Month: August 2019

Bosch helps Moscow create a new urban living experience video security and access control It is one of Moscow’s most ambitious building projects – the VTB Arena Park was built on the site of the old Dynamo Stadium and revitalizes the entire surrounding area with a multi-purpose concept. At an estimated cost of US$ 1.5 billion, the modern VTB Arena Park combines sports, entertainment, commercial and residential facilities. A first challenge arises from the sheer size of the project. The football stadium, known as Dynamo Central Stadium and home to FC Dynamo Moscow football club, hosts league matches with a capacity of over 26,000 spectators. The park’s indoor arena holds more than 12,000 guests during ice hockey matches, basketball games and rock concerts, while the 300,000 square-meter park area also offers retail facilities, a five-star hotel and 1,600-car parking garage. Considering the wide range of very different purposes served by these various buildings, it was clear from the project’s inception that a multitude of vendors and providers would be needed to cover all security needs. From the security manager’s perspective, the main challenge was to ensure that these dis parate systems would function together and allowed for central management of a wide array of functions such as access control for tens of thousands of football fans entering the stadium on match days, monitoring the vast perimeter with its park zones, and protecting residential areas against intrusion. VTB Arena Park was looking for a partner able to tackle that key challenge – integration of all parts into one platform – and chose Bosch as its provider of end-to-end video security and access control. Aside from the project’s complex technical ramifications, there was a particular system design challenge. Residents of the Arena Park should feel at home enjoying the highest quality of living, while the area also needs to accommodate for the influx of thousands of visitors within short periods. As the Bosch experts learned, the multi-purpose character of VTB Park leads to an equally wide range of different security needs among its users. Catering to the video security needs, Bosch installed a total of more than 2,000 video cameras, fixed as well as moving cameras, both indoors and outdoors, to safeguard the vast perimeter of the Arena Park premises and secure the homes and offices. One of the camera types installed for perimeter protection is the autodome IP starlight 7000 HD. This high-definition camera offers excellent low-light performance thanks to starlight technology and also features built-in intelligent video analytics. The video analytics function automatically detects deviations from standard moving patterns, like a person entering a restricted area, and triggers an alarm that is sent to the control rooms where security staff can then zoom into a scene for closer investigation. As required by VTB Arena, all 2,000 cameras and connected video storage on Bosch recording units are managed centrally via the Bosch video management system (BVMS). Another particular challenge consisted of aligning the three different access control systems of the stadium running at the same time. The ticketing system is the first layer of access control managing the turnstiles that permit entry of thousands of visitors during events with paper tickets. This access control system needed to integrate with the employee access control system that relies on proximity cards (the access engine provided by Bosch), as well as a third, offline access control system used at specific stadium facilities. As the Bosch experts in Moscow found out, such an integration was without historic precedent. Because no standard solution existed, the team devised a highly customized set-up managed centrally on the Building Integration System (BIS) from Bosch. “We were fully aware that the multifunctional character of the VTB Arena Park would lead to complexity that could hardly be topped. We needed integration power, a partner who knew how to bind all loose ends into one solution that had never existed before. Creating this one integrated security system catering to all the various purposes has made Bosch our main security partner,” said Alexander Kravchenkov, Deputy Head of Security Systems Maintenance Group IT Department at VTB Arena.  

Staff protection is a critical priority for all businesses. But some sectors need to provide their staff with more protection than others. For instance, financial institutions like banks, post offices, and credit unions can be under threat from break-ins and robberies while other areas such as 24-hour fuel stations or factories have staff on premises working throughout the night. Therefore, if a robbery was to occur during these unorthodox working times, it is vital that the alarm can be raised, and help can be provided immediately. Traditionally the method for signaling a threat was a member of staff would trigger a silent alarm that would be reported to police, or staff would enter a unique duress code. These code option and the silent panic/ hold up are available on the SPC system. That said, an often-reported issue with duress codes is that adding a one-to-four-digit number can be challenging to perform when under pressure. Vanderbilt’s SPC However, Vanderbilt’s SPC intrusion system has several features that help protect staff. One such feature is the ‘All okay’ function. Simply put, this is a step that staff can perform to signal everything is ‘okay’ when the SPC system is unset. The nice thing about this is that SPC allows this ‘All okay’ signal to be almost anything. Additionally, you can add multiple elements that will trigger the signal. The SPC system can be configured to have this functionality for specific areas and the time and action can be defined for what will happen if the signal is not given. Any input or zone can be used. SPC: How it works For example, at a bank, if the manager arrives early, he uses his card to gain access to the branch office and PIN to disarm the alarm. His code disarms the office and secure area but the ATMs, vaults, and safe deposit boxes remain armed. A central monitoring station (CMS), is alerted to the early entry. They need to know whether the entry is routine or under duress. The monitoring station views the manager in live video as he executes a predetermined security procedure and until he hits an ‘All Okay’ button. If there is a problem, a silent duress alarm is automatically sent. The monitoring station listens in and if necessary calls the police. The core element here is that it is easy for staff to remember not to perform an action and also more natural.  

