Category: International

Arecent study conducted by IFSEC Global reveals how trusted identities can serve as the backbone for smart buildings and today’s connected workforce. Sponsored by HID Global, the access control study on the connected workplace explores the trends in smart buildings and the increasingly important need for identity-aware building systems that offer greater convenience, security and productivity. “Most respondents want more integrated smart buildings and business applications that seamlessly work together. While many of them are realizing these benefits by using common management frameworks with centralized databases, this approach is generally quite expensive,” said Ashish Malpani, Director of Product Marketing with HID Global, “The study reveals how trusted IDs offer a viable alternative for achieving a connected building at lower cost, better ROI and improved user experience – all by providing systems with knowledge of identities and their authorizations for access to elevators, parking garages, vending machines, printers and other systems.” IFSEC Global’s study focused on how the access control infrastructure combined with trusted identities can connect disparate systems for enhanced monitoring and a better user experience as people enter and move around buildings, access various systems and consume building services. According to the report, 85 percent of respondents are aware that identities can be connected across multiple systems and devices, and more than 60 percent believe that having everything on one ID card or mobile device will provide operational efficiencies. More than half have already connected their building systems to access control applications, and converging systems can even be a factor in deciding to upgrade the access control infrastructure. Top applications include integrated logical access, AV conferencing, elevators, secure print, locks for interior draws and racks and HVAC control. Other key findings include: 63 percent define their building as ‘smart’ to at least some degree, a 13 percent increase as compared to a 2016 IFSEC Global report on smart buildings. 60 percent of access control systems are already integrated with other buildings systems. Roughly the same percentage believe that system integration is hugely beneficial for user convenience while adding value to existing systems. 51 percent of respondents have already integrated time and attendance systems. 45 percent cite asset tracking as the most likely system to be integrated in the future. System integration can also be a trigger for access control upgrades – at least 40 percent cited converged physical and logical access as a decision factor. Other top upgrade triggers include enhanced security (65 percent), multi-factor authentication (46 percent), and multiple ID form factors such as mobile devices and cards (41 percent). Two-thirds of respondents believe that IT and facilities/ security management teams need to work together more closely when buying, installing and using new technologies. Another finding from the IFSEC Global study is the growing awareness of the Internet of Things (IoT), with 86 percent of respondents either ‘very aware’ or ‘modestly aware’ of the IoT. For a more connected workplace, trusted IDs can help organizations take a first step towards integrating building systems by securing, customizing and enhancing IoT applications that help connect people, places and things.

The Secure Identity Alliance (SIA), the global identity and secure e-Services advisory body, announces the launch of a new initiative to help issuers and manufacturers evaluate the integrity and effectiveness of current and planned secure e-Document physical security design features. With the current lack of a formal, industry-recognized evaluation process for design, this certification initiative will see the development of a much-needed ‘common criteria-like’ approach to the development of security features for passports, identity cards, driving licences and similar identity-based e-Documents. The security risk-based scheme will analyse a wide variety of factors. It will identify threats, create different protection profiles based on the specific document, and evaluate effectiveness against detailed criteria. It will assess how widely security features are distributed across different parts of the document and the overall security design of the document. The results will enable issuers and manufacturers to identify potential gaps, streamline their planning and development processes, and ensure the highest levels of document security. “The integrity of today’s e-Documents is an issue at the very heart of government strategies to identify and protect its citizens,” says Frederic Trojani, Chairman of the Board, “As it stands today, and without a common and formal evaluation scheme, issuers risk long development cycles and potential exploitable gaps in e-Document security. Having established a clear need for consistency and maximum security, the initiative will provide considerable support throughout the design and manufacturing process. “I call on all organizations responsible for the development of e-Documents to join the scheme to help us build a truly effective and common reference scheme.”

