trends
IP v ideo
A look into the products, technologies and solutions shaping the market
Making the move to IP –what’s stopping you?
Have you ever wondered why more people are migrating to IP video?
The answer is simple.
People want more choices. They also want to get the most out of their investment.
With Axis solutions, customers get more. More usable data, and more options for their business and security needs.
The move to open systems empower a much more productive and cost-effective means of surveillance than ever before. Because IP is network-based, our cameras can integrate to applications on the network, giving them more options to view, store and analyze live video at multiple locations.
Our cameras can also come equipped with SD cards for primary backup storage and embed analytics for motion detection, cross line detection, people counting and queue monitoring,
and the list goes on – giving you more possibilities to analyze operations and improve overall efficiency.
Did we mention the superior image quality?
Above all, a clear image is essential to not only know what is happening in real time, but also to have usable video in case an incident occurs. With IP cameras you count on only the best high-quality video images, making it easier for you to identify a specific incident. Long gone are the days of grainy analog video.
With the many functions and capabilities IP offers, surveillance possibilities seem endless.
So, what are you waiting for? Start leveraging the benefits of IP.
Visit www.axis.com to learn more.
Don’t miss us at Security Canada in Alberta on May 13!
AXIS Q6000-E features four separate 2-megapixel sensors, providing a 360 field of view over large areas. And when integrated with any AXIS Q60-E Series of PTZ outdoor cameras, it even allows you to optically zoom in on any areas of interest. For all the features and to see AXIS Q6000-E in action, visit www.axis.com
Risk Management in the Data Center
UNDERSTANDING THE SIX LAYERS
LAYER ONE: PERIMETER DEFENSE
Improve the overall effectiveness and reduce the overall cost a data center facility’s security system.
LAYER TWO: CLEAR ZONE
Implement security measures that allow complete situational awareness around critical infrastructure assets.
Just like power, cooling and performance, security is a critical component of a data center. With media outlets reporting a devastating breach every few months, operators tend to focus solely on preventing a logical security breach. However, a physical security breach can be just as damaging. It’s important to ask yourself the right questions to make sure you are adequately preparing for a physical security attack.
Who in your organization is ultimately responsible for the physical security in the data center.
• What is your physical security strategy?
• Does your focus on and budget for physical data center security match the risks?
• Top to bottom, is your organization committed to data center security or are there opportunities for more/better engagement?
• What is your weakest link? Is it the cabinet, gray space, visitor tracking or something else?
Big Data. Big Risks.
Last year, data breaches cost the average business $3.22 million (Ponemon Institute ‘Cost of Data Breach’ study, 2014). Big data— whether from mobile phones or Internet-enabled devices—is changing the way companies operate and is essential to the operations of several high-profile industries, from energy and banking to nuclear plant operations and government agencies. Increasingly, the risk of not implementing a solid physical security plan can increase exposure, raise unnecessary customer concerns, and in many cases, conflict with governments and industry association mandates that data centers meet certain physical security requirements to protect against these risks.
Risks in the Environment: Assessment and Management
Assessing risk in the data center requires an understanding of where and how data center breaches usually occur and that internal threats are often greater than external ones. Following these risk management philosophies is critical to establishing a system that safeguards against internal and external threats:
• Reach an agreement on balancing physical and logical security budgets
• Identify threats, including ones from the inside and outside
• Maintain sound policies and procedures and implement them consistently
Creating the Physical Security Plan
Implementing a strategic series of obstacles to protect against a potential physical incursion makes it increasingly difficult to gain access to the mission-critical data that an inside or outside threat is seeking. A physical security plan needs to support current data center design standards while implementing a six layer best practice model that defends a data center by adding distance, time and scale.
LAYER THREE: FACILITY FACADE AND RECEPTION AREA
Fend off a potential security breach by implementing sound security policies and procedures in the visitor acceptance area.
LAYER FOUR: HALLWAYS, ESCORTED AREAS, AND GRAY SPACE
Don’t overlook the gray space: It contains critical electrical and mechanical infrastructure.