The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is a social health insurance scheme established by CAP 395 with the main objective of ensuring accessibility of health care services to all Tanzanians. The Fund has managed to expand its coverage to include councillors, private companies, religious and education institutions, private individuals, children under 18 (TOTO Afya) as well as mutual groups, whereby all members can equally access health services in all accredited health facilities. The Fund is also administering the Bunge Health Insurance Scheme, on behalf of the National Assembly. Business scenario and challenges NHIF is a prestigious public institution that serves people all over Dar es Salaam and Tanzania. It has multiple sites spread over these regions. Their current surveillance platform had a few limitations of integrating third party cameras and was not facilitating centralised monitoring for multiple locations. This posed a problem in managing and monitoring all sites from a single location. For this, they needed a surveillance platform that could easily integrate with multi-brand cameras as well as facilitate multi-location monitoring. Moreover, they needed a system with monitoring capacity of over 500 cameras with the facility of remote management for real-time security. Solution offered To the above challenges, Matrix offered SATATYA SAMAS video management system. It is a video surveillance management solution specifically designed to meet the diverse and complex needs of large enterprises having multiple sites connected to a central location, or a large single site. The system was able to integrate with 56 AXIS cameras available at its Headquarters and other 16 cameras available at its district branch offices. All the cameras were managed at single central server located at the NHIF HQ office. Matrix VMS provided real-time security with intelligent video analytics such as motion detection, intrusion detection, trip wire etc. Additionally, vms enabled monitoring and managing video surveillance from mobile phones and tablets remotely by using Matrix mobile application – SATATYA VISION. These features made monitoring much more reliable and easier for them. Project highlights VMS simultaneous user licence – 3 Qty. Mobile App (SATATYA VISION). Intelligent video analytics. Benefits Retention of existing security infrastructure. Reduces storage consumption with cost saving features. Centralized monitoring and management. Real-time security.  

