2021 - securitylinkindia

National

CrowdStrike and Google Cloud Extend Strategic Partnership to Deliver Defense-in-Depth Protection Across Hybrid Cloud Environments

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 29, 2021November 14, 202406 mins

CrowdStrike, a leader in cloud-delivered endpoint and workload protection, and Google Cloud recently announced a series of product integrations that will deliver joint customers defense-in-depth security, comprehensive visibility and workload protection at scale across hybrid cloud environments. These integrations will enable more seamless sharing of telemetry and data between the two security platforms, helping maintain high levels of security across a customers’ entire cloud or hybrid environment. Under this expanded partnership, CrowdStrike will tightly integrate its CrowdStrike Falcon® platform with Google Cloud’s suite of security products including Chronicle, VirusTotal Enterprise, and Google Cloud Security Command Center (SCC), helping security teams increase visibility of threats across cloud and hybrid deployments, and enabling them to act much more quickly to address them. “The past year forced organizations to push their digital transformation forward at record pace to support remote workforces. However, digital transformation cannot be done without security transformation, in order to protect organizations’ cloud presence,” said Amol Kulkarni, Chief Product Officer of CrowdStrike, “That is why we are proud to expand our partnership with Google Cloud and deliver deeper integrations with their security capabilities. These integrations are powered by our best-in-class, AI-powered telemetry to provide contextual and actionable intelligence that accelerates incident response to better protect cloud workloads from sophisticated threat activity.” “Security issues continue to disrupt enterprises across all industries, prompting many to modernize their security plans and operations with the cloud. At the same time, attackers continue to become more sophisticated and evolve attack methods,” said Sunil Potti, Vice President & General Manager of Google Cloud Security, “Our expanded partnership with CrowdStrike helps our joint customers make the most of their security investments and gain multi-level defenses that can only be delivered by the power of the cloud.” The new integrations between CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform and Google Cloud include: Google Cloud’s security analytics engine, Chronicle, will integrate with the CrowdStrike Falcon platform, which processes over five trillion endpoint-related events per week, enabling security teams to more easily analyze endpoint and workload telemetry in order to find and address threats quickly. Teams will also be able to correlate petabytes of data from Chronicle with datasets from the Falcon platform, enabling them to thoroughly investigate longterm attacks and stop new ones. VirusTotal, a crowd sourced malware collection platform, will integrate with CrowdStrike Falcon and will also be available via the CrowdStrike Store, allowing cybersecurity teams to quickly search for and identify files or URLs that are relevant to an investigation, and uncover previously unknown threats. Integrating VirusTotal with the Falcon platform also enables customers to more effectively track adversaries and generate detection rules that can eliminate blind spots in their cloud and hybrid infrastructure. Google Cloud’s SCC will aggregate alerts and events from the CrowdStrike Falcon platform, which helps provide a single comprehensive view of security and compliance across a customers’ cloud environment. This unified management console makes it much easier for security teams to maintain visibility and control over their environment and to more quickly prioritize violations and investigate alerts. Google Cloud’s BeyondCorp Enterprise and Google Workspace will also integrate with Falcon Zero Trust Assessment (ZTA) to allow joint customers to create and enforce granular access policies to applications using CrowdStrike’s unique risk signals, strengthening zero trust initiatives. In addition, CrowdStrike will offer integrations with Google Cloud’s Security Agent Deployment taking advantage of the Operating System Configuration Management for automated and scalable sensor deployment.

Colt Takes Network Innovation to New Heights with a 400G-Capable Routed Optical Networking Solution on its IQ Network

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 29, 2021November 14, 202406 mins

