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Cloud Budgeting A Guide to Planning and Predicting Cloud Spend

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India09 mins

Rajendra Chitale, CFO, Crayon Software Experts India Budgeting and estimating cloud expenses is complex. The cloud has already become crucial for conducting business. Businesses may now move and expand more quickly than ever owing to it. However, increasing cloud adoption inevitably results in increased cloud spending. For finance teams, this poses the following critical issue – calculating and planning for various activities’ cloud spending. Making a budget is a crucial component of planning, as is determining how much capital needs to be invested and where it will be allocated. The process of developing a practical cloud budget is highly complex. The Good Old Days Prior to the advent of the cloud, costs solely comprised the acquisition and servicing of servers and networking hardware, as well as continuous expenses for things like power, cooling, and facility security. Even while creating solid budgets was not simple, there was not much mystery involved. Budgeting on-site is a reasonably simple process. You decide how much the IT staff can spend on hardware and software, and you create a purchase order to cover that expense. In comparison to on premise budgeting, proper governance in the cloud is significantly more complicated and requires a very different approach. Implementing the appropriate governance is crucial to balancing IT expenses and performance while allowing the technology team to move quickly. Understanding Cloud Budgeting A cloud budget is a financial strategy that projects how much an organization will spend on cloud computing services over a specific time frame. Forecasting and allocating funds for various cloud computing components are considered to be part of cloud budgeting. A cloud budget differs from an IT budget. All expenditures made by the IT department of the organization, including cloud services, are included in the IT budget. A Cloud Budget allots amount for the cloud component of software engineering, which is why it is important to avoid confusing them. Instituting A Cloud Budget One Can Adhere To Every business strives to accomplish more with less; it’s just good business sense. However, while there are practiced, well-recognized techniques for budgeting and predicting conventional OpEx expenses, there is misunderstanding when it comes to cloud financial management. Budgeting for and forecasting the cost of the cloud doesn’t have to be complex. Below are few tips to take into consideration: Understand Cloud Billing: Based on an operating expense model (OpEx), cloud expenses vary according on usage. Additionally, rather than paying a set amount, organizations pay according to how much they consume each period. Therefore, organizations must have access to information about how particular workloads use cloud resource units. Businesses can create their own cost visibility solution if they have the expenditure, talent in cloud development, and time. Close coordination with the business/ sales team is very critical as this will help in estimating the business activities and thereby the cloud consumption. Plan and Evaluate: Adopting the cloud is not an assurance of financial savings. It is crucial to do a thorough cost-benefit analysis, after careful preparation. Businesses must view cloud computing as a tool with the potential to save a significant amount of money. Map out your present resources first, and then create your best-guess projection of what each operation will need over the course of an entire year. Next, advance your strategy by determining how long you will require a particular resource. Finally, buy resources using this information. Businesses can reduce their overall resource expenditure by at least one-third by committing to a resource and spending level. A commitment can be possible (to get discounts) only if the process for estimation of cloud consumption is robust, else it could lead to over commitments. Implementing Governance: Any choice relating to a cloud deployment will in some manner have an impact on costs. Every event must be noted by a competent authority in order to prevent your project from escalating out of control. To monitor and enforce the budget, there must be a governance component, which should include administrative oversight through both automatic and manual audits. Further, any change in workloads and resources should be analyzed from an impact on consumption perspective. Analyze Invoices on a Regular Basis: It’s crucial to regularly analyze organizational invoices to find any areas, where businesses might be paying for services they don’t need or perhaps even ones they didn’t know were being used and billed. But it’s also a full-time job that necessitates a thorough understanding of cloud pricing models and, more critically, the ability to look in the right places. Cost allocation and forecasting can be done more accurately by delving deeply into organizational spending. Budgeting might be done, for instance, by looking at which departments use which services at what rates rather than just the total cost. Additionally, a management service can assist companies in automating this process so that resources are allocated based on actual use rather than under or over budgeting. Final Thoughts It takes time to develop complete and trustworthy budgets for cloud implementations. Businesses must make sure that all the technical issues are handled correctly in a way that advances rather than undermines the objectives of their organization. That approach calls for patience, careful consideration, and advice from every expert you can find. Businesses must establish the appropriate policies and procedures to enable them to adhere to their cloud budget in the long run once it has been created.  

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Secure and Smart Office: Renovation in the Style of MacPaw

