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Indian PSI Prepares for the Next Leap

(FICCI & PWC) The security industry is a large and expanding area of the economy with an estimated global market worth of USD 173 billion. The private security industry in India, valued at INR 570 billion is also promising. The Indian industry is still nascent and is likely to see exponential growth both in terms of manpower employed, and market share due to rapid infrastructural and economic development, leading to an increased need for prevention, detection and protection of assets and citizens against criminal acts such as fraud, terrorism, theft, drug-related offences and violent crimes. Yet another factor adding to the demand is the increase in individuals joining the billionaire league and seeking private protection at all times. The private security industry is one of the largest employers in India and is continuously growing. It is employing almost 8.5 million people and has the potential to employ 3 million more people by 2020. Manned guarding continues to be the service line with maximum employment and is also the highest revenue generator for the private security industry, contributing to 80 per cent of the revenue, followed by cash services. Government policies like making guards and installing CCTV cameras in schools, ATMs, and various other locations mandatory have also accelerated the demand of the industry in the country. With a high level of advancements in technology, services like electronic security services, integrated facility management, and security architecture and engineering will see greater prominence in the time to come. This not only has the potential to improve the quality of services offered by security companies but may also prove to be a boon for the large workforce who will have the opportunity to up-skill themselves and progress to engaging employment conditions. With the passage of time, security companies have evolved from servicing only homes and businesses to servicing the government. The rapid growth of the private security industry is both a refl ection of the inability of government security agencies to provide adequate security to private property and of the growing sophistication of the requirements of the private sector. In the context of current policy and regulatory developments in the country, the private security industry will continue to play an important role. More investments coming into manufacturing and other related industries will not only trigger the demand for private security personnel but also compel the industry to adopt processes and practices in sync with international standards. The contribution of this sector to employment generation in India is unique. Private security industry provides employment to a large number of rural youth, which otherwise would have remained outside the fold of formal employment. – Dr. Sanjaya Baru Secretary General, FICCI However, as per the industry sources, 60 per cent of the security service providers still operate as unorganised, thereby keeping the sector price oriented, and amenable to unfriendly employment practices that make it difficult to monitor quality and compliance. The sector continues to be perceived by the work force as non-aspirational as people are unaware of career prospects and the benefits that can be achieved. Technology integration is yet another challenge as it is widening the gap between the well-established players and smaller players in the industry. Most clients are now looking for technology-enabled security solutions which some of the bigger players in the industry already have; however, because of high capital and highly skilled manpower requirements, it is getting harder for smaller companies to keep up with the pace. Lack of quality manpower, high attrition rates and compliance requirements also continue to pose major challenges to the growth of the manned guarding security services market. Government policies are changing the game quickly with important decisions being taken to overcome challenges such as revision in foreign direct investment (FDI) rates, re-categorization of security workers and modification in the minimum wages. However, the industry stakeholders are still of the view that more changes at the policy level and improved enforcement could help private security grow further and make the sector more viable for investments. Some key suggestions are creating a grading framework for private security players in the market and having a single window licence process. Industry overview Considering the growing demand for security services, security firms in India are seeking capital to expand their business. Some international players are also foraying into India to tap the potential of the industry. Demographic characteristics India’s competitive advantage has been its competitive wage structure and availability of manpower. A large number of youth within the age group of 15–19 fall below the poverty line as they drop out of formal education and have limited avenues for employment – majorly in regions including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Assam. They come to cities in search of better employment opportunities. The youth from cities, though, associate with the security industry with low aspirational value owing to lack of social security schemes, long working hours and poor working conditions. Nevertheless, the private security industry continues to be one of the largest employers in India. Over 90 per cent of this workforce consists of security guards who are at the base of the pyramid, with little to no relevant experience or expertise. They resort to working as security guards as the last option. Recent policy initiatives FDI rates: FDI in private security agencies (PSAs) has been revised through the automatic route to 49 per cent and through the Government approval route to 74 per cent. Re-categorisation: In January 2017, vide a Gazette Notification, workers in private security have been re-categorized under the Minimum Wages Act, along with a modification in the minimum rate of daily pay. Security guards without arms have been recategorized as ‘skilled,’ and security guards with arms and security supervisors have been categorised as ‘highly skilled.’ Wage rate revision: The Central Government has also revised the minimum wage payable to employees of the ‘watch and ward’ sector to INR 637 per day effective April 2017. Stakeholders are of the opinion that more changes need to…