Colt Technology Services, a leading provider of high bandwidth and on-demand connectivity, has recently announced that it is transforming its global IQ Network through the deployment of Cisco’s cutting-edge Cisco 8000 hardware alongside 400G OpenZR+ pluggable coherent technology and Segment Routing MPLS throughout the network, moving towards Cisco’s Routed Optical Networking solution. This multi-faceted development sees Colt leverage an industry-leading combination of hardware and software innovation with 400G capability to provide enriched high bandwidth and software-defined connectivity for its customers globally. As part of this initiative, Colt is leading the industry in the trial and adoption of Acacia’s 400G OpenZR+ technology for long-haul inter-metro connections that are greater than 200km. Since the IQ Network launch in 2016, Colt has continued to drive innovation in next-generation networking through an extensive investment programme, testing and deployment of leading-edge technologies. Today, the IQ Network connects over 900 data centres across Europe, Asia and North America’s largest business hubs, with over 29,000 on net buildings and growing. Colt is further future-proofing its global IQ Network with the Cisco 8000 router series powered by Cisco Silicon One, Segment Routing MPLS, and Acacia 400G OpenZR+ technology. Cisco 8000 and Acacia 400G Open ZR+ technology provide a simpler and more scalable architecture that delivers cost efficiency with reduced space and power usage. These Cisco technologies within the IQ Network will help Colt address the exponential increase in demand for high bandwidth services from its customers. Building a strategic partnership since 2019, Colt has been working closely with Cisco to optimise and evolve the IQ Network from 100G to 400G. This is to ensure Colt can address the exponential increase in demand for high bandwidth services from its customers and remain ready to power organisations’ digital transformations across the world. Cisco’s 8000 hardware combined with Acacia’s 400G OpenZR+ pluggable coherent optic converges IP and optical networking layers for a simpler and more scalable architecture that delivers cost efficiency and reduces space and power usage in data centres and colocations. Segment Routing MPLS offers software capabil ities which further simplify the network and provide fine-grained control for supporting stringent SLAs. With the combination of these Cisco technologies within the IQ Network, Colt will deliver high-bandwidth and software-defined networking that meets connectivity demands of today and the future. “Colt is committed to ensuring its network is at the forefront of technological innovation, and this latest investment is the next step in our network optimisation strategy, as we continue to leverage next- generation optical and packet technologies”, says Vivek Gaur, Vice President – Network Engineering, for Colt, “Over the last couple of years, Colt and Cisco have built a strategic relationship centred on innovation, and we’re excited to continue to push boundaries for our customers and the industry. We know the requirement for ultra-high band width services is increasing. With Cisco’s technology in specific layers of our network, we’ll have a scalable and efficient packet core network that fulfils the connectivity demands of our customers across the globe.” “The internet is now an integral part of critical national infrastructure and must be continually reimagined to help transform the way we live. Colt is helping accelerate this as one of the first network providers to leverage the full capability of 400G OpenZR+ coherent pluggable optics in data centre interconnect for metro and longhaul applications,” said Adam MacHale, Vice President of EMEAR Service Provider, Cisco, “We look forward to continuing our exciting journey together with Colt and unleashing the full power of Routed Optical Networking technologies.” Colt customers are expected to benefit from these upgrades in September 2021.

National

Security at the Edge: Thermal Technology Can Now Provide Affordable Perimeter Protection

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 29, 2021November 14, 202407 mins