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India014 mins

Ukrainian product company that has been creating and distributing apps for macOS and iOS since 2008. MacPaw products include CleanMyMac X, Setapp, The Unarchiver, and others. The company’s flagship product – CleanMyMac – has more than 25 million downloads and users in more than 180 countries around the world and even in Antarctica. Various MacPaw apps are installed on every fifth Mac in the world. MacPaw started with one man’s passion for Apple technology. The founder of MacPaw, Oleksandr Kosovan, wrote the first version of the CleanMyMac app that has already been downloaded 25 million times and has 12 language localisations. MacPaw started in a dorm room as befits a startup and quickly grew into an office space of over 3,000 m². Today, the MacPaw office space is a model for many IT companies – renovation in style, numerous meeting rooms, a terrace, a gym, a room for relaxation and meditation, an amphitheater area for presentations, two cats, and one of the largest displays of rare Apple equipment in the world. And indeed, a state-of-the-art office requires a state-ofthe-art security system. Challenge Upgrade security and integrate it into the smart office system The office space developed and grew, and more and more equipment from various manufacturers appeared in it, as well as self-developed solutions. Eventually, one part of the space was protected by the old wired system, and the other was controlled by the very first Ajax wireless detectors connected to the wired alarm system via the ocBridge integration module. The technical heritage included devices of different generations and capabilities: Outdated wired alarm system; Ajax wireless detectors of the first product lineup; Modern access control system; Smart system to control lighting and roller shutters. All this variety of technologies had to be expanded with an anti-flood system and then integrated with an app that every team member will have on their iPhone. Solution Outdated wired security system renovation and software integration of an Ajax system via API MacPaw made a balanced decision to integrate the outdated wired detectors into the cutting-edge Ajax system. This approach provides an opportunity to immediately use the benefits of Ajax and eventually expand the horizon of possibilities for further improvement. In general, the solution for MacPaw consists of hardware and software parts. First, the renovation of the security system was carried out, which made it possible to integrate new functions into the company’s app for the office. Let’s walk through the process step by step. The hardware part: Transition to Ajax equipment The first step was to replace the outdated control panel with Hub 2 Plus. The company decided to gradually switch to Ajax security equipment. Hub 2 Plus supports 200 devices and users. Photo verification and constant software updates make this hub future-proof. Hub 2 Plus has four independent communication channels – the security system is always online thanks to the Ajax Cloud server, which opens up vast software integration opportunities. The previously installed Ajax wireless detectors were simply added to Hub 2 Plus. Installers and the MacPaw security team immediately saw complete information about the devices: signal level, battery level, and temperature. The security team can now remotely change the sensitivity level or deactivate the detector. With the old control panel such capabilities would have been unthinkable. For example: Previously, the security team could not see the exact charge level of each detector because the detectors were not connected to the Ajax hub. The team had to check each detector manually to know which one needed a battery change. From now on, the company receives the notification and knows when the battery change is required in advance. The second step is to connect third-party wired alarm system to Ajax via the MultiTransmitter integration module. The module has 18 wired zones for connecting devices and tampers that support four contact types: NO, NC (without resistor), EOL (NC with resistor), EOL (NO with resistor). Three Multi Transmitter modules were required for the part of the MacPaw office with the third-party wired detectors installed. More than 50 wired detectors were integrated with Ajax. The old wired system got a second life. MacPaw office certainly has its specific, such as long narrow rooms and non-standard interior solutions made of various materials. In addition, there are many devices generating electromagnetic fields in the office. All this affects the radio signal. Two ReX radio signal range extenders were installed to ensure stable communication between the Ajax detectors and the hub. Due to the office layout, the range was not as crucial as the radio signal strength. From now on, the entire MacPaw security system is connected to the Ajax control panel. This opens the potential for further security system development and closer integration with the MacPaw smart office. The Ajax system is connected to a security company monitoring station. The third step was to build a flooding prevention system. After updating the security system, it’s time to add new detectors – LeaksProtect. The LeaksProtect wireless leak detector is active 24/7. The detector does not require installation – it is enough to place it in the spots of potential water leakage. Relay was added to the system – in case of water leak, the relay sends a signal to the smart office system that sends a command to shut off the water. This linkage creates an office anti-flood system. In the app, the admin of the system will see exactly where the water leak occurred. The event log shows the time when LeaksProtect has triggered and the room. The software part: New options to control the office space MacPaw has a smart office system, and every team member can access its app. This app is MacPaw’s custom solution for the company usage. The app controls the level of light, doors opening, or, for example, roller shutter in the amphitheater area, allows booking meeting rooms, etc. At the same time, the integration with the old security system did not give sufficient flexibility and restrained the app and the smart office…

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Low-light Imaging Being Applied to More Types of Cameras, and Integrated with AI Capabilities