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WAD Conference in Delhi

A knowledgeable assembly of the world’s topmost detectives and security practitioners brainstormed in Delhi, India to discuss and devise for the prevailing security scenario and challenges around the globe including India. The 92nd Annual Conference of the World Association of Detectives was held in Shangri-La, New Delhi during 10-14 October 2017. The Conference holds special significance as it discussed important issues related to India including blackmoney, counterfeit currency, anti-corruption challenges, cyber security threats and so on. This is the second time that the WAD Annual Conference has been hosted in New Delhi, the first one was held in 1984. However, the recent one was organised under the guidance of the immediate President of WAD belonging to India, Kunwar Vikram Singh, who is also the Chairman of Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI), Association of Private Detectives & Investigators (APDI), and Security Sector Skill Development Council (SSSDC), India. Being an Indian, Mr. Singh took the lead to acquaint nearly 100 top sleuths and security professionals from around the world with the Indian culture and practices, the laws of the land, the scope and viability of security and investigation business in India, the approach of the Indian Government towards private security professionals, and other pertinent information. APDI supported the WAD in organizing the event in India, and hosted and sponsored a great cocktail and dinner for all WAD delegates in Gymkhana Club. This happened first time in the history of WAD that a local association has offered a gala reception to their delegates. “It is an honour to get an opportunity to host this prestigious event in India. India has several threats including black money, counterfeit currency, corruption and cyber security threats, and so on, and we will discuss these concerns on the forum,” Kunwar Vikram Singh said at the beginning of the session, “Issues like financial frauds, and tracking black money and people who disappear after embezzling money are a growing concern. We are here to support the government and help them establish a corruption free India as called by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” As discussed during the inaugural session of the conference, there is an exponential growth in the financial frauds and the requirement for background screening by companies and individuals. It leads the private detective market in India to grow at a rate of around 30 per cent annually and this is expected to touch a figure of INR1,700 crore by 2020. “There is a huge private investigation market in India that ranges around INR500-600 crore, and as there are now background screening of top and middle level executives who join a company, due diligence in mergers & acquisitions, keeping tab on counterfeit goods and trade, insurance frauds, credit card frauds, marriage frauds due to the influx of matrimonial websites etc., we need a lot of new detectives, expectedly around 50,000 in the coming years,” Mr. Singh continues, “Given the tremendous growth of the sector, it needs to be a certified professional field. The government has brought a Bill called the Private Detective Agency (Regulation) Bill 2007 which is pending in the Parliament and we expect the Act to pass soon. The Act will provide for the licensing and creating the do’s and dont’s for the sector, and will pave way for the government to work with private detectives.” The WAD is Colorado, USA based world’s largest and longest established association that represents investigation and security practitioners in more than 80 countries. It promotes and maintains the highest ethical practices among its members and fosters cooperation between investigators globally. The Conference was inaugurated by Lt. Gen. Rajinder Singh (Retd.), former Director General (Infantry), Indian Army and former Commander of UN Peace Keeping Forces. In his inaugural speech he said, “The world has evolved exponentially in the last couple of decades, specifically in terms of how the society is governed, the role of citizens in it and how businesses are run. There are entities and individuals who are tempted to take short cuts for reaping benefits in a short span of time and it is here that private detectives can play a major role in checking them to practise such illegal and undue influences on the society and businesses.” “Today the success of the corporate world largely depends on the novelty of an idea or intellectual property rights (IPRs) that they create, and that they need to protect as competitors or other pertinent ones are interested to know what they are doing. There are attempts to buy out people, bribe key officials etc., to get that information. The role of detectives starts here to protect them and ensure that ethical practices are taking place. Therefore, the private investigators can play a big role in checking corruption in the corporate world,” Gen. Singh adds. Alongside internal Executive and Board meetings of WAD, Awards, as well as hosting networking opportunities, the 5-eventful day happening saw a seminar on Cyber Security and  Dark Web by Pawan Duggal, the eminent Indian Cyber expert; a Round table dialogue on Anti-corruption Partnerships chaired by Michael Hershman, Group CEO, ECSS; and the insights of Anselm Lopez, Director, Strategic Relation Directorate, MHA, Singapore on  ‘Threats to the Security Environment and Role of Interpol,’ and Shivindra Pratap Singh, MD, Lancers Risk Consulting on ‘Doing Business in India – Opportunity and Challenges’ respectively. The stage also saw the election of the WAD new Board of Officers, which democratically takes place every year during the Annual Conference. Kunwar Vikram Singh has been elected as the new Chairman of WAD, followed by Conflict International Chairman Mike LaCorte as the President, who was earlier the 1st Vice President of WAD. The 93rd WAD Annual Conference will be convened in Las Vegas, Nevada during 27 September – 1 October 2018. Michael J. Hershman, currently the Group CEO of the International Centre for Sport Security – an independent and non-profit organisation at the forefront of efforts to safeguard sport – is an internationally recognized expert on matters relating to transparency, accountability, governance,…

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Smart Cities Conclave at Varanasi

