ACCESS CONTROL
Layering Security to Protect Outdoor Campus Space
When thinking of protecting the indoor environment of a college or university campus, a few security products quickly come to mind – locks, access control and burglar alarm systems. But go outdoors and these tools have little or no value.
The vast majority of colleges and universities sincerely care about providing a safe and secure environment for students – both indoors and out. Administrators also realize parents consider security an important factor when selecting a campus for their college-bound children.
Virtually all students now carry a smartphone allowing campuses to employ campus-initiated apps providing immediate access to police. However, during an emergency, police need to know exactly where to respond to help a student in danger. Assuming a student’s cell phone is charged, accessible and still in their possession during an emergency event, the cell phone’s location accuracy is still dependent on weather, the number of nearby cell towers and topography.
To connect a distressed person to campus police quickly and reliably, Aiphone emergency stations can immediately pinpoint the person’s exact location while opening up a communication channel. Emergency audio and video intercoms help police quickly assess situations. Stations are typically topped with a bright blue light making them easy to spot from a distance at night. Once the station is activated, the light begins to flash, drawing additional attention to the site.
Aiphone emergency video stations can provide police with real-time video which can be captured on an external VMS
system for future reference. The units can also be integrated with existing campus surveillance cameras for a broader view. Aiphone emergency intercoms can be scaled up to 5,000+ units, which also can include indoor stations for stairwells, elevators, offices, hallways and classrooms. In addition, Aiphone video master stations can control and access stations across a campus, helping to centralize security. With Aiphone’s mobile app, roaming guards can communicate with calls while walking campus.
Aiphone emergency stations are compatible with standalone towers and wall boxes. They come with Braille signage and adjustable call button heights to comply with ADA standards. The stations are available in IP-based models that connect to the campus network and draw power over the Ethernet using CAT-5e/6 cable. Dispatch/phone lines are kept open by using the intercoms as a secondary communication path.
Aiphone’s emergency stations offer other advantages including:
• They are always there and always on
• When a call comes into campus police, dispatchers immediately know the station’s precise location
• Stations provide peace of mind to pedestrians and act as a deterrent to criminals
• Station-mounted speakers can broadcast emergency news
• Two call buttons, one for emergencies and another for noncritical calls such as requests for campus directions
• Control from one or more master stations to centralize security and dispatch
• Mobile app control for roaming security forces
• Stations connect over a network eliminating monthly phone line charges typically found with telephone-based emergency systems
Layers of security are really what outdoor campus security is all about. There is no one technology or device capable of handling all emergencies. It’s the synergy of campus police, escort services, lighting, cameras and emergency stations that make a campus more secure.
For more information on Aiphone Emergency Stations and Towers, click here…
Desigo Mass Notification System helps Kent School reach all students across its 1,200-acre campus.
Kent School offers an idyllic setting along the Housatonic River in western Connecticut – and a challenge. It takes the right solution to immediately reach all students and faculty during an emergency, when they might be anywhere across the 1,200-acre site that includes six dormitories, 10 instructional buildings, and a wide range of athletic and recreational facilities.
“Everybody knows the first three to five minutes are the most important in an emergency,” explains Joe Wolinski, Kent’s Facilities Director. “When you’re on a campus spread out like this, you have to have a way of communicating.”
Kent School turned to Siemens for innovative technologies that have increased safety and emergency preparedness across its campus. The Siemens solution combined a new mass notification backbone with an intelligent fire system, allowing the school to quickly reach students in an emergency and provide clear direction based on event-specific plans.
“Siemens proved to be a true business partner in working with us to understand our concerns, to understand the issues we’re trying to address, to look at the day-to-day activity that happens on campus and the technology that would integrate well,” says Jeff Cataldo, Kent’s Chief Financial Officer.
Siemens provided insight and mapped a solution tailored to Kent’s specific needs that incorporates the company’s Desigo® Mass Notification System (MNS) and Desigo Fire Safety Intelligent Voice Communication fire detection panels.
Desigo MNS leverages the latest communication platforms to ensure emergency notifications reach the intended audience, wherever they are.