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India07 mins

Low-light imaging technology goes much further in protecting worksites, people, and assets during night time and off-duty hours. This critical technology is now applied to a much more diverse range of security products and getting integrated with AI capabilities. With that integration comes the benefits of cameras that ‘see in the dark in full color,’ reaching more kinds of security settings and scenarios Video security cameras need to maintain image clarity and capture details in any weather and in various conditions. More crucially, they need to do so both in day light and at night. For this reason, cameras with low light imaging technology that render high-definition and full-color images in nearly completely dark environments have become increasingly sought-after in the security industry, and customers have shown a preference toward cameras with 24/7 color imaging. But different security scenarios require different points of view, various angles, and AI capabilities, and that means that just one type of camera can never provide the one-of-a-kind security and safety application that organizations need. As a result, low-light, full-color imaging capabilities are now being built into a much wider range of security cameras, to meet more video security requirements and scenarios. More types of cameras being featured with low-light imaging Large, wide open areas can be very difficult to secure, especially at night. Now we see that panoramic cameras with low-light imaging technology, which can provide a seamless 180-degree view in full color at night, have become available in the market. The application provides reliable 24/7 security in expansive indoor and outdoor locations such as parks, scenic areas, farms, stadiums, and traffic intersections that require wide-angle views, along with vivid color images to fully present the details of an event and inform an appropriate response. Integrating low-light imaging with vari-focal cameras has been another practical approach that is in demand. When a security event is detected, vari-focal cameras with low-light imaging enable users to zoom in to get a close-up view in color, which is very helpful for situational awareness. Customers who require the absolute highest resolution for incident detection and video evidence collection choose cameras equipped for 4K or higher resolution. However, these cameras must be equipped with low-light, full-color imaging technology to ensure that the clear, crisp imaging that characterizes 4K is not degraded, even in dark areas or at night. This application can be applied across a wide range of scenarios including parking lots, airports, harbors, and stadiums, where clear and high-resolution images are necessary. Automating security at night with AI capabilities Ensuring that cameras are equipped with lowlight imaging and AI can be extremely useful. Color images at night provided by low light imaging can be better analyzed by AI technology, enabling customers to automatically detect certain types of targets or security events. This allows security teams to focus on incidents that matter at night by automatically distinguishing people and vehicles from other moving targets such as rain, leaves and animals. Alarms only get triggered when real threats are detected, allowing security teams to respond faster and more effectively. Low-light imaging technology evolving into two-sensor design As the popularity of low-light imaging applications in the video security industry evolves, the technology itself is also evolving. For many years, cameras with IR illumination that only produced black-and-white images at night used to dominate the market. Then we come to the era of low-light imaging with full-color images, using a larger sensor with a larger aperture in the camera, pulling in more light compared to a conventional camera to maintain daytime-like color images in low-light conditions. Now we are seeing a dual-sensor design for low-light imaging emerge. Inspired by the process human eyes use to perceive color and brightness, this innovative design employs two sensors – one for IR imaging, guaranteeing brightness and sharpness, and the other for visible light, guaranteeing vivid color reproduction. Signals from the two sensors then are combined to create one bright, full-color image in low-light conditions. Driven by strong market demands, we expect to see low-light, full-color imaging applied in ever wider ranges of cameras and scenarios. And from a technology perspective, we believe that the dual-sensor technology approach will become the trend in this arena of imaging in the coming years.  

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FortiGuard Labs Reports Ransomware Variants Almost Double in Six Months

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India011 mins

Fortinet®, a global company in broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions, recently announced the latest semiannual FortiGuard Labs Global Threat Landscape Report. For a detailed view of the report, as well as some important takeaways, read the blog. Highlights of the 1H 2022 report follow: The ransomware threat continues to adapt with more variants enabled by Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS). Work-from-anywhere (WFA) endpoints remain targets for cyber adversaries to gain access to corporate networks. Operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) environments are both attractive targets as cyber adversaries search for opportunities in the growing attack surface and IT/ OT convergence. Destructive threat trends continue to evolve, as evidenced by the spread of wiper malware as part of adversary toolkits. Cyber adversaries are embracing more reconnaissance and defense evasion techniques to increase precision and destructive weaponization across the cyber-attack chain. Ransomware Variant Growth Shows Evolution of Crime Ecosystems Ransomware remains a top threat and cyber adversaries continue to invest significant resources into new attack techniques. In the past six months, FortiGuard Labs has seen a total of 10,666 ransomware variants, compared to just 5,400 in the previous six-month period. That is nearly 100% growth in ransomware variants in half a year. RaaS, with its popularity on the dark web, continues to fuel an industry of criminals forcing organizations to consider ransomware settlements. To protect against ransomware, organizations, regardless of industry or size, need a proactive approach. Real-time visibility, protection, and remediation coupled with zero-trust network access (ZTNA) and advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR) are critical. Exploit Trends Show OT and the Endpoint Are Still Irresistible Targets The digital convergence of IT and OT and the endpoints enabling WFA remain key vectors of attack as adversaries continue to target the growing attack surface. Many exploits of vulnerabilities at the endpoint involve unauthorized users gaining access to a system with a goal of lateral movement to get deeper into corporate networks. For example, a spoofing vulnerability (CVE 2022-26925) placed high in volume, as well as a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability (CVE 2022-26937). Also, analyzing endpoint vulnerabilities by volume and detections reveals the relentless path of cyber adversaries attempting to gain access by maximizing both old and new vulnerabilities. In addition, when looking specifically at OT vulnerability trends, the sector was not spared. A wide range of devices and platforms experienced in-the-wild exploits, demonstrating the cybersecurity reality of increased IT and OT convergence and the disruptive goals of adversaries. Advanced endpoint technology can help mitigate and effectively remediate infected devices at an early stage of an attack. In addition, services such as a digital risk protection service (DRPS) can be used to do external surface threat assessments, find and remediate security issues, and help gain contextual insights on current and imminent threats. Destructive Threat Trends Continue With Wipers Widening Wiper malware trends reveal a disturbing evolution of more destructive and sophisticated attack techniques continuing with malicious software that destroys data by wiping it clean. The war in Ukraine fueled a substantial increase in disk wiping malware among threat actors primarily targeting critical infrastructure. FortiGuard Labs identified at least seven major new wiper variants in the first six months of 2022 that were used in various campaigns against government, military, and private organizations. This number is significant because it is close to the number of wiper variants that have been publicly detected since 2012. Additionally, the wipers did not stay in one geographical location but were detected in 24 countries besides Ukraine. To minimize the impact of wiper attacks, network detection and response (NDR) with self-learning artificial intelligence (AI) is helpful to better detect intrusions. Also backups must be stored off-site and offline. Defense Evasion Remains Top Attack Tactic Globally Examining adversarial strategies reveals takeaways about how attack techniques and tactics are evolving. FortiGuard Labs analyzed the functionality of detected malware to track the most prevalent approaches over the last six months. Among the top eight tactics and techniques focused on the endpoint, defense evasion was the most employed tactic by malware developers. They are often using system binary proxy execution to do so. Hiding malicious intentions is one of the most important things for adversaries. Therefore, they are attempting to evade defenses by masking them and attempting to hide commands using a legitimate certificate to execute a trusted process and carry out malicious intent. In addition, the second most popular technique was process injection, where criminals work to inject code into the address space of another process to evade defenses and improve stealth. Organizations will be better positioned to secure against the broad toolkits of adversaries armed with this actionable intelligence. Integrated, AI and ML-driven cybersecurity platforms with advanced detection and response capabilities powered by actionable threat intelligence are important to protect across all edges of hybrid networks. AI-powered Security Across the Extended Attack Surface When organizations gain a deeper understanding of the goals and tactics used by adversaries through actionable threat intelligence, they can better align defenses to adapt and react to quickly changing attack techniques proactively. Threat insights are critical to help prioritize patching strategies to better secure environments. Cybersecurity awareness and training are also important as the threat landscape changes to keep employees and security teams up-to-date. Organizations need security operations that can function at machine speed to keep up with the volume, sophistication, and rate of today’s cyber threats. AI and ML-powered prevention, detection, and response strategies based on a cybersecurity mesh architecture allow for much tighter integration, increased automation, as well as a more rapid, coordinated, and effective response to threats across the extended network. Vishak Raman, Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC & Southeast Asia at Fortinet said, “Cyber adversaries are advancing their playbooks to thwart defense and scale their criminal affiliate networks. They are using aggressive execution strategies such as extortion or wiping data as well as focusing on reconnaissance tactics pre-attack to ensure better return on threat investment. To combat advanced and sophisticated attacks, organizations need integrated security solutions that can ingest real-time threat…

