Security Talking Points

Canon in C GW

2011-12-24T12:22:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving GW

2011-12-24T12:21:00.001-05:00

Christmas Song

2011-12-24T12:19:00.001-05:00

What child is this?

2011-12-24T12:11:00.001-05:00

Hallelujau

2011-12-24T12:03:00.002-05:00

Jamie McDonald’s Holiday Glögg

2011-12-20T10:57:00.002-05:00

Caution: Use at your own risk!

I just want to share an old family recipe that seems to get me through any holiday stresses that usually occur over the next 12 days. Enjoy!

HolidayGlögg

Glögg recipeyield = Makes about five 750 ml bottles / Glögg preparation time. About 90minutes

· Ingredients

o 750 ml bottle inexpensive dry red wine

o 750 mlCognac or Brandy

o 750 mlSpiced Rum

o 1.0Liter American port wine

o 750ml bottle Vodka or Grain alcohol

o 10inches total of cinnamon sticks

o 15cardamom seed pods or 1 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds

o 2dozen whole cloves

o 1orange peel, whole and washed and dried

o ½- ¾ cup dark raisins

o 1cup blanched almonds

o 1½cup sugar

o 1½ cup honey

o Garnishwith the peel of another orange

About the wine, port, and brandy. There is no need to invest inexpensive wine, port, or brandy because the spices are going to pre-empt anyinnate complexity of a fine wine, but don't use anything cheap. Remember, thesum will be no better than its parts.

About the raisins. Golden raisins will work, but darkraisins are better.

About the cardamom. Cardamom comes in three forms: Pods,seeds, and powder. The pods look like orange seeds. Cardamom seed pods may behard to find, so you may need to order them from a spice specialist, but don'tleave out the cardamom. Cardamom is the secret ingredient. The seeds within thepods are either black or tan, about 1/3 the size of peppercorns. If you can'tfind pods and can only find seeds, use about 1 teaspoon of them. Do not usepowder ever.

About the almonds. It is important to get nakedcream-colored almonds that have had the shells and brown skins removed. Theskins are bitter and full of brown coloring that can give the Glögg a dustytexture. Do not use salted or smoked almonds. If you can only find almonds withskins, you can remove them by blanching them. Here's how: Boil a pot of water,dump in the almonds, wait for the water to boil again, let them boil for abouta minute, pour off the water, and rinse with cold water, and drain. The skinswill slip right off if you pinch them.

About the cloves. Do not use powdered cloves ever.

Directions:

1) Crack thecardamom seed pods open by placing a pod on the counter and laying a butterknife on top of it. With the palm of your hand, press on the knife. It willcrack it open so the flavors of the seeds can escape. You can leave the seedsin the pods once they are cracked.

2) Pour thered wine and port into a stainless-steel or porcelain kettle. Add the cinnamon,cardamom, cloves, orange peel, raisins, and almonds. Cover and simmer.

3) Do-notuse aluminum or copper pot since these metals interact with the wine and brandyto impart a metallic taste.

4) Put thesugar, honey in a pan and soak it with half the brandy. Warm over a medium-lowflame and stir occasionally until it becomes a clear, golden syrup and all thesugar is dissolved (at right). Let it simmer for about 15 minutes until thetiny bubbles become large burbles. This starts caramelizing of the sugar andadds a layer of flavor.

5) Add thesugar syrup to the spiced wine mix. Cover and let it simmer over a low heat foran hour.

6) Taste. Ifyou wish, add more sugar or brandy. If you do, go easy, 1/4 cup at the most. Asmy barber says, "I can always cut more off but I can't put it backon". You can always add more brandy, but if you go over the top, you can'tget back under. Also, my parents, fromwhom I received my original recipe, would reduce the alcohol on some of thebatch by putting it out side and lilting a match and letting it burn for 5-10seconds. This works good if you wereserving the Glögg in say a crock pot at a party and wanted to reduce the odorof alcohol but keep the smells of the season of all the other ingredients.

6) Strain toremove the spices, almonds, and raisins (SAVE). You can serve your Glöggimmediately or bottle it in clean used wine or whiskey bottles. A month or twoof aging really enhances the flavors and marries them beautifully. A year iseven better. If you are going to age Glögg for more than a month or two, fillthe bottles as high as possible and seal them tight. You don't have to lie themdown to age, and if you use used corks, they might leak where the corkscrewentered if you lie them down. A good Glögg will throw thick purple sediment asit ages, but that doesn't become a problem for months. It's just normalsettling of particulate matter held in suspension as well as compounds in thewine coming out of solution as they combine with oxygen in the aging process.Just pour gently and don't shake the bottle and discard the sediment when youget to the bottom of the bottle. Tastes like mud.

7) Fringebenefits. Do not discard the raisins and almonds when you are done, they areimpregnated with flavor! I put the raisins in a jar in the refrigerator, and mywife bakes them into panettone, an Italian raisin bread (after I snack down afew handfuls). I roast the almonds in a 225°F oven for about 90 minutes andmunch them as snacks during a football game.

8) Serving.To serve Glögg, warm it gently in a saucepan over a low flame or, better still,in a slow cooker. Serve it in a mug and, don't skip this, garnish it with astrip of fresh orange peel twisted over the mug to release the oils or cinnamonstick also works good.

Note of Caution: Drink while seated and give your car keys to a friend! If serving outside in the north, be sure to keepan eye on novices, they tend to ignore the cold after a few ounces are consumed.

How Physical Security Technologies apply to effective Risk Management in 2012

2011-12-14T13:28:00.000-05:00

As a physical security and loss prevention professional I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of clients to reduce their risks. Risks are not just a threat but an opportunity to upgrade physical security solutions and at the same time improve an organizations productivity and profitability. Today’s improvements in technologies, especially software, the physical security industry can offer a more holistic approach that dramatically improves centralized visibility into an organizations security posture and new challenges related to doing more with less (productivity) and increased regulatory requirements. Depending upon the size and scope of the organization the solution may be different but the goal remains the same; to maintain, control and monitor the numerous security-related systems and sensors to a single graphic user interface or GUI that simplifies monitoring and reporting. These systems may include alarm monitoring, access control, locking systems, audio communications, asset tracking, intrusion detection, perimeter protection, video monitoring, video analytics and in some cases building management.

When meeting initially with a new client the most common complaint I hear is: “We have looked at this before and my existing solutions lack the ability to communicate or be integrated.” as the biggest barrier to implementing a more holistic security solution. Well I am here to tell you that with some small upgrades at the “head-end” many of your edge devices and sensors can be immediately integrated in most cases. More importantly from my perspective, by including all departments in the evaluation and research process to improve risk management, the policies, procedures and goals will result in the organizational value of improved overall visibility into the entire security infrastructure.

Here is a generic example of how you might discuss the real needs, goals and risks within your organization before you look to make any changes. By understanding the risks and potential costs associated with those risks, such as: annual loss expectancy, total cost of ownership, you can better develop your return-on-investment.

Let us look at internal investigations as the business area’s to discuss the risks. First create a working group that includes a representative from every department that plays any role in these areas. This might include human resources (HR), corporate security, (CS) information technology (IT), facilities, loss prevention (LP), finance & Insurance, marketing and legal.

Next, brainstorm events and scenarios that could create risk for the company in an internal investigation or disaster. Such events might include information leaks in various departments or a potentially violent customer or employee. Then, rank the risks by likelihood and impact. Absolute precision is not necessary here, although this step may provide the momentum to gather new metrics, both within your business and from the outside world for benchmarking purposes. Now for controls and solutions: List existing controls. Look for redundancy across departments. Brainstorm new ones to address these risks. Rank new controls based on cost, difficulty, and effectiveness—especially noting controls that can reduce likelihood and impact across multiple types of event. With good luck, you might be able to pay for a new control by reducing the redundancy of existing controls. Finally select the appropriate point person responsible for implementing (or championing) each high-priority control. Then establish a way to measure the effect of each new control and a way to communicate that measurement within and outside of your working group. Don't get too hung up on making overly formal. Keep the end in mind: Enable business objectives. Keep it simple (KISS). Make internal investigations more effective and less risky. Now repeat this process with a new team for each of these additional areas: business continuity and disaster recovery, intellectual property protection, and brand protection, employee fraud, loss prevention or asset protection and general liability. Obviously, each of these areas may require a different set of team members although may be the same.

Beyond the specific business value you create in each area—the deliverables you will also lay the foundation for more interdepartmental communication and coordination. Security personnel will have more and better contacts within finance, marketing and other groups. These connections can form the basis for competitive advantage for your organization.

One of the greatest benefits of today’s integrated physical security solutions is the real time actionable intelligence that can dramatically decrease the time to gather together information about security incidents. Then act on that information. For example if an employee is terminated by the organization and HR removes the employee’s authority from the network that information can instantly be upgraded to the organizations access control system, alarm system, etc. This can immediately reduce the opportunity and temptation from a disgruntled employee to cause any further damage to the organization.

After you have defined your risk management goals and vulnerabilities it will be a lot easier to create a budget to meet these goals. Then if you have not already done so, develop a partnership with a security integrator that you can trust. The next step is to test various potential solutions within your organization; I always try to show three of the top solutions based on the client’s vertical market, current legacy systems in place and your goals for today and tomorrow.

The good news is that in many cases with these solutions real benefits have been proven within organizations of all sizes and across a multitude of vertical industries and with very high return-on-investment (ROI) such as three to nine months. Some of the key benefits are: Having the capability to quickly communicate to management the details of an incident, having actionable intelligence about incidents, tools to assist in prevention of future incidents, having real time view of security events, instantly responding to events in real time, reducing incident resolution time, streamlining operations/improving productivity, reducing security costs and delivering a ROI on the organizations physical security environment.

Take a moment to discuss “Risk Management” as a concept with your management team, remember there’s never a dull moment in security. In the next few years, more new challenges will be thrown at business organizations as the cultural landscapes transforms. Will you have the tools in place to meet those challenges?

Physical Security & Life Safety Solutions with Monitoring from AACI

2011-11-12T21:22:00.002-05:00

American Alarm and Communications, Inc., (AACI) designs, installs, integrates, monitors and services security solutions for all types of commercial and institutional facilities as well as fire alarm and life safety systems in commercial and institutional facilities of every size and description. While every customer has different requirements and no two facilities alike, one factor remains constant in every system we integrate: that life safety is absolutely assured through the intelligent application of appropriate technology. Beyond life safety we offer intrusion detection, access control, and video surveillance systems and networking to cover all your security needs. A fully-integrated security/life safety technology strategy confers many potential benefits, including: improved safety for your people and data; reduced inventory losses; lower insurance rates; reduced manpower requirements; and compliance with industry standards.

AACI Applications – Physical Security

Different organizations face different security threats. In addition to intrusion and unauthorized access, organizations may have special concerns with vandalism, shoplifting, child abduction, data or inventory theft by employees or outsiders, and fraudulent liability claims and workers compensation incidents. Security systems can also be used to monitor internal processes and to guard against environmental hazards such as flood, high temp, freezing, and boiler malfunction.

Intrusion Detection Systems – Physical Security

Intrusion detection often serves as the foundation of a basic security system, but can also be integrated into more comprehensive security regimes. Door and window contacts, glass-break sensors, and motion detectors alert on-site personnel or emergency responders to break-in attempts via local alarms or our own UL central station reporting. Such systems can be hard-wired on dedicated low-voltage wiring, or may share wired or wireless Ethernet with other security and data communications functions. Fixed-station and wireless personal panic alert buttons can be part of the system, and the whole can be integrated with the facility’s access control structure.

Access Control/Visitor Management – Physical Security

Most organizations need to restrict access to specific areas. Visitors and employees may be granted or denied access to data centers, laboratories, or whole floors or buildings depending upon internal policies, and permitted access may change with the time of day, the date (for example, weekends or holidays), or depending upon who else is in the restricted area. Modern access control systems are capable of assigning multiple, visitor management and situation-sensitive levels of access based on the organization’s security needs. AACI provides a full range of access control devices, including keypads, door intercom/buzzer systems, badges or cards with barcode or embedded radio-frequency (RF) technology. Another option is biometric devices that digitally scan the individual’s hand- or thumbprint, face, or iris, and compare the results with data stored in a database.

We also provide the equipment and software to produce and manage photo-ID RF badges, and to control all aspects of access. From a single or multiple locations, permissions can be modified at any time without access to the badge itself, and personnel data and levels of access can be stored in an ODBC-compliant database for efficient, secure sharing with HR and other departments, as needed – for example, to facilitate the use of “smart card” badges as library or meal cards. Access control software also permits facilities management functions such as mustering, roll-calling and occupancy counting, and to set timed non-pass-back restrictions. Access privileges can be automatically adjusted by threat level and overridden manually.

Video Systems & Surveillance – Physical Security

AACI has decades of experience installing and integrating both analog and IP video and closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems for surveillance and access control. Video systems can be used in combination with audio as part of door intercom systems. They can be used to record security events and business processes on a 24/7 basis, and they enable a single individual to maintain surveillance across multiple large properties and building areas. Modern megapixel cameras, available with resolution up to the high-definition range, can monitor especially wide areas compared to older analog devices, making it possible to create full-coverage networks with fewer cameras and better video quality. Low-light cameras and infrared cameras used in combination with IR illumination can record in apparent darkness.

AACI combines video with alarm and access control systems for fully-integrated security solutions. Cameras with motion-detection capabilities can function as sensor devices in intrusion-detection systems, and systems can be programmed so that user-defined security events elsewhere on the network will turn cameras on, increase their frame rate, and control pan, tilt and other telemetry. AACI can even provide video analytics to automate much of the work of surveillance. Software can pick out specific objects of interest in a video image, (such as left-behind bags in transportation terminals), recognize vehicles, identify fire and smoke signatures, count people, and read license plates. These capabilities enable a smaller staff to maintain a higher level of vigilance over larger areas, and to effectively monitor multiple issues simultaneously.

Critical Audio Communications – Physical Security

AACI understands the vital importance of security and communication, whether the solution is an analog intercom or notification system or today’s new critical communications over internet protocol (CCoIP), we can provide the systems and the integration from a single talk thru glass solutions to IP server and server-less systems, audio analytics and integration with other subsystems such as PBXs, IP telephones, IP DECT handsets, PCs and PDAs. AACI can integrate all elements of the security network – intrusion, audio, access control, and video –into a single monitoring, reporting, and storage solution. A wide range of user-definable trigger events can automatically pop up a window on the user’s control monitor showing dynamic floor plan graphics, video, and text identification of the event. The system can be programmed for automatic responses to defined threats and threat levels: for example, to impose access control restrictions or automatic lockdown. Users may also be allowed full manual control over portal access, cameras, and audio announcement or alarms. Browser-based controls permit actions from any location worldwide, and all activities and access events can be logged, stored, and post-analyzed.

Video and other data storage may be on-site in the form of a NVR, network hard drive, or virtually any type of high-volume video or data storage system. AACI can also provide video alarm verification thru our Central Station, reducing your false alarms. AACI works with your security, IT, facilities and HR people to assess your security objectives.

The systems we install and integrate will accommodate change and growth as your needs evolve. We provide training, software upgrades, remote programming and video management, central station monitoring, repairs, maintenance, and annual inspection services. Regional offices remain on 24-hour call to respond promptly to every need throughout New England and across America.

AACI Applications – Life Safety

No matter what type of facility you need to protect, AACI has the experience to integrate a cost-effective solution that meets your current and foreseeable needs. We protect small and large commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities; high-rises; campus complexes; and organizations with multiple locations. Different building functions require different approaches to life safety. AACI has engineered and installed systems that meet all functional and regulatory requirements in hospitals and other healthcare facilities; grade schools and universities; government facilities; data centers; and a wide variety of industrial environments.

Detection and Initiation – Life Safety

Detection of a fire signature is the first link in a chain of events, followed by initiation of the alarm system’s response and notification of emergency personnel and building occupants. AACI works with all proven detection technologies to provide optimum protection in every building environment. These include heat sensors, smoke detectors (ionization and photoelectric), laser-based air samplers, and multi-sensor devices. Digital detectors can report temperature, rate of rise, maintenance status and more. Special video cameras with built-in smoke- and flame-detection algorithms can provide unmatched early detection in high-volume spaces such as sports arenas, and can serve double-duty for motion detection and general security monitoring.

Depending upon the facility, AACI may use advanced detection systems to provide very-early warning in critical or sensitive areas such as data centers and clean environments, or false-alarm-resistant devices in industrial settings that are environmentally hostile or highly variable. For larger-scale enterprise fire and life safety systems, our Advanced Signal division is an authorized Engineered Systems Distributor (ESD) for Notifier by Honeywell. By supporting architects during the design process, electrical contractors during construction, or making the job of facilities managers easier through superior test, inspection and customer service, Advanced Signal has been a partner of choice for business fire alarm and life safety systems for more than 30 years. The control system must lend itself to ease of use while reliably reporting and controlling a variety of functions. Control systems run the gamut from alphanumeric display panels, to PC workstations, to web-based servers.