Hikvision Partakes the BW Businessworld and Varanasi Smart City’s National Smart City Conclave in Varanasi on 13th October 2017. Varanasi Municipal Corporation and Varanasi Smart City Limited, Government of Uttar Pradesh, along with Businessworld Media Group, has organized Smart City Conclave – a national summit on urban infrastructure, IT & transportation on 13th October 2017 in Varanasi. Hikvision participated as the security partner of the event which was a perfect forum to showcase their wide range of products and solutions for smart city surveillance requirements. Varanasi, one of the oldest cities in India, famous for its ghats, temples and Kala Bhawan, is set to develop as a Smart City, and as a commitment towards the project the government has budgeted a sum of `321 Crores. Suresh Khanna, Honorable Minister for Urban Development, Uttar Pradesh spoke on the progress of Smart Cities mission in the state of Uttar Pradesh, and specially on how the historical city can be turned into a smart city. “We discussed Hikvision’s complete smart city solutions including city transportation, security center, public parking, rail transit & stations, temporary surveillance, town square, water guarding and perimeter monitoring at National Smart Cities Conclave and presented them to all the stakeholders. We also  suggested them Hikvision’s technologies such as PanoVu, Darkfighter, 4K Ultra HD for smart city surveillance solutions. Hikvision thermal cameras can be a perfect match for cities like Varanasi for river bank surveillance requirements. We also highlighted Hikvision’s key strength as world’s leading video surveillance solution provider,” said Ashish P. Dhakan, MD & CEO, Prama Hikvision India. Representatives from Government of Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and various other states presented their key innovations for the smart cities mission. The BW Businessworld National Smart Cities Conclave was very good in terms of footfall and response. It was worthwhile participating in this show as it gave a wide platform for Hikvision to reach a vast audience of government officials and decision makers in the implementation of Smart City including other service providers. – Ashish P. Dhakan MD & CEO, Prama Hikvision India We are working towards developing Varanasi into a smart city keeping in mind its heritage and cultural background. We have rolled out RFPs for development of command and control centre, smart parking, water management, hospitals and waste management in this city and we will be starting the projects shortly, we are trying to create an ecosystem where not only a city develops, but an individual too. The government of Uttar Pradesh is focused on completing the projects, which were stated under Prime Minister’s smart cities agenda. – Dr. Nitin Bansal Municipal Commissioner, Varanasi  

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Videonetics Secures FIFA U-17 at Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata

Videonetics, the leading visual computing platform development company, has been selected as the technology provider to secure Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, for the largest football tournament ‘FIFA U-17 World Cup’ India, 2017. Covering an area of 76.40 acres, the stadium has the seating capacity of nearly 85,000. An international tournament like the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 attracts huge masses of both Indian and International visitors including dignitaries, VIPs and government officials. Considering underlying challenges associated with this massive occasion, Videonetics has successfully designed and deployed a combined solution of intelligent video management system (IVMS) and intelligent traffic management system (ITMS) comprising more than 250 cameras including 4K, full HD, 360° pan tilt & zoom, and specialized license plate cameras. The solution is not only to secure various areas like field area, entry & exit gates, galleries, VIP lounge, parking, food court and other sensitive locations, but also to respond to potential security issues in a proactive manner. The 24/7 real-time monitoring is being conducted at the command control center by the authorized officials, who can search, analyze and replay footages of an event. Videonetics’ IVMS is based on a unified, monolithic architectural framework to capture and handle video and audio data over IP network in an efficient and elegant way. It provides investigation-friendly monitoring software at the front-end, while relegating all the complexity of the server software to the back-end. ITMS is specially designed and architected to replace tedious manual processes to track, regulate and analyze vehicle movements on entry/ exits, roads, and to enforce traffic rules for safety of citizens and their properties. “Videonetics has shown great amount of professionalism in designing and developing solutions as per project need. I am sure that EMBEE Software and Videonetics as a team will set a benchmark in securing high profile and large-scale projects across the country,” said Uday Bhanu Bose, Sr. General Manager, BD at EMBEE. This is a proud moment for Videonetics to be associated with Salt Lake Stadium in securing such a prestigious sports event. We are thankful to authorities involved and EMBEE Software for extending their support and commitment in completing the project on time. – Avinash Trivedi VP, Business Development, Videonetics Technology

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Enhanced Ethernet Technology (ePoE)

