Category: International

Quantum Corporation recently announced an agreement to acquire the video surveillance portfolio and assets of Pivot3, a pioneer in hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and a player in intelligent software solutions for the security and surveillance markets. The acquisition brings a diverse portfolio of video surveillance appliances, network video recorders (NVRs), and management applications along with a scale-out hyper converged software platform, which going forward will all be offered under the Quantum VS-Series product portfolio. Together with Quantum’s current line of NVR servers, the StorNext™ File System, and ActiveScale™ object storage, the Pivot3 additions round out a comprehensive surveillance and security portfolio, spanning small to multi-petabyte deployments. “Surveillance cameras are the biggest data generator on the planet, and Pivot3 has established themselves as one of the leaders in this space by pioneering the use of hyperconverged software for surveillance recording,” said Jamie Lerner, Chairman and CEO, Quantum, “This acquisition represents another key step in Quantum’s transformation, solidifying the company as a serious player in the multi-billion-dollar video surveillance market, expanding our global customer base, sales channels, and technical expertise specific to this industry.” Highlights of the acquisition Transaction purchase price totals approximately $8.9 million in cash and stock. Acquisition projected to be slightly accretive to EBITDA through remainder of Fiscal 2022. Expands video surveillance portfolio with hardware and software offerings that will be offered under the Quantum VS-Series portfolio. Builds on an established reputation for quality, world class services and support and a mature supply chain in the video surveillance market. Brings core intellectual property around distributed storage, data placement, erasure coding, and storage quality of service. Expands global customer base with over 500 new surveillance customers with some of the most demanding mission critical deployments in the world including airports, mass transit, casinos, education, and smart cities. Adds key employees to engineering, product and sales organizations with deep expertise in video surveillance solutions. Lerner added: “We are excited to welcome Pivot3’s surveillance customers and partners to Quantum. We are committed to making sure that they receive excellent service and support throughout this transition, and we have an innovative and compelling roadmap planned that builds on the proven Pivot3 product line with Quantum’s intellectual property and expertise in video. We are excited to share this roadmap.” “We believe it’s critical to manage the video surveillance data lifecycle from initial capture through expiration, and adding Pivot3 to the Quantum portfolio expands our ability to address security projects of every size and scope,” said Curt Wittich, Vice President of Sales, Strategic Markets, at Quantum, “Surveillance traditionally utilizes ‘one-size-fits-all’ products that address only primary video storage, but higher quality cameras and increasing retention requirements demand different solutions to support video at various lifecycle stages. These solutions range from entry-level VMS servers all the way to cloud or tape storage for multi-year, multi-petabyte retention. Quantum’s portfolio covers the entire lifecycle for optimal video placement, accessibility, and cost effectiveness.” The new employees joining Quantum will be under direction of the Strategic Markets Business Unit, led by Ross Fujii, General Manager. Sales will be led by Curt Wittich.  

The most accurate face recognition algorithms have demonstrated the capability to confirm airline passenger identities while making very few errors, according to recent tests of the software conducted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The findings, released recently as Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT) Part 7: Identification for Paperless Travel and Immigration (NISTIR 8381), focus on face recognition (FR) algorithms’ performance under a particular set of simulated circumstances – matching images of travelers to previously obtained photos of those travelers stored in a database. This use of FR is currently part of the onboarding process for international flights, both to con[1]firm a passenger’s identity for the airline’s flight roster and also to record the passenger’s official immigration exit from the United States. The results indicate that several of the FR algorithms NIST tested could perform the task using a single scan of a passenger’s face with 99.5% accuracy or better – especially if the database contains several images of the passenger. “We ran simulations to characterize a system that is doing two jobs – identifying passengers at the gate and recording their exit for immigration,” said Patrick Grother, a NIST Computer Scientist and one of the report’s Authors, “We found that accuracy varies across algorithms, but that modern algorithms generally perform better. If airlines use the more accurate ones, passengers can board many flights with no errors.” Previous FRVT studies have focused on evaluating how algorithms perform one of two different tasks that are among FR’s most common applications. The first task, confirming that a photo matches a different one of the same person, is known as ‘one-toone” matching and is commonly used for verification work such as unlocking a smartphone. The second, determining whether the person in the photo has a match in a large database, is known as ‘one-to-many’ matching. This latest test concerns a specific application of one-to-many matching in airport transit settings, where travelers’ faces are matched against a database of individuals who are all expected to be