LAYER FIVE: DATA CENTER ROOM
AND WHITE SPACE
Prevent unauthorized people from entering the white space with access control, such as dual factor biometrics.
LAYER SIX: THE DATA CENTER CABINET
Restrict cabinet access to authorized users. Generate verifiable audit trail of activity in the environment.
LEARNING MORE ABOUT LAYERS
Every data center’s security strategy will be unique. The first step in determining the right layered approach is talking to a trusted technical adviser to understand your current system, future needs and working environment.
Finnish Municipality saves 50,000 Euros a year thanks to Milestone
The Finnish municipality of Kontiolahti is using Milestone XProtect® to fight crime and reduce vandalism. Thanks to Milestone, the municipality is now saving 50,000 Euros every year.
“Installing Milestone XProtect has done the trick. We have reduced the cost of vandalism by approximately €50.000 per year. Now we have practically no cost in regards to vandalism. What originated as a need for general security has evolved. One of the main benefits of our solution is the broad usage of it.” - Eero Pölönen, Technical Manager, Kontiolahti Municipality.
The Challenge: Before installing Milestone XProtect software, Kontiolahti Municipality was subjected to extensive vandalism at schools and in the harbor. The harbor was especially plagued by theft of boat motors and oil, littering and other destructive activities that the old security system was not equipped to handle.
harbor, where fuel and motors from the boats were frequently being stolen. That was the reason why we decided to install a new security system: to reduce the destruction of our facilities and further increase safety for our population,” states Eero Pölönen.
The Advantages: The Milestone XProtect solution has provided Kontiolahti with increased safety and has led to a significant reduction in vandalism saving €50.000 a year. The municipality can easily expand their security solution to more uses with the Milestone open platform.
The Solution: Installing partner Hällström designed and implemented an efficient solution with Milestone XProtect® Professional and XProtect® Essential to manage 200 AXIS, Sony, Vivotec and Mobotix cameras. The cameras are installed throughout the entire municipality at hospitals, sports fields, harbors and schools.
Large yearly savings by reduced vandalism thanks to Milestone
The Milestone surveillance solution is installed all over Kontiolahti Municipality. The estimated savings are € 50.000 a year due to reduced vandalism.
“Before we installed Milestone XProtect we were experiencing a lot of vandalism at schools in our area and at the
A new security system was badly needed since the previous one was both outdated and lacked userfriendliness tells Eero Pölönen.
To find a better solution to secure the municipality, Eero Pölönen teamed up with Milestone Partner through seven years, Hällström LTD Partnership.
“We chose Milestone XProtect because the product is reliable and stable, which is very important for us. Moreover, the Milestone solution is scalable, so it can be used in everything from small systems to very large systems. That is a big advantage,” says Eero Pölönen,
Kontiolahti gets additional benefits from using open platform software.
Besides helping the municipality reduce vandalism, the video monitoring solution is also being used to secure the personal safety of the citizens living at elderly homes and for checking up on conditions we can remotely check the condition of a sports field in order to plan maintenance, for example,” says Eero Pölönen. The solution has also proven to be beneficial during the long cold winters: “In winter times staff can remotely check how much snow falls and then decide how often they have to plow ice away from roads and parking places,” states Eero Pölönen.
Milestone Mobile AND
Let your staff stream live video from their smartphones, wherever they are
By allowing your staff to stream live video from the device’s camera directly into your Milestone solution, the Milestone Mobile app gives operators in your central monitoring station immediate awareness of incidents no matter where they occur.
Compatible with all Milestone XProtect® video management software and the Milestone Husky™ NVR series, the Milestone Mobile app provides extended live visibility and the ability to use video streams in later investigations.
Explore more surveillance and security opportunities with Milestone video management solutions at milestonesys.com
Milestone Systems U.S.