It’s true that every building has a different security need. There are various factors that can change this, not least the surrounding area that the building is in. Imagine, for example, a place surrounded by thick foliage, fences or outlying buildings. Imagine also that there are no street lights in the area. All of these make perimeter security harder, especially for traditional optical cameras that rely on line of sight and at least a low-level of light to spot intruders. It’s these scenarios that benefits greatly from another technology – thermal imaging. Now affordable and accessible to SMB According to Inkwood Research, the global perimeter security market will grow to $38459 million by 2026. Companies are realizing that securing their perimeter, so often previously added as an ‘afterthought,’ is increasingly important. The use of thermal technology has been traditionally for large-scale projects, with technology prices being quite high. These days, however, manufacturers like Hikvision have brought costs down, making this technology accessible to a wider range of projects. Smaller business and homeowners can now benefit from this extra layer of security, which gives more peace of mind, since intruders can be flagged even before they get to the front door. With modern convergence technologies now available, they can also link their thermal cameras to their alarm systems. This means that they can have a simple way to monitor the situation holistically, even through their mobile phones using an app. See through the perimeter I n a perimeter security situation the focus is on ensuring a person does not approach past a certain ‘line’ into an area. But this can be tricky, since it deals with an outside area, which is more likely to be out of the direct control of the home or business owner. In this scenario, there are lots of places where potential intruders can lurk, behind fences and in dense shrubbery, for example. Traditional optical cameras alone would not be able to detect them. Thermal technology, on the other hand, does not require any light at all. Since thermal sensors detect emissivity – the low-level radiation given off by all ‘surfaces’ at different levels – it can ‘see through’ obstacles like fences and bushes. Another issue at the perimeter is that of distinguishing between a human trespasser and another object, which could set off a false alarm. Sometimes animals can be picked up, for example, or even branches and other non-human items. To counter this, deep learning technology can be used in combination with thermal imaging. It enhances video analytics to distinguish humans, thus reducing false alarms and the associated operating costs. When detection rules are triggered by a human being, for example, line crossing and intrusion detection, the camera can instantly raise an alarm to the operator. Some cameras can flash to deter the intruder away, or even give the operator the ability to give a warning through the builtin speaker. Efficient technology The effective nature of the technology mean fewer cameras are necessary to cover a perimeter. For instance, for a 50 meter range, a camera (for example a Hikvision HeatPro) can usually replace 2-3 optical security cameras. This is partly due to the fact that object movement sensing capability is more accurate using thermal imaging in this way. Even when the target is at the edge of the detection range, thermal imaging can still sense the object movement accurately; while for video cameras, the object needs to get much closer for the sensor to detect it. It’s usually been the case that, as technology advances, it becomes more affordable and so accessible to more people. Security is no exception here, and Hikvision is at the cutting-edge of innovation, creating an effective perimeter security using thermal technology, for example. This development has meant it’s available to be used in smaller projects, at a lower cost. Now, small businesses, and even home owners, can reap the benefits of thermal technology protecting their perimeter and seeing the unseen, in the form of Hikvision HeatPro cameras.

Latest

BIWIN Partners with Acer for Memory and Storage Products, Appoints Fortune Marketing as National Distributor

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 29, 2021November 14, 202405 mins

BIWIN, a chip manufacturer for flash storage, reached an agreement with Acer to bring Acer-branded memory and personal SSD storage products to customers in India. The product offerings will take advantage of BIWIN’s manufacturing capabilities and Acer’s global brand recognition to provide the latest memory and storage solutions for both professional and home users. The new Acer-branded SSD portfolio offers a range of 2.5 & SATA, M.2 SATA and M.2 PCIe NVMe storage drives. The entry-level 2.5 and SA100 offers performance and reliability and is available in capacities from 120GB to 1.92TB. The RE100 is available as a standard 2.5” SATA drive as well as in a smaller M.2 SATA form factor. With capacities from 128GB up to 1TB (M.2) and 4TB (SATA), and with read and write speeds of 560MB/s and 520MB/s, the RE100 performs close to the SATA interface´s maximum speed and is an extremely reliable solution in terms of speed and capacity to upgrade any desktop PC or laptop to the latest SATA technology. Rajesh Khurana, Country Manager, Consumer Business, BIWIN commented, “We believe that we will be able to contribute to the Indian market through experience, expertise and strong network of Fortune Marketing. These advanced quality products will give us the opportunity to provide mind-blowing experiences to our customer like never before. We are looking forward to work closely with Fortune Marketing to promote best of Acer branded storage and memory products to the market. On this association, Manoj Gupta, MD, Fortune Marketing added, “We are glad to partner with BIWIN for their Acer branded memory and storage products in India. Their cutting-edge technology and quality products will be a value addition to our portfolio. It will further enhance our B2B solutions range to the Indian market by offering best-in-class products through our strong distribution network’’ . In terms of maximising performance, an Acer-branded M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe storage drive – the FA100 – is available in capacities from 128GB up to 2TB, reaching up to 3300MB/s read and 2700MB/s write speeds. This exceptional performance is six times faster than standard SATA SSDs. An Acer-branded DRAM module lineup includes standard SO- and UDIMM-modules with speeds in a range from 2666MHz up to 3200MHz and capacities from 4GB up to 32GB per single module. The perfect upgrade for any desktop PC and laptop – especially as demand is continuously growing for higher capacity memory modules. For high-performance computing enthusiasts, BIWIN will also offer an Acer-branded HT100 module with a heat spreader and a unique design. The densities (from 8GB up to 32GB) and the offered speed rates (from 2666MHz up to 3600MHz) meet a wide range of customer needs. For these newly launched product segments, Fortune Marketing Private Limited has been appointed as National Distributor in India.