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Tata Tele Business Services Honoured at the 8th Edition of National Awards for Leadership & Excellence

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India04 mins

Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS), a leading enabler of connectivity and cloud solutions for businesses in India has won prestigious awards at the 8th Edition of National Awards for Leadership & Excellence. TTBS won the awards for the following three categories: Award for Best New Brand, Product or Service Launch, Award for Marketing Communications Business to Business, and Award for Marketing Excellence in Telecom Services Sector. TTBS has always endeavoured to collaborate with businesses as technology enablers, providing smart solutions that enable businesses to be resilient, increase productivity and deliver better customer experience. “We are honoured to receive this prestigious recognition at the 8th National Awards for Leadership & Excellence. As one of the leading players in enterprise-tech space, TTBS has been supporting enterprises with seamless networks for business connectivity, cloud solutions and their overall digital transformation by democratising technology. Such industry recognitions underscore our passion for innovation and customer service and encourages us to deliver advance digital capabilities to enterprises” Vishal Rally Sr. Vice President – Product and Marketing, Tata Teleservices The National Awards is a premium forum bringing elite marketers, brand custodians, advertising, departmental heads, retailers, real estate professionals, shopping mall owners and creative honchos together under one roof from across India. The platform offers top marketing professionals, agencies, and consultants an intimate environment for recognizing & rewarding excellence. The Awards brings the best industry professionals who have made the outstanding contributions in the Industry and aims to reward the best in the industry and enhance reputations. Tata Teleservices Limited along-with its subsidiary Tata Teleservices is a growing market leader in the Enterprise space. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of voice, data and managed services to enterprises and carriers in the country under the brand name Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS). Tata Teleservices has an extensive, high quality and robust wireline network and offers its products and services in more than 60 cities across India. Tata Teleservices has one of the largest enterprise focused teams in the industry with deep customer engagement and technology orientation offering focused sales and service experience to customers. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited is listed on BSE and NSE in India.  

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‘Sparsh’ Recognized as MAKE IN INDIA Success Story by Ministry of Commerce & Industry and DPIIT

