Day: October 19, 2021

Hikvision India, the leading provider of innovative video security products and solutions, has participated in the recently held FSAI Maha Yatra, organised by the Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI). There were three events organised under the aegis of the FSAI Maha Yatra, including Fire & Security India Expo (FSIE) – (virtual on-line expo); India Fire & Security Yatra (IFSY) – (on-site and the virtual conference at 21 chapters in 21 cities); and FIST Awards 2021 (on-site and virtual – 21 chapters) were organized as a part of the FSAI Maha Yatra. Hikvision India has won the Product of the Year Access Control Systems (Hardware-Software) award at the Finest India Skill & Talent (FIST) Awards in the access control category. The first day of FSIE event was inaugurated by Dr. Vikram Singh, Former DGP of UP. This was preceded by a welcome address by Suresh Menon. National President, FSAI highlighting various attributes of all the three events. This was followed by an introductory talk by Ms. Rakhi Deepak, national Secretary, FSAI. Dr. Singh also chaired the opening session and covered various nuances on how to handle the safety, health and security relevant concerns likely to crop up while educational institutions are getting geared for reopening. Commenting on the Hikvision’s participation in the FSAI Maha Yatra, Ashish P. Dhakan, MD and CEO, Prama Hikvision India Pvt. Ltd., said, “Hikvision India had proactively participated in the FSAI’s Maha Yatra to present its latest technologies and product innovations in the Indian security market. It is one of the most unique onsite and virtual expo platforms for the fire and security segments. We were happy to showcase the latest products and innovative technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data and IoT. We won the most coveted FIST Award in the access control systems (hardware/ software) as Product of the Year Award. This is an affirmation of our faith and conviction in the research and development to drive the excellence and innovation. FSAI Maha Yatra has added value through FSIE, IFSY and FIST Award events.” India Fire & Security Yatra (IFSY 2021) events were also organised in the on-site & virtual format across 21 Chapters. IFSY had allowed one to one interaction with the visitors present physically at the venue. In every city the chapter/ subchapter had organised the technical seminars during the day. IFSY 2021 was successfully organised at 21 locations (Goa, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Surat, Vadodara, Amaravathi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Nashik, Raipur and Vizag) across the country concurrently. Hikvision India representatives participated in the conference through presentations and panel discussion at these 21 locations. Pramod Pandurang Sawant, Hon. Chief Minister, Goa has kindly presided over the above function as chief guest and inaugurated the proceedings from Goa. Finest India Skill & Talent (FIST) Awards distribution function were also held online. Awards in different categories were given away splitting across 21 chapter level venues across the country. Hikvision India won the Product of the year Award in the access control system (software/ hardware). The FIST Awards function witnessed a number of leading industries, other manufacturing units and other establishments like medicare establishments, hospitality sector, educational institutions, commercial as well as residential sectors etc. However, uniquely this year the programs could be executed across the country at its 21 chapter wise locations through both online and offline (physical) modes. In parallel, they had also been streamed parallel across the nation (virtually).  

Johnson Controls, the leading global player for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, selected Tempered Networks to provide best-in-class secure communications and network management for its OpenBlue services, further advancing cybersecurity leadership for the company’s smart buildings technology ecosystem. The agreement allows Johnson Controls to deploy Tempered Airwall as a core component of OpenBlue service offerings to protect building automation customers worldwide. OpenBlue serves many different industries including commercial and civic workplaces, hospitals, schools, campuses, and stadiums. “The acceleration of digital transformation means our customers are realizing the benefits of operating smart buildings that are increasingly data-enabled and require the strongest levels of cybersecurity,” said Vijay Sankaran, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Johnson Controls, “By leveraging security technology from Tempered Networks, we enable smart buildings with industry-leading secure remote access technology and AI-driven security insights to help OpenBlue customers manage risk and simplify network management, allowing them to deliver a great occupant experience.” “We enable smart buildings with industryleading secure remote access tech and AIdriven security” CTO, Vijay Sankaran   Tempered Airwall will be integrated into OpenBlue Bridge technology, a gateway for secure edge to cloud communications. “We are enabling Johnson Controls technicians to securely access and manage equipment at a customer site from anywhere using zero trust software defined networking and military-grade encryption, rendering building systems invisible to unauthorized users and potential attacks,” said Jason Christman, Vice President and Chief Product Security Officer at Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls new OpenBlue services that leverage the Tempered Airwall platform will be available globally and addresses clear demand for improved cybersecurity and management. “Critical infrastructure is being hacked daily because digital transformation has made it vulnerable. The network solutions that worked in the past, like adding yet another firewall, are no longer effective”, said Keith Beeman, CEO of Tempered Networks, “With Airwall’s native zero trust platform, building automation systems can now be safely and optimally managed from anywhere.” The integration of Lynwood, Washington-based Tempered Network’s security technology further advances OpenBlue Services leadership in cybersecurity, building on recent partnerships with Pelion and DigiCert to provide advanced secure device management and digital trust for smart building technology.  