Control Systems – Life Safety

Today’s systems have impressive capabilities to monitor, evaluate, and rapidly report their own status and that of every device on the network; to record events for documentation and review; and to allow automated control of critical functions such as elevators, emergency power shut-down, smoke control, and fire-suppression systems of all types. Annunciators throughout a facility can give emergency responders varying levels of reporting and control. UL-listed central-station monitoring is a given, but some systems have the added capability to send text messages, detailed email alerts, or real-time video to your smart phone or PDA.

In designing a system for your facility, AACI will identify technology that meets current and future technical needs and regulatory requirements, and the objectives of your IT, safety, and facilities personnel. We can offer simple controls that require essentially no day-to-day management, controls that enable personnel to quickly react to changing circumstances, and controls that give personnel extensive enterprise-wide control over life safety, security, and communications systems from a single desktop or with distributed intelligence across a campus or around the world.

Service - Life Safety

Life safety is not just a system we sell – it’s a commitment we make to our customers. AACI is a full-service fire protection provider, working with you in an ongoing relationship to ensure the safety of your people and assets. We work with your safety, IT, and facilities people to analyze your needs and objectives, and confer with local authorities to establish compliance. We provide training, software upgrades, remote programming, central station monitoring, repairs, maintenance, and annual inspection/certification services.

Business Fire Alarm Monitoring – Life Safety

Our 24-Hour Security Command Center monitors every element of your fire alarm systems, including sprinklers, with trained staff ready to react to any trouble at your organization.

Fire Alarm Testing and Inspection Services – Life Safety

We also offer comprehensive test and inspection services, as well as remote electronic daily testing to make sure your life/safety fire alarm system is in full working order and providing your business the fire alarm protection that is necessary for proper safety.

Cost Savings with a UL Certified and Accredited Fire Alarm Provider – Life Safety

Our customers also realize insurance cost savings that is available only to companies whose security system and business fire alarm provider are UL certified and accredited, like American Alarm.

Networking – Life Safety and Physical Security

AACI is an expert at security, life safety and network technologies, from twisted-pair wiring to wireless IP networks. We can provide full LAN or WAN networking of multiple building monitoring systems, including legacy systems installed by others.

Monitoring – Life Safety and Physical Security

Our 24-hour Security Command Center manages a full range of security services only for American Alarm customers since 1971. Our services are designed to help make sure your home or business security system is ready when needed, able to adapt when your needs change, and always supported by a team of licensed and trained professionals who count customer satisfaction as their most important goal. To learn more about how you or your organization can benefit from our solutions, services and experience contact me directly at Jmcdonald@americanalarm.com or call me at 508-962-9927.

2011-11-01T15:10:00.001-04:00

American Alarm Donates Medical Emergency Systems for Veterans

Company employees to volunteer their time for veteran-related service projects.

Arlington, Mass. — Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray joined American Alarm leaders today to announce the company’s new program to help veterans and their families. Through the new Home and Away Veterans Support Program, American Alarm will donate 20 personal emergency response systems (PERS) for veterans who are aging or recuperating at home, giving them instant access to medical help when needed.

The “away” portion of the program will focus on families of service-members who are away, on duty, and the communities in which they live. American Alarm employees, many of whom are technicians, will volunteer their time to tackle veteran-related community service projects, or complete needed repairs or other maintenance projects at the homes of military families.

“This an important new program that will help veterans in-need remain independent, living in the comfort of their homes, and offer support to the families of service men and woman who are overseas,” said Lt. Governor Murray, who chairs the Governor’s Advisory Council on Veterans Services. “On behalf of all veterans in Massachusetts, Governor Patrick and I extend thanks to the people at American Alarm who are making this program possible.”

Lt. Governor Murray’s visit to American Alarm’s 24-Hour Security Command Center in Arlington is the first of many events he will lead during the month of November to honor the men and women who serve in uniform, and to highlight programs and services established to help veterans and their families.

“Across the generations, veterans have served to protect us all, so we hope to help veterans who want to stay in their homes, but need this extra level of medical security and peace of mind,” said Wells Sampson, president of American Alarm. “We appreciate the lieutenant governor’s strong advocacy on behalf of Massachusetts veterans and we are honored to have him participate in this announcement.” The PERS technology to be donated by American Alarm includes a communicator connected to the veteran’s telephone line, and several wireless activator buttons that can be worn on the wrist, around the neck, or left on a nightstand or bedpost. With a push of the button, an emergency signal will be sent instantly to American Alarm’s 24-hour Security Command Center where operators will call the home and speak with the veteran. If the operator gets no answer on the phone, they will immediately call for emergency medical responders. If the veteran answers the phone in distress, medical help will be dispatched. “Unless the veteran answers the phone quickly and says ‘sorry, I accidently hit the button,’ then help will be on the way,” Sampson said.

American Alarm is working closely with local, state and federal veterans’ service providers to indentify veterans in the community who would benefit from the PERS systems but are unable to afford them. For more information about American Alarm’s Home and Away program, or to suggest worthy service projects for American Alarm’s volunteer team, contact James Cook at 781-641-2000.

About the company: Founded in 1971, American Alarm & Communications Inc. is a leading independent security systems integration firm in New England, with 140 employees serving some 16,000 residential, commercial and public sector customers in 13 states. The company owns and operates a 24-hour Security Command Center (U.L. Certified Central Station) in Arlington, Massachusetts, solely dedicated to monitoring its customers' security systems. From its offices in Arlington, Auburn and Randolph Mass. (Advanced Signal division) and Windham N.H., American Alarm protects all classes of property, from single-family homes to multi-site banks and retail operations, to major public and historic venues such as the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston and the New Hampshire Statehouse. For more information see www.americanalarm.com .

Retail Solutions for Loss Prevention and Operations Management

2011-09-22T15:33:00.000-04:00

I had a great time at the New England Organized Retail Crime Symposium & Trade Show yesterday in Worcester, Massachusetts. I especially enjoyed listening to the speakers and the many attendees’s that I had the privilege of speaking with concerning their biggest concerns today. The common thread for me in these conversations was:

Multiple offender crimes
Flash Mobs
Active Shooter Scenarios
Better Internal Fraud Detection Solutions
Improve Customer Service
Reduce Shrinkage
Increase Staff Safety
Measure Business Performance
Ensure Procedure Compliance
Better Remote Internal and External Video Views and Integration Solutions
Better Analytics, Including

Loitering in high-risk areas
Removal of multiple high-priced items
In-store, after hours motion detection
Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) alarm activation
People counting entering the location
Measure traffic flow patterns by aisle, displays or other areas
Identify peak busy periods
Be alerted to customers waiting at the registers

Better Data Mining including:

Smart transaction profiling that employ hundreds of built-in, expert business rules to quickly spot patterns of theft and fraud
Transaction analysis that also enables searching on credit cards1, coupons, gift and discount cards
Easy-to-use query designer enabling development of custom rules to reflect adherence to corporate policies
User-definable Dashboard displays the most important data in a Web-based UI
Data mining accuracy is enhanced through the statistical weighting of the unique characteristics and selling mix of every store
Increased productivity results from conducting investigations with confidence and knowing precisely where the most problematic issues exist
Custom report writer delivers interactive reports with essential information, and permits data export to Excel, XML, or other formats
Visual intelligence links receipts with digital video to verify suspect POS transactions

Today’s integrated security technologies offer all of these solutions and more. At American Alarm and Communications, Inc., we offer complete security solutions for customers with high demands for security and efficient solutions. Prioritized market segments are bank and financial institutions, retail, transport and logistics, state and local governments, health care, defense and industry. The offering is supported by modern technology within for example, access control, video surveillance, critical audio communications, intrusion prevention, fire alarm systems, integration, service, inspections and monitoring.

I you have any concerns like these, we can have a serious discussion of your goals and plans we can help you design and budget a solution for your organization that can deploy within months and begin to pay for itself immediately. Please contact me at your convenience to arrange an initial consultation. I have a paper I quickly wrote to discuss an example of a possible solution, drop me a note for a copy.

Riding the wave of hosted video at ASIS 2011 |

2011-09-22T14:04:00.000-04:00

Riding the wave of hosted video at ASIS 2011 |

The New England Organized Retail Crime Symposium & Trade Show – September 21, 2011

2011-08-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

The New England Organized Retail Crime Symposium & Trade Show will be held on September 21, 2011 at DCU Center - Worcester, Massachusetts (50 Foster Street). The event is hosted by the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association, Maine Merchants Association, Retailers Association of Massachusetts, Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire, Rhode Island Retail Federation and the Vermont Retail Association.

One of my favorite events of the year, the symposium features a strong blend of ORC and major crime information from companies such as CVS, eBay, T-Mobile and Wegmans. Last year Eric Ives of the FBI and Kevin Tyrrell of ICE both made the trip from Washington, DC and delivered updates on federal law enforcement initiatives. Kevin Plante of Staples served as the master of ceremonies (and comedian), keeping everything rolling onstage.

Since I spent the first 12 years of my career in operations and Loss Prevention and have deployed and sold over one billion dollars of security integrated technology solutions using Marchnetworks, Verint, Milestone and others within the retail sector since 9-11, I am always looking for ways to improve the tools and countermeasures loss prevention professionals use to protect the people and assets under their control. At the last NRF event that I attended the most common thread was how LP/AP needed to do more (WORK) with less (STAFF). My focus in this sector has been how the industry can better integrate technologies, create better evidence and streamline the ability to build cases in a more efficient manner. Then deploy and support those solutions with the best installation and service teams nationwide.

Now since I joined American Alarm and Communications, Inc., I support the retail industry with separate solutions up to one total package including full integration of Video, POS, Access Control, Intrusion, Fire, Monitoring and Alarm Verification. I look forward to this year’s show to demonstrate some of the new technologies, concepts and manufacturers available to reduce losses and improve productivity.

The 2011 New England Public Works Expo is September 28th & 29th, Get Your Passes!

2011-08-22T11:04:00.000-04:00

This year marks the 32^nd Annual New England Public Works Expo! ( http://www.nepublicworksexpo.org/index.htm ) This year’s show, sponsored by the Massachusetts Highway Association (MHA) will be held at the Central Mass Expo Center, 150 Royal Plaza Drive, Fitchburg, Massachusetts 01420 (Marriott Courtyard Facility http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/boscf-courtyard-fitchburg/ ).

Show Highlights:

Show hours

Wednesday 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Onsite parking
Complimentary BBQ both days from 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Vendor Appreciation Night - Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.
Snow Plow Rodeo finals on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m.

American Alarm & Communications, Inc., has received complimentary passes (a $10.00 value) to distribute to their customers before the show. If you would like a passes, contact me at 508-453-2731 and I will send them to you.

Safety, Security & Privacy - SituCon Privacy Protecting Safety Technology Rolls out in NY School District

2011-08-15T10:22:00.000-04:00

A school district in New York has implemented an emergency video and audio notification system that only activates cameras when somebody pushes an alerting device. Should an emergency occur, a teacher or staff person can push a wireless SituCon "Instant Alert" button on their person, which generates e-mails and texts to school administrators and local police with identifying information such as the individual's name, location, and phone number.

Simultaneously, "eyelids" on SituCam cameras open and begin recording video of the situation at the police dispatch center and on responding officers' smart phones, so that they have a better understanding about what's happening as they enter the emergency site. At other times, SituCam's eyelids remain closed, except after hours when monitoring is allowed to protect other school assets.

The aired version of a new NY clip can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=CqOSVO6pu-M

SituCon’s technology has been deployed here in Massachusetts in Marshfield and Brookline, among others. The technology has found applications in schools, libraries, Police interview rooms, other public buildings, IT rooms, hospitals and other settings where privacy is vital but security situational awareness is critical if events warrant a quick response.

See all SituCon news at http://www.situconsystems.com/news.asp

The SituCon device is a smart enclosure that works with various cameras and can be accessed wired or wireless allowing responders to access the video and/or audio thru various devices in a crisis situation. The system is powered by a single POE (Power-Over-Ethernet) single Cat6 cable.
We at American Alarm & Communications, Inc., have an active relationship with SituCon and can help you design, test and deploy their technology in your organization. Contact me directly for more information at (508) 453-2731.

About SituCon Systems
SituCon Systems is the leading innovator of hardware and software technologies that provide both safety and privacy. SituCon’s Emergency Awareness Solution uses innovative privacy protecting technologies, a sophisticated alerting system and on-demand video to deliver complete peace of mind. Public safety agencies, schools, municipalities and businesses around the country use SituCon’s products to protect safety and safeguard privacy. For more information please visit www.situcon.com.

IP Video Surveillance Equipment Sales to Surpass Analog in 2014, Says IMS Research

2011-08-09T23:32:00.001-04:00

IMS Research's latest report, “The World Market for CCTV and Video Surveillance Equipment – 2011 Edition”, estimates that the world market for video surveillance equipment continued to achieve strong growth in 2010, in excess of 10 percent on the previous year, despite the persistent after-effects of the global economic downturn. This growth was predominantly driven by sales of network video surveillance equipment.

According to Senior Analyst and report author, Gary Wong; “Whilst the global analogue video surveillance equipment market was relatively depressed in 2010, the network video surveillance market has continued grow almost three time as fast as the total market in 2010, over 30 percent”. Wong continues, “If the Chinese analogue video surveillance equipment market was removed from the equation, both the EMEA and the Americas analogue markets contracted in 2010”.

Two key factors impacting the decline of the analogue video surveillance market are the large/enterprise tier of the market transitioning to network video surveillance solutions and increasing price competition/ commoditisation in the mid-low tier of the analogue surveillance market. Network video surveillance growth continues to be bolstered by the trickle-through effect from government stimulus-funded projects and the increasing penetration of higher value network video surveillance products, such as HD cameras.

IMS Research forecasts that the growth of the network video surveillance market and the decline of the analogue market will lead to a transition in 2014, with network video overtaking analogue in terms of sales revenue. However, it should be noted that in terms of shipments, analogue cameras are forecast to continue to outsell network cameras in 2014.

IMS Research's recently published report, “The World Market for CCTV and Video Surveillance Equipment – 2011 Edition” forecasts the growth of analogue video surveillance equipment, network video surveillance equipment and other relevant topics in greater detail. IMS Research also produces a number of detailed regional focused CCTV and video surveillance equipment reports providing incisive analysis for the following countries/regions: China, Eastern Europe and Russia, Latin America, South East Asia, India and the Middle East.

PSIM for the Rest of Us!

2011-07-28T16:04:00.002-04:00

I spent some time with Next Level Security Systems to learn more about their solutions. Next Level Security Systems is a physical security company focused on developing a new breed of unified networked security products. Next Level’s products combine the performance, sophistication and functionality of enterprise-class security systems into a compact, unified and affordable package, enabling customers of all sizes to take advantage of these innovative networked solutions.

There Unified Security Platform or NLSS Gateway is a completely unique IP security solution. It combines video management, access control, video analytics, intrusion alerts and more onto a single networked platform that can be accessed from anywhere and at any time through a Web browser. Data from these subsystems is automatically correlated, providing users with a comprehensive view of security operations.

NLSS is headed by Peter Jankowski, there CEO & Chairman. Prior to starting Next Level Security Systems, Peter Jankowski was the CTO of the Physical Security Business Unit at Cisco, focusing on digital video surveillance. Before joining Cisco, he was the CEO and CTO for SyPixx Networks where he was responsible for product design and direction of a suite of IP-based digital video products and solutions delivering broadcast quality digital video, audio and data to users over standard Ethernet/IP and fiber optic networks to the security, infrastructure and transportation markets. Cisco Systems acquired SyPixx in April of 2006. Why Peter is important is this that he makes solutions that work. To me that was why I looked further.

I see the power of systems integration as our future. Next Level is still in their early stages, but in my opinion they are headed in the right direction. PSIM software solutions are great for those with big budgets however you may want to take a look at NLSS for most of everyone else. Next Level Security Systems: http://www.nlss.com

· Unified Solutions: http://www.nlss.com/solutions.html

· Video Management (VMS): http://www.nlss.com/productsgateway-video.html

· Access Control: http://www.nlss.com/productsgateway-access.html

· Video Analytics: http://www.nlss.com/productsgateway-analytics.html

· Intrusion: http://www.nlss.com/productsgateway-intrusion.html

· HD Media Decoder: http://www.nlss.com/productsdecoder.html

NLSS has applications in Retail, Government, Commercial, Industrial, Education, Healthcare, Financial, Entertainment, Gamming and Residential.

