Government agencies overseeing national and local parks and municipal and private utilities -- including water and wastewater -- have remote communications and physical security requirements that are often challenging to address. Connecting multiple distant sites at speeds equal to those achieved over wire is a daunting proposition but is necessary when fiber or leased lines are too costly or impractical. The needs are pressing when an act of crime or vandalism, an environmental disaster, or loss of communications can potentially cost millions of dollars to mitigate and even cause the loss of lives.
- By Ksenia Coffman
- Mar 01, 2011
A critical element of protecting troops in the field of battle is proper identity management. A military installation in the Middle East, for example, must ensure that only authorized personnel can enter the camp. For soldiers, losing an access card to an enemy could be disastrous. Personal identification numbers are too easy to steal or share. To solve this problem, the military turned to biometrics just as other government entities have done as well.
- By Dan Kilgore
- Mar 01, 2011
The Hillsborough County Sheriff ’s office (HSCO) in Tampa, Fla., is a full-service law enforcement agency comprising more than 3,400 employees. Leadership and officers value integrity, professionalism and community-oriented policing as the top priorities of agency operations. Today, HCSO, led by Sheriff David Gee, is one of fewer than 20 public safety agencies in the nation to attain law enforcement, jail and medical accreditation.
- By Lee Caswell
- Mar 01, 2011
For many years now, the promise of biometrics has not been fully realized. This is, in large part, because performance in the lab is not representative of performance in the field. That’s the reason major programs for Citizen ID and others have never really been fulfilled.
- By Phil Scarfo
- Mar 01, 2011
With ISC West coming up on the docket, it will be interesting to see what video vendors will be emphasizing. Odds are that we will see scores of messages about better widgets -- higher-resolution cameras, unique VMS software, clever storage schemes and the like.
- By Mark S. Wilson
- Mar 01, 2011
In the autumn of 2009, there was a very special “guest” at the National Museum in Copenhagen. Naturally, security was a top priority for the museum, but it was especially important for the world’s largest gold coin, which weighed 220 pounds and had a value of $2.9 million to $3.2 million.
- By Courtney Pedersen
- Mar 01, 2011
Burglary, internal theft, larceny and fraud: These and a host of other security threats are likely here to stay. So it should be no surprise that Kroll’s 2010 Global Fraud Report shows marked increases in IT security (19 percent) and physical asset security (15 percent) investments in the retail, wholesale and distribution sectors. The good news? Proactive measures are helping to reduce losses.
- By Jacqueline Grimm
- Mar 01, 2011
The dream of easy money draws gamblers to casinos; the goal of preserving profits requires casinos to find ways to keep dishonest gamblers from gaining that money illegally. There are some scenarios and many reasons why casinos need to partner with security integrators to realize the full potential of their security systems.
- By John Monti
- Mar 01, 2011
Today’s thief may not be the bank robber of yesterday. While there are still plenty of banks getting hit, it’s now drug thieves working the pharmacies that have law enforcement concerned.
PhoneFactor’s multi-factor authentication service has been integrated with Microsoft HealthVault, an online service designed to put consumers in control of their personal health information. HealthVault users can now benefit from an extra layer of security when signing into the service, further protecting their privacy and preventing identity theft and fraud.
NEC Corporation has introduced a device to simultaneously acquire fingerprint and finger vein characteristics without physical contact. Worldwide shipment of the HS100-10 Contactless Hybrid Finger Scanner (HS100-10) is scheduled to begin in May 2011.
HID Global has enabled the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network (AEHN) to re-badge more than 7,000 personnel following the firm’s spin-off and corporate re-branding, while also migrating to higher-security 13.56 MHz contactless technologies.
FLIR Systems Inc. has teamed with Sonardyne International Ltd. on a multi-million dollar project in the United Arab Emirates. The companies, with FLIR as the project leader, will provide a commercial, off-the shelf, integrated perimeter and coastal protection solution for a key coastal facility.
A new report, "Privacy and Security in Health Care: A Fresh Look," released by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, identifies the risks associated with privacy and security breaches in healthcare. The report offers guidance to help minimize potential privacy and security threats as health reform drives increased exchange of online health information.
The municipality of Egedal in Denmark has experienced a significant drop in crime since the implementation of a surveillance system based on Milestone XProtect Enterprise open platform video management software. The number of vandalism acts alone has fallen by 90 percent.
The certified installation is at Jerry's Nugget Casino, a Las Vegas hallmark since 1964. The installation provides full coverage leveraging new, high-resolution, IP-based megapixel cameras around the facility, covering all aspects of the property from retail to safety, and to the regulated gaming environment.
Yanak will report directly to Christer Bergman, vice president of Fujitsu’s biometric solutions, who joined the company in December.
Cisco has selected MorphoTrack (Safran group) as an ecosystem provider, making the company’s MorphoAccess biometric readers available as an integral component of Cisco’s IP-based access control system.
The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, in a statement submitted recently to a key House Homeland Security Subcommittee, called for swift congressional action to pass a three-to-five year authorization of current Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards that expire March 4.
Franco P.L. van Heijningen recently joined Honeywell as the general manager for its Vindicator Technology business, which focuses on critical assets and personnel within the government, military, commercial and industrial markets. His 30 years of career experience has crisscrossed the globe, with positions at consulting organizations in Asia and the Netherlands. We sat down with him to talk about infrastructure security.