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Gallagher Security Celebrates Landmark Year of Growth and Innovation

Top row – Mark Junge (L), Merv Williams (C), Spencer Marshall (R);Bottom row – Scott Elliott (L), Craig Schutte (C), Meredith Palmer (R) Gallagher Security is celebrating a landmark year distinguished by growth and innovation of their industry-leading solutions. As 2024 comes to a close, the global executive team reflects on the milestones that defined the year and offers a glimpse into the bold plans for 2025. Award-winning excellence Gallagher’s dedication to innovation and quality was recognized across the globe in 2024. The cyber-forward Controller 7000 (C7000) earned top honors in New Zealand, India and South Asia, Sweden and Australia, solidifying its place in a new age of cyber defense tech. Gallagher’s excellence was also celebrated with prestigious Manufacturer of the Year awards in the UK and US, while the brand-new Augmented Reality training solution garnered acclaim in Australia where it was launched. Mark Junge, Chief Executive, credits Gallagher’s dedication to research and development and customer connectivity as the driver behind this impressive string of awards. “We’re pushing what our security solutions deliver to make a positive difference in the world,” he said, “Each year, we reinvest 15% of our annual revenue into R&D so we can uphold our commitment to innovation and lead the way in the industry. The values we uphold as a company are reflected in these awards and I’m thrilled that so many global organizations have honored us in 2024.” Driving growth with strategic leadership Growth in 2024 was underscored by key appointments in every region, strengthening Gallagher’s global leadership and expertise. Notably, Merv Williams became Chief Marketing Officer in January and Spencer Marshall joined as Executive Vice President – UK and Europe in November. Williams reflects that the two have stepped into our roles at a pivotal time in Gallagher’s journey. Marshall agrees and adds that it’s exciting to be part of a company that has built a great brand within the industry. Fostering connection and collaboration “The events I attended this year made it abundantly clear that people need the opportunity to gather and learn from each other to facilitate growth,” observed Scott Elliott, Executive Vice President – the Americas. Gallagher’s expanding team facilitated that need for connection in 2024, with record-breaking attendance at Intersec, ISC West, and New Zealand’s Security Showcase highlighting growing interest in Gallagher’s solutions. New networking and training events across South Africa and India, the introduction of The Hub – a new interactive demo space at the European Headquarters, and a newly announced partnership with Chubb China underscore the value global teams place on collaborative connectivity with customers and partners. Strengthening partnerships Partnerships remained a cornerstone of Gallagher’s strategy in 2024. New alliances with Chubb China, Clear Digital in New Zealand, and Australian SMB Lead Vendors Seadan Security and Electronics, Sprint Intercom and Security, GSA Systems, and Freeway Security expanded Gallagher’s reach and reinforced its reputation as a trusted partner. “We’ve got customer and Channel Partner relationships that stem back 30-40 years,” noted Craig Schutte, Executive Vice President for APAC and IMEA, “It’s the strength of these relationships and the strength of our teams that will keep driving our growth, and we’re looking forward to being able to add even more value in 2025.” Demonstrating leadership in compliance Gallagher’s commitment to setting a higher standard extended to compliance, with significant achievements including the global recertification of SOC2 Type 2 and SSF 1014 Alarm Class 3 certification in Sweden. These milestones reflect the company’s dedication to security standards and building customer trust. We’re pushing what our security solutions deliver to make a positive difference in the world. Each year, we reinvest 15% of our annual revenue into R&D so we can uphold our commitment to innovation and lead the way in the industry. The values we uphold as a company are reflected in these awards and I’m thrilled that so many global organizations have honored us in 2024 Innovating for the future “As we embrace the evolving needs of our customers, we constantly look for ways to expand the capabilities of our existing solutions and add support for new ones,” said Gallagher Security Chief Product Officer, Meredith Palmer. In 2024, that included a range of customer-focused solutions, like the cyber-resilient C7000 Enhanced and support for employee badges in Apple Wallet, which added another layer of seamless access to Gallagher’s suite of solutions. Looking Ahead to 2025 As Gallagher Security celebrates this year’s accomplishments, the team is setting its sights on an even more ambitious 2025. Mark Junge said, “2024 was just the beginning for Gallagher. This year we asked ourselves, what if security was capable of so much more? You’ll see the answer to that question in what we’ve got planned for the new year ahead.” A global player in integrated security solutions that unlock customer value through the power of our people and products. From making sure people go home safely to their families each night, to helping organizations become more efficient, productive, and profitable. Trusted within the highest levels of national and local government, military, commercial, industrial, healthcare, transportation, academic organizations, and small businesses in 140 countries.

