Special Security System Fills Customs' Needs

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has some stiff security requirements at its field office in Miami. The agency needed an access control system that accepted the Inscription: HSPD12.FIPS 201 government card system. The system needed the ability to identify when and where there was a problem inside the building and at what level the problem was in aggressive behavior. There had to be multiple alarm configurations and routings so that, in the event of a problem, different alarms would sound for different locations. Finally, any interruptions for service or repair had to be keep to a minimum.

“Finding a system that can perform all that the General Services Administration (GSA) asked for was a challenge,” said Syed Kazim, president of Security Technology Integrators. “Sielox LLC offered an access control and building management system and has teamed up with some of the best OEM partners in the industry to bring solutions to the market. We decided to use their products for this project.”

The progression of data transfer played a role in the security integration.

“We live in a world where the backbone of everything is the transfer of data,” said Steven Caruso, technology coordinator on behalf of the GSA project for CBP in Miami.

With critical U.S. security infrastructure needed for many federal agency locations, STI recently installed a Sielox system for CBP.

“This system had to accommodate multiple needs for this field office,” Kazim said. “The system has been in place now for nine months, and there has not been one service call. There were more than 3,000 feet of network cable and computers with voice intercom in this job.”

The network installed used an Ethernet-ready Sielox 1700 controller along with input expansion modules and Pinnacle software. Access control for doors was a major part of the installation, including subsystems, cameras, voice intercom, recording system and alarms.

Special Government Requirements

The installation for the Miami CBP Field Office included special requirements for Inscription: HSPD12.FIPS 201.

“We could not provide cards to this project; they had to get the cards from the government directly,” Kazim said. “They were cards that required a special card reader and a system that was capable of reading these government- issued cards. The system we used was able to accommodate this requirement.”

Kazim’s crew installed the access control, alarm system and voice intercom used for the investigation room. They also put cameras and video recorders in the room.

“When they bring a person into the room, everything is captured by our network,” Kazim said. “We did the entire network for them, including telephones and computers.”

Caruso was pleased with the installation, saying the equipment the integrators recommended is user friendly and operates flawlessly, doing what the agency wanted it to do.

“The people from Security Technology Integrators were great to work with. They installed the equipment, and now, over six months later, we haven’t had a single problem,” Caruso said. “STI did an excellent job of installing and instructing our group on how to operate the equipment. The card reader swipe equipment is great. They did an excellent job.”

Improving GSA Security

Kazim believes GSA security has been improved because the system is all under one platform.

“Someone comes in the front door using his card and his picture comes up on the system,” Kazim said. “Someone at the gate can establish if that is the right person or not. They have multiple alarm configurations and routings, so if there is a problem, different alarms sound for different locations.

“Also, in the corridors, we have red, yellow, green and blue lights, along with white strobes. The different colors are for the warning level of the problem. If someone is being aggressive, it identifies the level of the problem right away.

“The whole system is tied together,” Kazim said. “We also used the system to secure the elevators, which go up four floors. So the system is monitoring the alarm, the elevators, access control and the indicator lights.

“The Sielox equipment has a small SD card on the 1700 controller which holds back-up configuration memory; it is one of the most important components of the system,” Kazim added. “If anything goes wrong with the equipment, we can replace a controller and move the SD card from the bad controller to the new controller, dramatically reducing downtime and offering instant recover. This minimizes downtime of the system, so the equipment is immediately up and running again.

“This was one more advantage in this system. Other systems don’t offer this. You would have to take other systems down during repairs,” Kazim said.

This article originally appeared in the December 2012 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • AI Is Now the Leading Cybersecurity Concern for Security, IT Leaders

    Arctic Wolf recently published findings from its State of Cybersecurity: 2025 Trends Report, offering insights from a global survey of more than 1,200 senior IT and cybersecurity decision-makers across 15 countries. Conducted by Sapio Research, the report captures the realities, risks, and readiness strategies shaping the modern security landscape. Read Now

  • Analysis of AI Tools Shows 85 Percent Have Been Breached

    AI tools are becoming essential to modern work, but their fast, unmonitored adoption is creating a new kind of security risk. Recent surveys reveal a clear trend – employees are rapidly adopting consumer-facing AI tools without employer approval, IT oversight, or any clear security policies. According to Cybernews Business Digital Index, nearly 90% of analyzed AI tools have been exposed to data breaches, putting businesses at severe risk. Read Now

  • Software Vulnerabilities Surged 61 Percent in 2024, According to New Report

    Action1, a provider of autonomous endpoint management (AEM) solutions, today released its 2025 Software Vulnerability Ratings Report, revealing a 61% year-over-year surge in discovered software vulnerabilities and a 96% spike in exploited vulnerabilities throughout 2024, amid an increasingly aggressive threat landscape. Read Now

  • Motorola Solutions Named Official Safety Technology Supplier of the Ryder Cup through 2027

    Motorola Solutions has today been named the Official Safety Technology Supplier of the 2025 and 2027 Ryder Cup, professional golf’s renowned biennial team competition between the United States and Europe. Read Now

  • Evolving Cybersecurity Strategies

    Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to human-focused security approaches, as two out of three (68%) cybersecurity incidents involve people. Threat actors are shifting from targeting networks and systems to hacking humans via social engineering methods, living off human errors as their most prevalent attack vector. Whether manipulated or not, human cyber behavior is leveraged to gain backdoor access into systems. This mainly results from a lack of employee training and awareness about evolving attack techniques employed by malign actors. Read Now

New Products

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.