present. In this scenario, only a few hundred passengers board a given flight. However, NIST also looked at whether the technology could be viable elsewhere in the airport, specifically in the security line where perhaps 100 times more people might be expected during a certain time window. (The database was built from images used in previous FRVT studies, but the subjects were not wearing face masks.) As with previous studies, the team used software that developers voluntarily submitted to NIST for evaluation. This time, the team only looked at software that was designed to perform the one-to-many matching task, evaluating a total of 29 algorithms. Among the report’s findings are: The seven top-performing algorithms can successfully identify at least 99.5% of passengers the first time around if the database contains one image of a passenger. If the database contains a single image of each individual, the study shows that for as many as 428 of 567 simulated flight boarding processes, with each flight carrying 420 passengers, the most accurate FR algorithm can identify passengers for boarding without any false negatives (meaning the software fails to match two images of the same person). Stated in terms of error rates, this corresponds to at least 99.87% of travelers being able to board successfully after presenting themselves one time to the camera. Six additional algorithms give better than 99.5% accuracy. Performance improves dramatically if the database contains multiple images of a passenger. The database gallery can contain more than one image of a single passenger. When an average of six prior images of a passenger are in the gallery, then all algorithms realize large gains: The most accurate algorithm will check the identities of passengers on 545 of 567 flights without any errors, and at least 18 developers’ algorithms are effective at identifying more than 99.5% of travelers accurately with a single presentation to the camera. Demographic differences in the dataset have little effect. The team explored differences in performance on male versus female subjects and also across national origin, which were the two identifiers the photos included. National origin can, but does not always, reflect racial background. Algorithms performed with high accuracy across all these variations. False negatives, though slightly more common for women, were rare in all cases. Grother said that the study does not address an important factor – the sort of camera that an FR system uses. Because airport environments differ, and because the cameras themselves operate in different ways, the report offers some guidance for tests that an airline or immigration authority could run to complement the NIST test results. Such tests would provide accuracy estimates that reflect the actual equipment and environment where it is used. “We do not focus on cameras, which are an influential variable,” he said, “We recommend that officials conduct the other tests we outline so as to refine their operations.”  

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently announced that it would launch a full technical investigation into what caused the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021. “This is an unspeakable tragedy, and like all NIST investigations, we will conduct a fact-finding study to prevent tragedies like this in the future,” said James Olthoff, who is currently performing the duties of the Undersecretary of Commerce for standards and technology and NIST Director, “We intend to undertake a thorough technical investigation into what caused the collapse, to ultimately make recommendations that would make our buildings safer and keep something like this from happening again. This effort will take time, but we will work on this as long as necessary.” The NIST investigation will not interfere with the ongoing search-and-rescue operations. NIST has been working with other government officials at the scene of the collapse, and the agency will continue to cooperate with all ongoing local, state and federal investigations. NIST investigators will only enter the actual site of the collapse after it is deemed safe for them to do so. On June 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced it would launch a full technical investigation into what caused the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, Florida, on June 24. There are millions of high-rise condominium units in Florida alone, many of them near the ocean or aging. While a NIST investigation is intended to identify the cause of the Champlain Towers South collapse, it could also uncover potential issues for other similar buildings nearby and throughout the nation. Passed by Congress in 2002, the National Construction Safety Teams (NCST) Act authorizes the NIST director to deploy expert teams after the failure of a building that resulted in substantial loss of life or posed significant potential for doing so. These investigations ultimately aim to improve the safety and structural integrity of buildings in the United States. Leading up to this decision, a preliminary NIST team spent several days in Surfside, Florida, to determine if the event met the criteria for a full investigation under the NCST Act. The team found that the collapse met necessary criteria to invoke the act. It was a major building failure at significantly less than its design basis, during construction, or while in active use. In addition, NIST determined that a fact-finding investigation of the building performance and emergency response and evacuation procedures will likely result in significant and new knowledge or building code revision recommendations needed to reduce or mitigate public risk and economic losses from future building failures. The NIST team will: establish the likely technical cause or causes of the building failure; recommend, as