The current strongly developing surveillance industry has given rise to a significant number of solutions and technologies that can be divided into two main areas – Analog Technology and Network Surveillance Technology. Analog surveillance systems adopt a point-to-point connection to transmit data directly from one device to another – namely, an analog camera connected by coaxial cable to the port of a DVR allows the camera feed to be viewed, thus achieving its surveillance functionality. If the camera feed is to be viewed remotely, a remote network connection must be established through the DVR. (Figure 1) A network video monitoring system adopts modern Ethernet technology and uses a LAN connection between camera devices and an NVR. All front-end network cameras and back-end network storage devices are connected to the same Ethernet network, which is then used for communication between the devices. Any node on the network may access any device on the network as long as it obtains authorization from the accessed device. (Figure 2) Pros and cons The main advantages of an analog video system are convenient plug-and-play connections and no delays in transmission. Disadvantages include – it is difficult to improve resolution and it is hard to achieve unified management in large-scale system solutions. In order to overcome these disadvantages, a new generation of analog monitoring technologies has emerged in the industry including CVI, AHD and TVI, which provide HD resolutions for analog systems. As for unified system management, hybrid DVRs have been created alongside other unified management platform product solutions. In a network video monitoring system, advantages lie in easy unified management, flexible upgrade to higher resolutions, and remote PoE power supply. However, disadvantages include long video feed delays and network bottlenecks caused by multiple devices sharing the same amount of bandwidth. As with analog devices, with the development of the industry, network video monitoring technologies are also continuously being upgraded. For example, the new generation of H.265 encoding technology has greatly reduced network bandwidth usage and stronger encoding processors have lessened video codec delay. Currently network camera video delay has been reduced to just 150ms, unnoticeable when viewing video feeds. Overall, along with the differentiation of the industry and technological development, two systems are constantly merging – nothing more than merging of the best of both technologies. From a macro perspective, there are mainly two main appeals in the development of security industry – higher resolutions and greater networking. However, there are still a large number of HD analog monitoring systems on the market which adopt standard resolution basic coax wiring. Additionally, due to many factors, the cost of labour for transforming such a system is continuously increasing while the device costs are decreasing, which has led to a situation where reconstruction during the system upgrade or transformation process has become less viable, giving way to a new requirement i.e., coaxial upgrade. So far, the new generation of HD analog technologies such as CVI, AHD and TVI has only satisfied the first and third requirements (HD and coaxial upgrade). In accordance with the future development of the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting devices over LAN is becoming an irresistible trend. Therefore, it is necessary that analog monitoring is transformed into network management in order to improve the operability of centralized management and dispatch, which is the second requirement in networking. As for current analog technology, it is hard to meet this requirement. Equally, for network technology, it is hard to achieve the third requirement of coaxial upgrade. Coaxial Ethernet technology that converts network into coax does already exist on the market, but it is achieved only through multiple parts and at a high cost, making it inviable as a universal technology. Therefore, the most urgent need in the current market is a technology that provides network coaxial functionality at a low cost. Dahua’s ePoE Dahua’s patented enhanced Ethernet (ePoE) consists of two core technologies: The first adopts advanced physical layer 2D-PAM3 coding modulation, and can achieve full duplex transmission over 800 meters at a speed of 10Mbps, or 100Mbps at shorter distances via a pair of twisted or coaxial cable media. It also supports PoE and PoC power supply technology for both the transmission media, greatly simplifying construction and wiring. The other one adopts a Dahua-patented application-layer synchronous negotiation mechanism that guarantees self-adaptive compatibility of enhanced Ethernet via implementing first the time base sync and then mode negotiation. When connecting to matching devices via any media, it can automatically determine the current mode of use, whether it is enhanced mode or general network mode. Thus, the system is fully self-sustaining and requires no manual configuration, achieving true plug and play. Application scenarios Enhanced Ethernet technology (ePoE) is automatically compatible with three connection modes operating over the same network at the same time – traditional network, long-distance network, and coaxial network. As shown in the figure 3, for traditional HD upgrade projects, in order to reduce wiring and construction, it uses original analog coaxial wiring, equipped with HD analog cameras and HD DVR, and connects to back-end services via network switch. Meanwhile, additional network cameras (IPC) are connected to the back end directly via network switch, and thus a centralized surveillance system is formed. This makes the mixed monitoring of both analog and digital possible, although it is quite complex for centralized management of configurations. The new generation of Dahua enhanced Ethernet technology (ePoE) is compatible with traditional Ethernet networks and so it can reuse original switches, IPCs and other network devices, requiring no large-scale device upgrades. In addition, ePoE directly converts network signals to and from coax through a passive converter, which allows the reuse of existing coaxial wiring, greatly reducing upgrade costs. Power over Coax (PoC) functionality provided by this technology eliminates the need for renovations to add power wiring for new cameras. Finally, future surveillance area expansion can be performed without a need of adding additional repeaters. Simply use additional cables to add new monitoring devices into the 800m capable network. ePoE makes…

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Bridging Privacy and Cybersecurity for Federal Systems