Since ADT purchased Proximex in April 2011, I believe that we may see pricing fall in the PSIM market and be more competitive for man verticals. However for many small and mid level clients and well as clients with multiple locations NLSS may be a good solution. For a demonstration, give me a call.

Eliminate False Alarms and Improve Response Immediately

2011-07-18T15:05:00.000-04:00

Videofied security systems, available on the FAC64 Massachusetts State Contract, it delivers police when you need them - through video verified alarms. RSI Video Technologies develops innovative wireless self-powered solutions to resolve security problems for commercial, residential and government applications. With public increasing pressured by budget cuts, video verified alarms help optimize security costs, while assisting police in capturing more intruders and providing better protection.

A very sophisticated motion sensor combined with a night vision camera and illuminators send a 10 second video clip thru the GPRS wireless network to our central station for verification. When the intrusion is confirmed, appropriate dispatched response protocols are followed to respond to the intrusion as a crime in progress. The system is totally wireless and battery operated with a battery life of 4-5 years. The system protects commercial, government, utility and construction facilities and provides key protection for critical infrastructures as well as simple alarm verification to minimize false alarm calls.

Links:

Video of Actual Incidents: http://www.videofied.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=3&Itemid=1731&lang=en_old

Brochures and Specification Sheets:

http://www.videofied.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=27&Itemid=130&lang=en_old

Call me at 508-453-2731 to learn more about Videofied.

Blast-Resistant Camera Receives Safety Act Designation

2011-07-04T09:16:00.001-04:00

A BRAVE camera
undergoes a test
to determine its
ability to withstand
high temperatures.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate awarded a SAFETY Act designation to Visual Defence USA, Inc. for its blast-resistant video system designed for use in mass transit vehicles. This marks the first time a product has received both a SAFETY Act designation and a SECURE certification.

The Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act is designed to ensure that legal liability does not deter potential manufacturers or sellers of anti-terrorism technologies from developing, deploying, and commercializing potentially life-saving technologies, while also guaranteeing that a technology works as advertised and effectively supports a homeland security mission. Virtual Defence’s Blast Resistant Autonomous Video Equipment (BRAVE) camera achieved this designation because of the support it provides to investigators in the event of a mass-transit incident. Similar to the well-known “black box” recording devices found in airplanes, BRAVE cameras could be installed in trains, buses and subways.

In April 2011, BRAVE became the first technology to receive SECURE certification. This program promotes cooperative relationships between DHS and the private sector in developing products or services that meet homeland security needs in the context of a dynamic marketplace. Such a joint designation is just one example of successful public-private partnerships that are supporting the homeland security mission.

The Smart Grid Security Blog: The Best Talk Ever Given on NERC CIPs and Grid Sec...

2011-06-30T10:39:00.000-04:00

The Smart Grid Security Blog: The Best Talk Ever Given on NERC CIPs and Grid Sec...: "I've read some good stuff over the years, though never at work. In the classics department my favorites are The Heart of Darkness , Moby Dic..."

The Smart Grid Security Blog: Good Smart Grid Security News from the Land of Now...

2011-06-30T10:38:00.000-04:00

The Smart Grid Security Blog: Good Smart Grid Security News from the Land of Now...: "You know, as a staunch anti Smart Grid FUDdite, it's not easy for me to praise the article that contains this quote: If I’m a burglar, for..."

Axis Lightfinder: Improving Low-Light IP Camera Performance

2011-06-22T13:41:00.001-04:00

Axis has recently introduced a new IP camera technology called Lightfinder, aimed at improving low-light performance in its range of security and surveillance products. But what exactly is it and how does it work?

Here’s how Axis describes its new Lightfinder range of cameras:‘Axis Communications’ research and development have led to the introduction of the new and revolutionary Lightfinder technology. The Lightfinder technology is the result of a meticulous choice of the right sensor and the right lens, together with the elaboration of the image data coming from the combination of sensor and lens. The fusion of these factors – sensor, lens, in-house chip development and knowledge in image processing – provides network cameras incorporating this technology with outstanding performance.’Axis claims the main advantage over conventional day/night cameras is that Lightfinder cameras can continue to deliver full colour video instead of the black and white and/or infrared-dependent video produced by current models on the market. This has been achieved through focussing on combining a number of existing components to create an overall enhanced low-low light image.Axis Lightfinder cameras are equipped with a specialised CMOS sensor that is extremely light-sensitive.

This has been paired with a specific lens to create an optimised setup, maintaining image sharpness and reducing noise levels to an acceptable level. The hardware setup is combined with advanced image processing techniques in the camera’s software, automatically adjusting filtering and sharpening of the image to achieve the best possible result even in fluctuating lighting conditions.

These improvements are primarily aimed at indoor and outdoor applications that require detailed colour video in poor lighting conditions to aid in identification of individuals and objects. It looks like the company is aiming this technology at a wide segment of the market, stating that Lightfinder cameras will be beneficial in, among others, ‘parking lots, city surveillance, schools and campuses, and construction sites… power plants, water treatment plants and prisons, as well as railway surveillance’.It’s clear that Axis is aiming to improve current IP camera technology by utilising a holistic approach where incremental improvements in every aspect of the camera should (hopefully) add up to a noticeable improvement in the final result.

The above video is certainly a convincing argument in favour of this approach, but until we can run some real-world tests on a Lightfinder camera, we’re going to reserve judgement. If it does turn out to be as good as Axis claims it is, this methodology might be the way forward for future developments in the IP security and surveillance market.

Scallop Imaging Integrating D7-180 Camera with Milestone Systems' IP Video Management Platform

2011-06-22T13:16:00.001-04:00

D7-180 with 3 Detail Windows from Scallop Imaging on Vimeo.

BOSTON, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scallop Imaging, the leader in high resolution, digital video camera technology, and Milestone Systems today announced the full integration of Scallop Imaging's D7-180 IP surveillance camera with Milestone's release of Device Pack 5.5 on June 23, 2011. The integration will enable end users to more easily manage IP network-based video surveillance systems using D7-180 cameras, which use a staring array of five powerful sensors to provide a fully stitched, 180 degree view with seven megapixel resolution.

Fireworks over Boston Common from Scallop Imaging on Vimeo.

"Milestone Systems' popular and widely-deployed open platform IP video management software, when integrated with the D7-180 camera, will help end users reduce costs, optimize processes, and protect people and assets," said Peter Jones, president of Scallop Imaging. "We look forward to working with the Milestone team to make the deployment of the Milestone/Scallop Imaging combination convenient and seamless for our many customers that were anticipating this announcement."

"Scallop Imaging's D7-180 camera features high resolution, in a small form factor, at a reasonable cost and with low bandwidth requirements from the H.264 technology," said Martin Friis-Mikkelsen, Head of Strategic Alliances at Milestone. "This is an ideal camera to support, and we're pleased to make it possible for Milestone customers to deploy D7-180 cameras on our platform."

About Scallop Imaging, Inc.
Scallop Imaging is a Division of Tenebraex Corporation, which was founded in 1992 and is located in Boston. Tenebraex develops and manufactures innovative optical products that solve real world problems. Scallop Imaging was formed to research, develop and manufacture video cameras based on the company's innovative Distributed Imaging technology, where the outputs of multiple, small, but powerful sensors are stitched together in real-time within the camera. This allows incredible resolution in a small form factor, at reasonable cost and low bandwidth requirements. Scallop Imaging video surveillance cameras provide a seamless 180 field of view, with seven megapixels of resolution. For more information go to www.scallopimaging.com.

SOURCE Scallop Imaging, Inc.

Bullying is common in the workplace - St. Petersburg Times

2011-06-08T11:50:00.000-04:00

Bullying is common in the workplace - St. Petersburg Times

Frost & Sullivan Recognizes iView Systems for its Pioneering Security and Surveillance Software Platform

2011-06-07T12:53:00.000-04:00

The Modular iTrak Incident Reporting Platform Offers Unique Operational Benefits to End-users

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 07, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Based on its recent analysis of the Public Safety Systems market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes iView Systems with the 2011 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation for its iTrak Incident Reporting and Management System. The iTrak platform is a modular security and surveillance software platform designed to manage and automate key tasks in risk management environments. It provides overburdened security and surveillance agencies with an integrated software tool, enabling the most efficient deployment of available resources.

Incident reporting and management systems are expected to provide highly secure solutions that will cater to multiple departments and agencies for a broad range of transactions required by security, surveillance, public safety and risk management departments. There exists a need for a scalable solution, which provides a single centralized database of multiple properties, subjects and personnel, including an extensive search engine. iView Systems’ iTrak platform offers a complete integrated and converged physical security information management (PSIM) reporting solution for security, surveillance and loss prevention environments.

iTrak incorporates detailed case management, mechanisms to control losses and insurance costs, customizable notifications and workflows, as well as advanced statistics and metrics. The system allows users to track the relationship between people and events, providing users with a complete overview of stakeholders, their level of involvement, and single-click access to historical data to view prior events and incidents.

The iTrak solution caters to incident and case management, computer aided dispatching, notification management, work orders, facial recognition, license plate recognition, visitor management, and anti-money laundering. Ideal for any risk management or loss prevention environment, it delivers quick and accurate analysis with comprehensive graphing and statistics, pinpointing liabilities and controlling losses and insurance costs.

“iView’s approach is to provide customers with a centralized, fully converged platform enabling a multitude of transactions and tasks to be handled through a single desktop environment,” said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Anand Srinivasan. “In a typical enterprise, iTrak can replace over eight disparate systems with a single enterprise application, providing tangible operational benefits as well as economic benefits relating to IT support requirements.”

The modular architecture of iTrak uses the latest software and development technologies to not only avoid product obsolescence, but also to enable rapid integration with related systems. The technologies employed in iView’s platforms are based on Microsoft .NET, SQL Server, Web Services, and XML technologies.

iTrak’s unique home page design centralizes and provides immediate authorized property specific access. Its automated daily log module allows the consistent and accurate entry of routine activities with the ability to escalate to a full investigation. The incident reporting module provides detailed case management, including creation, classification, follow-up and report management. Combined with a comprehensive search engine and thumbnail view, individual subject profiles can be sorted and quickly identified. In addition, the platform requires minimal training requirements, as it possesses a quite efficient and simple user interface.

“The benefits of the iTrak solution transform into better efficiency for customers, as centralized shared information enhances productivity, allowing staff to work more effectively,” said Anand Srinivasan. “It also provides seamless communication between different departments and agencies, such as security, surveillance, risk management, legal and safety agencies, which ensures everyone is on the same page and prevents conflicting reports on the same incident.”

iView’s key strategy to target the multiple applications is to provide a centralized, converged and vendor-neutral platform, delivering an easy-to-use interface with intelligent business logic to simplify the end-user experience. The innovative elements permit the iTrak system to gather significant advantages when compared to other market participants.

Based on these achievements, Frost & Sullivan is proud to recognize iView Systems with the 2011 North American New Product Innovation Award in the incident reporting and management systems space. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed an innovative element in a product by leverage leading edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features and benefits of the product as well as the increased return on investment (ROI) it offers customers, which in turn increases customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.

Frost & Sullivan’s Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About iView Systems

iView Systems specializes in the development and deployment of a complete integrated and converged physical security information management (PSIM) reporting solution for security, surveillance and loss prevention environments. iView Systems addresses the needs of multiple industries for a single desktop incident management and reporting system, providing both an incident and subject centric solution. iView's core product (iTrak) was developed with extensive consultation with the security and surveillance marketplace. iView Systems has rapidly attained industry recognition for its unique solutions and now provides incident reporting, dispatch and visitor management platforms and services to the global security marketplace, including the gaming, banking, corporate security and other loss prevention environments. iView Systems is dedicated to maintaining a consultative process with its clients to ensure that all deployments are optimised to meet their specific requirements, through design, configuration, deployment and post deployment project processes. iView Systems is located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visithttp://www.awards.frost.com.

Media Contact:

Mireya Espinoza

P: 210. 247.3870

F: 210.348.1003

mireya.espinoza@frost.com

With Public Sector Violence on the Rise, How do you Get Help when Every Second Counts while Balancing Privacy with Public Safety?

2011-06-03T15:07:00.003-04:00

We can show you how with just the push of a button, you can instantly alert a authorities and open “eyelids” on SITUCAM’s (www.situcon.com) Privacy Protecting Camera System allowing responders to see exactly what is happening. Then get you the help you need, while your privacy is guaranteed at all other times.

With violence on the rise in town buildings across s the United States, Marshfield, MA felt it needed to enhance its conventional 911 System to further ensure employee and public safety. Because of privacy restrictions, likely targets such as the selectmen’s meeting room in the Town Hall were strictly off limits for a traditional video surveillance system.

Marshfield found its answer with SITUCON Systems’ innovative Privacy Protecting Technology. The SITUCAM enclosure system provides mechanical eyelids over the network cameras. In the privacy protecting mode, the eyelids remain closed, making it clear that the cameras are e not in use. In the awareness mode, the eyelids open to o allow the cameras to transmit video and other critical information to 911 dispatchers.

SITUCON’s wireless alert buttons allow town employees to instantly notify police of an incident and automatically initiate recording by the network cameras. Information about the person who pressed the alert button – including their photo, cell phone number and location – are displayed for the dispatcher with the video. Marshfield has also chosen to automatically activate the cameras after-hours, using embedded intelligent video motion detection to deter vandalism or theft.

“This one-of-a-kind system solved our greatest challenge by allowing us to place cameras in sensitive locations where we never c could before,” says Bill Sullivan, Chief of Police for the town of Marshfield.” It also saved us the time and expense of continually monitoring cameras all day long.”

In another installation in Brookline, MA part of one of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) regions. In order to ensure the safety and security of citizens, the federal government funded a camera a system intended to monitor major thoroughfares and evacuation routes throughout the town of Brookline. Not only does Brookline have increased security concerns because it borders a major city, but the Boston area is also regarded as having the strictest privacy standards in the United Shortly after installation, the town became concerned that the safety benefits of these cameras did not outweigh their perceived intrusion on personal freedom and privacy, and voted to take the system down. Faced with this, Brookline struggled to retain the safety and security benefits of the cameras, which had aided police in nearly 80 investigations since their installation, while providing the comfortable environment their community desired. Brookline officials quickly realized that making video available only at specific times was the answer to providing both safety and privacy. SituCon Systems was called upon to deploy its Emergency Awareness Solution.

SITUCON's solution electronically and physically masks camera images at all times other than when camera use is needed due to safety concerns. To guarantee privacy, SITUCAM Privacy Protecting Cameras which are installed at important intersections throughout the town, were deployed.

Now, instead of 24/7 surveillance, Brookline's cameras are only active during high risk periods, such as at night. Brookline now offers its citizens the security and privacy they desire. In the event of an emergency, the Brookline Police Department can remotely activate the cameras using SITUCON's software, which simultaneously sends text messages and email to notify privacy advocates and town officials that cameras are in use.

As Scott Wilder, Technology Director of the Brookline Police Department points out, “SITUCON is the only technology that provides law enforcement with complete real-time video of an incident while protecting community privacy at all other times."

We have discovered applications in Schools, Police Stations, Libraries, Court Houses, Public Works Facilities, IT Rooms, Daycare Centers, Healthcare Centers and Long Term Care Facilities. Every day we discover many other public sector and private sector solutions where privacy is critical as well as liability, safety and security awareness. With SITUCON you can start with a focused program which addresses your immediate needs and build out to include additional areas as needs increase and budgets will allow.

To learn more about the SITUCON solution, designed to go where video surveillance can’t, call James E. McDonald, Government Contracts and Systems Integration Consultant at (508) 453-2731 or drop him an Email at jmcdonald@americanalarm.com.

WHITEPAPER: Best Practices For Integrated Physical Security Capabilities Supporting Massachusetts Document Reference: ITD-SEC-10.1 “Enterprise Physical & Environmental Security Policy”

2011-05-16T13:27:00.000-04:00

After careful review of the Commonwealth of “Massachusetts Enterprise Physical & Environmental Security Policy”, the following Whitepaper was prepared as a response utilizing concepts, best practices and the countermeasures & tools available under contract FAC64 “Security Surveillance and Access Control Systems.”

Physical Security Technology today is all about the network, if you’re not on the network you are probably not working. The physical protection of facilities including the perception of detection of negative human behaviors is the key to effective physical, network security and risk management.

In response to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Enterprise Physical & Environmental Security Policy (Reference # ITD-SEC-10.1 Issued Dated 10-29-2010) issued by the Information Technology Division, this document articulates available physical security and monitoring solutions to meet the requirements that Secretariats and their respective Agency or Contractors facilities must address in defining a policy to implement adequate physical and environmental security controls and to secure and protect information, assets, infrastructure and Information Technology (IT) resources by using solutions provided to these departments under procurement contract Operational Services Division (OSD) contract FAC64.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of American Alarm & Communications, Inc., (AACI). Additionally, neither AACI nor any of its employees makes any warrantee, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process included in this publication. Users of information from this publication assume all liability arising from such use.