necessary, specific improvements to building standards, codes and practices; and recommend any research and other appropriate actions needed to improve the structural safety of buildings. NIST does not publish or set standards and does not have a regulatory role in building or construction. The team will include NIST staff members and non-NIST experts. Team members will collect and study information and material from the collapse to understand how the building was designed, constructed, modified and maintained. They also will examine samples of the building materials and the local soil conditions and any other potential contributing factors. The effort does not have a set timeline and is expected to take years to complete. The team will provide regular updates on its progress to the National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee at its regular meetings, which are open to the public. NIST encourages the public to submit any information, including video or photos, that might help the investigation via a data portal that the agency has set up. Why NIST? NIST is a federal research laboratory with extensive expertise in engineering and many other technical areas. NIST staff members work with experts in industry, academia and government to support the development of model building codes. The National Construction Safety Teams (NCST) Act of 2002 authorizes NIST to conduct technical investigations of building failures, issue reports and make recommendations to improve building codes and standards. The NCST Act provides NIST the ability to collect and preserve evidence from the site of a failure and/ or disaster, issue subpoenas and hold hearings. NIST’s investigative authorities are secondary to criminal or terrorist investigations. NIST was established in 1901, and one of its first contributions to disaster resilience happened after the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, when much of the city was destroyed. NIST’s work helped usher in code improvements that were designed to ensure that fire hoses had compatible couplings with all hydrants, so that firefighters from different companies could work together more easily to extinguish large fires. Since then, NIST has investigated many failures and disasters, including the World Trade Center collapses and Pentagon attack on 9/11, as well as many hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes around the world. Most recently, NIST has sent preliminary teams to the Gulf area in 2017 for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria; to Paradise, California, after the 2018 Camp Fire, which led to an ongoing study; and now to Surfside, Florida, for the Champlain Towers South Condominium collapse. This will be the fifth investigation NIST has conducted using the NCST Act authorities. The prior four were – the World Trade Center disaster, with final reports published in 2005 (WTC 1 and 2) and 2008 (WTC 7); the 2003 Station nightclub fire, with a final report published in 2005; the 2011 Joplin tornado investigation, with a report published in 2014; and the Hurricane Maria investigation, which is ongoing (see the recently published interim report). The completed investigations have led to changes in building codes, standards, engineering practices, emergency response and emergency communications standards and practices. NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.  

FARO® Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of 3D measurement, imaging, and realization solutions for the 3D Metrology, AEC (architecture, engineering & construction), and public safety analytics markets, recently announced the acquisition of HoloBuilder, Inc. HoloBuilder brings to FARO its leading photogrammetry-based 3D platform, which delivers hardware agnostic image capture, registration and viewing to the fast-growing Digital Twin market. With an initial focus on construction management, HoloBuilder’s technology platform provides general contractors a solution to efficiently capture and virtually manage construction progress using off-the-shelf 360° cameras. HoloBuilder’s SaaS platform will add fast and easy reality-capture photo documentation and added remote access capability to FARO’s highly-accurate 3D point cloud-based laser scanning to create the industry’s first end-to-end Digital Twin solution – all without leaving the FARO ecosystem. The combined solution will provide comprehensive scanning and image management capabilities for the Digital Twin market including robotic assembly 3D simulation, construction management, facilities operations and management, and incident pre-planning. “The high-value that digitalization brings to the AEC and operations & maintenance (O&M) industries creates significant market opportunity for FARO,” stated Michael Burger, FARO President and CEO, “The addition of HoloBuilder to our offering accelerates the reality of a true end-to-end Digital Twin solution and advances our strategic objective of increased recurring revenue through market share gains in this large and growing segment.” “HoloBuilder and FARO together furthers our vision of digitizing the physical world to enable process automation and workflow optimization,” added Mostafa Akbari-Hochberg, HoloBuilder President & Founder, “The powerful combination of high accuracy laser scanning with real-time 360° photo capture and collaboration will empower both company’s customer bases with a comprehensive Digital Twin solution.” Under terms of the agreement, HoloBuilder shareholders received a cash payment of $34 million. As of April 30, 2021, HoloBuilder had $4.0 million in annual recurring revenue with a compounded annual growth rate of nearly 75% since 2019. The transaction closed on June 4 and was funded with available cash reserves. Alantra acted as exclusive financial adviser to HoloBuilder.  