Latest

Adani Group Efficiently Managed their Contractors and Workers Across Multiple Locations Using Matrix Solutions

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 29, 2021November 14, 202404 mins

Adani Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Its diversified businesses include resources, logistics, energy sectors and agri-business. Adani group is the largest port developer and operator in India with Mundra being the country’s largest commercial port. With multiple ports, branches, manufacturing units and corporate offices at various locations, Adani Group is one of the largest business units. In all, this business group has 15,000+ employees with 900+ third-party contractors involved in the incorporation of various work orders across all business units. CHALLENGES Adani is widely engaged in multiple business units and ports with 50,000+ workers under 900+ contractors employed at various locations. Maintaining and managing entire attendance, diverse shifts and leave policies for the various locations and numerous workers at a central place was critical for them. Moreover, task allotment to workers based on its requirements, skills under a contractor and its verification against the respective contractor’s report were tedious tasks for the management. To provide approved and appropriate induction to each worker at a defined level, monitor the progress status of each work order and its segregation based on reports were quite challenging. Report generation to eliminate the fraudulent and erroneous payment of wages at contractors’ end had been the need of the hour. Moreover, their requirement of timely and error-free payroll processing was arisen to improve overall productivity. SOLUTION After comprehensive discussion regarding problems and requirements, Matrix offered COSEC Contract Workers Management solution for their workers under various contractors spread across four locations in India. COSEC Contract Workers Management offers centralized attendance management solution for various branches spread across multiple locations which automates all processes right from recording entries and exits up to processing salaries. COSEC Contract Workers Management facilitates enrolment of the worker credentials along with a photograph, documents, and induction details. It helps contractors to manage workers efficiently using contractors’ self-service portal. The solution provides multiple connectivity possibilities via Ethernet, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband. It eases the tracking of work order progress. It offers seamless integration with SAP using the database to database linking and offers the feature of real-time notifications in cases of exceptional situations via e-mail and SMS. RESULTS Enhanced security with effective worker’s enrolment process abiding by various induction levels. Increase in productivity of admin by 20%. Easy decision making due to the generation of customized reports. Smooth and effective monitoring of work orders. Improved security with centralized control and monitoring – reduced time spent by the security department. Error-free man-hours’ computation for quick & effective wages’ calculation. Minimized manual interventions.

Feature

VMS Industry in 2021: Video Technology at the Frontline of Demand and Opportunity

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 26, 2021November 14, 2024010 mins