ONVIF®, the leading global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, recently hosted its 16th ONVIF Developers Plugfest (ODP) in Québéc City, Québéc. With multiple testing of ONVIF conformant products, the Developers’ Plugfest offered inter-operability testing for five ONVIF profiles, including the Release Candidate of Profile A for broader access control configuration, which is scheduled for final release this summer. During the Plugfest, engineers and developers from ONVIF member companies tested their products’ implementation of ONVIF Profile specifications with other ONVIF Profile-conformant products to ensure inter-operability between conformant products from other vendors. In addition to Profile inter-operability tests, attendees were offered one hour of testing using the ONVIF device/ client test tools, as well as the opportunity to discuss with test tool developers the issues, if any that arose during conformance testing. “The ONVIF Developers Plugfest is a literal testing ground for members to establish that their products are ONVIF conformant and interoperable with other ONVIF-conformant products before they are released to the market,” said Steven Dillingham, Chairman of the ONVIF Technical Services Committee Taskforce, Developers Plugfest, “The product development lifecycle can be long and involves the work of many hands, so when our members test their products at the Plugfest, it represents one of the final phases of product development after months of hard work.” The Plugfest in Québéc city drew 32 attendees from 17 member companies from 13 different countries. Attendees logged 177 hours of total testing time during the three-day event, testing five ONVIF profiles for inter-operability, including Profile Q for out-of-the-box inter-operability, Profile S for IP-based video systems, Profile C for IP-based access control, Profile G for edge storage and retrieval, and the Release Candidate of Profile A for broader access control configuration. Profile A is in the final stages of development and scheduled for release this summer. The 17th ONVIF Developers’ Plugfest is scheduled for November 8-10, 2017, in Seoul, South Korea.

Challenges to the professional security equipment market emanating from players outside the industry have grown significantly over recent years. Recent subscriber milestone announcements from both Comcast and ADT suggest that the competition is intensifying every year. Furthermore, customers are increasingly demanding additional functionality from their intruder alarm systems, which would allow them to easily and securely connect to other in-home smart devices. Multi-service operator becoming disruptive In recent years the multi-service operator (MSO) market has grown to pose an increased challenge to traditional security providers, and the latest Comcast press release including the number of subscribers confirms just how serious the challenge is. According to the IHS Markit intelligence service, Intruder Alarms and Monitoring Services, the traditional alarm monitoring market will shrink at four percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2016 and 2020, while the connected monitoring market will experience a 15.9 percent CAGR for the same period. MSOs have approached smart security as a way of growing the number of customers and reducing attrition rates by offering security packages which include additional functionality, enhanced user experience and ease-of-use, while also providing the ability to connect with a wide range of smart devices available on the market. Many MSOs have been able to take advantage of their wide footprints and existing customer bases to convert existing customers and bring new customers to the security (smart home) category. Converting existing customers has been one of the primary strategies of many security service providers. However, MSOs often are working with tens of millions of existing customers while even the top security service providers have fewer than seven million total residential customers to convert, giving MSOs a distinct advantage. Comcast’s role in professional security monitoring In essence, Comcast demonstrated success in taking advantage of its wide array of services while taking into account customers’ needs by releasing an inexpensive, innovative package and constantly improving its products quality and reliability, with R&D investment reported at $1.8 billion. Comcast has been able to achieve subscriber growth of 90.4 percent CAGR since 2010, when Xfinity Home was first unveiled. Moreover, the latest merger with iControl is likely to open up additional opportunities for growth. This may bring additional challenges to professional security equipment manufacturers and service providers (such as ADT), particularly if iControl’s Converge platform and Comcast’s Xfinity products begin to be offered through sales channels normally reserved for the professional security market: dealers. Traditional security providers try to maintain share The professional security market is working to respond to the changing dynamics of the market and ADT has been leading these efforts. The company, which launched connected home security offering Pulse in 2010, reached two million subscribers in 2017. ADT’s convergence in connected monitoring accounts has been largely drawn from converting its long-established base of subscribers to traditional alarm monitoring services. On the other hand, Comcast has been able to attract customers who have never used security equipment before, which will have strong knock-on effects for the intruder alarms market. Future could belong to MSOs If Comcast and ADT continue to convert their subscriber base to smart security at a similar rate with which they achieved their 2017 milestones, by 2025 ADT will reach a nearly 100 percent conversion of its existing residential subscribers, requiring it to devise a new strategy of increasing the total number of subscribers. Its current total number of subscribers is estimated at nearly seven million, most of which are residential customers. Conversely, Comcast currently has more than 22 million subscribers, and by 2025 its conversion rate will be much lower, at less than 20 percent of ADT’s, which will present a greater opportunity because Comcast will not have to rely as heavily on a greenfield customer base.