According to this policy the Secretariats and their respective Agencies must implement the appropriate combination of controls (administrative, technical, physical) to provide reasonable assurance that security objectives are met. Agencies must achieve compliance with the overall information security goals of the Commonwealth including compliance with laws, regulations, legal agreements, policies and standards to which their technology resources and data, including but not limited to personal information (PI), are subject. This policy encompasses existing technologies existing within each department and the physical security solution technologies themselves since these integrated solutions are also network appliances.

Download the above document to learn more or call 508-453-2731 to discuss you security requirements.

IFSEC 2011 - The Complete Security Event - What's HOT!

2011-05-11T11:11:00.000-04:00

Here is What's HOT!

Assa Abloy's latest innovation - Aperio

On display will be Assa Abloy’s latest innovative locking technology, Aperio, which enables the wireless integration of mechanical locks into existing access control systems, offering a cost effective and simple security upgrade.

If you are a facilities manager or have responsibility for security and have key control problems that are costly and time consuming, then this is the product for you, Assa claims.

Suitable for public and commercial building extensions, Aperio has been designed to upgrade mechanically locked doors and wirelessly connect them to existing online access control systems, with minimal modification to doors and premises.

Bosch Security Systems

Bosch Security Systems has launched a new portfolio of high definition surveillance technologies for applications where HD is preferred as part of an overall CCTV solution.

Bosch is to promote its new products in a series of HD Roadshows at IFSEC on stand five/D90.

Dallmeier presents Panomera

At this year’s IFSEC Dallmeier presents Panomera, which it describes as “a completely new HD camera technology that eclipses all previously known approaches”. Panomera is a novel camera technology which was specifically developed for the comprehensive surveillance of spacious areas, Dallmeier says.

It offers a panoramic overview with simultaneous real-time recording (up to 30 images/s). Panomera delivers highly detailed images even at large distances, which significantly reduces infrastructure requirements, according to the company.

New Gallagher Reader Range

Gallagher, manufacturers of the Cardax FT access and intruder alarms security system, will introduce their new reader range at this year’s IFSEC.

The Gallagher T10, T11 and T12 Readers are attractive card readers which provide fast, secure access by simply passing a card across the face of the unit. Not only are these readers highly functional and durable, they are also designed to work across the spectrum of enterprise installations.

Their overall aesthetic treatment will complement contemporary architectural spaces, materials, hardware and finishes while subtly projecting an identity of security to distinguish it from other products that share wall space, Gallagher claims.

LightSYS new flexible hybrid systems

LightSYS is a new Flexible Hybrid System with advanced IP and GSM/GPRS communication as well as a choice of wired, wireless, and Risco Bus detectors. LightSYS will be featured alongside the ProSYS Integrated Security System and Agility Flexible Wireless Solution.

A new video verification solution will also be launched, which includes a battery powered PIR detector with an integrated camera that provides video verification of events, and remote viewing upon demand.

Mayflex - IFSEC's 'trusted IP advisor'

Mayflex is coming to IFSEC as “a trusted IP advisor”, aiming to help both those new to IP obtain a greater understanding and also to support those already established IP players through their expertise and experience. In Hall 4, Stand C20, Mayflex will be helping anyone who is new to IP by offering basic introductory advice and answering any initial queries.

They will also be showcasing their products and design solutions for those who are already experienced within the market, which includes a range of complementary infrastructure and networking solutions.

IP, hybrid, or analogue? CCTV, access control, or intruder?

However complex or straight forward your requirement maybe, the answer we’re told can be found on Norbain’s stand in hall 5.

Whether you work on the ground or the cloud, or anywhere in between, norbAin’s knowledgeable staff will be on hand to guide you towards the solution best suited to your specification, and of course budget.

Panasonic's new 16 channel NDR

Panasonic will introduce its new 16 channel NDR, the WJNV200, to security professionals at IFSEC 2011. Showcasing a collection of intelligent features, the WJ-NV200 delivers leading edge technology within an adaptive PC-less setup incorporating simple mouse operation.

The ‘analogue-like’ 4-stage set up and intuitive operation makes the WJ-NV200 versatile for a range of public locations and ensures ease of use. The built-in decoder eliminates the need for a PC; reducing the total cost of ownership and removing time and complication from operation.

Samsung City

Samsung's largest ever booth at IFSEC will allow it to demonstrate its Samsung City concept.

Samsung’s new stand in Hall 5, which is over 40% larger than last year’s, will provide an ideal platform to effectively demonstrate the full range of security solutions made up from the company’s latest line-up of IP & network products and other technologies from its CCTV, access control, door entry and intruder detection portfolio.

Education, Education, and yet more Education

The theme for this year’s SANYO stand at IFSEC is ‘Education, Education and yet more Education’.

SANYO want to ensure the pace at which Full HD camera technology is utilised by end-users is not affected by the lack of training by all who are involved in the sales channel. It has therefore introduced, and will be demonstrating at IFSEC, stand C70, Hall 5, an interactive Full HD technology training programme.

This comprises a number of modules tailored to cater for the specific requirements of end-users, consultants, installers/system integrators and distributors. Each module comprehensively covers how to design, install and commission a surveillance system based around Full HD camera technology.

Sony Professional's new high definition CCTV camera

Sony Professional is set to unveil new high definition CCTV cameras at this year’s IFSEC. The company will showcase four new HD / Full HD pan-tilt-zoom cameras. Visitors to Sony’s stand, in Hall 4, will also have the opportunity to see the latest additions to its analogue and Networked Security Recorder (NSR) ranges.

The company is also to launch a range of standard definition cameras aimed at entry-level and mid-range Network Video Recorder markets. The NVR products should bring the option of hybrid and full-IP security solutions to smaller budgets and are ideal for small-scale monitoring applications, Sony says.

TDSi new facial recognition reader

Access control company tdsi is to demonstrate its new facial recognition reader.

Based at stand E30, in Hall 4, TDSi will also be showcasing its EXgarde access and integrated security systems management software, VUgarde IP digital video surveillance solution, MICROgarde networkable controller product and SOLOgarde stand-alone access control system.

The company will also show how the biometric system can be integrated onto existing or planned security and surveillance systems.

Risco's comprehensive security solutions

Risco Group will be exhibiting its comprehensive line of security solutions at stand D10, Hall 4, including several solutions new for the show.

Also on display will be the GT600 Series of control panels, prominent in the UK market. GT600 panels are designed for commercial and institutional installations up to 136 zones.

Winsted launch Ascend console

Technical furniture specialists WinstEd, has claimed to have taken control room console design to new heights with the launch of the new Ascend console, being shown for the first time in the UK at IFSEC.

The Ascend, the latest addition to Winsted’s Prestige Series of consoles, features electric leg lifts offering three programmable height settings enabling operators to adjust the work surface height with the touch of a button for versatility and comfort.

Also on display will be Winsted’s M-View monitor wall, never shown before on UK soil. The M-View is a completely modular viewing solution, which we’re told is suited for any control room environment.

Y3K's latest camera's line up

Y3K will demonstrate its latest camera line up including HD IP Cameras and DVRs from Xvision along with DIY security products and vehicle CCTV solutions from Smart Witness.

Exclusive to this year’s show will be the launch of “the world’s smallest portable WiFi Camera”, the Smart-i. Measuring just 30mm in diameter and offering high quality video and audio, the camera can stream continuously for remote viewing on any wireless enabled device including PCs and Smartphones.

Bomb Dog used by the American Military in Afghanistan

2011-05-10T10:07:00.000-04:00

This video tells a story of a bomb dog used by the American military in Afghanistan. Bomb dogs have been an invaluable asset to US military operations as they are capable of detecting explosives, finding enemy combatants, and chasing down anyone who tries to escape. General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has said of the dogs "The capability they bring to the fight cannot be replicated by man or machine. By all measures of performance, their yield outperforms any asset we have in our industry. Our Army would be remiss if we failed to invest more in this incredibly valuable resource."

Satellite's Facial Rec Spotted Bin Laden in September 2010

2011-05-05T13:22:00.000-04:00

U.S. officials revealed yesterday that facial recognition software honed in on Osama bin Laden from satellite as early as September 2010. The al-Qaeda founder was identified while he was exercising in his Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound, a win that led to Sunday's successful operation.

We now know that the compound had been under surveillance for months prior to that first sighting.

This type of facial recognition wouldn't have been possible only a few years ago. The extreme high-definition image resolution of the satellite's camera, combined with today's advanced facial rec capabilities, enabled officials to ID bin Laden from space--an amazing concept, even in 2011.

ONVIF UP-DATE

2011-04-29T13:48:00.001-04:00

ONVIF, the organization looking to standardize IP-based physical security products showed the standard is growing quickly among vendors at a demonstration in Las Vegas.

ONVIF held a public demonstration of IP-based device interoperability with more than two dozen network video terminal (NVTs) and network video clients (NVC) gathered together in a ballroom at the Sands Convention Center during the ISC West 2011 trade show. According to Jonas Andersson, chairman of ONVIF’s steering committee and director of business development and global sales at Axis Communications, “We wanted to show that it’s working,” he said in an interview during the event. ONVIF is the leading global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products. Anderson said there are currently more than 700 products available in the market that conform to the ONVIF specification. “As of the end of March, there are more than 700 and we’ve been adding almost 100 per month” in the last few months, said Andersson.

ONVIF membership has grown to more than 280 companies, according to the organization. The recently-expanded specification now includes video storage, analytics and a pending addition of physical access control, with the release of the ONVIF Core Specification 2.0 to encompass video storage, display devices, video analytics and other areas, ONVIF said it is getting closer to its goal of providing a global open network interface standard for physical security equipment. The expansion of the scope to include physical access control systems is slated for release in 2011, it said.

The event was ONVIF’s fourth interoperability showcase and continues the group’s tradition of providing an open forum during major security industry events to foster communication with companies actively involved in the development and implementation of the ONVIF specification and provide education about standards, it said. Companies taking part in the demonstration include network video firms such as CNB Technology, Hikvision, Bosch Security Systems, GVI Security, LG Electronics, Siemens, Axis Communications, Sony and several others. “The rapid adoption rate of the ONVIF specification in the security industry has proved that ONVIF is becoming the de facto standard in the market,” said Andersson. “End users, integrators and consultants are beginning to embrace the ONVIF specification as a critical tool in the design of today’s network video surveillance systems.”

One of the demonstration participants, thermal imaging systems maker FLIR, demonstrated it could connect its systems with a number of NVCs in the demonstration room. A FLIR spokesman said the process of conforming to the ONVIF standards allows the company to validate the interoperability of its products more quickly, resulting in faster incorporation by systems integrators.

Data Center Best Practices for Integrated Physical Security

2011-04-22T12:35:00.002-04:00

Just finished a White-paper titled "Data Center Best Practices for Integrated Physical Security Technology Solutions and SAS 70 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7) Compliance" It’s time to get physical—as in physically protecting a data center and all of its assets. The need for ironclad virtual security measures, such as managed firewalls, is well known. Yet physical security is often placed on the back
burner, largely forgotten about until an unauthorized party manages to break into or sneak onto a site and steals or vandalizes systems. Read more below...

Protect Your Home and Family as well as Your Department from Physical Security Threats

2011-04-20T10:40:00.001-04:00

As a contracted provider of Physical Security Solutions for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under contract FAC64, I wanted to answer physical security questions you may have on your mind. I specialize in helping departments that don't have a specialized security manager’s on staff. I do this by assisting non-security professionals create and operate effective protection programs that allow safeguards to be managed without having a dedicated physical security professional. Today’s security technologies offer fantastic tools to deter a variety of threats.

I recently had a conversation with Security Professionals within the Commonwealth. In that conversation I became aware that security technologies, policies and procedures are primarily focused on facilities and not on the personal residences of our elected and appointed officials. I was asking these questions because I was aware of protection policies that were addressed back in 2007 at the federal level, originally concerning the Federal Judiciary. I have some ideas that you may want to consider since the January 8^th 2011 event in Tucson, AZ brought to the forefront the clear and present danger a person with no concern for themselves or others can cause.

I am available to individually meet and discuss your individual concerns, in the mean time I would suggest some policies and procedures that you may want to consider. I have included the following checklist to introduce some reasonable ideas and enhancements to improve basic safety:

· A professional physical security review of key person’s home including their home security alarm system (if available).

· The alarm should be monitored (or installed) and a clear escalation process for a State Police and Local Law Enforcement enhanced priority response, such as: “crime in progress.” with follow-up.

· Make sure all keys and codes are protected and not available to non-family members. (There are other options to provide limited access to vendors, cleaning services, etc.)

· Do not put key person’s name or title outside their residence or in their mailbox.

· Do not put key person’s home address on any public records or public accessible records. (Consider holding title to real and other property in trust.)

· Change key person’s mailing address to key person’s work address and use a post office box or business-address telephone number on their personal checks.

· Apply for confidentiality on driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations owned or leased by key person, spouse, and children from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) thru the Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) administered by the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

· Make sure their telephone number is unpublished and unlisted.

· Do not give out identifying information such as home address or telephone number unless absolutely necessary or required for governmental purposes.

· Ensure that key person’s home address and telephone numbers are not listed on Web sites other than those secured by government agencies.

These are just a few ideas; threats to public officials can come in many different forms: in writing, by telephone, verbally through an informant or a third party, or through suspicious activity. Threats and inappropriate communications can be anything that harasses or makes ominous or unsettling overtures of an improper nature and can include inappropriate pictures drawings or trespassing. Any received threats should always be reported immediately, even if they appear minor or inconsequential. Law enforcement should determine whether a threat is credible and warrants investigation.

Please call my direct line at (508) 453-2731 if I can be of service to you and help you improve your personal security. I appreciate and look forward to the opportunity to meet and work with you, as I continue to provide value and serve the unique needs of public-sector clients, continuing our track record of strong service, safety and support.

About American Alarm and Communications, Inc.,

AACI is in a unique position to improve personal protection of key individuals as a Massachusetts based Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Listed, and federally recognized 24-hour Security Command Center and Central Station. Every day we manage a full range of security, communication and escalation procedures specifically designed for our key customers. We are an independent, family-run business with three offices throughout Massachusetts. Our founders, three engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, have worked to bring the benefits of new technology and solutions to our customers. Though we have grown over the years, our mission has remained the same: to provide the best possible security technology and customer service to protect homes and businesses across Massachusetts. www.americanalarm.com

Avigilon announced the introduction of Avigilon Control Center Mobile (ACC Mobile)

2011-04-11T10:28:00.000-04:00

Last week at ISC WEST Avigilon, the performance and value leader in high definition (HD) and megapixel video surveillance systems, today announced the introduction of Avigilon Control Center Mobile (ACC Mobile), a new application that enables security professionals to connect to the Avigilon Control Center Network Video Management Software (NVMS) platform over any IP wireless network with Apple devices including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Commercially available in June 2011, ACC Mobile enables operators to remotely view live and recorded surveillance video to improve response times to incidents from any location.

“With increasingly demanding security requirements, security personnel are regularly called to the field to respond to incidents and require remote access to their systems outside of regular business hours to review or verify incidents,” said Rick Ramsay, product manager at Avigilon. “By providing remote access to HD surveillance video, ACC Mobile gives security professionals the tools they need to efficiently secure the entire site, expediting response times and ensuring investigative success.”

Extending the award-winning High Definition Stream Management (HDSM) technology of Avigilon Control Center, ACC Mobile is designed to efficiently support HD and megapixel images and detail up to 16 MP. Leveraging the Avigilon Control Center gateway web service, ACC Mobile can be easily connected to an unlimited number of servers and cameras, expanding access to video surveillance data for greater coverage and remote monitoring.

Avigilon Control Center 4.8 Network Video Management Software

The latest version of the award-winning enterprise-class NVMS platform, Avigilon Control Center 4.8 captures, transmits, manages, stores, archives, plays back, and exports HD video while efficiently handling bandwidth and storage. New features include an extended HD Point-of-Sale transaction engine for easier display and management of transaction data; audio output functionality to facilitate two-way audio for enhanced security; a gateway web service to enable remote connection; and expanded third-party camera and access control integrations for greater interoperability and a more unified approach to security.

About Avigilon

Avigilon designs, manufactures, and markets award-winning HD surveillance systems. The performance and value leader, Avigilon’s solutions protect and monitor thousands of customer sites in more than 60 countries around the world. Avigilon Control Center, the world’s first open HD Network Video Management Software platform, and megapixel cameras deliver full situational awareness and actionable image detail. Campuses, transportation systems, healthcare providers, public venues, infrastructure, and manufacturing sites with security, safety validation, and compliance requirements all benefit from reduced investigation time and more successful investigations by immediately producing indisputable video evidence. Avigilon earned Frost & Sullivan’s HD Surveillance Company of the Year award in 2009, the Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation in 2010, and was ranked among the top five fastest growing technology companies in Canada in the 2010 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 ranking. For further information, please visit www.avigilon.com.