Because information technology (IT) deeply affects privacy at individual and societal levels, systems should be built in a trustworthy manner, consistent with widely recognized, high-level privacy principles such as the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs). The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regularly conducts research into technology, aiming to improve innovation and competitiveness, thereby advancing U.S. national and economic security and quality of life. Much of NIST’s previous guidance into the trustworthiness of systems in various technical areas – including cybersecurity, cloud computing, big data, and cyber-physical systems – has focused on the security objectives of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA). While unauthorized access to personally identifiable information (PII) is a subset of information security and a critical aspect of privacy, there is a less-developed understanding of other ways in which a system impacts individuals’ privacy and how to identify and address risks that extend beyond unauthorized access. Thus, there is a need to bridge cybersecurity and privacy as two different attributes of trustworthiness. NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory has developed a new Internal Report (NISTIR) 8062, Introduction to Privacy Engineering and Risk Management in Federal Systems – building on several years’ collaboration with public and private sector partners – including two public workshops and a webinar. While all organizations benefit from effective privacy engineering, NISTIR 8062 will be particularly helpful for U.S. federal agencies. Federal privacy protections have been in place for more than four decades, and the need to protect individuals’ privacy remains as critical today as ever. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s recent update to Circular No. A-130 includes a new emphasis on managing privacy risk, so federal agencies will need guidance on repeatable and measurable approaches to bridge the gap between privacy principles and effective implementation. To that end, NISTIR 8062 will: Lay the groundwork for future guidance on how federal agencies will be able to incorporate privacy as an attribute of trustworthy systems through the management of privacy as a collaborative, interdisciplinary engineering practice; Introduce a set of objectives for privacy engineering and a new model for assessing privacy risks in federal systems; and Provide a roadmap for evolving these preliminary concepts into actionable guidance, complementary to existing NIST guidance for information security risk management, so that agencies may more effectively meet their obligations under Circular A-130 and other relevant policies. NISTIR 8062 is an introductory report intended to foster further discussion. To better support the operational needs of agency privacy programs, and to help develop guidance that is comprehensive enough to promote compliance with policy directives, NIST will continue to collaborate with the privacy community through open processes. An Engineering Approach to Privacy A significant body of work already addresses security in federal systems. Recently, the term ‘privacy’ has begun to be added to these security documents. This addition implies that privacy shares enough characteristics with security that the guidance should be applicable to address privacy. However, even the fact that ‘privacy’ is used as a separate term confirms that privacy has a separate meaning and brings with it issues distinct from security. That is why it is important to understand the relationship – particularly the distinctions – between information security and privacy. Doing so will improve understanding of how to apply established systems engineering and risk management processes to address privacy concerns. As noted in Circular A-130: “Federal information is a strategic asset subject to risks that must be managed to minimize harm. Protecting an individual’s privacy is of utmost importance. The Federal Government shall consider and protect an individual’s privacy throughout the information life cycle. While security and privacy are independent and separate disciplines, they are closely related, and it is essential for agencies to take a coordinated approach to identifying and managing security and privacy risks and complying with applicable requirements.” At the same time, throughout the Circular, there is clear recognition that privacy and security needs require separate leadership with unique skills, and that a coordinated approach does not necessarily mean an identical approach. Public discourse on the relationship between security and privacy often includes colloquial phrases such as ‘Security and privacy are two sides of a coin’ and ‘There is no privacy without security.’ Clearly, confidentiality of PII plays an important role in the protection of privacy. However, there are security issues unrelated to privacy (e.g., confidentiality of trade secrets), just as there are privacy issues unrelated to security. For example, some communities have responded negatively to smart meters due largely to concern that the information being collected can reveal behavior inside a person’s home, and less so from concerns that the utilities cannot keep the information secure. Even actions taken to protect PII can have privacy implications. For example, security tools such as persistent activity monitoring, can create concerns about the degree to which that monitoring reveals information about individuals that is unrelated to cybersecurity purposes. These cases illustrate that systems designed to achieve beneficial objectives (e.g., improved efficiency of the electrical grid and increased security) can adversely affect individuals’ privacy as an unintended consequence or byproduct of the system as it is collecting and using information about individuals. This by product risk model is conceptually distinct from the security risk model. In the security risk model, concerns focus on unauthorized activity that causes a loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information or systems. In the by product risk model, the processing of PII is planned and permissible (i.e., authorized), but it creates implications for individuals’ privacy. So, while some privacy concerns arise from unauthorized activity, privacy concerns also can arise from authorized processing of information about individuals. The below figure shows a non-proportional representation of the relationship between the privacy and security domains. Recognizing the boundaries and overlap between privacy and security is key to determining when existing security risk models and security-focused guidance may be applied to address privacy concerns – and where there are gaps that need to be filled to achieve an engineering approach to privacy. For instance, existing information…

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TATA Banks on COM-SUR

After several months of demos and discussions, TATA Steel Ltd., has confirmed their confidence in COM SUR and recently procured several licences of COM-SUR PRO to enhance their CCTV surveillance initiatives at Jamshedpur. Gopal Choudhary, the Chief Security Officer of Tata Steel, who facilitated the opportunity to present the COM-SUR solution, was very receptive to the fact that CCTV by itself has never been enough, and that a few ‘additions’ to any CCTV surveillance initiative can offer immense benefits, hitherto not thought of. Mr. Chaudhary said, “Currently, there is no ‘workflow’ of CCTV surveillance which provides logical steps as to how CCTV video should be handled and worked with. COM-SUR has made it extremely easy and efficient. While we continue to use Milestone as our VMS, we have deployed COM-SUR ‘on top’ of it, which will help us easily audit hours of video in minutes, reduce the data size, and store the ‘relevant’ for longer periods, and create standardized audit/ incident reports in powerpoint and gain business intelligence based on patterns.” “At an appropriate time, we will consider deploying COM-SUR at more locations. The team at COM-SUR, led by CEO and MD Gautam Goradia, has been helpful and very patient. A detailed 2 day training workshop was carried out by the COM-SUR team in Jamshedpur. We wish COM-SUR the very best for their endeavours, and for their very out-of-the-box thinking,” Mr. Chaudhary concluded. “This is a great honour for us that an organization like TATA Steel Ltd. recognised the value and potential of the philosophy and the technology of COM-SUR. With regular and dedicated use of COM-SUR, Tata Steel should have better chances to reduce/ prevent crime, fraud and losses; improve processes and compliances; and solve crime faster. It has been a pleasure working with the team at Tata Steel, especially with Mr. Choudhary, a visionary who shares our philosophy,” says Gautam Goradia, CEO and MD, COM SUR.