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India014 mins

The ‘Make in India’ policy was unveiled to revive the country’s ailing manufacturing sector by honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji on 15th August 2017 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. An impact Assessment in relation to ‘Make in India’ policy was conducted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (CIM) & Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The Event was chaired by Hon’ble Minister of CIM Piyush Goyal and was conducted in the lieu of completion of 5 years of the implementation of ‘Public Procurement Policy – Make in India (PPP-MII).’ The Event started with the inaugural welcome speech by SRajesh Gupta (Director, DPIIT) which set the tone of the event. This was followed by a presentation on the ‘Impact Assessment Report of Public Procurement (preference to Make in India) Order, 2017’ by Ms Manmeet Kaur Nanda (Joint Secretary, DPIIT), followed by the Release of Impact Assessment Report by Hon’ble Minister. Ministry of Commerce and Industry & DPIIT invited three organization as the Make In India success story to present their journey and experience. M/s Samriddhi Automation Ltd.(Sparsh) M/s Tejas Networks Ltd. M/s Accurate Gauging Pvt Ltd. The success story of Sparsh (CCTV) was presented by Sanjeev Sehgal, Founder and Managing Director of Sparsh, fondly known as the ‘Make in India Man’ in the electronics industry. Sparsh is a two-decades old first-generation company. In 2008, Sparsh became the first firm in India to design and manufacture CCTV cameras in technical tie-up with Sony Electronics Inc. According to DPIIT’s Public Procurement Policy – Make in India, Sparsh goods qualify as Class-I type CCTV manufacturer. Additionally, they are qualified for preference under the PMA Policy. Sparsh came into existence in the year 2002, guided by the vision and determination of Sanjeev Sehgal who wanted to establish an Indian brand in the field of security surveillance. During that time, the entire market was captured by unorganized players who were importing cameras from Taiwan and South Korea. Electronic equipment manufacturing was a dream, and no one could have thought for development of CCTV cameras domestically in India. Sparsh took this as a challenge and started making efforts in the direction of becoming the first Indian manufacturer of security surveillance CCTV cameras. After 6 years of research, patience, efforts, and hard work, when finally, the first camera was launched by Mr. Sehgal and his team in the year 2008 which was indeed a proud moment for any Indian to be the first manufacturer in his field. Sparsh as a brand made its mark in 2008. To put cherry on the top, Sony Electronics, MD, came to India to launch it. It was just the beginning and there was a lot which had to be done to sustain in the market. With a team of handful but skilled personnel, Sparsh started converting those challenges into opportunities and started taking baby steps towards growth and success resulting in revenue growth of 11 times in 4 years from 2008 to 2012 and being ranked as overall No. 4 brand and only Indian brand in IHS Video Surveillance Report for 2014. The key was an out of the box thinking by a leadership that had a positive thought process and performed deep market research. Market dynamics changed thereafter, and world CCTV market started shifting from Taiwan and other parts of world to China from 2010 and was captured totally by China in short span. The best example was the pandemic situation of Covid-19 when the entire world was locked and negativity prevailed, Sparsh converted the negative atmosphere prevailing into positive and progressive opportunity by utilizing the thermal technology for fever detection camera and other devices. This step was a boon for humanity as it benefitted numerous companies, organisations and individuals by providing contactless fever detection and early diagnosis, saving precious lives. In the last 2 years, the company has grown more than three times in revenue, more than five times in profitability and has expanded from one manufacturing unit to three manufacturing units (2 units in Haridwar and 1 unit in Noida). Today, apart from its own brand, Sparsh is manufacturing security surveillance products which includes parts, modules, SKD for nine national and multinational brands. By the end of 2022, Sparsh plans to manufacture for three more global brands. The success story of Sparsh would not have been possible without the instrumental support received from the Ministry of Commerce and DPIIT. The Ministry supported to eliminate restrictive conditions in the tenders (Government Procurement process) against domestic manufacturers. Few of the success stories worth mentioning where Sparsh got success after intervention by DPIIT were notably: Airport Authority of India Oil and Refineries NTPC Smart City GAIL Northern Coalfields And many more… Based on the grievances raised by Sparsh, DPIIT conducted a meeting with 23 departments and ministries on 11th March 2022 and the concerns were discussed individually with each ministry. Based on those discussions, an office memorandum was released on 28th March 2022. This was indeed a revolutionary decision made by DPIIT to accept Indian standards as equivalent to UL standards. DPIIT also made the decision that, only Indian standards will be applicable for CCTV cameras in India. The result of this decision was that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) accepted Indian standards as equivalent to UL Standards and made modifications in their procurement manual on July’ 2022. The support from DPIIT and other government organizations has been a big motivation for Indian manufacturers like Sparsh. The decision created a pathway for new opportunities. Taking this as a sign of expansion, Sparsh signed an MoU with Uttarakhand Government. With the support from Uttarakhand Government, Sparsh is coming up as an anchor unit for EMC 2.0 (Electronic Manufacturing Cluster) in Kashipur, where the Company procured 8.5 acres of land with a commitment to invest `175 crores. This will generate employment for 25,000 people. Once the unit is operationalized, it will have the capacity to manufacture 1 million cameras per month which will…

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Safeguarding the safest mode of travel