Mul-T-Lock’s ENTR® smart door lock has won a premier product innovation award from globally connected home publication, SMAhome. The ENTR® lock was selected from among 28 smart home product finalists to receive the overall Popularity Award for 2017 SMAhome awards are judged anonymously by a jury of industry insiders including system integrators and service providers with an established track record in this market. ENTR®‘s affordability, convenience, sustainability and easy integration with leading smart home ecosystems were cited in the SMAhome award announcement. Award winners were announced at a ceremony at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center in Taiwan. “SMAhome is one of the world’s leading sources of news and knowledge on the fast-evolving smart home technology and product market,” says Ehud Dinerman, Managing Director ENTR® at Mul-T-Lock, “We are extremely proud our ENTR® Smart Door Lock was selected from a strong list of 28 finalists, which included some of the global industry’s best-known manufacturers.” It takes just one screw to fit an ENTR® lock and transform a front door into a smart front door. With ENTR®, homeowners can open their door via the app, PIN code, remote control or fingerprint reader. ENTR® makes domestic key troubles a thing of the past. There’s no longer any need to get a spare set cut for kids, cleaners, carers or temporary workers. A couple of swipes on a smartphone screen is all it takes to share an ENTR® digital key with family or anyone who needs access, and to revoke the key instantly when required. The Mul-T-Lock ENTR® smart lock works equally well as a stand-alone solution or connected to a smart home system.

Nedap is recognized with the Intertraffic Parking Solutions Award 2017 for its smart parking solution in the Turkish city of Izmir. During the ceremony at the start of Intertraffic Istanbul, Nedap’s SENSIT smart parking sensors received this prestigious award. In this project, SENSIT monitors the vehicle occupancy of individual parking spaces in the streets of Izmir. This results in improved parking guidance and efficient monitoring of all paid, time restricted and disabled parking zones. 2000 smart parking spaces in Izmir As part of the cities’ large-scale intelligent transportation systems (ITS) implementation, that includes solutions to optimize traffic and transportation, 2000 parking spaces are equipped with Nedap’s smart parking sensor system SENSIT. Thanks to this solution, the city of Izmir has found a smart way to reduce traffic congestion and to increase the utilization of existing parking spaces. Integrated with the traffic management platform of Cross, the vehicle occupancy of individual parking spaces in the streets of Izmir is monitored by SENSIT. Based on the real-time information, motorists are guided to available spaces easily. In addition, all paid, time restricted and disabled parking zones can be monitored efficiently. The project was realized by the Czech companies Cross in a joint venture with AZD Praha. Solving mobility challenges ” We are honored with this recognition by the professional jury. This award emphasizes that Nedap’s SENSIT is seen as the leading smart parking platform for on-street parking in cities worldwide. It is great to see that SENSIT is recognized for adding true value to ITS projects. It is one of the reasons that more and more cities rely on SENSIT to solve their mobility challenges,” says Ido Wentink, Business Development Manager at Nedap.

Identiv, Inc. has recently announced the company’s next-generation uTrust Sense temperature tracker solution has won ‘Best New Product’ in the 11th Annual RFID Journal Awards during RFID Journal LIVE! 2017. The end-to-end solution includes a low-cost, secure, portable smart sensor label that tracks and stores temperature readings, and can be read locally by near field communication (NFC) readers including mobile devices, and can be uploaded to the Internet for analysis. “The scope of projects expands each year as the technology matures,” said Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal, “In many cases, the technology is being used in mission-critical applications and delivering incredible benefits. Attendees at LIVE! 2017 will benefit from hearing about these deployments and seeing the products chosen as among the best this year.” Identiv’s uTrust Sense temperature tracker Datalogger solution monitors and tracks temperature-sensitive products for cold chain applications, smart packaging, government use cases, medical products and pharmaceutical logistics, and other fragile goods. The precise temperature accuracy of the tag makes it ideal for use with perishable goods, including fresh fish, caviar, wine, blood, vaccines, flowers, and more, protecting product and brand integrity and profits, while significantly minimizing costs for the shipper, receiver, and customer. The data can be read locally by a mobile device or uploaded to the cloud for analytics and remediation. “Identiv is thrilled to accept the award for ‘Best New Product’ during the 11th Annual RFID Journal Awards,” said Stephane Ardiley, Identiv Director of Product Management, “This compact, complete sensor solution for the Internet of Things (IoT) empowers businesses by providing a low-cost, self-adhesive temperature monitoring solution for virtually anything and protecting data integrity.”