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Interview – Kunwar Vikram Singh, Global President, WAD

India is hosting the 92nd Annual Conference of World Association of Detectives (WAD) and a Roundtable Dialogue on Anticorruption Partnership during 10-14 October 2017 in Shangri-La, New Delhi. It is an impressive assembly of global leaders in Cyber Security and Corporate Intelligence who will discuss and develop tools to deal with internal and external corrupt practices, and launch a well-coordinated corporate campaign against corruption to support agenda of good governance of the Prime Minister of India. World Association of Detectives (WAD) is a global alliance of investigators and security professionals from around the world. WAD aims to promote and maintain the highest ethical practices in the profession of private investigation and security service, and to establish and further a mutual feeling of trust, goodwill and friendship among agencies throughout the world. WAD has members from more than 80 countries across the world, where India has one of the largest representations of 71 members. Coincidently, Kunwar Vikram Singh who is the current Global President of WAD, is also from India. He joined WAD more than 30 years back, and was elected President at its 91st Annual Conference held at Bucharest, Romania last year. Kunwar Vikram Singh is the founding Chairman of Lancers Network Ltd. which is South Asia’s leading Risk Consulting firm, operating in the high-on-risk countries of the region and the other parts of the world including Europe and CIS countries. Equipped with a highly experienced operational team drawn from the financial sector, armed forces, police, security services and industry professionals; the company has developed a reputation for providing quality driven, customer focused and highly successful actionable intelligence solutions. He is also the founding President and Chairman of Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI), a leading organization for security professionals in India which has emerged as an ‘elite association’ nationally and internationally. It is an association of renowned security professionals managing the world’s largest workforce of 7 million guardsmen and women engaged in providing private security cover to the nation. The unique bouquet of experience and entrepreneurship has taken CAPSI to new heights, especially after the enactment of the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act 2005. Mr. Singh is also the founding President and Chairman of the Association of Private Detectives & Investigators (APDI), a preeminent national association of professional investigators in India. In addition to free-lancers, other investigation personnel as well as students are offering their involvement with APDI to better understand the constant changes in investigation issues and solutions. The members of the APDI work in compliance with the code of ethics of the Association. A majority of members of APDI are also members of WAD and the Association is actively involved in the hosting and organization of the upcoming WAD Annual Conference in India. SecurityLink India spoke to Kunwar Vikram Singh about the World Association of Detectives and the WAD 92nd Annual conference to be held in New Delhi. Some excerpts: SecurityLink India: Kindly give a brief about the global entity WAD. Kunwar Vikram Singh: World Association of Detectives (WAD) is the foremost international association of private investigators, security professional and security service organizations which was founded in 1925. It is the world’s largest and oldest association of its kind. It was formed as a joint venture by the combined membership of the World Association of Detectives, and the International Secret Service Association which was founded date back in 1921. The purpose of the establishment of WAD were primarily to promote and maintain the highest ethical practices in the profession of private investigation and security service; to grant membership to only those individuals whose personal and professional backgrounds and business affiliations are based on the precepts of truth, accuracy and prudence; to eliminate unreliable, incompetent and irresponsible members of the profession; to foster and perpetuate a spirit of cooperation among its members and with all those engaged in law enforcement; and to further and establish a mutual feeling of trust, goodwill and friendship amongst agencies throughout the world. WAD is registered in Colorado, USA. SecurityLink India: How was WAD conceptualized? Kunwar Vikram Singh: All nations, around the globe, have their own internal intelligence organizations such as RAW, CBI, FBI, KGB, or CIA and so on. However, their investigations and related activities are focused and dedicated to the government, government organizations and the safety of the country. Especially during those days, the private corporates and economic leaders across the globe who generally generate finance and employment, and who have the major contribution in making the nation’s economy, did not avail adequate facility and infrastructure to protect them. They lacked proper assistance and support in procuring intelligence either about the rivals or about the internal and external frauds caused especially in banking and financial sectors, or about any other private crimes for that matter. That caused huge economic losses to them and consequently to the respective nations. That conspicuous vacuum germinated the seeds of organizations like WAD. Retired police officers and intelligence professionals all over the world conceptualized and set up a pan-world organization called WAD to work together and exchange relevant information to settle the issues and help establish an environment of ease of doing business. Over the period, the flavor of the crime has drastically changed. For example, corporate, cyber, IPR crimes, financial frauds etc., were not there earlier. Several banks, companies and corporations have failed owing to internal frauds. For last three conferences, I impressed upon them to start a certificate course for young people who may even not essentially be an investigator. Several other professionals such as chartered accountants, lawyers may also opt for this field and become an investigator, as they are the experts of finance and laws respectively. Today we need huge number of young investigators, but that needs training and training facilities which are available only for the government personnel. – Kunwar Vikram Singh Global President, WAD  Today the world has shrunk and become one village. People have multiple operations in various countries including import, export, banking and all kinds of…