Tel: 503 350 1100
WindoW on the world
A new operations centre gives the Greater Toronto Airports Authority a clear picture of its security status
By Linda Johnson
Arriving at Toronto’s Pearson International, most air passengers likely think of the airport as a kind of way station, a transition point between one city and another.
But for those responsible for running it on a day-to-day basis, it’s easy to think of the airport as a city in itself. Every day, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), the not-forprofit corporation that manages Toronto’s Pearson Airport, provides a vast network of security and operational services to the many organizations that inhabit the same territory, such as airline companies, customs and border agencies, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), police and fire departments — not to mention an everchanging populace of more than 36 million passengers a year.
To provide those services and handle emergencies more efficiently, the airport recently decided to consolidate its dispatch centres, then distributed widely across the airport, and launched an Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC).
Michael J. Brown, manager of business integration with the GTAA, says the new centre has increased collaboration and teamwork and improved specialists’ ability to respond to events.
together seven work groups: Security Operations Control Centre; Operations Control Centre; Resource Management Unit (e.g., aircraft gate assignments and manpower planning); Call Centre Paging Centre (e.g., passenger inquires); IT&T Service Desk; Baggage Operation and Maintenance Dispatch Centre.
“Issues that need to be addressed immediately are handled within the IOCC. The team takes the information and dispatches appropriate resources to address the situation,” Brown says. This could be anything from an urgent maintenance request to a medical emergency called in on the Airport Emergency Line.
“Issues that need to be addressed immediately are handled within the IOCC.”
— Michael J. Brown, GTAA
“Overall situational awareness has improved, simply by having everyone in the same room with an understanding of what is happening in real time. The specialists can be much more proactive in dealing with any event, as they have access to critical information first-hand,” he says.
The IOCC allows for much easier and faster communication, too, he adds. Previously, people had to share information through phone line or radio, and it had to be direct communication between the two. “Now, instead of having to wait for a phone call potentially to respond to an event or to make adjustments in your area, you have that information firsthand, when the event starts. Sharing information between the work groups is much more efficient,” Brown says.
The multi-million dollar IOCC, launched in 2012, brought
The central feature of the IOCC is a video display wall — a canvas of 56 (14 wide by four high) video screens or display wall “cubes” that provides a common operating picture. The video wall, by Markham, Ont.based Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada, stretches 14.2 metres long and three metres high and is managed by Rockaway, N.J.based Activu’s visualization and collaboration software, which pulls information from various systems throughout the airport, live video feeds from its network-based cameras and from other security and operations applications.
“With the video wall, we can basically drag and drop whatever source we’d like to see in pretty much any location on the wall. Depending on the situation, we can resize or relocate that display on the wall,” Brown says.
For day-to-day operations (including gate management, handling of incidents such as passenger illness and lost relatives), the video wall is divided into sections, with different areas given to different functions, such as security, operations or airport tracking, says Hossana Ashagrie, project manager, design services and terminal construction with the GTAA.
“It’s limitless what can be projected on it. They can see weather information, runway conditions. Wind direction could be displayed in numbers, and wind speed — the kind of information used by Nav Canada [the agency responsible for air traffic control]. They can also see which runways are being used,” he says.
During “irregular” operations (such as natural emergencies, snowstorms, medical or vehicle accidents) or emergencies (including major security breaches or aircraft incidents), operators can modify the wall’s format, receive different video feeds and information and devote more screens to the immediate issue, he says.
Ashagrie, who helped manage the construction of the multibillion dollar Terminal One project, completed in 2007, says the Mitsubishi display wall was chosen because it can be customized; they can increase or decrease it according to the situation. In addition, the LED light source keeps power consumption low and also eliminated the need to install a costly cooling system. Most importantly, he adds, he wanted a system that had already been tried and tested in a similar environment.
“We didn’t want to get the latest, brand new something that has never been tested. And Activu and Mitsubishi have done a lot of work with U.S. defence agencies, Homeland Security, and the military. So they have a proven solution,” he says. “It had already been used for people for whom situational awareness is critical, as it is for us.”