The system communicates across both networked systems, such as computers and speakers, and personal devices, such as cell phones and laptops. Its ability to provide extensive coverage is an important capability, especially for a campus as large as Kent’s.
In an emergency, Desigo MNS reacts across various Siemens and third-party devices, ensuring students across campus receive the intended message:
• Desktop alerts are sent to all computers linked to the school’s IP network
• Emails are sent to all current faculty, students, and parents
• Text messages are also sent to all faculty, students, and
parents, as well as a resident state trooper
• Messages are communicated through IP-networked loudspeakers that Siemens installed throughout campus
• Desigo Intelligent Voice Communication fire panels broadcast messages throughout all facilities
A key feature of Desigo MNS is its “easy button” functionality. Kent can pre-set procedures and messages for different scenarios, such as weather or an intruder on campus. In an emergency, any number of school officials can engage Desigo MNS for a specific scenario, either from the command center or remotely. Desigo MNS also offers on-the-fly capabilities that allow officials to create and broadcast live emergency messages via their cell phones.
“Being able to program it to what we need is huge,” says Kent’s Safety Director, Brian Hunt, when describing the advantage of the system. “So is the portability; wherever I have my laptop, I know I have Desigo with me.”
With Desigo MNS, Kent is better prepared, able to reach students, faculty, and staff more quickly and effectively in an emergency, as proven in recent drills.
Just as important, the system is giving confidence and peace of mind to school officials and parents. “The speed of our ability to alert people quickly and easily has made everybody relax a little bit,” says Kent’s Dean of Students, Cathe Mazza. “We’re not worrying when there’s a storm coming and kids are in 50 million different directions. We know that we can reach them all.”
Security that means business.
With the technology you rely on and relationships you trust, Siemens is transforming the business of security.
At Siemens, we deliver security that means business. Through our innovative security practice, we help leading organizations across the country ensure stability, increase agility and better protect their people, processes and assets.
Siemens dedicated professionals focus on both security and the issues driving your organization, today and tomorrow. It’s a partnership that not only safeguards your people and buildings but supports your business objectives and long-term success.
Slamming the Door on Cloning
By Mike Tomas
The duplication of access credentials can affect access cards, key chains tags or fobs. The cloning of credentials creates a security breach. This is a threat to the integrity of your access control system. Action should be taken to discourage the usage of cloned credentials. In addition, it’s a good idea to consider upgrading your access system to make it more secure in the future.
125 KHz proximity technology has been around for 30+ years. This technology was economical, but thanks to the internet and the passage of time, it has become vulnerable. Because the credential is read only, the credential transmits the same code each time that it is presented to a reader. This technology will keep most incidental visitors out, but can be copied or cloned and therefore is no longer considered secure. Anyone with the proper tools and motivation may be able to breach your system by cloning a valid credential. Magnetic stripe technology is being phased out of access applications for concerns around its vulnerabilities as well.
We believe the answer is to move to a more secure technology called iCLASS SE. iCLASS credentials are more secure than 125 KHz prox. iCLASS operates at 13.56 MHz. The higher frequency allows for faster read times and a two way communication
known as Mutual Identification which adds additional layers of encryption and digital signatures to further improve the security of the credential.
When you present your access credential to an iCLASS SE reader the credential is authenticated by the reader and the reader is authenticated by the credential. This two way communication eliminates the possibility of cloning of the credential.
In addition, the new iCLASS SE readers are capable of supporting Android or iOS mobile devices that support Bluetooth and NFC (Near Field Communications). This will allow your system to migrate into new technologies to meet your buildings future requirements.
Mike Tomas is Sales Manager, Integrated Solutions G4S Canada
INTEGRATE
Everything you need to stay secure. G4S brings innovation to the forefront to help you leave risk behind. We can assess, equip, integrate and staff an end-to-end solution to secure your people, property and assets. It’s physical security for your company and emotional peace of mind for your people, all created by the integration of our unique products. To learn more about G4S Integrated Security Solutions, please visit www.g4s.ca or call 1-888-717-4447.