Sandesh Kaup, Country Manager, Milestone Systems, India & SAARC The 2020 pandemic is one of the biggest watershed moments in modern history. In the last year, we have seen the world coming to a halt. However, thanks to technology, we were able to find new ways to carry on, to connect, and work remotely. The video management system (VMS) industry, too, is guided by the responsibilities to invent, innovate, and leverage technology progress to enable the world to thrive in the new next. In the coming months and years, we can expect to see more innovative and emerging technologies coming together and forming new trends. Here are the four megatrends that we see will influence and impact the industry in the coming times. Formative AI Formative AI is a megatrend, an umbrella term shaped by emerging technologies of preceding years – Aggregation, Automation, and Augmentation – that can dynamically change in response to situational variances. It demonstrates how fast-emerging technologies are forming new trends. As per Gartner, formative AI will be used to streamline mathematical and machine learning models and will be fine-tuned over time. It will impact technologies such as AI-augmented design, AI-augmented development, ontologies and graphs, small data, composite AI, adaptive machine learning (ML), self-supervised learning, generative AI, and generative adversarial networks. Formative AI enables application developers and UX designers to create solutions using AI-enabled tools with real-time interactive feedback to improve the usability of software and intelligent products. The most advanced can generate novel models to solve specific problems. Gartner predicts that future machine learning models will be based on Formative AI, which will impact technologies such as AI-augmented design, AI-augmented development, ontologies and graphs, small data, composite AI, adaptive machine learning (ML), self-supervised learning, generative AI, and generative adversarial networks. Distributed Cloud Distributed clouds are cloud services that are distributed to different physical locations, where the operation, governance, updates, and evolution of the services are taken care of by the public cloud provider. Distributed cloud is also termed as the next generation of computing, as it retains the advantages of cloud computing while extending the range and use cases for the cloud. Distributed cloud is the first model that incorporates the physical location of cloud-delivered services as part of its definition. In earlier models, the location was never factored into the service, which inspired the term ‘cloud computing. Specifically, the proposition of enabling low latency compute with the distributed cloud is essential to the VMS industry, where moving a significant amount of data from physical on-premise sites is simply not an option. In the distributed cloud, computing can also happen at the edge, if required. With the distributed cloud, evolving models of cloud computing can be leveraged for every business opportunity. Composite Architecture According to Gartner, a future ‘composable enterprise’ is designed to respond to rapidly changing and decentralized business needs with packaged business capabilities built on a flexible data fabric. Composable enterprise embraces the API (Application Programming Interface) approach delivering business outcomes through the assembly and combination of packaged business capabilities. Composite architectures enable integrated enterprises to work seamlessly and change with the requirements without having to rebuild or reinstall the entire solution. It enables an open data fabric to serve a variety of core and add-on solutions. Digital Ethics With changing intricate technology that deals with users’ data, the ethical use of technology plays a very important part. Until now, ethics was mostly centered on compliance and risk. In the upcoming times, digital innovation governance will not just be a compliance metric but the basis of business operations. Ethics must be a key offering in the business, with digital ethics linked to concrete business key performance indicators. One of the trends within digital ethics is Responsible AI which focuses on ensuring ethical, transparent, and accountable use of AI technologies in a manner consistent with user expectations, organizational values, and societal laws and norms. Responsible AI can guard against the use of biased data or algorithms, ensuring that automated decisions are justified and explainable. Organizations can initiate their active role in promoting the responsible use of technology by signing end user license agreement (EULA) with their partners, which is a legally binding agreement between partners, solution providers, or even associated software and hardware components, media, printed materials, online or electronic documentation, and any updates or corrections. Organizations can also sign the Copenhagen Letter, a technology declaration that Milestone co-authored to aspire to open an honest public conversation about the power of technology and how technology should enhance the quality of life and adopt a corresponding Copenhagen Clause into their own agreements. These four new megatrends and the acceleration of emerging technology adoption in the last year have placed video technology at the frontline of new creative demand and opportunity in the VMS industry and adjacent markets like retail, transportation, and smart cities. The underlying technology of physical security systems that have been used for security, loss prevention, and access control is now taking on new types of use cases such as heat mapping in public spaces, crowd counting, improving the retail experience etc. For instance, video analytics analyses the behavior of the objects captured and reports if any unusual movements or abnormality is detected in the footage. Thermal cameras and crowd counting solutions, likewise, can be integrated with an open video management system to help alert authorities in real-time if a spot gets too crowded and where social distancing norms are flouted. Again, in retail stores, video analytics are helping store managers manage footfalls and help customers avoid close contact inside the store by designing single flow routes and store exit points, where people can avoid meeting one another. Also, in addition to assisting in complying with COVID-19 guidelines, these technologies are being employed to protect employees’ and customer’s health when we ultimately re-open for business.