“Also, depending on existing operational activities, SOC can display macros associated to specific areas within the terminal or airside as required. Of course, SOC can also display individual cameras as required and manipulate the size of the image as required.”
In their previous office, Thorn says, there was a limitation on the number of geographic areas that could be monitored by one workstation.“Now any workstation can monitor any region of the airport — which provides flexibility depending on staffing, workload and irregular operations. Similarly, video capabilities needed to be more flexible and efficient, and I believe that was achieved.”
“It’s limitless what can be projected. They can see weather information, runway conditions.”
— hossanaAshagrie, GTAA
In addition to the IOCC, two Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) are located at the airport. The IOCC includes a telecom room and a common operations area. That area includes 38 workstations, arranged in a theatre format, but can be expanded to hold up to 45. The front row is allocated for security officers, Ashagrie says, as the primary users of the video wall system.
The Security Operations Control Centre (SOCC) monitors and manages a CCTV system that covers a wide expanse of the property within the terminals, corporate facilities, the airfield and perimeter areas, says Jeffrey Thorn, manager of security operations control at GTAA. Cameras are added on a regular basis, and a variety of types — panoramic, fixed or PTZ — are deployed, depending on their operational needs.
Access control systems use both biometric and keycard technology. By law, he adds, all employees entering restricted areas within the airport’s two terminals must be biometrically verified, while standard keycard readers are used throughout airport facilities to monitor and control access.
Thorn says the new IOCC has provided several technological advancements for Security Operations Control (SOC). For one thing, a new CCTV platform for control and archiving of video has improved their capability in key areas of the airport. The integration of the camera system with the video wall in the IOCC is another significant improvement.
“The video wall controller is extremely adaptable and allows for the display of numerous software applications, television feeds and most importantly to us, video. Specific default layouts are programmed for each workstation to quickly display areas of interest,” he says.
Another project undertaken during the move to the IOCC was an upgrade in the communication system, Brown says. A new master dispatch system, by Redmond, Wash.-based Zetron, brings in all the feeds from phone lines, radios and different communication lines.
“All lines are brought into a central system, which then distributes them to the workstations in the IOCC. Depending on your user profile, you are then given access to the appropriate phone lines and radios.”
The upgrade has increased the quality of their communication system and given them a few more features, Brown adds. “This system provides more configuration options, better quality caller ID, and valuable statistics and key performance indicators.”
The centre has its origins in 2009, when the airport set out to improve the services it provides to the airlines and airport agencies, Ashagrie says. After deciding to build the centre, the various work groups outlined their requirements, what they had working for them in their existing locations and what they wanted to see improved.
“Based on that, and on the requirement the centre would be operational 24/7, through the year, we developed a program of requirement and retained a design consulting firm. The [IOCC] was designed with the full input of all the end users, their management and the people who do the day-to-day work,” he says.
At the start, Ashagrie recalls, the airport made a commitment to provide a best-in-class IOCC for the controllers and security officers.
“This is a very sensitive environment. We want to give the end users top-notch equipment so that they can do their safety and security work effectively at the biggest airport in Canada and one of the biggest in the world,” he says, adding other control centres are looking to the airport as an example.
“Toronto International Airport is a trailblazer in a lot of things,” he adds, “and the industry respects what we do. It’s not unusual for them to follow suit.”
Linda Johnson is a freelance writer based in Toronto.
Don’t miss Focus on Retail Security, a one-day event brought to you by Canadian Security magazine
Canadian Security’s Focus On Retail Security symposium is a unique educational platform that brings together security and loss prevention professionals working in the Canadian retail
sector with industry experts, technology manufacturers and service providers to generate discussion, share information, offer networking opportunities and facilitate business.
WHEN: Wednesday June 10, 2015 8:00am to 4:30pm
WHERE: Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel, Richmond Hill, Ont.
WHO: Retail and Loss Prevention Professionals
COST: $90 ($70 for ASIS or RCC Members)
To