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India010 mins

Harsh Wardhan, Chief Executive Officer, CSC India From airports to aircraft, Covid-19 exhibited a situation that no one had ever imagined before. The aviation sector has blatantly shown that it is ready for a recovery. Airports all around the world have been quick to install more robust safety measures to guarantee that the faith of the patron is not jeopardized. Airports have been subjected to a fast-changing environment, which includes governing the rules, passenger processing, sanitization inside airport facilities, and the introduction of new biometric technology. New norms were formed for the aviation industry to tackle this deadly virus with the ultimate objective, to prevent its spread and saving lives. On April 17, 2022, the Indian aviation sector attained the milestone of 4,000,00 daily domestic flight passengers for the first time since the Covid-19 epidemic began. The airlines carried 4,07,975 people on 2,838 flights, or around 95.5% of daily domestic air passenger volume prior to Covid-19. (Source: Businesstoday.in) Without airport security, the airport would be exposed to unforeseen terrorist and criminal attacks. The airport’s security procedures deter criminals from undertaking such acts. India’s airport security is managed by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Airports are increasingly using cutting-edge equipment and technologies to combat possible risks to travelers and make air travel safer because of technological advancements. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been looking after the airport’s security for more than 2 decades and has been very proactive and vigilant in identifying threats. Jewar airport is now coming very soon, as it is a subsidiary of Zurich international airport, the development is a part of the government’s goal to enlarge current airports and construct new ones to support regional air traffic growth and maintain air traffic growth in crowded metro areas. A second airport in the National Capital Region is necessary to manage anticipated increases in traffic because the existing Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi is about to reach capacity. It is said that Jewar airport will be incorporated with Digiyatra technology to enhance security. However, the same is optional if a passenger is not comfortable with it, they will then have to manually do all the procedures. A few episodes in the aviation industry that might pose a potential threat to the industry are as follows: Access to the airport terminal area for guests and staff. Insufficient luggage and passenger screening. Inadequate airport or aircraft upkeep. Overcrowding around the nearby gates during boarding. Carrying weapons discreetly. Not co-operating with the security or airline staff. Use a sharp object as a weapon. Making a call to the airline/ staff/ airport of a bomb threat. These issues require a sensitive approach to tackle, or they can turn into a very serious event because they are critical to security, and airports play a big part in the national economy. Airport infrastructure is an essential part of the entire transportation system, and it has a direct impact on a nation’s ability to compete internationally and attract foreign investment as safeguarding the airport is always a priority. The safety and security of infrastructure can be upgraded, if the following things are taken care of: Reviewing & understanding the existing security procedure and emergency plan. This must be carried out each year for the upgradation of technology and laws. Auditing the entire premises every four months to ensure compliance. Airport is the most sensitive place to work, the staff responsible to look after the safety and security of the airport, must be highly skilled and trained to handle all kinds of situations if needed. Security agency: A trusted, competent, and diligent security agency that has handled sensitive events in the past and is capable to handle airport security as well. Zoning: Zoning the airport and assigning heads associated with each zone. The zone head will be responsible to provide daily track records and compliance reports. An extremely powerful scanner that passengers go through may detect potential hidden dangers without requiring them to remain still. Introducing security checkpoints: This is a recent addition to security, as not all the airports in India follow this precaution. Introducing the same one hundred percent in all airports would filter suspicious-looking individuals to enter the airport. Manning: The restrooms are often unmanned, especially at the arrival area, one potential threat of this is the unavailability of the staff in case of a medical emergency. Fencing: The latest technology in airport fencing is fiber net fencing. Fiber net, the mesh, vertical posts, wind-bracings, and outrigger arms of airport perimeter fences are made of continuous glass fibers infused with a thermosetting resin matrix. Smaller accessories, fittings, and fastening components are made of stainless steel or galvanized steel. This technology has got various benefits as it is cost-friendly and most importantly doesn’t interfere with various aircraft radar systems. Traveler friendly: Maintaining airport safety and security is a priority for the authorities however, Travelers arriving from different countries often find themselves lost due to language barriers or cultural differences. Airport authorities can resolve this by providing concierge assistance at a regular distance. This would certainly aid in smoother and crowd-free airport operations. In terms of airport security, customer satisfaction, and infrastructure globally, the following airports topped the Skytrax list for the year 2022. The annual Skytrax World Airport Awards 2022 recognize Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport as the best regional airport in South Asia and India. Four Indian airports, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru secured 37th, 65th, 63rd, and 61st ranks respectively in the list of top 100 airports in the world 2022 by Skytrax. All these airports have climbed up the ladder if compared to the list of 2021. It is delightful to see that the Indian aviation sector is improving the quality-of-service year after year and is displaying a progressive country image to the world. Airports are under pressure to contribute to the fight against the evolving threats to aviation. A good security operation depends on performance management, both in terms of security criteria and delivery. This article does…

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A Fresh Boost of Unprecedented Scale to the Business World

