What

What's In Store

Video surveillance plays a pivotal role in terrorism

  • By Wayne Arvidson
  • Dec 01, 2016

What’s ahead in 2017? In 2016, we saw video surveillance and security increasingly become the focus of mainstream media conversations, with video playing a pivotal role in bringing terror suspects to justice (as it did recently in NYC) and with police body-worn cameras capturing sometimes controversial incidents that spark national conversations. Behind the camera, technology has continued to evolve and storage has become an even more important consideration for anyone implementing a surveillance and security system. Integrators, resellers, vendors and end-users can look to 2017 as a time of vigorous change for video surveillance and security.

INCREASED INTELLIGENCE IN CAMERAS

In 2016, we also saw a surge in camera counts—particularly HD cameras—leading to an exponential leap in data to manage. Not Homeland Security but also universities, municipalities, schools, and commercial enterprises are increasingly adopting cameras with more sensors, wider panoramas, and higher resolutions. We see these organizations increasingly expect more sophisticated surveillance capabilities—compression, streaming, storage and analytics—built into the cameras themselves for better value. As camera prices continue trending downward, even more organizations will switch from analog and SD cameras.

The increased amount of data obviously puts a strain on storage and increases the importance of an intelligent, multi-tier storage strategy, but the improved intelligence in cameras also increases the importance of storage management software to effectively manage the influx of data.

GREATER ADOPTION OF ANALYTICS

With more analytical capabilities moving into the cameras, video analytics applications are becoming more feature-rich and sophisticated, and non-traditional organizations are realizing that video can be used to make better business decisions. Logistics companies, for example, use video to track cargo through ports and rail yards to improve efficiency.

Retail companies use video to observe shopper behavior to make better decisions regarding product placement, store layout, and advertising. By using video-based data to improve business, some companies are reaping real business value, shifting the expense of their surveillance solution from a cost center to an investment. Surveillance is doing more than just keeping people and property safe; it’s leading to financial returns. To realize this kind of value, data must be kept for a long time. That requires a storage infrastructure that provides cost-effective, long-term data retention as well as performance.

IMORE GRANTS FOR BODY WORN CAMERAS—BUT NOT STORAGE

Driven by federal funding made available to help departments, we’ve seen an acceleration of body-worn camera adoption and increased retention times for footage as departments realize their value for evidence and public safety. The Department of Justice has released additional funding for 2017, but it still is focused strictly on cameras—not the storage behind them.

This leaves many law enforcement departments and agencies in a quandary, struggling with managing these massive new data sets, establishing retention policies, and creating the storage infrastructure required to support body-worn camera deployments, which is increasingly being viewed as a funding requirement. With communities demanding bodyworn cameras for their law enforcement agencies for greater accountability, addressing the storage challenge they create will remain a priority.

AGGREGATION OF CONTENT

Law enforcement agencies increasingly need to cope with collecting information from many different systems—dash cams, body cams, interview room, sally port devices—and aggregate the content. Agencies are looking to simplify how they gather the data and store it while protecting chain-of-evidence requirements. That concept is expanding to encompass both public and private agencies to drive cohesive and coordinated action from a variety of partners to include content from systems such as secure parking areas and city properties.

The city of Santa Ana is doing just that, and it creates a huge challenge not just for how to store the data economically, but for managing data from a wide range of incompatible systems. Look for developments in storage management systems designed to collect and store this content efficiently, easily, and cost-effectively without creating silos of storage.

BIOMETRICS

With cyber security a rising priority for public and private entities, biometrics are being explored as a measure to prevent massive data breaches. In conjunction with The White House, the Cyber Security Alliance launched an initiative advising the use of fingerprints and one time codes as a way of authentication. Facial recognition is another growth area, where biometric technology is now available for use with body-worn cameras. Both technologies hold great potential, and will require intelligent storage in order to keep the costs of the related data under control.

This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • Evolving Cybersecurity Strategies: Uniting Human Risk Management and Security Awareness Training

    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

  • Report: 1 in 3 Easily Exploitable Vulnerabilities Found on Cloud Assets

    CyCognito recently released new research highlighting critical security vulnerabilities across cloud-hosted assets, revealing that one in three easily exploitable vulnerabilities or misconfigurations are found on cloud assets. As organizations increasingly shift to multi-cloud strategies, the findings underscore significant security gaps that could provide attackers with potential footholds into networks. Read Now

  • Built for Today, Ready for Tomorrow

    Selecting the right VMS is critical for any organization that depends on video surveillance to ensure safety, security and operational efficiency. While many organizations focus on immediate needs such as budget and deployment size, let us review some of the long-term considerations that can significantly impact a VMS's utility and flexibility. Read Now

  • Paving the Way to Smart Buildings

    In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, the convergence of on-prem, edge and cloud technologies are critical. The physical security landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the rapid digitalization of buildings and the evolving needs of modern organizations. As the buildings sector pivots towards smart, AI and data-driven operations, the integration of both edge and cloud technology has become crucial. Read Now

  • The Cybersecurity Time Bomb

    If you work in physical security, you have probably seen it: a camera, access control system, or intrusion detection device installed years ago, humming along without a single update. It is a common scenario that security professionals have come to accept as "normal." But here is the reality: this mindset is actively putting organizations at risk. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • 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.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.