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Police

The Public Want Clear Rules on Police Use of Facial Recognition

There is public support for the police’s use of facial recognition to solve and prevent crimes – even in traditionally more skeptical countries as Denmark. Here, a new opinion poll shows that 84 percent have a positive attitude. However, trust in the technology depends on politicians and authorities establishing clear rules for the protection of data and privacy. Whether it is recorded video material used to solve crimes, or live images that, for example, can identify unwanted hooligans at a football stadium, public support for the use of facial recognition is quite significant. In Denmark 84 percent support the use of facial recognition in connection with the prevention and solving of crime and terrorism. The support spans across age, gender, and geography, according to a nationally representative analysis conducted by Norstat for Milestone Systems. But the support has strings attached. 70% of Danes see clear rules, data protection, and transparency about how and where the technology is used as the most important factor for their trust. Additionally, 51% consider it crucial that data is deleted as soon as it is no longer relevant to a case. “The support for facial recognition also obliges. Therefore, politicians and authorities must get started on creating clarity about rules, responsibility, and protection of our data. It is fine that they are currently operating within a pilot scheme, but it is urgent to look at more permanent regulation of facial recognition,” said Thomas Jensen, CEO of Milestone Systems. Danish Milestone Systems develops and sells data-driven video technology and analysis tools used in, for example, airports, by police, traffic control, companies, hospitals, and stadiums worldwide. “It is crucial to have clear and transparent regulation if we are to maintain the public’s support and trust in the technology and the authorities. At the same time, there must be security for how facial recognition data is stored and deleted when it is no longer relevant. It could be 30-60 days,” said Thomas Jensen. The technology is used today for everything from verification – such as when you open your iPhone, show a badge, or go through passport control – to recognizing a specific person at, for example, a sports venue. The support for facial recognition also obliges. Therefore, politicians and authorities must get started on creating clarity about rules, responsibility, and protection of our data. It is fine that they are currently operating within a pilot scheme, but it is urgent to look at more permanent regulation of facial recognition Thomas Jensen CEO, Milestone Systems “In addition to all the practical and well-known applications, modern AI-driven facial recognition is also a powerful tool that can help both solve and prevent crimes,” said Thomas Jensen. Although the publics knowledge of the technology behind facial recognition is relatively low, the attitude is positive. The new survey shows significant support for using facial recognition technology in cases of murder (88%) and serious violence and rape (87%). Likewise, 81% believe that facial recognition should be used to prevent and solve terrorism by quickly identifying known terrorists. Technology is not always perfect – this also applies to facial recognition. Therefore, two trained operators should verify with their own eyes when the software finds a face match – a picture in a database that matches a picture from a video recording of, for example, a wanted criminal or a hooliganThomas Jensen CEO, Milestone Systems Clear rules and regulations are one thing. There is still a need for common sense and human judgment, says Thomas Jensen. “Technology is not always perfect – this also applies to facial recognition. Therefore, two trained operators should verify with their own eyes when the software finds a face match – a picture in a database that matches a picture from a video recording of, for example, a wanted criminal or a hooligan,” said Thomas Jensen. He emphasizes that although most respondents in the survey support the police’s use of facial recognition in their work to protect citizens, prevent, and especially solve crimes. “But that trust and support also obliges to create clarity and frameworks,” he emphasized. Facts about facial recognition ● Today, AI – artificial intelligence – is used to train facial recognition software and convert images into anonymous signatures/ numbers. These signatures are compared with anonymous signatures in a database based on images of faces from, for example, the police, Interpol, FBI etc. ● Only when there is a potential match between the signatures are the images retrieved from the database for comparison. ● The technology is used today for everything from verification – such as when you open your iPhone, show a badge, or go through passport control – to recognizing a specific person at, for example, a football stadium. ● The technology behind facial recognition was developed in 1965 by the American mathematician Woodrow Wilson Bledsoe (1921–1995) to identify or confirm a person’s identity based on facial features. ● Post-event facial recognition analyzes video recordings after the event has taken place, instead of live. Investigators can use recognition software on recorded video from cameras to identify suspects by matching their face/signatures with known databases. ● Real-time facial recognition is the immediate analysis of a live video feed, where faces are compared with a database to generate instant alerts when a match is found. At large public events such as sports stadiums, real-time facial recognition can be used to detect wanted or banned individuals – for example, known hooligans. Read more posts

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