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India08 mins

Deep conversations, significant transactions, valuable industry insights of Day 1 carried right through to Closing Day, with further engagements and projects in the pipeline After two long years of forced hiatus, months of anticipation and preparation, and three days of bustling activity, InfoComm India 2022 has proven that absence only makes the heart grow fonder. The Show saw 11,381 visitors discovering cutting-edge solutions presented by 160 exhibiting companies from more than 15 countries, and gaining technology and industry insights from renowned speakers through 35 Summit sessions. It was evident from the level of engagement and energy on the show floor that the three-year hiatus has fuelled a recharge of ideas, and interest in the solutions on display. Solutions Beyond Post-pandemic Era Going by the technological products and solutions seen at InfoComm India 2022, the world is poised for a whole new post-pandemic landscape – one where work, life and play are not just delivered in hybrid mode but also open to other creative modes yet to be dreamt up. On the show floor, visitors saw innovative solutions up close in action like powerful unified communication systems for offices with Zoom and Microsoft Teams-certified devices; mission-critical application solutions for command and control centers; 4K interactive LCD screens for smart classrooms; high-quality digital signage and displays for advertising and retail; and so much more. Gracing the Show with his presence was Honorable Minister for Information Technology for the Government of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Mano Thangaraj. After touring the show floor, he shared his thoughts, “InfoComm India is a professional platform that gathers industry experts with the latest knowledge and valuable insights while providing a significant platform for the business community to network and connect.” Honorable Minister Thiru Mano Thangaraj was also the chief guest speaker at the NIXT Summit Industry Forum for Education on Day 2. Visitors explored the latest and most innovative solutions from 160 exhibiting brands including leading industry players like Aero, Crestron, Delta, Harman and Vega. Of these, 31 companies exhibited for the first time at InfoComm India. They include brands like Anixter, LG, NEC, Fore Excel and Prama Hikvision. Pratik Agrwal, Director of Fore Excel enthused, “AR/ VR is still a new technology in India and we are excited to be able to showcase our solutions at InfoComm India. Many visitors were very interested in our AR/ VR products and we received hundreds of leads during the show.” Returning exhibitor, Crestron had a good showing and saw productive engagements with its customers and prospects at its booth over the three days. Joel Mulpeter, Director, Product Marketing Asia shared, “InfoComm India is a fantastic show. It brought the industry back together. The Show is a great way for us and our partners to demonstrate our technology and solutions to our customers in person.” Vega, another repeat exhibitor also had fruitful participation. Matthew Deayton, Deputy Chief Executive Officer shared his observation, “The calibre of visitors at InfoComm India is higher than before, and so is the quality of engagements that have taken place at our booth.’ Personalized and Enhanced Visitor Experience The Hosted Buyers Program welcomed 150 buyers who came from the government, education, healthcare, defense, IT, architecture and consultancy sectors. The Hosted Buyers were brought on guided tours around the show floor for a personal introduction to leading solution providers and their latest technology and product offerings. Post-tour, the Hosted Buyers had the opportunity to further network with the exhibitors and learn more about the solutions up close. Hosted Buyer Dheeraj Kumar, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Yamuna Nagar Municipal Corporation said, “I am thoroughly impressed with the technologies put up by the exhibitors.” With much to see, pre-show solution-discovery and communication facilities – namely, Business Matching, vBooth and Meeting Scheduler – have proven beneficial to the visitor experience. These respectively helped solution-seekers identify exhibitors relevant to their industry and technology needs; find out salient information about each exhibitor; interact and secure a meeting with exhibitors they are interested in – all via the Show website, even before the Show opened. Inspired Learning, Networking and Collaborations The insightful and inspiring InfoComm India 2022 Summit sessions have also paved the way for more initiatives to be launched on the back of the event. Specific needs of different audience segments were addressed by industry experts and sector leaders via the various learning tracks – AV Leaders Connect (by invitation only), AVIXA Seminars, Industry Forums and AV Managers Day. “India is expected to be the world’s fastest growing professional AudioVisual market, and it is also expected to be world’s fastest growing economy. With its robust economy, a huge market hungry for disruption-driven solutions, and a population always seeking innovation, India is the place for Pro-AV technology to flourish,” said See Lay Eng, Senior Director of InfoCommAsia. She continued, “This is reflected in the high energy levels on the show floor since the opening day of InfoComm India.” InfoComm India 2023: The next edition of InfoComm India is set to take place from 25-27 October 2023, at a different venue of Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai.    

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STF, UP Police Wins: FICCI Smart Policing Award 2021

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India05 mins

The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police has been conferred with the prestigious FICCI Smart Policing Award 2021, at the annual conference on homeland security that was held at FICCI in New Delhi. STF, UP police won this Special Jury Award in a highly competitive field which received more than 192 entries from 19 State Police Forces and 4 CAPFs, and other Central Police Forces, for its application of the AI-Powered JARVIS tool. JARVIS-SIAN was launched by Amitabh Yash (IPS) in 2021 and has been indigenously developed by Staqu Technologies, which is a Gurugram-based AI research start-up. The annual conference that witnessed the participation of senior officials from the Government of India, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), and various State Police Forces (SPFs) acknowledged the ingenuity and far-sightedness of the smart policing solutions adopted by STF Uttar Pradesh Police. STF, UP Police department had launched the JARVIS – SIAN, an AI-powered audio and video analytics platform for the identification of criminals and miscreants by utilization of both their voice samples and photographs. Technology has been highly efficient and useful in the reduction of organized crime and the capture of cybercriminals. Amitabh Yash, IPS, ADG, STF UP Police, under whose guidance the JARVIS-SIAN was developed, said, “It is a humbling experience to be receiving this recognition from a national body like FICCI. With the technology, we envisioned utilizing the latest advancements in the field of artificial intelligence to strengthen our ground-level defense. We are glad to be recognized for the same and sincerely hope that more Indian states would now be motivated to adopt the latest technologies to enhance policing operations.” Commenting on the win, Atul Rai, Founder, and CEO, Staqu Technologies said, “We would like to firstly congratulate STF, UP Police for this award. The manner and commitment in which the technology has been adopted across the strata by STF are reflected in this victory here. A lot of countries worldwide have adopted AIbased deep learning in their security and surveillance methods, and have experienced success. The technology certainly eliminates the room for errors and adds a layer of intelligence to the whole procedure. We could not be happier about how our country is now embracing the advancement of technology. At Staqu we believe in the continuous enhancement of our offerings which at the end of the day are designed to make the lives of our fellow countrymen safer and easier.” Empowering the special task forces officers at Ground Zero, JARVIS helps officers identify criminals through voice samples, facial scans, video footage etc. Owing to its widespread use cases and superior AI capabilities, JARVIS is used by all the officers in 7 zones of STF in Uttar Pradesh, ranging from inspectors to ADG. As a Gurgaon-based Artificial Intelligence start-up, Staqu strives to utilize technology in solving real-world problems. Founded in 2015, the company provides state-of-the-art image recognition, language-independent proprietary speaker identification, and text processing, including sentiment analysis, text classification and summarization. Staqu was handpicked by the British High Commission as the Best AI Start-up in the country. Furthermore, triumphing in IBM’s Global Entrepreneur Program, Staqu has successfully raised investment from Indian Angel Network.  

