City Of Chicago Deploys Intelligent Security System

IBM has started a new project with the City of Chicago office of emergency management and communications (OEMC) to implement an advanced city-wide intelligent security system. The engagement is a part of Chicago's operation 'Virtual Shield', a project that encompasses one of the world's largest video security deployments.

In collaboration with its business partners Firetide and Genetec, IBM has successfully deployed the infrastructure build-out for operation 'Virtual Shield' with plans to expand the network throughout the city. In the first phase, IBM helped the city experts and network engineers to design and implement a surveillance strategy infrastructure to capture, monitor and fully index video for real-time and forensic-related safety applications. This entailed building a unified fiber network throughout the downtown Chicago area, deploying a critical wireless infrastructure to offer flexibility as required, installing hundreds of new surveillance cameras, linking thousands of pre-existing cameras to the network, and creating a fully redundant backend system to monitor the video, store the images and allow for business continuity and disaster recovery applications.

The Chicago OEMC and IBM are now teaming to expand the surveillance system and to add analytics that provide license plate recognition, trending projections and intelligent search capabilities to the existing infrastructure. Chicago's security solution is designed to provide several benefits to both city officials and citizens including real-time video surveillance intelligence for proactive homeland security monitoring; faster response time to emergencies; more effective deployment of emergency responders; and increased travel efficiency through traffic congestion tracking.

"Mayor Richard M. Daley has had, for many years, a grand plan to incorporate cameras from public entities and private sector businesses into a single unified system allowing first responders access to real time visual data," said Tony Ruiz, executive director of Chicago's office of emergency management and communications "IBM is helping enable the City of Chicago's vision for intelligent security"

Operation 'Virtual Shield' was designed to allow advanced detection and notification systems such as IBM's Smart Surveillance Solution to be plugged-in and tuned as necessary to address new threats. The Smart Surveillance Solution deployment with Chicago is a first-of-a-kind implementation to help bring intelligence to city security. This concept was sparked by the power and capabilities of the City's existing high-tech multi-million dollar command and control center. The surveillance network is designed to allow city officials to monitor such mundane activities as traffic patterns on a day-to-day basis, while also being able to detect suspicious activity and potential public safety concerns from a centrally monitored system.

"Cities today are faced with ever-increasing threats and advanced security surveillance systems can be a critical component in ensuring safety," said Mike Daniels, senior vice president, IBM Global Technology Services. "IBM is proud to be a part of operation 'Virtual Shield' and the City of Chicago's visionary approach to homeland security"

One key factor to the success of the project is Firetide, an IBM business partner whose wireless network infrastructure supports a wide range of fixed and mobile wireless public safety applications including covert and overt video surveillance, traffic control, VoIP communications, and rapid database access. Firetide's wireless technology is instrumental in allowing the city to deploy a large number of additional cameras in the exact locations required, an option which would have been too costly to implement solely on fiber. Firetide's technology allows real-time video to be transported wirelessly, thereby saving taxpayers millions of dollars in wired infrastructure costs. IBM is also testing mobile technology utilizing Firetide's infrastructure to allow first responders access to the video system via mobile vehicles such as police and fire.

IBM chose Genetec's Omnicast as the main video management platform for building the operation 'Virtual Shield' system. Omnicast is an IP based video surveillance recording software. Genetec's Omnicast incorporates any type of camera be it IP based, or analog via encoders, on to a common platform. In addition, Omnicast allows products such as IBM's Smart Surveillance Solution to be easily integrated into the system. This capability along with Omnicast's ability to integrate other Genetec fixed or mobile systems throughout the City will allow the Smart Surveillance Solution to analyze video streams multiple cameras, anywhere no matter if it is a sister agency camera or one from a private enterprise.

Featured

  • Security Today Announces The Govies Government Security Award Winners for 2025

    Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 winners in The Govies Government Security Awards. The awards honor outstanding government security products in a variety of categories. Read Now

  • Survey: 60 Percent of Organizations Using AI in IT Infrastructure

    Netwrix, a cybersecurity provider focused on data and identity threats, today announced the release of its annual global 2025 Cybersecurity Trends Report based on a global survey of 2,150 IT and security professionals from 121 countries. It reveals that 60% of organizations are already using artificial intelligence (AI) in their IT infrastructure and 30% are considering implementing AI. Read Now

  • New Research Reveals Global Video Surveillance Industry Perspectives on AI

    Axis Communications, the global industry leader in video surveillance, has released its latest research report, ‘The State of AI in Video Surveillance,’ which explores global industry perspectives on the use of AI in the security industry and beyond. The report reveals current attitudes on AI technologies thanks to in-depth interviews with AI experts from Axis’ global network and a comprehensive survey of more than 5,800 respondents, including distributors, channel partners, and end customers across 68 countries. The resulting insights cover AI integration and the opportunities and challenges that exist with regard to security, safety, business intelligence, and operational efficiency. Read Now

  • SIA Urges Tariff Relief for Security Industry Products

    Today, the Security Industry Association has sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick requesting relief from tariffs for security industry products and asking that the Trump administration formulate a process that allows companies to apply for product-specific exemptions. The security industry is an important segment of the U.S. economy, contributing over $430 billion in total economic impact and supporting over 2.1 million jobs. Read Now

  • Report Shows Cybercriminals Continue Pivot to Stealthier Tactics

    IBM recently released the 2025 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index highlighting that cybercriminals continued to pivot to stealthier tactics, with lower-profile credential theft spiking, while ransomware attacks on enterprises declined. IBM X-Force observed an 84% increase in emails delivering infostealers in 2024 compared to the prior year, a method threat actors relied heavily on to scale identity attacks. Read Now

New Products

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.