Heavy rain and storms resulting in flooding, have increased significantly in recent years. When large quantities of rainfall in very short periods of time, masses of water overrun sewage capacities in many areas and allow water bodies to rise over their banks, often with destructive force and disastrous effects. Emergency responders on scene, then face the task of coordinating aid and protection measures as efficiently as possible. However, affected areas are often inaccessible, and situations are unwieldy. Real-time data and images from the air, combined when possible with further sensor data on the ground’s condition, for example, would provide emergency responders with valuable information and allow them to intervene where it would be most prudent. Engineers Martin Becker, Simon Batzdorfer and Markus Bobbe of the Institute of Flight Guidance at the Technische Universität Braunschweig (TUBS) and Jan Schattenberg, Hannes Harms and Julian Schmiemann from the Institute for Mobile Machines and Commercial Vehicles, also at TUBS have taken up this topic and developed an automated exploration system. The DLR Space Administration was promoting the engineers’ project with approximately one million euros funding from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, to work on an exploration system in cooperation with AirRobot GmbH & Co. KG from Arnsberg, Germany. Generating aerial recordings in catastrophe-stricken areas such as flood zones, using automated unmanned aircraft plays a meaningful role in the exploration system. Combined with ground-based systems, information regarding the situation in affected areas can be collected to support emergency responders at the affected location. All data collected from aerial and ground units can then be represented within a single map and made available to emergency response personnel. High-resolution aerial images for rapid aid A Manta camera from Allied Vision onboard the drone Hugin delivers images from the air. The project team chose the drone’s name deliberately; in Norse mythology, The Manta camera combines high resolution with low weight, factors that mattered to the system’s developers. Hugin should carry as little additional weight as possible, to minimize the interference on the operation time. Depending on the external conditions, Hugin can remain in the air for up to 30 minutes without recharging. Secure communication via its command link, is guaranteed within a range of a kilometer. Equipped with a control system based on positional data, the drone is able to safely navigate a predefined route, even in challenging environmental conditions and with peak win loads, at up to 12m/s. During the flight, individual images are recorded from altitudes of usually 100 meters, depending on the application. All obtained images are then processed to generate a continuous overview of the entire application area. Due to the automatic exposure adjustment functionality of the camera, even changing light conditions are manageable. Since comprehensive image preprocessing (i.e., image optimization, light correction, white balance, color correction, binning, decimation) takes place within the camera, information-rich two-dimensional images are transmitted to the base station, located on the ground. In addition, a self-developed local communication network is used, which enables targeted information exchange, based upon different communication technologies. During catastrophic events, emergency responders can evaluate the situation better and more quickly with the aid of these images. Since they can see where protective measures must be taken or increased, they can initiate the necessary steps. In case of emergency, system operation must be fast and intuitive. The system determines the flight path based on just a few parameters, so that the emergency services have as little effort as possible to control the drone. The response team leader can easily choose the area to fly over at the system’s ground station. Flight planning then is automatically performed, incorporating all mandatory parameters e.g., opening angle of the lens, to ensure a minimal defined overlap for photogrammetric processing of the obtained images. The drone follows the flight path automatically, and the (live) evaluation of the images is subsequently triggered automatically, too. Within the ground station, the user can specify the actually piloted drone and to select data streams, which are then provided in real time including aerial imaginary or other sensor data. Successful tests in practice The Stadtentwässerung Braunschweig GmbH was confronted with serious flooding in the summer of 2017 and urgently needed information on current water levels near the Okerriver’s course through the city. They requested help from the TU Braunschweig via an existing contact at the Braunschweig fire department. One particularly endangered area (from the Eisenbütteler Wehr to the Volkswagen Halle) was surveilled and documented in a variety of aerial images. The Stadtentwässerung thus gained knowledge not just about how the flooding had spread, but could also retrace whether protective measures undertaken during the prior flooding in 1994 were now successfully taking hold. Based on the images, important decisions could be made, and questions answered such as – must warnings be issued, are closures required, at which locations are sandbags necessary, and via which routes are these regions even accessible? In the future, the Braunschweig Stadtentwässerung would also like to take advantage of the Braunschweig TU system for long-term observation of flood protection measures and to review prognosis models. In another application case, the Braunschweig TU research team successfully tested Hugin in the field of coastal protection. On the East Frisian island of Langeoog in the southern North Sea, a flyover produced revealing aerial images of dunes and dykes. One item that drew particular attention was a beach nourishment taking place at the time. During one flushing procedure, numerous aerial images were made of the location that clearly demonstrated to local coastal protection authorities just how close the tide came to the dunes in the still unfinished area of the beach nourishment, and in the same moment, how far the surge was removed from the dunes when the beach level had been raised by additional sand. The TU Braunschweig engineers are already considering other applications and further constraints. Thus, the drone can be equipped with a thermal imaging camera, for example, to be able to find injured persons in the dark.  

Recently a truck crashed into a Delta Scientific DSC600 bollard protecting the Old Capitol ground in Tallahassee. The vehicle went no further than the bollard itself, stuck on top so well that it took two other trucks to remove it. The driver survived. “DSC600 bollards protect the Capitol grounds and their aesthetics with K-12 defense that meets or exceeds U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense certifications,” affirmed Greg Hamm, Delta Scientific Vice President of Marketing and Sales, “With the DSC600 crash rated bollard modules, facilities surrounded by streets, abutting sidewalks and set back on lawns such as many state capitals, other government structures, stadiums, theaters and commercial buildings, can now be effectively protected.” With a foundation only 14 inches (35.5 cm) deep versus the four feet (1.2 m) typically required, Delta’s DSC600 shallow foundation high security bollards can be installed within sidewalks, on top of concrete deck truss bridges or in planters. They can also conform to varying inclines and turns of a locale. The new 2-bollard modules, which can be arrayed in whatever length is required, will stop and destroy a 15,000 pound (66.7kN) truck traveling 50 miles per hour (80kph).  