Ocularis V2.0 by OnSSI

2011-04-06T11:29:00.002-04:00

Ocularis allows you to centrally manage all the components of your physical security information system, including:

Access control
Fire alarms
Video analytics
Radiation detection
Loss prevention systems
Point of sale
Elevator systems
Building management
Heating, Ventilation & Air-Conditioning system
Facility automation

Ocularis is designed to work best in multi-site, multi-server environments and it offers a number of key tools that improve how security issues are handled. See this 2.0 video/demo.

Recently OnSSI, announced integration of their highly acclaimed Ocularis software platform with video analytics functionality provided by Mate Intelligent Video, a MangoDSP company.

The Mate intelligent video system can provide alarms in Ocularis related to various modes of detection. This includes directional motion such as a boundary crossing or virtual path crossing detection; a static object like a stopped vehicle or object left behind; or an object removed, which helps to prevent vehicle theft, stock shrinkage or to protect a valuable object. The system can also combine multiple video analytics events using rules dependency to trigger an alarm and to minimize false alarms; for example, at the entrance of an office building, Path Detection followed by Loitering would trigger an alarm only when the loitering is done by a person coming from outside and would filter out the people from the building who go outside. Mate has also developed a number of advanced and proprietary video surveillance technologies such as behavior tracking, people and car counting and tailgating detection.

"Integration of the Mate video analytics product expands the functionality of Ocularis and provides customers an additional choice of video analytics systems to work with Ocularis," said Gadi Piran, President and Chief Technology Officer, OnSSI. "Video analytics work hand-in-hand with Ocularis to control the amount of information an operator has to deal with and to involve operator response only in situations that require his or her attention. Combined with Ocularis, Mate video analytics can prioritize alarms requiring response, improve system functionality, make systems more efficient and enable real-time reaction to incidents."

Complementing Mate’s intelligent video capabilities are features of Ocularis such as instant investigation during live monitoring, open platform support for hundreds of camera models, centralized user rights management and map navigation with active camera previews. Advanced video investigation tools, including the Time Slicer and Kinetic Motion Timeline, are also included in Ocularis, which is scalable for an unlimited number of cameras and servers at multiple sites with single-camera incremental licensing, and is bundled with unlimited installs of Ocularis Client software.

Mate Intelligent Video filters video information to display events of interest and automates video surveillance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The ability to react in real time boosts proactive surveillance and improves security operations. Other applications include perimeter security, monitoring cash register lines or airport check-in queues and sending an alarm when a large crowd of people gathers.

"Mate intelligent video enhances the benefits of video management software such as Ocularis by monitoring and automating the video content an operator sees," said Daniel Peled, EVP Sales, Mango DSP, Inc. "Ocularis is a user-friendly system that provides operators with helpful tools to manage even large numbers of camera feeds, and Mate video analytics works to make those video systems even more efficient and effective." GOTO www.ONSSI.com for more information.

New Intelligent Risk Mitigation Security Solutions

2011-04-06T11:05:00.000-04:00

Cisco announced a series of safety and security product innovations powered by A Medianet architecture to help cities, enterprises, small businesses and partners transform the way they protect people, property and critical infrastructure. Today's announcement introduces enhancements to several Cisco services designed to help customers transition to IP-based safety and security systems. These include:

Updates to the Cisco Physical Access Manager, Cisco's application for managing integrated security operations on an IP network. It integrates hardware such as door readers, locks and biometric devices on campus environments and office buildings, providing a platform for integration with other IT systems.
Enhancements to the Cisco IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS), Cisco's complete IP-based dispatch and incident response solution.
A Network Readiness Assessment service for IP Video Surveillance that will help Cisco channel partners to evaluate and plan their customers' network capabilities to support standard and high-definition video surveillance solutions.

The integrated safety and security solution not only offers video surveillance capabilities but also takes advantage of integration with A Medianet network-based services to support end-to-end video quality while automating many aspects of configuration and deployment.

Cisco Physical Access Manager 1.3

Cisco Physical Access Manager now delivers enhanced local survivability for network-based access control by helping to ensure that if a system fails, access identity and operations still function effectively. For example, an improved fault tolerant anti-passback feature works even in the event of a network outage to help ensure that premises maintain a high degree of security under uncertain conditions.

The solution allows plug-and-play A Medianet-enabled cameras to be used as motion-detection sensors. This enables customers to consolidate alarm management procedures, thereby lowering the cost of security operations.

Government and enterprise customers can reduce the fraudulent duplication of access cards and identity credentials through support for new federal identity standards such as FIPS-201 and HSPD-12.

For global customers, the Cisco Physical Access Manager 1.3 desktop client provides the ability to display menus and other text in multiple languages.

Cisco IP Interoperability and Communications System (IPICS)

Cisco IPICS is a complete IP-based dispatch and incidence-response solution enabling rapid, reliable communication using whatever desktop or mobile device is at hand to provide public safety personnel with continuous, real-time communication as well as streaming video.

Cisco demonstrated solutions on IPICS mobile platforms, including Android, with future support planned for the Cisco CiusTM tablet. IPICS now includes expanded operating system support for Windows 7, as well as for iOS 4 devices, including the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

The latest generation of routers, including the Cisco Integrated Services Router G2 and router media service gateway, are now supported, as well as all types of radios and future mobile and broadband networks, including narrowband and 4G / Long-Term Evolution (LTE).

Cisco also today announced the Cisco IPICS Video Dispatch Starter Kit, a turn-key package that contains all the hardware and software necessary to transform the Cisco Video Surveillance system into a collaboration solution enabling dynamic real-time two-way video sharing between the operations center and mobile users.

IP Video Surveillance Network Readiness Assessment Service

Prior to video deployments, Cisco is helping customers remediate any network design or capacity issues by making training, knowledge and tools available today to Cisco Authorized Technology Provider (ATP) Partners to analyze, inventory and assess customer networks.

The goal in assessing the network is to ensure the quality of experience of the video surveillance deployment to meet the safety, security and loss-prevention needs of the business and organization.

Cisco IP Service Level Agreement Suite - Video Operation

To help customers simulate planned video traffic loads, Cisco also introduced Video Operation as part of its Cisco IP Service Level Agreement suite. This Cisco IOS Software feature for the Cisco Catalyst 3000 Series Switches enables video surveillance, Cisco TelePresence or IPTV traffic to be simulated using profiles prior to full deployment and to troubleshoot video performance in existing networks.

Supporting Quotes

Bill Stuntz, vice president and general manager, Physical Security business unit, Cisco, said: "The combination of new security threats, regulatory compliance mandates, and the need to protect critical assets has driven the demand for a more efficient use of physical security technologies powered by next-generation services. The introduction of new solutions and network assessments will enable our customers to meet changing safety and security needs while improving flexibility and reliability."

Debbie White, manager of Landside Operations, Auckland Airport, said: "Auckland is the largest airport in New Zealand, serving 13 million passengers annually, so safety and security are paramount to our operations. Working with Cisco enabled us to provide the extra level of functionality, flexibility and efficiency required to support changing infrastructure and traveler needs as we continue to grow."

Rocco DelMonaco Jr., vice president for University Safety, Georgetown University, said: "The Cisco physical security solution deployed at Georgetown University has exceeded the requirements and challenges of helping to protect and secure a campus with nearly 15,000 students and thousands of faculty and staff."

André Bourget, chief security officer, canton Vaud, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, said: "Working with Cisco, canton Vaud has evolved its IT and networking infrastructure to provide superior service and protection to all of its constituents, including the police, the department of Justice and open-desk services to citizens. The open, scalable solution helps to enable a high level of integrity, security and efficiency and provides opportunities for expansion in the future to meet the control, access and video protection needs of the canton's 2,000 government buildings."

Keske Toyofuku, chief information officerforFirst Wind, said: "Operating wind farms in remote locations makes ensuring safety and security a challenging problem. To help First Wind efficiently manage these risks, we turned to Cisco to provide a comprehensive and fully integrated system. Prior to installing our Cisco complete video surveillance and physical access control system, video and access control were not fully integrated and difficult to manage. With the deployment of Cisco Video Surveillance Operations Manager as well as Cisco Physical Access Manager for our wind farm facilities, we have both simplified and improved access control and video surveillance."

Jeff Woodward, senior manager, Panduit Global Environmental Health and Safety, said: "By centralizing security operations from our Unified Operations Center, we should achieve an annual estimated saving of $653,000 and a 1.5-year payback period while enabling our security personnel to monitor and control video surveillance cameras and building access controls for all global offices over a WAN."

Panduit collaborated with Cisco, N2N Secure, and IPVision on a connected building design for its new World Headquarters building which combines security and network operations functions in a single Unified Operations Center. The project integrates state-of-the-art security systems, incorporating video surveillance, physical access controls, analytics software, and interoperable communications.

Supporting Resources:

Auckland International Airport Enhances Safety, Communications, Response: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/videos/auckland_020209.html

Joel King's ISC West Panel Discussion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qkckNkzcQ8

Cisco Physical Access Manager 1.3 data sheet: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/vpndevc/ps6918/ps9674/ps9688/datasheet_C78-464244.html

Cisco IPICS 4.0.2 Bulletin: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps6712/ps6718/product_bulletin_c25-641424.html

Cisco IPICS Video Dispatch Starter kit: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps6712/ps6718/product_bulletin_c25-617212.html

Network Readiness for IP Video Surveillance solution brief http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/vpndevc/ps6918/ps9145/ps9152/solution_brief_c11-652089.pdf

Network Readiness Assessment for Video Surveillance: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Video/IPVS/IPVS_Network_Assessment.html

DesignZone for IP Video Surveillance: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/ns340/ns414/ns742/ns819/landing_vid_surveillance.html

To learn more, visit Cisco Physical Security: www.cisco.com/go/physec

Cisco Video Surveillance Solution for Small Businesses: www.cisco.com/go/SmallBusiness

KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR HOME OR SMALL BUSINESS FROM ANYWHERE YOU ARE

2011-04-01T13:57:00.000-04:00

Now you can install reliable and economical monitoring solution that allows you to monitor video on just about anything you like. American Alarm’s iSee Video system enables you to view live video feed of your home or business from any web-enabled computer or smart phone.

Use iSee Video to:

See who’s at your door in your driveway or around your yard.
Monitor for intruders and help solve burglaries.
Monitor nannies, babysitters and caregivers.
Receive notifications when children get home and view video to see who might be with them.
Monitor pet’s behavior.
Check in on second homes.
Monitor house or pool cleaning services.
Monitor second homes or vacation homes.
Monitor your small business and employees.
Enable friends and relatives to view the video feed on special occasions remotely.
And much, much more.

Alerts are sent automatically to your e-mail or phone, video clips will show you what just happened so you can decide if you need to view live or take additional action. We can also integrate to your security system to minimize false alarms. View openings and closings, temperature changes, deliveries, etc. Optional recording up to 30 days of continuous video playback of up to 6 cameras or devices. ISee Video has remote Pan Tilt capabilities.

System Costs:

ISee Wi-Fi Video, Starter Kit: $450
Monthly Server Charge: $9

Goals of A Physical Security Consultant

2011-03-26T11:07:00.001-04:00

As a Physical Security and Integrated Systems Consultant, I help businesses to better manage their security risks, reduce losses, and provide a safe and secure workplace for your employees. To implement security strategies that is aligned with your organization's mission and values that support rather than interferes with the operation of your business. As a resource for state and local governments, corporations and high net worth individuals, I always advise you based on my experience and your goals. Some of those recent goals are:

Find the right balance between security and convenience.
Provide security in a way that respects the unique culture of your organization.
Make employees, customers, and guests feel safer and more secure.
Keep from spending money on security equipment that won’t really solve your problems.
Reduce ongoing security operating costs by using doing more with less.
Have your security program add value to your organization's bottom line.

I specialize in helping companies and organizations that don't have a security department or security manager and for organizations that do have a security or asset protection department, I provide an objective outside look at the way that security is presently managed, as well as provide services that can inform on new technologies that could supplement and enhance the capabilities of your in-house management team.

In future posts I will discuss some experiences that I have had in providing these services over the years. If you have any questions or to learn more feel free to email me anytime at jmcdonald@AmericanAlarm.com.

A Burglar Alarm Is An Investment In Your Security

2011-03-24T22:49:00.002-04:00

People today agree that the world we now live in is a lot different from that which our parents and grandparents lived in. Statistics today show that a burglary now occurs every 14 seconds. So why wait until after your home has been robbed to get a security system installed? The security systems now available are much more advanced and sophisticated compared to those available a few years back. All the systems today are now designed to help secure your home against any intrusion. Unfortunately as home security systems have advanced, so have the methods that burglars use in order to gain access to a property. Just having chains or padlocks on your property, or even a very basic burglar alarm, is not sufficient to deter a would-be burglar.

However, by investing in a good alarm system, you will not have only peace of mind but also know that you have taken measures to ensure that your property and your family are secure. It is best if you choose a system that will protect both you, your family and home at all times of the day. It should not matter whether you are in it or away on vacation. By installing a good system within your home, you know that you will sleep better at night because any potential intruders will see that you have a system in place and are likely to move on to more vulnerable property than yours. Not only is having a system practical but it can also be extremely cost effective. Many insurance companies will provide those homeowners who have an alarm system installed on their property with a discount on their premiums.

If you are looking for more information on a burglar alarm, just ask and I provide you with everything you need to know in regards to the various options now available. So don’t be caught without protection. Get a burglar alarm installed today.

Guy Kawasaki shares some tips from his new book, "Enchantment"

2011-03-22T20:21:00.000-04:00

Guy Kawasaki shares some tips from his new book, "Enchantment," on how to get customers excited about a product. His three pillars of enchantment for business include: likability, trustworthiness, and a great cause. He says that right now marketers are focused on engagement, and he wants to change the conversation to enchantment.

Experience Certainty with a Physical Security Assessment Survey

2011-03-20T21:14:00.000-04:00

Physical security is the most fundamental aspect of protection. It is the use of physical controls to protect the premises, buildings, site facilities, people and other assets belonging to your company. In this day and age, you cannot afford not to have a security evaluation performed on your property to protect yourself against intrusion into your company, frivolous lawsuits interruption of normal business operations or damage to your business reputation.
Many of my clients wish to periodically reexamine the way that they provide security at their facilities. The desire to do this may be triggered by a recent security incident, rapid growth of the organization, or a change in management philosophy. In many cases, there is a desire to reduce costs or to see how well the organization’s present security program compares with that of its peers.

A formal Security Survey/Assessment is an excellent way to evaluate an existing security program. During a Security Survey/Assessment, all aspects of the security program are examined, any weaknesses are identified, and suggestions for improvements are made. In addition, opportunities where costs can be reduced or where security operations can be made more efficient are identified. My assessments can be very comprehensive or a simple surveillance survey. The following discusses my more comprehensive version, however I can scale the survey to your needs.

My Survey/Assessment has been used to successfully conduct 100’s assessments at wide variety of different types of corporate, institutional, and governmental facilities over the past thirty years. This assessment process is constantly evolving, allowing me to take advantage of lessons learned from previous assessments, and to keep up with the latest security best practices.

The Security Assessment uses a structured, formal analysis process that allows me to develop a deep understanding of your business, operating conditions, corporate culture, and unique security requirements.
While client involvement is always crucial to success, my job as a consultant is to facilitate the assessment every step of the way, keeping the project on track, and making sure that all important elements are examined.

The Security Assessment is custom tailored for each project, but typically includes the following tasks:

• Risk Identification
• Threat Assessment
• Review of Site and Facility Security
• Review degree of compliance with recognized CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) principals
• Review of Facility Operating Procedures
• Review of Regulatory Requirements
• Review of Physical Security Systems
• Review of Security Policies and Procedures
• Review of Security Management
• Review of Security Personnel
• Evaluation of Present Security Program and Identification of Weaknesses
• Development of Recommendations for Security Improvements
• Identification of Short-Term and Long-Term Costs
• Prioritization of Recommendations and Development of Implementation Plan
• Preparation of Written Security Assessment Report

The Security Assessment Process
So, what can you expect when I conduct a Security Assessment at your facility?