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Building a Structure for Growth

India is well on the way to digitisation helped along by consumer adoption of mobile devices and technologies, availability of high speed internet, and a strong push from the Government. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of cybersecurity. With the country becoming a favourite target of cyber criminals, it is imperative that Indian enterprises and institutions secure themselves against cyber attackers who are becoming smarter and bolder with days. Although most business organisations have made some provision for security, it usually exists as a complex maze of vendors and solutions that rarely integrate or even communicate with each other. Managing overall security in such an environment is challenging, expensive and not fully effective. What Indian organisations need to aim for is an integrated security solution that is open, automated and simple. Perceptions Despite escalating threats, confidence in security technology is riding high in Indian organizations. In 2016, 69 percent of CISOs and security operations professionals in India said that their security infrastructure is very up to date and is constantly upgraded with the best technologies available; in the previous year, this figure stood at 61 percent. Note that the number is also significantly higher than the 58 percent of respondents in the global Cisco 2017 Security Capabilities Benchmark Study who said the same thing. Only 26 percent of respondents from India, compared to 37 percent globally, said that they replaced or upgraded their security technologies on a regular cadence but were not equipped with the latest and greatest tools. Constraints Despite being equipped with the right solutions to detect threats and minimize their impact, security professionals in India find it a challenge to fulfil their agenda. Contrary to the global situation where budget is the primary constraint, in India, budget is no longer a key issue, having slipped to the joint 8th position in 2016, from 2nd place in the previous year. In 2016, the biggest barrier to adoption was organizational culture and attitude to security, closely followed by compatibility issues with legacy systems, and certification requirements and competing priorities in equal measure. Lack of knowledge about advanced security processes and technology was in fifth place. In 2016, 30 percent of security professionals in India said that organisational culture and attitude to security was the biggest barrier to adopting the latest security technology and processes. This is sharply up from the 2015 figure of 21 percent, when organizational culture issues ranked a low 9th among 10 obstacles. Incompatible legacy systems came 2nd, named by 28 percent of respondents. Last year, this was the top barrier, named by 36 percent of security professionals in India. Globally too, incompatible legacy systems were voted the 2nd biggest barrier in 2016 after budget constraints. Although they realize the importance of securing the business, Indian organisations seem to view security as an  impediment to business growth, which creates some amount of resistance to adoption. The presence of a large number of disconnected legacy security solutions makes it hard to implement a cohesive security policy. Having to meet the certification requirements of so many solutions is another challenge. Last but not least,organisations find it hard to stay abreast of the rapid advancement in security processes and technology. Ironically, too many point solutions can increase an organization’s vulnerability to attack if they don’t communicate and integrate with each other. Unfortunately, most security professionals in India, like their counterparts in other countries, have a tendency to juggle products from many vendors. This opens up gaps in time and space that cyber criminals can exploit, and prevents organisations from presenting a seamless defense to attack. A sizeable majority of companies – 56 percent of the total – use more than 5 vendors, and 69 percent use 6 or more products; these proportions are very similar to the global figures, which stand at 55 percent and 65 percent respectively. However, when it comes to using a very large number of vendors and products, Indian organisations are ahead of their global counterparts – about 19 percent use 21 or more vendors and almost 30 percent of companies have at least 26 security products, compared to 10 percent and 17 percent respectively, globally. A cause for concern is that the strong security infrastructure of Indian organisations is not translating into strong governance. The reasons include incompatibility of solutions, unavailability of trained staff, and a lack of knowledge about the latest advances in security processes. Only 63 percent of alerts are investigated, of which 39 percent are deemed legitimate. Finally, only 47 percent of legitimate alerts are remedied. This is only marginally better than the global performance – globally, 56 percent of security alerts are investigated, of which 28 percent are legitimate. Only 46 percent of legitimate alerts are remedied. The following hypothetical example illustrates the seriousness of the issue. If an organisation in India records 5,000 alerts every day: It investigates 3,150 alerts (63 percent) and ignores 1,850 (37 percent). Of the 3,150 alerts that are investigated, about 1,229 (39 percent) are found to be legitimate, while 1,921 (61 percent) are not. Of the 1,229 legitimate alerts, the organization remedies only 578 (47 percent) and does not remedy the remaining 651 (53 percent) alerts. It is worrying that approximately 1 in 3 security alerts go uninvestigated. Organizations must introspect to understand what types of alerts are ignored and why. Do these alerts signal relatively trivial threats that might only spread spam, for instance, or do they pertain to much more serious issues such as a possible ransomware attack or critical damage to a network? Clearly, there is a need to raise the level of investigation. However, given the large number of alerts a typical organization receives every day, it would not be possible for an already burdened security team to investigate them all manually. The solution is to use automation and properly integrated security solutions to probe and analyse a greater area of the threat landscape. The fact that Indian organisations ignore so many threats each day creates doubts about their…