Latest

Focus Webinar on Best Practices in Managing New Normal

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 26, 2021November 14, 202407 mins

“AI-powered End-to-End Thermal Video Technology Solutions can Protect Businesses” Ashish Dhakan FOCUS (Forum of Critical Utility Services), recently hosted its 3rd knowledge series webinar with the theme ‘Best Practices in Managing New Normal’ – CCTV & movement control by adopting latest technologies (artificial intelligence & machine learning). In his opening remark V. Suresh, President, Forum of Critical Utility services, said, “The pandemic has permanently changed the nature and landscape of work, and both employees and employers are already adjusting to this new reality. Technology plays a central role in this new normal, which will change the definition of the workplace. Deployment of new solutions will provide additional safety for those who are working in healthcare, hospitality industry, government, educational institute, retail, project management, manufacturing, worship places. This event is aimed to provide you knowledge on practical implementation of solutions.” In his keynote address as a Chief Guest, Ashish P. Dhakan, MD & CEO, Prama Hikvision India and Chairman – Security at FOCUS, briefly gave an overview of the ongoing efforts to minimize the pandemic risks through AI enabled thermal technology and solutions. He said, “In these challenging times FOCUS is doing lots of good works, which is an incredible thing. Being proactive and creating awareness about security technology is an empowering vision for all the stakeholders’ of critical utilities. The need of thermal screening technology in the Security and surveillance industry under the present circumstances is felt more than ever.” He further added, “The challenge today is how to ensure public safety as efficiently as possible, without affecting the business interests. As we adjust to a new way of life, businesses must embrace innovative ways to optimize the density and flow of people through their premises, to protect workers, customers and visitors, while also protecting their businesses. The AI-powered end-to-end video technology solutions can support businesses of all sizes in this endeavour.” After the keynote address, Vinay Mishra, Senior Vice President, Prama Hikvision India Pvt. Ltd. gave his presentation on AI-powered end-to-end thermal video technology solutions related to temperature screening, mask detection, flow control and social distancing solutions. He elaborated on the key features of the technology and the advantages it offers in various application scenarios like hospitality, healthcare, retail, banking, education and transportation verticals. He further added, “For even greater reassurance, businesses can add in thermal and mask-detection camera technology, to help ensure people are safe to enter a location in the first place. AI-powered cameras can intelligently identify whether someone is wearing a mask, while can also effectively checking their skin-surface temperatures. Equipped with this information, staff can take appropriate action to reduce the risk of viral spread.” As a co-presenter in the FOCUS webinar, Ashish Gujarathi, AVP, Non CCTV products (access control, intrusion alarm, VDP and perimeter security) explained the key functions of thermal technology, contactless facial recognition terminals with temperature screening and mask wearing alerts, walkthrough metal detector door with temperature screening, flow control, people counting and social distancing solutions. He further elaborated on key aspects of thermal technology and systems that are helping to protect people and businesses. He explained, “Intelligent video cameras such as those within flow control solution use people-counting technology coupled with dynamic digital signage to display how many people are entering and leaving a building or indoor area. The cameras feature highly accurate 3D binocular vision and deep learning algorithms to accurately count the number of people flowing through, even in the busiest sites with multiple entrances and exits,” At the webinar, the Prama Hikvision representatives had a Q&A session with the participants and answered the queries. The webinar was moderated by K.P. Dominic, Chairman of Marketing & Events, FOCUS. A.L. Narasimhan, General Secretary, FOCUS, thanked all the participants, presenters and the chief guest for making the 3rd Knowledge Series webinar a resounding success. The webinar had the convergence of end-users, industry leaders, academic experts, system integrators and partners, which provided a unique opportunity for sharing the latest technology knowledge, experience, and ideas to provide a solution in the times of pandemic.

Latest

Covid Pandemic & Future of Virtual Training in PSI Domain

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 20, 2021November 14, 2024031 mins