As video users globally pay closer attention to the manufacturing origins and standards-compliance of their systems, IDIS is highlighting the value of its fully licensed network cameras and recorders that feature H.265 video compression. IDIS was among the first manufacturers to deliver the benefits of H.265 compression to the market as part of its end-to-end DirectIP® solution. The company has confirmed that it has HVEC Advance and H.265 MPEG patent licenses for all its hardware, with licenses dating back to cover all installed systems. IDIS has made extensive use of the H.265 standard since 2016, leveraging it to underpin flexible monitoring solutions using dual codec (H.264/ 265) and hybrid codec to ensure backward compatibility with older monitoring hardware. Combined with IDIS’s own advanced compression technology, IDIS Intelligent Codec, this typically saves up to 70% on storage capacity and lowers bandwidth requirements compared to older high-definition systems that relied on H.264. This approach means IDIS users were among the first to benefit from ultra-high-definition surveillance using 8MP and 12MP cameras, while ensuring fast incident response, smoother searches and minimized distortion when reviewing complex scenes, even from mobile devices. For example, the new IDIS Mobile Plus app – which integrates with the enterprise-level IDIS Solution Suite VMS to allow for more flexible and remote surveillance operations – enables 4K live streaming on remote mobile devices, with high image quality in H.264/ MJPEG and H.265 formats. With Mobile Plus, users can remotely access cameras and NVRs, monitor live video streams, and search recorded footage via their iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet – all enabled by advanced compression technologies. “As security and video tech vendors come under increased scrutiny over issues from manufacturing origin and cybersecurity to standards and intellectual property compliance, IDIS can provide full reassurance for customers with its fully-licensed, Korean-made, end-to-end video solutions,” says Joon Jun, President of the IDIS Global Business Division, “From critical infrastructure and banks, to national health services and corporates, IDIS video technology is trusted by major users globally.”  

Used in cyberattacks that can paralyze organizations, ransomware is malicious software that encrypts a computer system’s data and demands payment to restore access. To help organizations protect against ransomware attacks and recover from them if they happen, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published an infographic offering a series of simple tips and tactics. NIST’s advice includes: To use antivirus software at all times and make sure it’s set up to automatically scan e-mails and removable media (e.g., flash drives) for ransomware and other malware. To keep all computers fully patched with security updates. To use security products or services that block access to known ransomware sites on the internet. To configure operating systems or use third-party software to allow only authorized applications to run on computers, thus preventing ransomware from working. To restrict or prohibit use of personally owned devices on the organization’s networks and for telework or remote access unless the user is taking extra steps to assure security. NIST also advises users to follow these tips for their work computers: Use standard user accounts instead of accounts with administrative privileges whenever possible. Avoid using personal applications and websites, such as email, chat and social media, on work computers. Avoid opening files, clicking on links etc., from unknown sources without first checking them for suspicious content. For example, one can run an antivirus scan on a file, and inspect links carefully. Unfortunately, even with protective measures in place, eventually a ransomware attack may still succeed. Organizations can prepare for this by taking steps to ensure that their information will not be corrupted or lost, and that normal operations can resume quickly. NIST recommends that organizations follow these steps to accelerate their recovery: Develop and implement an incident recovery plan with defined roles and strategies for decision making. Carefully plan, implement and test a data backup and restoration strategy. It’s important not only to have secure backups of all the important data, but also to make sure that backups are kept isolated so ransomware can’t readily spread to them. Maintain an up-to-date list of internal and external contacts for ransomware attacks, including law enforcement. NIST has also published a more detailed fact sheet on how to stay prepared against ransomware attacks. One can find this material and more on ransomware at the NIST and CISA websites. These materials were produced by staff members in NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory and National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. NIST is a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.