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On-line Certification: Certified Security Professional (CSP) & Certified Security Manager (CSM)

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink India913 mins

The International Council for Industrial Security and Safety Management (ICISSM) is a security and safety professionals’ forum that works towards creating an open platform for security and safety professionals to share their knowledge and expertise. With the membership of more than seven thousand working security and safety professionals from all over the world, it has been conducting the training with the help world renowned Master Trainers. These training carry a lot of respect and recognition in the fraternity. ICISSM is the only institution in India which is focussing on continual improvement and career enhancement of security supervisors and security guards. The high-value on-line certification program are specially curated keeping in mind the busy lives security professionals have and also the burning desire in them to excel in their chosen profession. The Council is aware that they want to constantly upskill themselves to remain ahead to forthcoming challenges profession would offer to them. Even when harder they tried, there was always paucity of time and sense losing out in the competitive environment just because they could not acquire the needed Certificate, an essential evidence so much needed for the career progression. To help and support the working security professionals, ICISSM has started two online certification programs to ‘professionalize the professionals.’ Certified Security Professional (CSP). Certified Security Manager (CSM). Industry Accreditation These courses are based on national occupational standards and in conformity to the industry standards and benchmarks. All the security professionals with these certificates have progressed well and they are doing very well so far as their career progression is concerned. In India there are no on-line or off-line certification programs for security supervisors or security managers. Only the basic syllabus for the 12 hours’ training program is prescribed for security guards under the Private Security Agencies Regulation Act. For our ‘On-line Certifications Courses’ for CSP & CSM, the ICISSM has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Security Sector Skill Development Council (SSSDC). This was closely followed by signing another MoU with Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) on 15 November 2018 during its Annual Summit very aptly focussing on Security Skills & Leadership. The MoU was signed by Kunwar Vikram Singh, Chairman, CAPSI and Col DR Semwal, President of ICISSM. The MoU is aimed to encourage working security professionals from the member PSAs of CAPSI for up-skilling and upgrading their professional qualifications for assured career progression and instant recognition to their peers, superiors and recruiters regarding their professional acumen and expertise. Benefits of Certifications The certification training imparted will have following discernible benefits: Provides in-depth subject knowledge. Allows the learnings and ‘take homes’ to be incorporated in day-to-day professional work and discharge of duties with conviction and confidence. Case studies encourage the application of new leanings to be applied on ground with modifications to specific needs. Certification allows instant recognition in fraternity and by the peers. The enrolled personnel for above trainings are made members of ICISSM for the one calendar year and are sent our monthly newsletters and inducted as members to our LinkedIn and Google Groups also for one year. The successful certified professionals in recognition to their distinguished achievement will enjoy these privileges for their entire professional lives. The certificate holders are also inducted as members in our WhatsApp group – an exclusive group of select professionals. We regularly send information to our members on forthcoming conferences and seminars to encourage their participation for continual upgradation of their knowledge and skills. Eligibility Certified Security Professional (CSP): For those having minimum five years’ professional experience in any position and possessing minimum educational qualification of graduation. Certified Security Manager (CSM): For those having minimum five years’ professional experience and working in managerial position with minimum educational qualification of graduation. How to Enrol Following are the modalities: The Certified Security Professional (CSP): This course contains twenty (20) sessions as per details given in Appendix A. Upon receiving the fees along with the filled form and supporting documents, the reading material will be provided by ICISSM by e-mail. Certified Security Manager (CSM): This course contains forty (40) sessions as per details given in Appendix B. Upon receiving the fees along with the filled form and supporting documents, the reading material will be provided by ICISSM by e-mail. The interested professionals need to send their queries if any while browsing the web-site and visiting last page. They need to fill-up and send by e-mail or post, the form given in Appendix C along with proof of having acquired educational qualification of graduation or above. They also need to provide copy of their employer identity card or certificate clearly indicating their designation. The certification fee for Certified Security Professional (CSP) is Rs.10000.00 (Ten Thousand) and for Certified Security Manager (CSM) it is Rs.20000.00 (Twenty Thousand) only. The GST at 18% is to be paid extra. Despatch of Reading Material Upon receiving the payment and enrolment papers and finding them in order, the reading material in the batch of ten elements will be sent by mail. The CSP Module has total twenty (20) and CSM has total forty (40) elements. There is no time limit for study of the sent material; however, when the registered candidate is ready to appear in the examination, a mail needs to be sent to ICISSM which will send the link/ question paper containing multiple choice questions. The examination will be in the batch of ten elements of the modules and therefore for CSP there will be two and for CSM there will be four exams. However any candidate wishing to attempt all the elements and examination thereof in one go can make specific request. Examination Process Since these are online courses, there is no pre-set dates. One can start on-line registration and begin the course and appear for the exam at own convenience. However, the time limit set to complete the certification process must be kept in mind. On candidate’s intimation about readiness for the exam, a link will be sent which will contain examination papers…

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