a college campus, Congress is still haggling over legislation that would provide federal dollars to colleges and universities to help pay for improved campus security, USA Today reports....
Copper Theft Draws the Attention of Industry, Lawmakers
Criminals have taken notice that growing demand in global markets has led to a worldwide increase in copper prices. As the value of the metal soars, many businesses are finding themselves victims of copper theft. It can be found in many everyday products including electronics and computers, but the most commonly exploited form is found in pipes and wiring. Thieves are stealing this valuable metal from job sites, homes, storage facilities and even directly from utility and light poles. The stolen property is then sold to scrap metal yards for financial gain. It is estimated that recycled copper retrieves approximately $2.75 per pound.
According to the Security Industry Association (SIA), the growing problem of copper theft impacts a broad cross-section of industries and the general public....
"Digital Universe" Bigger Because Of Video, Surveillance
EMC Corp., a provider of information infrastructure solutions, offers findings from the EMC-sponsored research from IDC that measures and forecasts the vast amounts and diverse types of digital information created and copied in the world.
“The Diverse and Exploding Digital Universe: An Updated Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth Through 2011” highlights findings that are newly updated since IDC’s inaugural forecast of the digital universe was published in March 2007. ...
Cisco Moving Schools Toward Convergence And Modernization
Cisco has reported a change in how K-12 schools, colleges and universities view emergency preparedness and security management when designing their campus safety architectures. Seizing a movement already under way in businesses and government agencies, school officials increasingly recognize the importance of converging their physical security tools on their networks and are doing so at an unprecedented pace.
Campus security has long been a top priority for schools from kindergarten to higher education. At many schools, however, the physical and network security infrastructures are disjointed, comprising a patchwork of separate alarm systems, surveillance cameras, communication systems and radios that cannot interact with the digital, network-connected systems more recently put in place....
NTC Offering To "Train The Troops" With New Program
"Train The Troops" program is a free program offered to recently discharged military service personnel to train them for careers in the low voltage industry.
Charles Aulner, CEO of National Training Center (NTC), explains the inception of the program: "NTC is dedicated to providing the low voltage industry with the very best in training and is committed to empowering individuals and companies to succeed. Many returning service members are discharged within two months of returning from the battlefield. This does not provide them with much time to find work in the civilian sector. We wanted to give back to the U.S. troops that risk their lives in order to protect the American way of life." ...
ADI Kicks Off Latest Expo Training Series
ADI, a wholesale distributor of security and low voltage products, is launching its latest Expo Training Series and celebrating 15 years of success in 2008. Free to industry professionals, the ADI Expo offers dealers an opportunity to meet with local associations and manufacturers, increase their technical expertise, expand their business and remain competitive in the low voltage industry.
This year's theme, Go Full Throttle, is designed to energize, as ADI and its vendors are committed to offering opportunities that prepare customers to move full speed ahead and accelerate their business. The ADI Expo provides dealers with valuable education opportunities, a chance to demo the latest technology and engage in face-to-face interaction with leading manufacturers....
Police Asking For Tougher Security At Florida Malls
Since someone murdered a mother and daughter and left their bodies outside a Boca Raton, Fla., mall, Coral Springs Police Chief Duncan Foster repeatedly tried to talk to the owners of Coral Square Mall about hiring off-duty officers to increase security.
But Foster tells the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper that his requests went unanswered by mall managers for Simon Property Group, owner also of the Town Center at Boca Raton, where the bodies were found.
Now Foster has written the Indianapolis-based owner of the malls, asking for a sit-down meeting....
Cell Phones Give Students False Sense of Safety
A new study from three professors finds that college students packing cell phones feel safer than those without and are more likely to take risky walks at night.
The research reveals that carrying a cell phone can amp up risk-taking, particularly among women.
"Students seem to feel less vulnerable when they carry a cell phone, although there's no evidence that they really are," says study researcher Jack Nasar, a professor of city and regional planning at Ohio State University. "If anything, they are probably less safe because they are paying less attention to their surroundings."...
Purdue University Strengthens Security With Help Of Students
Increasing the number of employees in the Purdue University Student Security Patrol on its West Lafayette, Ind., campus will be an effective way to enhance safety on campus, reports The Exponent, Purdue University's student newspaper.
The Purdue Police Department reported that it would nearly double the number of positions open on the force. The current staff of 25 would jump to 35 beginning this spring. The student patrol will eventually employ 50 by the end of the year.
Saving the university millions of dollars that would normally be spent on installing security cameras, the path is adding student jobs while increasing campus surveillance....
Radiation Research Gives Hope For Explosive Detection
A new type of radiation called T-rays—electromagnetic waves in the far infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum that have a wavelength 500 times longer than visible light—may allow for the development of a new generation of sensors for detecting explosives and poisons.
The research, performed by a team of U.K. and Spanish physicists led in the U.K. by Dr. Stefan Maier from Imperial College London's Department of Physics and Dr. Steve Andrews of the University of Bath, shows that the T-rays can be guided along the surface of a specially designed material, known as a metamaterial. Being able to control T-rays in this way is essential if this type of radiation is to be used in many real-world applications....
Fire Alarm Boxes Becoming Another Technology Casualty
The street corner fire alarm box, a lifeline used when few people had telephones at home to report fires, has become another casualty of technology, replaced by the 9-1-1 emergency system and cell phones.
The bright red and white boxes with peaked "roofs" once dotted street corners throughout the United States. Now, sometime in the next three months, the Village of Lancaster, N.Y., will likely become one of the last suburban municipalities to bid a fond goodbye to the American icon.
According to New York's Buffalo News, if this occurs, the Village of Depew, N.Y., will become the sole remaining suburban holdout in New York's Erie County relying on a fully functioning street box alarm system. Depew's dates back to 1894—the year of the village's incorporation....
Port Security A Key Topic At Homeland Security Conference
At the fourth annual ThinkTec Homeland Security Innovation Conference last week at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) in Charleston...
Research Says Best Info Security Requires Managed Security Services
New research from Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Co., reveals that the organizations getting the best information security performance include some managed security services as part of their defense. The new report, "Best Practices in Choosing and Consuming Managed Security Services," provides insight gleaned from close to 200 survey respondents, supplemented with in-depth interviews with veteran consumers of managed security services.
"These findings are significant because they reflect a shift in market awareness. Often organizations have been turning to managed security services to help with compliance issues, or reduce the management associated with maintaining ongoing security or to reduce their costs," says Carol Baroudi, research director in the IT Security practice at Aberdeen. ...
Connecticut Firehouse Involved In Security/Privacy Fight
The union for paid firefighters has filed a grievance with Stamford, Conn., over the installation of security cameras at the volunteer Springdale Fire Co., saying it's an illegal invasion of privacy.
The Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association, which has 16 members working in the Springdale firehouse, told The Stamford Advocate that the security cameras will create a "big brother" environment and make paid firefighters uncomfortable.
Springdale Fire Chief Shawn Fahan says the security system is necessary to ensure the safety of paid and volunteer firefighters after a series of break-ins, thefts and tampering with firetrucks and equipment. The system would include 14 cameras to be placed in two kitchens, two lounge rooms, the garage and several hallways and exits, Fahan says....