The following is a brief outline of the typical assessment process:

Prior to coming to your site, we will request a number of documents for my teams use during the assessment. These typically include plans of the site and buildings, copies of any existing security policies and procedures, samples of various types of forms, company telephone directory, employee handbook, and other similar items. I only want what you already have; if there is something on our request list that is not available, it is not a problem.
I will work with you to identify the people within your organization that we would like to interview. The goal is to get a good cross-representation of all of the major operating and support departments within your organization. Typically, this would include members of senior management (CEO, CFO, CIO, etc.), department heads, and people who occupy roles which are directly related to security, such as building receptionist’s, security officers, and shipping/receiving personnel. The typical interview session lasts between 30 and 45 minutes.
When I first arrive on site, I will start by conducting an in-depth interview with the person who presently serves as “security manager” for the facility. This may be an actual security manager, or may be the facilities manager or other person who manages the security function for the organization. This interview session covers a lot of details, and typically takes 2 to 3 hours. After this interview, we ask this person to give us a brief guided tour of the facility.
I then begin conducting individual interview sessions with each of the employees identified in Step #2 above. Depending on the size of the organization, this process could take one, two, or more days.
At the conclusion of the interviews, I will conduct detailed inspections of certain areas of the facility and site. I may also spend extended periods of time observing certain areas of your facility, such as the building lobby or shipping/receiving loading docks, etc.
I will return at night with our light meter to take lighting measurements in your parking lots and other areas of the site. I will also take advantage of this opportunity to observe how your facility operates at night, and to get a general feel for the neighborhood during the hours of darkness.
At the conclusion of the visit to your site, I will meet with you to give you an update on our progress and to discuss the next steps in the process. At this point it may be possible to offer some preliminary findings and recommendations, but in most cases, we will need time to process and analyze the data gathered before I can give you any meaningful guidance.
I then return to our offices and begin, with my team, our formal Security Assessment process. During this process, we identify your critical assets, analyze potential threats, review loss history, study crime forecasts for your site, evaluate existing security measures, and identify potential weaknesses and areas for improvements. At the conclusion of this process, we begin to write the Security Assessment Report. It normally takes between two and three weeks from the time we complete our site visit to the time when we complete our draft report.
While we are preparing the report, we often uncover things that require further investigation and study. In some cases, this may require that we return to the site to conduct additional interviews or to examine certain things more closely. We may also request certain additional documents or other information that is available from within your organization.
When the draft Security Assessment Report is completed, I will send it to you for review. After you have had an opportunity to digest the document, I will meet with you in person or via teleconference to review the report in detail and respond to any of your questions or comments.
After I have obtained your input, we will prepare a final Security Assessment Report that incorporates your comments. If desired, I can make a formal presentation of the Security Assessment Report to your senior management team or others.
At the conclusion of the assessment process, I remain available to assist you with implementation of the recommendations contained within the report. This can include identifying vendors and sources of products and services, reviewing proposals, developing security policies and procedures, providing training, and assisting in other ways.

To learn more about my process CLICK HERE or contact me by e-mail at jmcdonald@americanalarm.com or call me directly at 508-453-2731.

Erin Go Bragh

2011-03-17T08:03:00.001-04:00

Wishing you a rainbow for sunlight after showers,

Miles and miles of Irish smiles for golden happy hours,

Shamrocks at your doorway for luck and Laughter too,

And a host of friends the never ends

Each day your whole life through!

May the Love and Protection

Saint Patrick can give

Be yours in abundance

As long as you live.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

BE SAFE

Benefits of Avigilon IP video surveillance systems go far beyond better security.

2011-03-15T16:04:00.003-04:00

Avignon (Pronunciation: a-vigil-on)

Definition: To be perpetually alert and watchful.

Avigilon Control Center, with High Definition Stream Management, is a network video management solution that delivers full situation awareness and indisputable detail, leading to faster response times, reduced investigation times and superior overall protection. Available as standalone software or pre-installed and configured on an Avigilon NVR, the Avigilon Control Center is a secure distributed network platform with enterprise- class reliability for capturing, managing and storing high-definition multi-megapixel surveillance video while efficiently managing bandwidth and storage.

The industry’s first high-resolution performance digital surveillance system comes from Avigilon. It comprises high-sensitivity cameras to capture images in real-time. This system transmits images on Gigabit Ethernet for ten times faster image streaming. It uses lossless compression techniques for image capture and recording, ensuring the highest quality images possible. Lower operating costs whiles improving customer service and response time to critical events. Consider the following immediate advantages:

Direct cost savings

Guard labor
Lower shrinkage
Better customer service
Lower operations or site maintenance costs

Faster, correct response to problems on site

More effective response by emergency personnel in a true emergency
Fewer accidents & false accident claims
Effective identification and prosecution of criminals
Lower employee turnover

The advances in IP (Internet Protocol) based digital surveillance over older analog systems are considerable. Advanced graphic mapping interface enables operators to layout cameras and servers on an imported map for easy navigation of large surveillance systems. Maps can be layered and nested allowing easy navigation through satellite maps, multi-story buildings and very large areas and interfaced with other systems such as access control.

IP video surveillance brings many new benefits and capabilities to video surveillance. These include everything from easier operation, less expensive installation and better image quality to automation and improved cost effectiveness. One of the most remarkable things about IP video surveillance is the intelligence of the cameras. Video analytics enables them to be programmed to recognize certain types of activities and issue alerts to security staff. What’s more, by installing or transitioning to IP video surveillance, hospitals, schools, public sector entities and colleges can all significantly improve their security operations and assure employees, patients, students, parents, teachers and tax payers that appropriate measures are in place to ensure their safety.

Direct cost savings due to less wiring

Cameras can be connected and powered by Power over Ethernet (PoE), a technology that enables power to be provided to a camera using the same cable used for network connection. PoE eliminates the need for power outlets at the camera locations and enables easier application of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to ensure 24 hours a day, 7 days a week operation.

Direct cost savings due to less maintenance

Less cable to manage and upkeep.
(PoE) offers less points of failure and decreases cable and power outlet usage
Less moving parts due to pixel density offering software Pan, Tilt, Zoom(PTZ) while creating greater situational awareness maximizing evidentiary video.

Far longer recording times

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) standardized on network server technology.
Servers using RAID protect your data with recovery methods.
Hot swappable drive options ensure lowest possible down time.

Far higher resolution

A megapixel digital camera has 32-times the resolution of an average analog camera.
Higher reliability and ease-of-use.
Multiple cameras can use the same cable.

Changing camera placement is simple—just remove and plug into another network jack.

Cameras can be placed almost anywhere using cost-efficient standard wireless technologies.
Easier to expand system in the future.
IP video surveillance systems scale easily from one to thousands of cameras in increments of a single camera.
Full control of private or public web access.
Live video can be accessed via desktop computer, laptop, PDA and even cellular phones Sophisticated software analytics provides automatic rule-based alerts
Receive these alerts via email, txt, etc.
Integration with other IT systems and services

About Avigilon

Avigilon designs, manufactures and markets award-winning high definition (HD) surveillance systems. Avigilon designs, manufactures, and markets award-winning HD surveillance systems. The performance and value leader, Avigilon’s solutions protect and monitor thousands of customer sites in more than 60 countries around the world. Avigilon Control Center, the world’s first open HD Network Video Management Software platform, and megapixel cameras deliver full situational awareness and actionable image detail. Campuses, transportation systems, healthcare providers, public venues, infrastructure, and manufacturing sites with security, safety validation, and compliance requirements all benefit from reduced investigation time and more successful investigations by immediately producing indisputable video evidence. Avigilon earned Frost & Sullivan’s HD Surveillance Company of the Year award in 2009 and the Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation in 2010.

To learn more and receive a demonstration or trial of this technology contact me anytime at jmcdonald@americanalarm.com.

Hospital Critical Communication over IP (CCoIP) with STENTOFON

2011-03-15T11:36:00.004-04:00

I spent some time with STENTOFON last week on a public safety project I am working on and was very impressed with their IP audio technology and the new IP solutions that will be released at ISC West in April. I am sure many of you are familiar with this solution because of their chemical-resistant stations that have an anti-bacterial surface and are specially designed for hospital operating rooms and other clean areas. To meet the requirements of these environments, the stations provide loud-speaking, hands free communication from any location in the room. Speaking hands free is a great boon to healthcare personnel as it allows them to speak and listen even while occupied with other tasks. If not here is some more information about the company and the solutions.

STENTOFON Critical Communications over IP or (CCoIP®) has a large high contrast displays with backlight for exceptional readability. Due to its IP functionality, these stations have no geographical limitations and offer remote software upgrades, configuration and monitoring.

In the reception areas which are a vital information point for visitors, patients and staff. There can be several of these in large hospitals and are important communication hubs in the building. The reception informs the doctor when a new patient has arrived. It also provides information to family and friends of the patient. In case of an emergency, the reception has to be able to get hold of the right people as soon as possible, and if necessary, broadcast messages throughout the hospital.

STENTOFON offers products that are particularly suited to these kinds of tasks. Their Control Room Master stations can be extended with up to 100 direct access keys and integrated with PA equipment, wireless DECT phones, cell phones, pagers, and radio. The station is available both in analogue and IP versions and can be equipped with a gooseneck microphone and a handset or in a Softclient version.

Help points

Help and/or emergency points are integral to any critical communication system in hospitals. They are usually installed throughout the corridors, the emergency room, the car park, or at the entrance, etc. Help or assistance is just one button push away and calls can be placed directly to the security desk. CCTV cameras can be automatically triggered when a corresponding help point is used so the guards can also see what is going on.

The STENTOFON analogue and IP Substations are typically used as communication, information or emergency points, and offer the following features:

Priority of call
Two-way, hands free (IP) communication
High Power Lamp/Strobe flashes when activated for emergencies
Connection to external IP video camera
Superb wideband audio quality
Remote software upgrade, configuration and monitoring
Tamper alarm for additional system security

Additionally, your security guards may need to ensure the safety of the staff and patients and to prevent the theft of expensive equipment. STENTOFON Control Room Master Station proves invaluable as it allows the guards to address the PA system in case of an emergency.

Restricted areas

There are numerous restricted areas in hospitals that need to be monitored closely. A hospital relies on an advanced access control system to manage these areas. STENTOFON equipment can be easily integrated with the access control system. Restricted entrances to the hospitals are provided with intercom stations for extra security.

Parking facilities

The same solution can be used in the parking facility. Big hospitals usually have several parking facilities for visitors and staff. In order to manage all these, a smart, interactive parking solution is needed. STENTOFON gives a voice to the parking facility with the installation of emergency stanchions, help points, etc.

CCoIP on a backwards compatible system

When STENTOFON introduces new technologies into the market, they will always make sure that these new technologies are compatible with the older systems. CCoIP, or Critical communication over IP, is a concept that stands for a communication system running only on the IP standard. Our latest intercom stations are entirely IP based which means they support power over Ethernet and use the LAN to connect the server.

Their AlphaCom server supports IP technology but can nevertheless integrate with old intercom products such as TouchLine and Ringmaster. They offer a wide range of intercom stations based on either analog or IP technology.

Audio quality

Their stations offer the highest audio quality available in intercom. Their IP stations go up to 7 kHz and our analog stations can go twice as high.

Distance is no longer an issue

Thanks to IP, exchanges located all over a wide area can be connected through fiber optics, coax or even the internet, this technology is called AlphaNet. The AlphaCom exchange has a wide of monitoring and logging features such as (Syslog, Web, SMTP, SMS…) all these features can be set up remotely and crucial logging information is distributed in a matter of seconds to anyone who needs to receive this info, regardless of the distance.

Softclient

The STENTOFON Softclient, the software that will turn your PC into a STENTOFON intercom. Access a wide range of critical communication services, including intercom, public address, radio and telephony. The STENTOFON Softclient can be operated with mouse, from the PC keyboard and with touch screens.

The STENTOFON Softclient supports all features of the AlphaCom servers. It supports HD Voice and Active Noise cancellation.

Some typical areas to use the Softclient are:

Control room application integrating intercom
Reception services handling door calls
People on the move wanting access to the AlphaCom XE services via their laptop

I found this solution an excellent situational awareness tool for management in an emergency and for every day secure communications.

Demonstration

To have a demonstration of this technology or to learn more about STENTOFON, just drop me an email or call me at (508) 453-2731.

Comprehensive Massachusetts Emergency Link List

2011-03-13T13:57:00.000-04:00

National Agencies & Organizations:

American Red Cross (ARC):

http://www.redcross.org/

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT):

https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/

http://www.cert-la.com/index.shtml

Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC):

http://www.emacweb.org/

Emergency Management Accreditations Program (EMAP):

http://www.emaponline.org/

Emergency Management (EM):

http://em.nemaweb.org/

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):

http://www.fema.gov/

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC):

http://www.medicalreservecorps.gov/HomePage

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA):

http://nemaweb.org/

Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)

http://www.defenselink.mil/osd/

Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES):

http://www.usraces.org/

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Agencies and Organizations

Department of Fire Services (Massachusetts):

http://www.mass.gov/dfs

Massachusetts Association of Emergency Management Professional (MAEMP):

http://www.maemp.org/

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA):

http://www.mass.gov/mema

Massachusetts Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT):

DMAT-1: Boston: http://www.ma1dmat.org/mambo/

DMAT-2: Worcester: http://www.dmatma2.com/

Massachusetts Urban Search & Rescue Task Force &

FEMA US&R MA TF-1:

http://matf.org/

State of Massachusetts Animal Response Team (SMART):

http://www.smart-mass.org/

Weather Related

National Hurricane Center:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

National Weather Service – Boston:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/

National Weather Service – National:

http://www.weather.gov/

National Weather Service – Storm Prediction Center:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/

National Weather Service –Space Weather:

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

Homeland Security Advisory Councils

National Association of Regional Councils:

http://www.narc.org/activities/homeland-security-2.html

Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) &

Central Region Homeland Security Council:

http://www.cmrpc.org/default.aspx

Northeast Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council (NERAC):

http://www.nerac.us/

Western Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council (WRHSAC):

http://www.wrhsac.org/

Forms Related

Applied Technology Council (Damage Assessment Forms):

http://www.atcouncil.org/fandp.shtml

Incident Command System (ICS) forms:

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/ICSResource/ICSResCntr_Forms.htm

FEMA Forms:

http://www.fema.gov/help/forms.shtm

Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) (Forms):

http://www.defenselink.mil/osd/

Reference Guides and Tools

Acronym Finder

http://www.acronymfinder.com/

Acronyms List (Federal Official List):

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/plan/prepare/faatlist03_05.pdf

(Electronic) Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (eCEPM)

https://ecemp.chs.state.ma.us/MemaCem/memalogin.aspx

Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO):

http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/index.htm

Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP):

http://www.fema.gov/government/coop/index.shtm

Template: http://www.mass.gov/mema

FEMA Ready.gov:

http://www.ready.gov/

Google Earth:

http://earth.google.com/

Local Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Draft Guidance:

http://www.mass.gov/mema

Massachusetts Geographical Information System (GIS):

http://www.mass.gov/mgis/massgis.htm

Risk & Vulnerability Assessment Tool:

http://www.csc.noaa.gov/rvat/

WebEOC – Massachusetts:

http://www.memanet.org/eoc6/

National Incident Management System (NIMS) & ICS Related

ICS Core Competencies Guide:

http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=2948

National Integration Center (NIC):

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/

NIMS Online:

http://www.nimsonline.com/

National Response Plan (NRP):

http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/committees/editorial_0566.shtm

National Response Framework (NRF): (replaces NRP – yr 2008):

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nrf/

NIMS Compliance Assistance Support Tool (NIMSCAST):

https://www.fema.gov/nimscast/index.jsp

NIMSCAST Guidance Manual:

http://www.fema.gov/nimscast/img/pdf/NimcastUsersGuide.pdf

NIMS Compliance Corrective Action Plan Guide:

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/ng_0107.pdf

NIMS Full Document:

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/nims_doc_full.pdf

NIMS Guide:

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/rm/guide.shtm

Resource Credentialing Definition and Criteria Guide:

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/ng_0002.pdf

Resource Typing Criteria Guide:

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/ng_0001.pdf

Training Related

FEMA Independent Study – Emergency Management Institute:

http://training.fema.gov/IS/

MEMA Training Registration System:

https://www.mass.gov/mema

Local Emergency Planning Committee Related:

Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA):

http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/epcra.html

Forms: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/epcra/reportingform.html

Criminal Background Related

Criminal History Systems Board (CHSB) &

Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI):

http://www.mass.gov/chsb

Jamie’s 2011 Road Map for the Security Industry Trends & Predictions

2011-01-17T14:46:00.003-05:00

As a Physical Security Professional I try to research and understand my market and how it is growing. In the past decade the industry has improved and changed dramatically, I believe for the better in many areas. That’s not to say there have been some growing pains as there always is as technology changes.

In looking into my crystal ball for the New Year I see the following as my focus, maybe it should be also yours.

