INDUSTRY FOCUS

A Virus on the Move

If you had second thoughts about traveling to ISC West this year because of the coronavirus, raise your hand. If your opinion of spending three days in a confined space with 15,000 other well-meaning people is a bit tenuous, raise the other hand. You probably made other plans for ISC West this year.

COVID-19 has been the topic of much discussion in many boardrooms prior to ISC West. The show organizer, Reed Exhibitions, sent out a note two weeks before the event, saying the show will occur as scheduled. A week later, show organizers made the announcement that ISC West had been canceled for March but rescheduled for July. From the original press release, a “No Handshake Show” policy was announced.

Seriously, what is a tradeshow without a handshake?

Like many other travelers and exhibitors, we filled our boardroom with concerned staff to discuss the consequences of COVID-19 and our participation in Las Vegas. The Security Today team felt we had an obligation to serve the industry as B2B journalists, because this is the time of year when the newest products are being released and announced. Now, a sigh of relief as the show has been rescheduled.

As of this writing, specific dates in July aren’t announced but I’m sure we’ll have them in due course.

As several manufacturers were pulling out of ISC West, their notices often said it was for the concern of their employees, and the general safety of all tradeshow attendees. Reed Exhibitions held firm, saying the show much go on. This was not a popular response, until the March 6 announcement.

Will Wise, the Group Vice President at Reed Exhibitions, said that it was not a decision that the organizers took lightly.

“It is imperative that we maintain our commitment to prioritize the health and safety of everyone involved with ISC West,” Wise said in a statement. “Reed Exhibitions would like to express sincere gratitude to all exhibitors, partners, attendees, suppliers, media and staff, in addition to our Premier Sponsor SIA [Security Industry Association], for their support and communications during this challenging time and we look forward to welcoming the global security and public safety community to Las Vegas in July.”

Show organizers made the right choice. Putting attendees, and people in general in harm’s way would have been the wrong move. COVID-19 and a “simple” case of the flu is nothing to sneeze at. People want to attend ISC West, but just don’t want to get sick.

With COVID-19 on the move, the thing to do was to move as far away from Las Vegas temptation as possible.

This article originally appeared in the April 2020 issue of Security Today.

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.

Featured

  • 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

  • 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

New Products

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • 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.