Anil Puri CMD, APS group A 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. Training has been very close to his heart and has always occupied center stage in planning the businesses. He has been instrumental in building a team of highly qualified training professionals on Pan India basis to develop security protocols and deliver client and site specific training to enable the security personnel at premises of esteemed clientele. He has established ‘APS Centre of Excellence’ a training institution, a state-of-the-art training facility accredited with MEPSC and approved by PSARA Controlling Authority which has earned a place for itself in skilling of security personnel in PSI domain. He has also pioneered the virtual training of security personnel within the APS Group. Concept of Mobile Training Van was also his brain child which has risen in popularity chart. Here he has chosen to share his thoughts on the impact of Covid pandemic and future of the virtual training in PSI domain. INTRODUCTION It’s been unprecedented time across the globe. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to many significant changes in the way we live, learn and work. The novel Coronavirus or Covid-19 has changed how millions around the globe are educated and skilled. The spread and the fear of infection of Coronavirus has shut down almost all training centers and educational institutions. In the wake of an unprecedented lockdown period, the skilling ecosystem/ educational system is moving online as far as possible, turning classrooms into online spaces and teachers into virtual educators. Various authorities in their respective domains and realms, at the MNC corporate level/ at the higher educational institutions, and/ or at the school level, have been proposing the setting up of virtual classrooms for e-learning. The institutions for the past one year have geared up in full stream to conduct remote learning. The new paradigm shift in approaches to learning have not only narrowed down the equality gaps but also introduced innovative solutions for skilling in the sector. Many training academies, schools and universities throughout the country are attempting to provide some form of virtual learning with the help of virtual teachers and virtual platforms available. The government is formulating policies to foster digital skilling. There is a concerted effort to enhance the digital infrastructure to help facilitate the use of innovative educational tools. In the near future, digital skilling will no longer remain a novelty but an essential mode of imparting education. With digital transformation, parallel to the education sector, skilling system in PSI is bound to readjust itself by redefining how we learn and what we learn. Digital technology is also helping overcome language barriers – for learning material to be made available in multiple regional languages is a more feasible option when effected digitally. Innovative e-learning platforms have been gaining huge popularity. Students can attend classes and participate in discussion forums online, at their convenience, from their offices, homes and so on. Over the past few months, millions of students and teachers have adopted online education and skills. This includes the vocational education apparatus like technical training institutes focused on practical and shop-floor training, which have also transitioned to online delivery. TRADITIONAL MODE OF TRAINING IN PSI Traditionally, training in PSI domain has been predominantly run on ILT (instructor led training) pattern – face to face basic training conducted at PSA owned training centers as mandated by PSAR 2005. Post basic training – OJT and on site training – are conducted at client’s premises through ILT by trainer. Bulk of the time, this takes the shape of instructor mainly refreshing the skill sets acquired during the basic training with special emphasis on practical handling of security and safety equipment, access control, visitor management, material management, crowd control, handling of unruly customers, handling of emergencies, prevention of theft & pilferage, POSH and fire safety training. At most of the times this training is imparted outdoors at the space earmarked by the client. Client specific training is also conducted using same modus operandi. Most of the MNCs and organizations from IT & ITES domain have dedicated training rooms but balance of 99% employers premises are devoid of any dedicated indoor training rooms/ areas. Most of the times, the dedicated training rooms are occupied for conduct of ‘in house training programs’ as part of the corporate trainings which are being regularly run for the regular employees on their pay roll. These in house corporate training programs are not security related but generally have linkage to adoption of new technology, new processes, awareness drives about new business initiatives in specific domains and up gradation of skill sets required to be acquired by the employees to take it forward. Security personnel are always the last priority. The open space in the premises within the tight time window of availability of few minutes of change of deployment shifts of security personnel thrice in a 24 cycle. Duration of training is limited to 30 to 40 minutes and limited to the scope illustrated above. Indoor training is limited to PPT and training videos on standalone mode but no interface with client network because of cyber security protocol. Selected few have started using the mobile training vans to fill in the void of the dedicated training room at client premises. However, this has proved to be an effective tool of delivery of training but did not offset the requirement of the virtual training necessitated by Covid pandemic. IMPACT OF COVID PANDEMIC When Covid-19 struck in early 2020, everything changed dramatically. Forced into lockdown mode…

Case Study

Wisenet Camera Captures Live Images of Volcano Eruption

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 14, 2021November 14, 202402 mins