We need to be more proactive, not reactive with our customers. We need to better educate our customers in researching security solutions before they experience costly incidents. I see the key market areas focus areas below:

PIDS or Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems is becoming more popular and necessary as the economy continues its slump.
Better Video Analytics

Demographics:
People counting,
Gender & age classification
Head pose estimation
Dwell time estimation

Analytics:

Human behavior analysis
Occupancy analysis
Queue detection and monitoring
Retail loss prevention, anti-shoplifting solutions
Activity/event classification

Systems:

Distributed and centralized processing
User-in-the-loop methods, user feedback mechanisms
Smart browsing and content retrieval
Multi-modal sensor (booster/RFID tags, POS logs, NIR cameras, etc) fusion
Multi camera systems
Systems for low-quality (compressed, low-resolution, low-frame-rate) data
Alternative setups (fisheye, dome lenses, ceiling, line cameras)

Physical Security Information Management (PSIM, pronounced P-sim) The idea behind it is that all of the stuff of security is actually data; data, which once contextualized and analyzed, may become information – information for making better business decisions. It is the idea of applying the concepts of information management and business intelligence to the practices and technologies of physical and homeland security.
2011: The Tipping Point for Network Video.

The Commercial Thermal Surveillance Market Begins to Heat Up.

The breakthrough of IP video surveillance and for cutting-edge applications with a focus on HD resolution.
Convergence, but not so much the convergence of physical security and IT security, but the convergence of video surveillance and access control.
One management (Business Intelligence) system to control everything.
Strong growth rates for the home security market. This market is underdeveloped and will be pushed by the entry of big players with a background in consumer electronics.
Wireless products for video surveillance, fire detection and motion detection are becoming more and more robust, are showing a good performance and are easier to install than before. Wireless products are a good alternative for specific applications and have the potential to become blockbusters in 2011.
Alternative ways to the market: While distributors of security equipment strengthen their own brands to compete against low cost products, established quality vendors are looking for new sales channels.

The past two years have seen a number of technological improvements in the Security World from IP video, to the growth of SaaS to the development of standards such as ONVIF and better Access Control solutions. These improvements have so far been too expensive for a recessed economy, but as the economy leaves the recession, the security and video surveillance industry will see improved profits, more businesses, and better implementation of existing technology. This will be achieved primarily through the development of new business models to meet greater demand.

SituCon Systems, A New Way To View Surveillance Solutions

2010-12-30T12:00:00.003-05:00

SituCon Systems is the leading innovator of hardware and software technologies that provide both safety and privacy. SituCon’s Emergency Awareness Solution uses innovative privacy protecting technologies, a sophisticated alerting system and on-demand video to deliver complete peace of mind. Public safety agencies, schools, municipalities and businesses around the country use SituCon’s products to protect safety and safeguard privacy. The company is headquartered in Port Washington, NY. For more information please visit www.situcon.com.

Today, a wide variety of threats often occur in areas that are inappropriate for surveillance such as classrooms, churches and town hall meeting rooms. However, when a high risk situation such as a violent event or natural disaster occurs, an individual’s expectation of privacy is superseded by a need for protection.

Previously, privacy concerns defined where cameras could be placed and limited the amount of protection provided. SituCon’s Privacy Protecting Technology eliminates these privacy concerns and provides us with the greatest safety.

Because you control when the camera is on, SituCam Privacy Protecting cameras can be placed everywhere and anywhere there may be a potential threat or vulnerable scenario.

Not only is video provided, but with SituCon’s wireless Instant Alerts individuals immediately make responders visually aware of their situation and location.

SituCon’s Privacy Protecting Technology is designed for places where traditional video surveillance systems can’t go. It is the ideal solution for municipal buildings, schools, libraries, senior centers, religious institutions, or anywhere privacy is a concern as for the first time is both safety and privacy provided.

SituCon Systems Solutions

SituCam - Privacy Protecting Cameras remain disabled until video monitoring is needed. http://www.situconsystems.com/products.situcam.asp
Instant Alert - Wireless transmitters connect individuals to responders when there's a need for extra safety. http://www.situconsystems.com/products.instantalert.asp
SituCon Manager - Automatically shows responders and/or crisis command center who's in trouble, where they are located and how to get to them. http://www.situconsystems.com/products.manager.asp
SituPoint - Privacy Protecting Access Points provide wireless video on the scene with ultimate security. http://www.situconsystems.com/products.situpoint.asp

In the event of an emergency, SituCon provides individuals the greatest safety possible. Responders are instantly alerted and provided real-time video of the situation, helping ensure that those in trouble get help as quickly as possible or when applied to public contact or interview areas, SituCon's solution can record the event on command.

When applied to monitoring sensitive areas, the reverse is also true. SituCon can stop monitoring these critical areas when policy or collective bargaining agreements require such action. Contact me today to learn more about this powerful solution.

Happy Holiday's

2010-12-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

It’s that time of year that we enjoy, when we spend it with family and friends.

So today I wish you all the best and hope that you and your loved ones are always blessed.

May your thoughts be happy and filled with cheer, here’s wishing they continue throughout the New Year!

-James McDonald

Justifying Physical Security Technologies See: Risk Management

2010-11-30T09:59:00.000-05:00

I have started working on a new paper relating Risk Management with Physical Security Technology Solutions.

My purpose is to discuss my observations and results in the deployment of hundreds of millions of dollars of security technologies implemented not to just protect physical assets but to reduce liabilities, fraud, improve procedures, influence designs, support marketing and influence almost every department within the enterprise in one way or another. With proper implementation, the overall ROI or return-on-investment of some of these projects could be measured in days not in years as projected in the past.

In a recent trip to a national trade show and loss prevention conference I constantly hear talk of how we have to do more with less, referring to limited staffing levels in today’s economy. At the same time, in various discussions with those who have implemented some of the technologies discussed in this paper, described how they continued to get outstanding results because they had implemented these countermeasures and learned to use them properly.

Still there are millions of organizations that still have not understood these principals and may have invested money in product but still don’t have a solution.

Risk Management is defined as the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Physical Security countermeasures as well as Loss Prevention and Asset Protection concepts are tools that I have used to consistently and successfully combat areas of risk concerns in recent times. With proper implementation of these tools and concepts improvements in revenue and limits to liabilities have been achieved in many sectors. This success thru the convergence of technologies and best practices have shown improvements in behaviors of employees and customers, more productive operations, reduced costs and improved overall profitability.

Future posts will discuss these concepts and solutions in further detail.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our customers and friends!

2010-11-24T09:44:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all our precious customers and friends!

While many of us will be sitting down to tables laden with all manner of great foods, try to remember that some people won't have that luxury. Some will be standing in soup lines; some will have to wait for someone to bring them a meal, and sadly, some will go to bed hungry tonight. With that in mind, let's try to be more thankful for all the blessings we have. And let's remember to give something back.

Once I was giving a donation to a homeless person and a friend who was with me, scolded me. ``How do you know that person isn't going to buy drugs with that money?'' My answer was that all I can do is help; I can’t base my help to other’s on how they might act. Their behavior is theirs not mine, all I can do is control my behavior and pray for them. I believe that wonderful things happen to me because I live with an attitude of gratitude.

I found the following poem online entitled “Be Thankful “-- “Author Unknown “, I think it sets the tone of the day.

Thanks for not having

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Thanks for lacking knowledge

Be thankful when you don't know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Thanks for difficult times

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Thanks for limitations

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Thanks for challenges

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Thanks for mistakes made

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Thanks for exhaustion

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,

because it means you've made the effort.

Thanks for setbacks

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who

are also thankful for the setbacks.

Thanks for troubles

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,

and they can become your blessings.

March Networks Mobile Solution in Action

2010-11-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

Watch this (disturbing) video that shows how Ron Haynes was captured in the act of attempted murder by four, Pixim-powered video security cameras developed by March Networks and mounted on the inside of a Toronto bus. His lawyer, Sean Robichaud, praised the Blu-ray-like quality of the video and agreed to a nine-year sentence for Haynes for attempted murder. Despite the bright sunlight outside the bus, the video of the shooting was “crystal clear” as stated in an article by the Toronto Star.

White-Paper - Physical Security Information Management - PSIM Opens Up the Industry

2010-11-02T15:18:00.002-04:00

Vidsys.com ( http://www.Vidsys.com ) recently posted an White-Paper by Jeff Kessler and Jay Beaghan of Imperial Capital. The paper discusses the question of ...

"What does PSIM offer in the way of command and control/situation management capabilities that video management systems (VMS) and access control systems (ACS) don't, especially when the latter are IP-based and can be integrated?"

Check this out at Http://www.vidsys.com

WIRELESS VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS

2010-11-02T14:52:00.000-04:00

WIRELESS VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS has created a revolution in security surveillance. That’s because wireless video relieves the costs associated with running wires over long distances or difficult to reach locations. It offers new opportunities to protect lives, property and assets in ways that have been impractical before now. Wireless video is reliable and remarkably affordable. Wireless video is ready to meet almost any CCTV application you can imagine.

VideoComm Technologies is the recognized market leader in wireless video transmission technologies, products and technical support. From systems serving a single camera over a few feet, all the way up to multi-camera systems covering large university campuses, our wireless video products overcome many of the installation limits applicable to most CCTV projects.

COST – VideoComm products eliminate the need to run wires. We offer video transmission solutions that gives installers the advantage of saving thousands of dollars in wire, conduit, labor, under-ground trenching, suspended raceways or dedicated phone lines.
FREEDOM – VideoComm manufactures products for CCTV applications that have been physically impossible to serve before now. We specialize in wireless video applications capable of using alternate power sources while also providing complete camera mobility during transmission - including products for temporary monitoring, mobile surveillance and covert investigations.
SIZE – VideoComm is the industry leader in the manufacturing of micro wireless video products. We offer the smallest UHF, 900MHz, 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz transmitters commercially available on the market today.
DISTANCE – VideoComm manufactures a full range of indoor and outdoor all-weather products that can transmit video signals economically anywhere from a few hundred feet (through walls), up to remote monitoring sites, up to 200 Miles away.

Wireless Elevator Video System

Many elevators are equipped with hard-wired surveillance cameras, which are extremely costly requiring hours of labor, hundreds of feet in traveling cable and the inconvenience of closing a vital service down for hours if not days. Using VideoComm Technologies’ new wireless elevator video system, this property manager was able to have a working system installed and fully functional within three hours saving both time and keeping costs down.

The installer in this application mounted the video transmitter in the false ceiling of the elevator cab, connected the video cable from the corner mount camera and powered the device on. The same method was used at the top of the shaft where the receiver was mounted on the exterior wall in the elevator mechanical penthouse.

Until now, wireless video systems have not been a practical option when installing an elevator surveillance camera. The harsh RF environments in commercial and residential buildings caused by 802.11b/g data networks, along with the constant motion of an elevator surrounded by steel interfered with wireless analog systems and consequently output a poor video signal. VideoComm Technologies all-new Wireless Elevator Surveillance system transmits high-resolution encrypted digital video up to 200 floors. This innovative system is the only wireless system on the market capable of transmitting license-free video in the most crowded RF environments with advanced OFDM digital immunity to signal interference and a 64-bit encrypted data stream. The RT-Wave series features a revolutionary pre-configured design and does not require setup, software or programming, minimizing installation time and maximizing results.

U.S.A Office | 1711 Cudaback Avenue | Niagara Falls, NY USA 14303 | Toll Free: 888-379-2666 (COMM)

Panduit Wins 2010 Security Innovation Award for Unified Operations Center in New World Headquarters Building

2010-10-29T13:09:00.000-04:00

Panduit Corp., a global leader in Unified Physical Infrastructure SM (UPI) based solutions, was awarded Security Technology Executive’s 2010 Security Innovation award for the deployment of its Unified Operations Center in its new World Headquarters building. The awards honor the most innovative technologies, design strategies, and facility applications in the security industry, as selected by the media outlet and a panel of industry experts. The silver medalist award was presented to Panduit during the 2010 ASIS Conference in Dallas, TX.

Panduit was recognized for demonstrating the power of integrated, IP-based physical security solutions in their Unified Operations Center (UOC) to accelerate event detection and response, enable collaboration between safety agencies, and increase operational efficiency. Based on its UPI-based Connected Building Solution, Panduit’s unique UOC colocates the safety, security, network, and communications operations in a central location. By leveraging an optimized physical infrastructure as the foundation to enable convergence across the enterprise, Panduit solutions help businesses improve reliability, reduce costs, heighten agility and support sustainability initiatives.

“Panduit is realizing this vision of increased building system integration and automation in its Unified Operations Center (UOC), a single location in the new World Headquarters building which combines SOC and NOC functions, enabling Panduit to manage the security of its global facilities from a central location,” said Vineeth Ram, Panduit VP of Strategic Marketing. “By integrating management of the network and physical security systems over a UPI-based physical infrastructure, Panduit’s UOC allows data to be shared across a full spectrum of network, building system, and security applications for improved operational awareness and response.”

Panduit collaborated with Cisco, N2N Secure, and IPVision on the connected building design to integrate state-of-the-art security systems, incorporating video surveillance, physical access controls, analytics software, and interoperable communications. “By centralizing security operations from the Unified Operations Center, we should achieve an annual estimated savings of $653,000 and a 1.5-year payback period while enabling our security personnel to monitor and control video surveillance cameras and building access controls for all global offices over a WAN,” said Jeff Woodward, Senior Manager, Panduit Global Environmental Health and Safety. For more information on Panduit’s Connected Building Solutions, visit www.panduit.com/CBS.

About Panduit:

Panduit is a world-class developer and provider of leading-edge solutions that help customers optimize the physical infrastructure through simplification, agility and operational efficiency. Panduit’s Unified Physical Infrastructure SM (UPI) based solutions give enterprises the capabilities to connect, manage and automate communications, computing, power, control and security systems for a smarter, unified business foundation. Strong relationships with technology leaders complemented with its global staff and unmatched service and support, make Panduit a valuable and trusted partner. http://www.panduit.com

NATIONAL SURVEY REVEALS MAJORITY OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS ARE FOCUSED ON A RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH TO INTEGRATED PHYSICAL SECURITY

2010-10-28T19:02:00.002-04:00

The survey of senior-level IT and physical security professionals from both public and private organizations reveals that a majority of organizations have complex safety and security environments, manage them through multiple, distributed locations, and have a need to coordinate responses with other agencies or organizations. With 60 percent of respondents stating that their organizations individually manage multiple technologies today, the survey also found that many plan to migrate towards a more unified approach in the next 12 – 18 months, including a single command and control view of events and a centralized view of situations.

When it comes to managing their organization’s security systems, 74 percent of respondents revealed that having a proactive risk-focused approach that ensures greater overall safety and security with a holistic view of the organization is important or extremely important while 71 percent said it’s important to leverage both physical and IT security together to manage and resolve security situations.

Highlights from the Research

Organizations Have Complex Safety and Security Environments:

91 percent of organizations are using security systems and devices from two or more different manufacturers, with 46 percent of those using solutions from at least six different manufacturers.
The majority of respondents said that they manage security through multiple, distributed locations as well as coordinate security responses with other agencies.

Integrated Risk Management Strategies are Gaining Traction:

A proactive risk-focused approach to organizational safety and security is important according to 74 percent of respondents.
60 percent stated that the integration of data from traditional physical security devices and systems, including access control, video, RFID and GPS, in to one common operating picture is important or extremely important.
38 percent responded that they plan to invest in risk management technology that helps assess, prioritize and manage their risks and needs in the next 12 – 18 months.

“The survey revealed the interest from both public and private organizations to integrate all of their physical security systems and devices to obtain a common operating picture, which ultimately leads to a strategic risk-driven approach to managing safety and security,” said David Fowler, senior vice president, marketing and product development, at VidSys. “By comparing where organizations are today with where they plan to be 12 - 18 months from now, the research confirms that organizations are moving toward a more holistic and collaborative approach to securing assets and information to not only minimize risk but also reduce operational costs.”

About the 2010 Safety and Security Survey

The 2010 Safety and Security Survey is a national survey designed to provide insight into the security concerns and buying patterns of private and public agencies. Sponsored by Vienna, VA-based VidSys, the survey was conducted from late August through late September via Zoomerang, an online survey services provider. A Research Brief providing detailed information on the findings will be available in November 2010.

Note: VidSys will discuss the full findings in a Webinar taking place on Tuesday, November 2 at noon ET. To register, please go to: http://vidsys.com/resources/2010-safety-and-security-survey-results. To sign up to receive the full copy of 2010 Safety and Security Survey results when it becomes available, please contact Kelly Fiedler at kfiedler@vidsys.com.

NICE’s New Open and Standards-Compliant Situation Management Solution

2010-10-28T18:50:00.000-04:00

NICE Situator’s application of PSIA specifications demonstrates how broad interoperability with multiple third party security systems enables flexible, seamless and cost efficient situation management. NICE Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: NICE), the worldwide leader of intent-based solutions that extract insight to impact business performance, reduce financial risk and ensure safety and security, recently announced that the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA), a global consortium of physical security providers focused on promoting the interoperability of IP-enabled devices. NICE Situator will be highlighted for its broad interoperability in a demonstration that will include integration with HikVision’s CCTV cameras and recording systems. Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. is a leading supplier of digital video surveillance products with headquarters in China.