Cyberbit to provide Cybersecurity Product Suite for Israel’s first secure-by-designGovernment facility Cyberbit, the wholly owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems, whose cybersecurity solutions protect the world’s most sensitive systems, has been selected by the Arison Group – Solel Boneh Infrastructure, one of Israel’s most prominent construction and infrastructure companies, to provide its cybersecurity product suite for the new Ram Compound, an ultra-secure facility under construction in the Israeli capital. The Ram Compound will serve as headquarters for sensitive government ministries and will integrate physical and cybersecurity to achieve unprecedented resilience. Deloitte was contracted to lead the cybersecurity aspects of the project. The team performed comprehensive hazard analysis to determine the core elements of the IT and operational (OT) infrastructure that must remain operational to survive an attack. The analysis was then used to define the cybersecurity requirements for ensuring undisrupted operation of these core assets. Deloitte selected the entire Cyberbit product suite to provide integrated security across the converged network. “Attackers are always looking for the weakest link to exploit, so security must be implemented seamlessly across both the IT and OT networks,” said Lior Kalev, Information Security Expert and Head of Cyber Risk Services at Deloitte, “We selected Cyberbit due to the technical superiority of its portfolio and ability to provide integrated, end-to-end cyber security across the entire IT/ OT stack.” “Physical and cyber security are blending,” explained Cyberbit CEO Adi Dar, “The most severe cyber-attacks are those that move from the IT realm into the physical. This project, with Deloitte and the Arison Group, is an extraordinary opportunity for collaboration of domain leaders to build a first-of-its-kind secure facility.” The Ram Compound will implement the following Cyberbit products: ●    EDR – Endpoint detection and response protecting against advanced and targeted threats, including ransomware, and providing advanced forensics and threat hunting tools. ●    SCADAShield – Visualization of the OT network to detect continuity and security risks in real time. The facility’s cyber security team will train in a local training center powered by the Cyberbit Range, the most widely deployed cybersecurity training and simulation platform. Created to protect the most high-risk organizations in the world, Cyberbit secures enterprises and critical infrastructure against advanced cyber-threats. The company’s battle-hardened cybersecurity solutions detect, analyse and respond to the most advanced, complex and targeted threats.

Everything will revolve around safety, security and health at work in Düsseldorf during 17 to 20 October 2017 when trade visitors from all over the world will meet for the A+A International Trade Fair with Congress at the exhibition Centre. A+A 2017 will present the world’s latest trends and products in the fields of safety at the workplace, health promotion at work and security management in companies. Exhibitors to the tune of 1,900 will take part in the trade fair where companies from all continents have registered. Those coming to A+A in Düsseldorf in October will experience an industry in growth. The market for personal protective equipment is considered especially dynamic which currently boasts a volume of some EUR 18 billion worldwide: 38% of this (EUR 5.8 billion) are accounted for by EU markets, EUR 1.8 billion by Germany alone. Experts expect the market to continue growing. At A+A 2017 international specialist retailers for personal protective equipment will find a complete overview of innovations and new impulses for their business. The event will also conduct the pivotal international PPE specialist conference entitled ‘New Momentum for PPE Sales in a Digital World’ on 18 October. The conference will take place from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm at Congress Center Süd (CCD. Süd) at Düsseldorf exhibition center, where eminent speakers from Amazon Business, Lyreco, Kübler, Uvex Safety Group and Zamro to name a few companies, will deliver their viewpoints. The Employers’ Liability Insurance for the Construction Sector will discuss with specialist retailers from throughout the world the challenges posed by the speedy growth of e-commerce, in particular. New regulations governing PPE and cooperation possibilities between manufacturers and dealers also feature on the agenda. The lectures of the international specialist trade conference will be in English. Tickets cost EUR 110 online, and EUR 135 on site in Düsseldorf. Tickets include participation in all lectures of the specialist conference, a snack lunch and admission to A+A 2017.