March 2011
Features
Specific standards must be met to bulk up federal security
By Kim Rahfaldt
Federal government buildings pose similar security challenges to commercial facilities: They need to control access, visually monitor daily activity and manage intrusion-prevention. To meet these demands, the government must integrate with numerous security manufacturers that supply a means to protect different functions, such as single sign-on for individual computers, or large servers to provide redundancy and fault-tolerant needs.
Securing critical infrastructure is not a walk in the park in rugged terrain
By Ksenia Coffman
Government agencies overseeing national and local parks and municipal and private utilities -- including water and wastewater -- have remote communications and physical security requirements that are often challenging to address. Connecting multiple distant sites at speeds equal to those achieved over wire is a daunting proposition but is necessary when fiber or leased lines are too costly or impractical. The needs are pressing when an act of crime or vandalism, an environmental disaster, or loss of communications can potentially cost millions of dollars to mitigate and even cause the loss of lives.
Analog is the past; IP solutions represent the future
By Fredrik Nilsson
2011 will be a big year for IP surveillance. Not only has its growth remained steady throughout a recession, but large surveillance projects are announced each day. This is the year when the network camera celebrates its 15-year anniversary.
Professionalism and teamwork are key to successful projects
By Charlie Howell
As security consultants, we are tasked with everything from creating a security program to recommending an integrator with whom clients can form a good relationship for all their security equipment needs. This article is written specifically from the viewpoint of how to suggest a good integrator.
Biometrics and credentials are critical to the future
By Dan Kilgore
A critical element of protecting troops in the field of battle is proper identity management. A military installation in the Middle East, for example, must ensure that only authorized personnel can enter the camp. For soldiers, losing an access card to an enemy could be disastrous. Personal identification numbers are too easy to steal or share. To solve this problem, the military turned to biometrics just as other government entities have done as well.
Florida sheriff ’s department takes lead with storage
By Lee Caswell
The Hillsborough County Sheriff ’s office (HSCO) in Tampa, Fla., is a full-service law enforcement agency comprising more than 3,400 employees. Leadership and officers value integrity, professionalism and community-oriented policing as the top priorities of agency operations. Today, HCSO, led by Sheriff David Gee, is one of fewer than 20 public safety agencies in the nation to attain law enforcement, jail and medical accreditation.
Multispectral imaging opens the door of biometrics
By Phil Scarfo
For many years now, the promise of biometrics has not been fully realized. This is, in large part, because performance in the lab is not representative of performance in the field. That’s the reason major programs for Citizen ID and others have never really been fulfilled.
Different means to trespass border tell another tale
By Jake Lahmann
When border security comes to mind, people typically think of long lines at border crossing stations, fence lines, and the reported apprehension of illegal immigrants. Although those quintesssential images accurately depict daily life at the border, they certainly don’t tell the whole story.
A successful installation at Tinker Federal Credit Union
By Debjit Das
Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Tinker Federal Credit Union (TFCU) is the largest credit union in Oklahoma. In 2007, with a focus on enhancing service quality, building its brand and investing in technology to advance security and business efficiencies, TFCU embarked on a modernization initiative that included replacing legacy systems with a robust IP surveillance and data- capture platform and central DVR management solution.
Shadows, glares and nasty reflections turn images dark
By John Monti, Mark S. Wilson
They’ve always been the Achilles’ heel of video surveillance, whether analog or digital cameras are involved: those nasty shadows, glares, reflections and direct sunlight that turn captured images into darkness or wash them into a brilliant, undetectable white. Higher-resolution cameras simply exacerbate the problem.
IP video surveillance helps protect cash-handling services
By Courtney Pedersen
In the autumn of 2009, there was a very special “guest” at the National Museum in Copenhagen. Naturally, security was a top priority for the museum, but it was especially important for the world’s largest gold coin, which weighed 220 pounds and had a value of $2.9 million to $3.2 million.
Understand the requirements for projects funded by ARRA
By
Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the $787 billion economic stimulus package enacted and signed into law in February 2009, are now being disbursed. According to http://www.recovery.gov, the government’s official ARRA spending website, of the $25 billion in ARRA funds that had been awarded, only $18 billion has been disbursed.
Integration, communication part of the network equation
By Jeff Stout
The world of security technology is converging with network technology at a faster pace than ever before. Security professionals are challenged not only with new products, but also with how they integrate and communicate in a network-driven atmosphere.
Attacking the copper theft enterprise with the latest technology
By Mark Jarman
The cost of copper wire has continued to increase in certain parts of the United States as a result of the economic recession, meaning thieves can make a living by selling it. Copper, however, is critical to much of the country’s infrastructure backbone, including power lines, heating and cooling pipes and grounding wires.
Customer relationships, business acumen help meet growth challenges
By Richard Rot
For years, customers have relied on the expertise and knowledge of their security providers to meet the constantly changing demands of providing safety and security to their businesses and homes. The industry’s advances in technology have never been as influential, beneficial and challenging to customers as they are today.
Boost the effectiveness of current security technology with remote video monitoring
By Jacqueline Grimm
Burglary, internal theft, larceny and fraud: These and a host of other security threats are likely here to stay. So it should be no surprise that Kroll’s 2010 Global Fraud Report shows marked increases in IT security (19 percent) and physical asset security (15 percent) investments in the retail, wholesale and distribution sectors. The good news? Proactive measures are helping to reduce losses.
Security video keeps dishonest gamblers from their ultimate goal
By John Monti
The dream of easy money draws gamblers to casinos; the goal of preserving profits requires casinos to find ways to keep dishonest gamblers from gaining that money illegally. There are some scenarios and many reasons why casinos need to partner with security integrators to realize the full potential of their security systems.
Departments
Airport security checkpoints should not be “junk” yards
By Ronnie Rittenberry
Flying may still be the best -- or at least fastest -- way to get from Point A to Point B in the United States, but anyone who’s done it lately can aver that the process is not without its hassles.
As the security industry plows forward with new technology, products and ideas, there is the ever-present worry that some of the best available products will have to contend with knockoffs from China. It seems to happen in every industry, but maybe more so in the security market, to the chagrin of security manufacturers. During a conversation we had during ASIS 2010 with KJB Technologies President Jill Johnston, we wanted to know more.
For IP manufacturers, the production line is the beginning of service
By Mark S. Wilson
With ISC West coming up on the docket, it will be interesting to see what video vendors will be emphasizing. Odds are that we will see scores of messages about better widgets -- higher-resolution cameras, unique VMS software, clever storage schemes and the like.