Anil Puri CMD, APS group A second generation entrepreneur, thought leader and an action catalyzer rolled into one – Anil Puri is a rare combination of a visionary, and one who has mastered the art of strategic and tactical thinking to the core. He has been using this combination to seed new ideas and to lead them to their implementation on-ground. This has been a consistent feature of his career. He has rich experience of approximately 35 years in corporate in diverse domains & from functional managerial level to apex as chairman of a corporate group. PSA came to him as a part of inheritance and by choice. He at times spends part of his time in listening to his ops team in their due diligence in understanding the nitty – gritty of the PSS or security design of the client premises. Most of the time his niche experience and deep understanding of the PSS is of immense value to the ops team in unwinding the folds of the system. INTRODUCTION Security standards are heavily context dependent and tailored to the needs of the company and/ or region. Whether it is heavy crime, militias or corruption, security by design (SBD) is needed to protect assets and to ensure that a company continues operating without interference. When a project is in its infant stages with low exposure, the companies take little to no heed, but it is of the utmost importance that your business is prepared for potential risks when the wheels of your project start turning full throttle. PHYSICAL SECURITY & CYBER SECURITY – WHY CONVERGENCE MIRRORS THE PILLARING EFFECT? Cybersecurity/ digital security has become the watchword of the day. Having stepped into the 21st century, the world is heavily dependent on IT infrastructure for carrying out everyday business operations. Be it monetary transactions or information exchange, digital platforms today dominate the world stage. Naturally, digital data has taken the center stage in the grand scheme of things – with more and more devices coming online due to the advent of technologies such as wearables and IoT, and this volume of data is only going to increase. Due to the rather sensitive nature of digital infrastructure, businesses are investing heavily in ensuring the digital security of their IT assets, and with newer, more sophisticated threats on the horizon, this is only to be expected. Malicious elements on the internet are regularly amping up their repertoire of attack techniques. Ransomware, DDoS, and spyware are just some of the many weapons in the arsenal of these malicious players. In order to protect IT resources from such attacks, companies are prepared to invest time as well as money. But are our present security measures enough? True, you can put in place advanced digital security structures, create digital safety and hygiene protocols, and deploy state-ofthe-art technology to ensure that your assets are digitally protected. All this overlooks one of the main chinks in the cyber security armour – the Physical Security. Consider this – you have implemented all the encryption in the world, you’ve created a digitally insulated system that cannot be penetrated by digital means. What if a fire happens to ravage your data servers? Or any unauthorized personnel gains access to secure areas of your computing infrastructure? What happens next? Physical security was, is, and will remain one of the prime avenues by which your cyber infrastructures can and should be adequately protected. Keeping your organization safe against physical attacks is essential to safeguarding your digital assets. This not only helps reduce the risks to your IT infrastructure but also contributes towards protecting your employees as well as related physical property. Yet physical security rarely occupies a position of concern in the minds of most information security professionals. Seeing as physical security has multiple technical as well as administrative components, organizations fail to recognize it as a valid component of cyber security. Physical security must be one of the key components of your digital security plan. Without a well laid physical security infrastructure, your digital security remains half-baked at the best, and dangerously exposed at the worst – most important link in the cyber security chain. WHAT DOES SECURITY BY DESIGN (SBD) IMPLY? An effective physical security system when evolved by design; integrates people, procedures, and technology for the protection of the assets against all possible types of crime; to mention a few – intrusion, thefts, sabotage, malicious human attacks and most vital being the cybersecurity breaches. Hence, the designer or security director should weigh the objectives of the physical security system (PSS) clearly against available resources and then evaluate the proposed design to ascertain how well it meets the objectives of the security program. SECURITY BY DESIGN VS SECURITY BY NUMBERS? As discussed above, security by design takes into account multiple disciplinary approaches to ensure that a building is safe and secure for office, residence or commercial purpose; more so as part of fool proof PSS (physical security system). Sheer deployment of numbers without taking into account the pillars of the asset protection like risk assessment (RA) & risk management (RM) tools, non-integration of selected components of technology will only amount to flooding with human presence amounting to melee, overcrowding and overlapping of job profiles leading to utter confusion and non-accountability. Human error will overwhelm the system with no space for technology and processes leading to erratic & regressive response mechanism – thus vitiating the very principle of detect, deter, delay and respond (destroy) leading to ultimate failure of PSS. WHAT DOES SECURITY BY DESIGN INVOLVE? To design and construct a safe and secure building, a collaborative approach to the design process is required, starting at the conceptual phase of the project and continuing throughout the process. So is the case when we decide to evolve a PSS. It is necessary for all persons responsible for the safety and security of the building components to interact closely throughout the entire design and construction process. This means that all interested parties…