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SSSDC Offers for A Designate Safe and Sound School

The brutal murder of seven year old Pradyuman Thakur at Ryan International School, Gurgram has left the Nation shocked and horrified. While the entire country is sharing grief with Pradyuman’s family, parents are raising concerns about the security and safety of their children in schools and other academic organisations. Frequent similar cases of security and safety lapses substantiate that institutions are not able to carry out due diligence in their premises on their own, and they need the assistance of expert agencies/ individuals to guide them in this endeavour. Security Sector Skill Development Council (SSSDC) has sought to engage with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to educate school management and administrators to provide them with the objective and expert based school safety and security principles, and help them become ‘a designate safe and sound school’ as enumerated in CBSE safety guidelines. SSSDC works under the aegis of National Skill Development Council (NSDC) and Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in the security domain. Maj. Gen. K. Sakhuja (Retd.), CEO, SSSDC said, “The Council is responsible for standardization of security training across the country. It has the expertise in training ‘security risk management auditors’ for both physical and electronic security systems. The auditors so trained are professionally competent to identify the gaps in security and advise the stakeholders on optimum solutions. They are fully aware of the statutory guidelines enumerated in Government directives, thereby contributing in the national focus of crime prevention.” The Council offers to help schools in identifying security gaps, upgrading their safety and security mechanisms and systems, and creating, updating and exercising emergency preparedness and crisis management plans. This is done through security audits, deployment of security guards through PSARA licensed private security agency, training and assessment of presently employed security guards under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program, and psychometric testing of the deployed workforce, if necessary. “SSSDC has devised a two day special audit module for security auditors whereby experienced security personnel will be taught about specialized ways of dealing with safety and security of school children,” said Kunwar Vikram Singh, Chairman, SSSDC. The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India has issued a comprehensive set of guidelines vide D. O. letter No. 10-11/2014-EE.4 dated 09.10.2014 (Annexure-1) regarding preventive mechanisms and procedures for institutionalizing a system to ensure safety and security of children in schools. From time to time the CBSE Board has also issued instructions to the affiliated ones to implement and sensitize the schools towards ensuring the safety and security of students during school time and while in transit to school and back home. It is a fundamental right of a child to engage and study in an environment where he/ she feels safe, and is free from any form of physical or emotional abuse or harassment. As the children spend most of their time in school, the concern of parents about their safety in schools is obvious. Growing incidents of child abuse are increasing their anxiety day by day and they are more concerned about the physical safety, and mental & emotional health of their children. The onus for safety and security of children in school campus solely lies upon the school authorities. Schools should strive to promote a better understanding amongst their teachers and staff on the laws protecting the safety, security and interests of the students, and devise means to take immediate remedial and punitive action against such violations. The staff members should be educated to recognize their protective obligation towards students and to ensure safety and well-being of children in schools. The Board has recently reiterated to all schools affiliated with CBSE to strictly adhere to all the guidelines issued by MHRD and Board from time to time. Any violation/ lapses with regard to safety and wellbeing of children in school campus would invite appropriate action including the disaffiliation of the school as per the provisions under Affiliation Bye-Laws of the Board. Guidelines Get the security/ safety audit done of their premises and personnel from their respective local police station, and follow the security related advice for the safety of school children. This may be compiled and reported online on CBSE website www.cbse.nic.in within 2 months of receipt of the circular. Install CCTV cameras at all vulnerable areas/ points in the school premises and ensure they are functional at all times. They must get the police verification and psychometric evaluation done for all the employed staff. Ensure that supporting staff is employed only from authorized agencies, and proper records are maintained. Constitute a parent-teacher-students committee to address the safety needs of the students and to take regular feedback from parents in this regard. The access to school building by outsiders should be controlled and visitors monitored. Provide training and development for staff to address their responsibilities to protect children from any form of abuse. The school shall constitute separate committees for redressal of public/ staff/ parents/ students grievances; internal complaints committee on sexual harassment, and committees under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offence) Act, 2012; and details of the these committees along with contact details shall be displayed prominently on school notice board and conspicuously on the school website for information of all stakeholders. After the unfortunate incident of the death of Pradyuman, many schools have approached us to help them carry out security audits of their institutions. Since SSSDC supervises and guides the government approved institutes where security guards are taking trainings today, we decided to collaborate with the CBSE to help schools strengthen their safety and security apparatus Kunwar Vikram Singh Chairman, SSSDC  

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