The Wisenet XNP-6040H PTZ camera, manufactured by Hanwha Techwin, is being used by media company MBL, to stream live video to the world of the eruption and despite the exposed conditions, it is proving to be more than up to the job by continuously capturing 2-megapxiel colour images of the volcanic activity. The camera was installed in February 2021 following on from the start of strong seismic activity within the Reykjanes Peninsula. This included several 5+ magnitude earthquakes and thousands of smaller ones, with an eruption occurring on 19 March 2021. The last eruption was approximately 800 years ago. The XNP-6040H, which was supplied to MBL by Hafnesehf, Hanwha Techwin Europe’s authorised distributor in Iceland, was installed within a weather-proof housing and is powered by solar panels. “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to provide MBL with a robust and reliable camera to help them share images of these dramatic event which we understand has attracted viewers from around the world,” said Hafnesehf’s Manager, Hafliði Jónsson, “The intention is for the camera to remain in place long term so that in addition to entertaining the general public, it can also be a valuable resource for geology students and volcanologists”.

Case Study

Axis EN Installation Protects Ho Chi Minh City’s Latest Upscale Apartment Complex

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaJune 14, 2021November 14, 202406 mins

An intelligent network of 20 Axis EN fire panels from fire and life safety systems manufacturer, Advanced, has been installed at HaDo Centrosa Garden in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. HaDo Centrosa Garden is a 70,000m2 development of eight 30-storey luxury residential towers and 115 town houses located in the heart of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. The upscale condominium complex’s facilities will include a swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, fitness centre, rooftop gardens, a park, school, library and commercial centre. A key requirement for this large-scale complex was a system with high-speed networking capabilities to enable instantaneous sharing of communications between panels. To meet this need, fire protection companies Vietsafe and KP Technology chose 20 Advanced Axis EN fire alarm control panels, alongside 3,000 addressable devices, for installation in the eight residential towers. With many successful installations of Advanced products undertaken by both companies, Vietsafe and KP Technology were confident in Axis EN’s ability to deliver the seamless networking needed, while its ease of installation, testing, commissioning and operation would ensure minimal issues once the panels were on site. Le Manh Dung, Director of Vietsafe, said, “An Axis EN fire system was the clear choice for a project of this nature. Advanced is well respected in the fire industry, and its solutions are straightforward in terms of installation and operation thanks to features such as built-in isolators for sequence addressing which considerably reduces installation time.” Axis EN is EN54 parts 2, 4 and 13 approved and its panels can be used in single-loop, single-panel format or easily configured into high-speed, multi-loop networks of up to 200 nodes covering huge areas. Advanced’s reputation for ease of installation and configuration as well as its wide peripheral range make its products customisable to almost any application. Pham Thanh Phong, Director of KP Technology, said, “As a key partner to KP Technology, Advanced is a fire system supplier we can trust to deliver high-performing, high-quality solutions that are easy to install and to use. “Features such as Axis EN’s false alarm management and reduction capabilities are extremely useful in highrise residential sites, such as HaDo Centrosa Garden. Repeated false alarms are not only intrusive, they can also lead to complacency and delayed reactions to real fire alarms. Having the ability to refine and configure protection so specifically, and according to the requirements of specific areas within a building, helps to keep unwanted alarms to a minimum and reduces disruption and risk for residents.” AlarmCalm software comes as standard with any Axis EN and MxPro 5 fire system, taking advantage of Advanced’s high-speed robust panels and networks to offer a best-in-class solution for managing verification and investigation delays to outputs. It allows the false alarm management strategy for a site to be refined precisely and to take account of occupants’ needs and area usage. It also includes the optional AlarmCalm button – a loop device that allows residents or trained staff to indicate whether they believe a signal in their area is due to a false alarm. Tin Le Than, Advanced’s sales and business development manager for South East Asia, said, “As a modern, vibrant complex for thousands of people living and working in the centre of Ho Chi Minh, the fire protection for the HaDo Centrosa Garden development is a key priority. As an industry-leading solution, our Axis EN fire system will deliver complete peace of mind to the building owners and residents of the complex. I am pleased to have been able to support our fantastic partners at Vietsafe and KP Technology with the equipment needed to fulfil their requirements.”