December 10, 2017 - securitylinkindia

Videx Secures North Tyneside Housing

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaDecember 10, 2017November 14, 202405 mins

Videx has expanded its presence in the housing market by winning a three year contract with North Tyneside Council. North Tyneside Council provides a range of accommodation across the region to meet the differing needs of the local community. The Council wanted to refurbish 16 sheltered housing schemes with better suited door entry systems and provide new systems to a further 10 new builds. These schemes ranged in size from a new build development comprising 8 bungalows to a 54 bed extra care scheme. The number of properties in total that required access control additions or modifications was 1,000. Videx, working with Goldshield Securus, has provided door entry systems that offer flexible access control that meets both the changing needs of the residents and also the operational aspects of the staffing arrangements. Steve Natton, Projects Manager at Videx, said, “The requirement was clear – the Council wanted an easy way for residents to report issues such as anti-social behaviour, general maintenance faults and any other non-emergency related issue that did not require a call through their warden call system. With the Videx IP based door entry system, tenants have been provided with a remote IP help line through to a dedicated team at North Tyneside Council. By using the door entry handset the tenant can place a call through to the Council which is handled by an operator on a PC based concierge. The operator views the call on the screen and can call the resident back over the IP connection. This call has no cost associated to it as it utilises the authority intranet and also provides inclusion for all tenants living within their schemes whether they have a telephone line or not. Another main benefit of this feature is that it also relieves the strain on the Warden Call system freeing up time for emergency calls.” A full access control and CCTV system with IP remote monitoring covers the external perimeter, controlled access doors, lobby area, and an additional camera is set up in the Scheme Manager’s office. The controlled access door cameras are made available on the residents’ communal IRS TV system allowing them to validate the visitor and the office camera can be switched on to also broadcast on to the TV system to allow the residents to view the Scheme Manager during morning calls. This feature was a specific request by the client to provide the residents with a visual presence if they wish during the call process. Perimeter intruder alarm detection was also provided with remote monitoring which interfaced with the CCTV and provided a complete security package. Steve added, “What’s particularly reassuring for the Council is that our door entry systems come with a lifelong guarantee of support so if the client has any issues with the system or needs to modify it to meet the changing needs of residents, they can. That is one of the most unique aspects of the Videx service – lifelong support – and one of the reasons why we are able to grow our client base in the housing market.”

Product

STM32H7 Series MCU

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaDecember 10, 2017November 14, 202405 mins

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor provider serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications and a leading supplier of Arm-based microcontrollers (MCU) used in Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, welcomes Platform Security Architecture (PSA) from Arm as a major enabler for ubiquitous, best-in-class cyber security. ST’s STM32H7 high-performing MCUs are designed with the same security concepts as the PSA framework, and combine these principles with STM32-family enhanced security features and services. People and organizations are increasingly dependent on connected electronic devices to manage time, monitor health, handle social interactions, consume or deliver services, maximize productivity, and many other activities. Preventing unauthorized interactions with these devices is essential to protecting identity, personal information, physical assets, and intellectual property. As the IoT grows in scope and pervasiveness, public safety and national security are also at stake. As device manufacturers must always innovate to beat new and inventive hacking exploits, PSA helps them implement state-of-the-art security cost-effectively in small, resource-constrained devices. “Security is a major priority to ensure the success of the IoT. Winning the confidence of end users – from individual consumers to businesses and government agencies – is critical to adoption,” said Michel Buffa, Microcontroller Division General Manager, STMicroelectronics, “PSA from Arm is making core security capabilities like device identity and over-the-air (OTA) updates more affordable and scalable for small autonomous IoT devices, and we’ve made it work with the existing security features of STM32 microcontrollers including on our high-performing STM32H7 series.” ST’s STM32H7 MCU devices integrate hardware-based security features including a true random-number generator (TRNG) and advanced cryptographic processor, which will simplify protecting embedded applications and global IoT systems against attacks like eavesdropping, spoofing, or man-in-the-middle interception. In addition, secure firmware loading facilities help OEMs ensure their products can be programmed safely and securely, even off-site at a contract manufacturer or programming house. To enable secure loading, security keys and software services already on-board the MCU permit OEMs to provide manufacturing partners with already-encrypted firmware, making intercepting, copying, or tampering with the code impossible. This enables programming and authenticating the device to establish the root-of-trust mechanism needed for the device to be connected to the end-user’s network and remotely updated over the air (OTA) to apply security patches or feature upgrades throughout the lifetime of the device. “Arm is working with our ecosystem to shift the economics of security with the introduction of PSA as a common industry framework for securing the next trillion connected devices,” said Paul Williamson, Vice President and General Manager, IoT Device IP, Arm, “To secure hardware blocks and firmware-loading services ST has embedded in the Cortex-M based STM32H7 series, and utilizes the Arm PSA principles to drive innovation in security for a broad range of applications, including communication gateways and connected objects.”