Faced with a number of security challenges and planned future expansion, a major airport decided to implement a scalable security surveillance solution. Security issues and analog hangovers With the existing proprietary solution at the airport locked down to one manufacturer and littered with issues resulting in high maintenance and expansion costs, a new solution was required that would allow the airport to scale it’s surveillance solution in line with future expansion plans. Not only was the existing surveillance solution analog and proprietary, it wasn’t intuitive and was difficult for operators to use. There were several ‘satellite’ security installations scattered in various terminal buildings that weren’t viewable in the centralized control room which meant extra operators were required. The low-resolution analog cameras made it difficult to identify people during incidents, and coupled with the lack of video coverage it gave operators poor situational awareness. Reviewing past events with the existing VMS was difficult as playback wasn’t synchronized, and without bookmarks, it was time-consuming to find important events. The combination of multiple terminal buildings and the centralized analog architecture resulted in bottlenecks and latency issues as all process. Addressing security and scalability concerns The required solution had multiple requirements to ensure that the existing issues were resolved and that the solution could scale with the planned expansion. With expansion planned to facilitate growing passenger numbers, an open IP based solution was specified to replace the existing analog solution to improve situational awareness, provide scalability and integrate with a number of other systems operating in the airport. The architecture needed to limit bottlenecks, reduce latency issues, provide redundancy advantages and be scalable to allow for multiple new terminal buildings to be connected with ease. New HD cameras were specified to improve image quality and coverage with a video wall required in order to view and manage the increase in video streams in the centralized control room. New large capacity NVRs were also specified to cope with the increase in camera streams and an extra NVR for redundancy and failover. Distributed Architecture helped exceed requirements A solution with Distributed Architecture was chosen as it solved multiple issues with the existing solution and facilitated future expansion without the need for a centralized server. Distributed Architecture allows data to be kept close to where it is produced or needed. When camer as, surveillance workstations, NVRs, alarm servers, integration gateways all participate in a Distributed Architecture, data bottlenecks are minimized as all processing doesn’t need to pass through a centralized server. Distributed Architecture provides a truly unlimited and scalable solution that can easily accommodate the largest airports in the world. Distributed Architecture minimized the existing bottlenecks, reduced latency, and provided higher availability and faster access to data. It also allowed all ‘satellite’ security installations to be viewed in the centralized control room enhancing situational awareness. New HD cameras were installed and due to the scalability of Distributed Architecture, future cameras can easily be connected when needed. Furthermore, the scalability of Distributed Architecture enabled the airport to build new terminal buildings and connect with ease to the security solution when ready. Lowering total cost of ownership (TCO) Distributed Architecture enables planned future expansion as it can support thousands of cameras, workstations and NVRs dramatically reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO). The scalability of Distributed Architecture allows the airport to continue with planned expansion and add a single camera/ NVR or a whole new terminal when needed.  

Cookpad Inc. has adopted the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform for comprehensive endpoint protection and to increase overall security posture. Cookpad, the Japan based tech company, offers a global community platform for consumers to share recipe ideas and cooking tips. They found themselves struggling with frequent detection errors from their existing antivirus product. The Cookpad security team sought to find an endpoint protection platform to improve their security posture and ultimately deployed three modules of the CrowdStrike Falcon platform – CrowdStrike Falcon Prevent™ for next-generation antivirus (NGAV), Falcon Insight™ for endpoint protection and response, and CrowdStrike Falcon OverWatch™ to proactively hunt for threats in their environment. The CrowdStrike Falcon platform, powered by AI, continues to set the standard in endpoint protection by unifying next-generation antivirus, IT hygiene, endpoint detection and response (EDR), cyber threat intelligence, and proactive threat hunting for customers around the globe. Through the seamless deployment of CrowdStrike Falcon, Cookpad experienced the following benefits: Substantial reduction in detection errors or false positives, enabling more robust security: The single-agent, cloud-native infrastructure of CrowdStrike Falcon enables a substantial reduction in detection errors without impacting operations for the organization. Detailed event assessments for faster remediation: CrowdStrike Falcon can quickly investigate and identify malicious behavior on endpoints. This allows for rapid triage of system environments and quickly backtracks process sequences and timelines enabling quicker remediation. A comprehensive viewpoint into the IT environment through proactive hunting on networks: Integration of Falcon OverWatch provides an additional layer of oversight and analysis on malicious behaviors. OverWatch proactively hunts, investigates and alerts threat activity within Cookpad’s environment, improving overall security posture. “The CrowdStrike Falcon platform enables visibility into our environment – real-time and historic,” said Masayoshi Mizutani, Security Team Leader of Cookpad, “After implementing CrowdStrike Falcon, we saw huge benefits that enabled us to understand the movement of security events and offered detailed assessments. From a productivity perspective, some of our members work remotely so we’re thinking that traditional perimeter-based defenses won’t be enough. We approve the remote work with trust because CrowdStrike Falcon platform provides not only threat prevention but also remote inspection capability.” “CrowdStrike Falcon has reinvented how organizations stop breaches by delivering a single-agent, cloud-native solution that provides businesses with more effective threat prevention, detection and response to known and unknown threats,” said Tetsuya Kawai, Managing Director of CrowdStrike Japan, “Forward-thinking companies, such as Cookpad, understand the power and scalability of the cloud. With CrowdStrike, they have already experienced the benefits of a faster, smarter, and more agile solution that has allowed them to reduce detection errors, and proactively investigate and rapidly respond to threats, thereby fortifying their security posture.” This latest adoption underscores the advantage of CrowdStrike’s cloud-native technology architecture that enables rapid development and roll out of impactful new modules and capabilities. CrowdStrike has set the new standard in endpoint protection through harnessing the power of the cloud.