The implementation of PSIA specifications in NICE Situator enables third party IP video surveillance products such as NVRs, DVRs and cameras to be automatically recognized as PSIA-enabled cameras and stream video according to the open standard specification. The openness and standards compliance of NICE Situator enables security personnel to choose the best and most relevant components to address their needs in a flexible and cost efficient manner. David Bunzel, Executive Director PSIA, commented, “PSIA’s objective to develop standards relevant to networked physical security technology is being fully supported by NICE’s extensive commitment to IP system interoperability.

NICE Situator is a situation management software platform that addresses the security operations needs of transportation systems – airports, seaports and mass transit, critical infrastructure, utilities, enterprise campuses and city centers. It enables automatic situation planning, response and analysis in real time, as well as thorough post-incident reviews and investigations. NICE Situator already has over 150 gateways to different security and safety systems, including video surveillance, communication devices, access control, intrusion sensors, fire and safety, geo-location, building management, web feeds, and data bases.

“NICE is committed to supporting PSIA's objective of achieving industry-wide interoperability standards,” said Israel Livnat, President, NICE Security Group. “NICE is proud to showcase an open, standards-based system, and our intention is to continue to lead the interoperability trend within the physical security eco-system. It is NICE’s policy to continue actively pursuing industry standardization, and continue providing the market with open solutions that allow for flexibility and freedom of choice in the meantime.”

The NICE Security Offering addresses the needs of governments and enterprises with intent-based solutions for fighting crime and terror, by anticipating, managing and mitigating safety, security and operational risks. The offering enables capturing, analysis and correlation of data from multiple sensors and systems, including audio, video, radio, geo-location and web, providing a framework for fusing data silos into a single, holistic operational view. NICE Security solutions empower organizations to act effectively in real time to prevent, manage and investigate incidents, ensuring fast resolution and debriefing, and continuous security improvements. NICE Security solutions are deployed worldwide in transportation systems, critical infrastructures, city centers and enterprise campuses.

The Physical Security Interoperability Alliance is a global consortium of more than 75 physical security manufacturers and systems integrators focused on promoting interoperability of IP-enabled security devices across all segments of the security industry. Participating companies include Arecont Vision, ASSA ABLOY, Cisco Systems, GE Security, Genetec, Hikvision, Honeywell, IBM, IQinVision, Kastle Systems, March Networks, Milestone Systems, NICE Systems, ObjectVideo, OnSSI, Pelco, Stanley Security, Texas Instruments, Tyco International, Verint and Vidsys.

PSIA’s objective is to develop standards relevant to networked physical security technology. Under the direction of its Board of Directors, PSIA promotes and develops open standards relevant to networked physical security technology across all segments including video surveillance, access control, video analytics, storage and recording devices, and software.

PSIA supports license-free standards and specifications, which are vetted in an open and collaborative manner to the industry as a whole. There are currently five active working groups: IP Video, Video Analytics, Recording and Content Management, Area Control and Systems. The organization reviewed and ratified its IP Media Device specification in March 2008 and since then, more than 1,700 companies have registered for the specification.

About NICE Systems

NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE), is the worldwide leader of intent-based solutions that capture and analyze interactions and transactions, realize intent, and extract and leverage insights to deliver impact in real time. Driven by cross-channel and multi-sensor analytics, NICE solutions enable organizations to improve business performance, increase operational efficiency, prevent financial crime, ensure compliance, and enhance safety and security. NICE serves over 25,000 organizations in the enterprise and security sectors, representing a variety of sizes and industries in more than 150 countries, and including over 80 of the Fortune 100 companies. www.nice.com.

March Networks Introduces Break-Through Capabilities with Seven New IP Video Products

2010-10-28T17:56:00.000-04:00

March Networks® (TSX: MN), a global provider of intelligent IP video solutions, recently announced an innovative March Networks Command solution and six new high-performance products. The new products deliver the enterprise-class management and video protection for which March Networks solutions are recognized industry-wide, and demonstrate the company’s commitment to open standards.

Command is a comprehensive, end-to-end video surveillance solution that enables organizations to manage their entire surveillance infrastructure using a single web-based interface. With Command, customers can install, deploy and manage their video assets from any location easily and efficiently. The powerful solution delivers mass configuration and management capabilities that lower installation and maintenance costs significantly. It also incorporates remote video gateway technology to reduce video streaming over a corporate WAN, a key advantage for large organizations with multiple remote locations.

Designed to meet industry and Information Technology (IT) standards, Command supports ONVIF™ (Open Network Video Interface Forum) compliant video surveillance devices for seamless third-party integration, and open SQL database standards. It enables users to access video from a variety of operating systems, including Windows® XP, Windows 7 and MAC OSX, via the browser.

“We are excited to introduce our new Command solution, which is the result of extensive research and development efforts,” said Net Payne, Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for March Networks’ product management and marketing functions. “With Command, customers benefit from exceptional scalability, flexibility and operational efficiency. Ultimately, it provides the centralized management and integrated access to information that organizations need to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment.”

March Networks’ newest recording system and edge devices are fully compatible with Command. Each comes with an internal SD memory card and – when deployed as part of the end-to-end solution – leverages the company’s unique Shadow Archiving™ technology to ensure seamless access to redundant video, as well as intelligent video synchronization following a network failure or server outage.

The March Networks 7532 Hybrid Networked Video Recorder (NVR) is an embedded Windows® OS recording system ideal for larger enterprise and commercial industrial installations. The 7532 complements March Networks’ industry-leading 4000 C Series hybrid NVRs and comes with the same exclusive docking-station architecture for rapid installation and maintenance. It supports a total of 32 high-definition (HD) IP and analog cameras (up to 16 analog), best-in-class compression and up to 8 TB of internal storage, as well as external storage options.

Four new VideoSphere® IP cameras introduce additional capabilities to March Networks’ extensive camera portfolio. They are compatible with all March Networks hybrid recorders and incorporate shared features such as LDAP password configuration and ONVIF compliance.

The new cameras include:

A compact CamPX MicroDome, the industry’s first Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) camera able to capture accurate color in near-dark conditions;
A MDome HD PTZ, which combines HD video resolution with the power of a PTZ solution in an indoor/outdoor environmental housing built to withstand extreme temperatures;
A MegaPX WDR MiniDome, which delivers HD 1080p video resolution and WDR; and
A MegaPX NanoDome, a low-profile HD camera with flexible video streaming and a sleek, unobtrusive housing ideal for inconspicuous surveillance applications.

Rounding out its new product offerings is the recently announced March Networks Searchlight Skimming Detection (SD), a powerful data analytic that enhances the company’s comprehensive Financial Solutions. Searchlight SD monitors surveillance video and ATM transaction data simultaneously and alerts investigators daily to suspicious and potentially fraudulent activity at ATMs via a web-based dashboard.

To see and learn more, visit the company online at www.marchnetworks.com.

Avigilon Expands Avigilon Control Center to Enterprise Class, Introduces Standard Edition

2010-10-28T17:41:00.000-04:00

Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Enterprise Edition offers advanced features and open integration for the most demanding, security-centric deployments while Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Standard Edition meets vital and focused surveillance needs. Avigilon, the performance and value leader in high definition (HD) and megapixel video surveillance systems, recently announced the introduction of Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Network Video Management Software (NVMS), the company’s latest version of its award-winning HD surveillance software with High Definition Stream ManagementTM (HDSM.) The Avigilon Control Center 4.6 update delivers new features to improve the performance, extensibility, and manageability of HD surveillance systems as well as open systems integration, and is available in two editions— Avigilon Control Center Enterprise Edition and Avigilon Control Center Standard Edition.

Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Enterprise Edition

Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Enterprise Edition includes advanced features to make it the most powerful, open HD surveillance platform on the market, able to seamlessly integrate with other security systems and handle transmission, recording, and storage of HD video gathered by hundreds of cameras across multiple sites.

Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Standard Edition

Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Standard Edition delivers the same powerful HD surveillance engine with HDSM. Designed as a cost-effective solution to meet vital and focused security needs, Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Standard Edition combines high quality image detail with ease of use and expandability at an associated value point. Features of the new Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Standard Edition include: support for ONVIF, 3rd party IP cameras, and Avigilon HD, HD H.264, HD Panoramic cameras, and analog encoders as well as robust searching, exporting, and playback controls.

“By offering two editions of the award-winning Avigilon Control Center software, we can address the demanding needs of enterprise-level HD surveillance with a sophisticated solution and also meet the more focused surveillance needs of relatively concentrated facilities looking to launch or transition to an HD surveillance solution in the most cost-effective way possible,” said Dave Tynan, vice president of global sales and marketing at Avigilon. “Designed from the ground up to intelligently manage HD video, Avigilon Control Center 4.6 software delivers a powerful and intuitive interface that now addresses a broader demand from customers to efficiently evaluate and respond to events quickly and easily for greater investigative success.”

New Features in Avigilon Control Center 4.6

A feature-rich offering that is positioned for the most security-centric applications, Avigilon Control Center 4.6 offers the following new features and benefits:

Expanded Third Party IP Camera Support - Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Enterprise and Standard Editions are ONVIF compliant NVMS platforms that deliver expanded support for a wide range of third party IP cameras and analog encoders from vendors such as ACTi Corp., Sanyo Electric Co., Mobotix, Pelco, and VideoIQ for the purpose of building hybrid systems and preserving existing assets. Management of surveillance video from third party cameras and analog encoders is in the camera’s native compression format including H.264, MPEG4, or MJPEG.
Expanded Analytics Support - In addition to its current integration with SightLogix outdoor video analytics cameras, Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Enterprise and Standard Editions now support video analytics solutions from other vendors including VideoIQ, creating an integrated situational awareness platform for real- time incident management and response.
Expanded Integration with Access Control and Intercom Systems (ACC Enterprise) - Avigilon Control Center 4.6 Enterprise Edition integrates seamlessly with third party VoIP or standalone digital intelligent intercom systems such as the Stentofon intercom system, Jacques intercom system, and DDS Amadeus 5 online access control and alarm monitoring software to provide a fully integrated communications system for greater overall security.

About Avigilon

Avigilon designs, manufactures, and markets award-winning HD surveillance systems. The performance and value leader, Avigilon’s solutions protect and monitor thousands of customer sites in more than 60 countries around the world. Avigilon Control Center, the world’s first open HD Network Video Management Software platform, and megapixel cameras deliver full situational awareness and actionable image detail. Campuses, transportation systems, healthcare providers, public venues, infrastructure, and manufacturing sites with security, safety validation, and compliance requirements all benefit from reduced investigation time and more successful investigations by immediately producing indisputable video evidence. Avigilon earned Frost & Sullivan’s HD Surveillance Company of the Year award in 2009 and the Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation in 2010. For further information, please visit www.avigilon.com.

VideoIQ iCVR-HD High-Definition Cameras Now Available

2010-10-28T16:50:00.000-04:00

Revolutionary Camera Delivers Full 1080/30 fps Resolution, Zero Bandwidth in-camera NVR and Full Megapixel Analytics by VideoIQ, the leader in video surveillance innovation, recently announced the immediate availability of the iCVR-HD cameras, the revolutionary security devices that deliver full 1080p resolution and frame rate, zero bandwidth recording, full megapixel analytics and support for IQTrack™ - automatic digital PTZ zoom and track. Unveiled in March, the iCVR-HD is the latest addition to VideoIQ’s line of intelligent video surveillance systems, including the iCVR dome cameras, iCVR encoders, iCST line of streaming cameras and encodersand VIEW™ - an advanced video management system from VideoIQ.

"Architectural choices have always involved cost and performance trade-offs between image resolution, network bandwidth, and storage requirements," said Derek E. Brink, vice president and research fellow for IT Security, Aberdeen Group. "VideoIQ's approach with the iCVR-HD – full 1080p high-resolution, combined with on-camera storage and analytics -- is designed to meet the market's demands to extract more accurate and more effective information from video surveillance, and to do so in a simple and cost effective way."

VideoIQ’s patented adaptive video analytic technology is the only one capable of processing full megapixel streams on-camera – producing the highest accuracy and greatest range. As a result, iCVR-HD analytics deliver over two times the range of D1 analytics. Additionally, with a wider field of view and higher resolution than standard resolution cameras, VideoIQ’s iCVR-HD cameras allow operators to capture greater detail and track objects for longer periods of time, delivering better context and perspective on suspicious behavior. Finally, the camera’s real-time threat detection relies on VideoIQ’s award winning adaptive analytics, which self calibrate in minutes, maintain calibration over time, and are capable of uniquely distinguishing people, vehicles and boats from other objects, animals and scene movement.

Unlike conventional megapixel cameras, VideoIQ iCVR-HD cameras store full 1080p video in up to half a terabyte of onboard NVR storage for months worth of recording, eliminating the need to stream high-resolution images across a network to a central NVR – reducing network traffic and bandwidth consumption by more than 90 percent. As a result, iCVR-HD cameras simplify infrastructure dramatically, allowing customers to deploy high definition video surveillance in environments that are impractical for conventional megapixel cameras, including mixed IT networks, wireless networks, and WAN deployments.

“VideoIQ is on the cutting edge of surveillance innovation, setting the pace for the security industry and providing the highest level of protection in areas where it was previously thought impossible,” said Scott Schnell, president and CEO of VideoIQ. “With the shipment of the iCVR-HD, we have raised the bar for real-time threat detection and high definition forensic evidence without expensive storage and bandwidth constraints.” See http://www.videoiq.com/index.php for more information.

INOVONICS INTRODUCES RADIUS, SECURITY INDUSTRY’S FIRST WIRELESS SITUATIONAL AWARENESS SYSTEM WITH LOCATION

2010-10-28T16:36:00.000-04:00

Mobile duress system combines latest mass notification capabilities with advanced positioning technology to pinpoint alarm devices. Inovonics (http://www.inovonics.com), the industry leader in high-performance wireless sensor networks for commercial and life safety applications, today announced Radius™, the security industry’s first situational awareness system utilizing Inovonics’ wireless positioning technology. Radius combines the latest mass notification capabilities with advanced positioning technology to pinpoint mobile duress alarm devices for use in multiple industries, including manufacturing/industrial plants, retail, education, government, and the financial sector.

Radius monitors any Inovonics’ security, and sensor, end devices and interfaces to fire, access control and environment systems, providing instant notification to mass communication alert devices. For example, when a potential life-threatening event occurs, it is automatically transmitted to Radius. The system then processes and locates the position where the event is taking place and alerts the appropriate authorities immediately so they can get help and move affected people to a safe, secure location.

“Radius fills a critical need in today’s security marketplace,” said Jeff Kessler, managing director of Imperial Capital (http://www.imperialcapital.com/), a leading security market research and advisory firm. “Most systems only can notify when a duress alarm has been activated, but, with Inovonics’ wireless Radius system, users can now tell exactly where the [mobile] alarm is coming from. No other system in the security marketplace can do that today.”

Unlike traditional hard-wired control panel systems that have been used to detect safety issues and report alarms, Radius provides a complete end-to-end, IP-enabled wireless solution for the security market. Radius can work alone or be integrated with other safety and security systems. Key features and benefits of Radius include:

Location: Radius allows for mobile duress applications by accurately determining where an alarm is coming from within a building or campus setting. It allows users to locate employees, faculty or students immediately when they signal for help.

Monitoring: Radius works with the complete line of Inovonics end devices, including pendant transmitters, universal transmitters and motion detectors. It also supports integration with Inovonics’ extensive list of system partners who provide fire extinguisher monitoring, wireless perimeter beams, fence tilt sensors, man hole cover monitoring, water sensors and a host of many other types of solutions. Radius also can alert users even when people are not present, such as after-hours. The sooner users are notified of an issue, the faster they can take action.

Notification: Radius coordinates event monitoring and mass notification. It communicates information from in-building systems and routes them to alert devices, such as pagers, emails and mobile phones using text messaging or voice mail. Radius also packages multiple in-building systems into a single notification solution allowing for more efficient and quicker responses.

“Inovonics is committed to providing the most advanced technology on the market today for ensuring the safety and security of organizations’ most important assets – their people, buildings and housed resources,” explained Mark Jarman, president of Inovonics. “Radius exemplifies this commitment and provides the highest degree of trust, reliability and proven accuracy available in the market today regardless of structural, physical or geographic challenges.”

Configurations, Availability and Pricing:

Radius can be used within single buildings or scale to large multi-building campuses spread over hundreds of acres. It can be easily integrated with other fire and safety and security systems and be customized based on customer preference. It is available now and is priced based on customer configuration. For more information and to view the intro video, visit the Radius product page at www.inovonics.com/radius.aspx.