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San Jose’s New Advanced Traffic Security Solution

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“The one thing that really stuck out in the report was the physical security of our signal and ITS cabinets. We now have more control over who has access to the cabinets with the AAGS-CI solution.”

—Darren Thai, City of San Jose’s Department of Transportation

n August 2023, the Department of Transportation for the City of San Jose began a yearlong installation program to replace and upgrade the security measures of their traffic signal and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) cabinets. Seeking a leading-edge security solution, they determined ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions – Critical Infrastructure had an access management system that exceeded their expectations.

“After contacting several possible vendor partners, we focused on a locking device that not only would be very difficult to access but something that was unique,” said Darren Thai, an associate engineer with the City of San Jose’s Department of Transportation for the last seven years.

He is a member of the ITS group, which is responsible for connecting the city with the latest network communication traffic technology including surveillance cameras and video detection.

“ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions – Critical Infrastructure (AAGS-CI) offered more than we asked for in terms of flexibility, plus the whole validity process and permission sets in the management software. We are definitely happy and impressed with how things have progressed.”

San Jose is regarded as one of the safest cities in North America. The Department of Transportation employs more than 450 people to plan, develop, operate and maintain transportation facilities, services and related systems, including traffic infrastructure.

AAGS-CI’s system integration partner, Western Pacific Signal, is installing the 75481 series traffic enclosure lock on 2,000 cabinets at about 1,000 intersections. Thai said the process originated through a U.S. Department of Transportation program.

“As part of their initiative, we participated in a 2019 network penetration test to assess the nation’s and state of California’s transportation system against cybersecurity threats. As a result, we improved the firewalls and field network infrastructure,” acknowledged Thai.

“The one thing that really stuck out in the report was the physical security of our signal and ITS cabinets. We now have more control over who has access to the cabinets with the AAGS-CI solution.”

Charting a new course in secure transportation measures Thai said when the department began researching possible vendors, they learned of AAGS-CI from an article in the ITE Journal.

“We reached out to AAGS-CI and began a six month test program with a few units.

We initially deployed it in a closed environment before installing it in the field,” he said.

“We learned about the software and added permissions so only specific users could access it during certain timeframes. It’s important to validate keys in case a worker lost them since our cabinets are regularly accessed by contractors.”

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Thai mentioned another important feature to the AAGS-CI solution is having both mechanical and electromechanical lock cylinders deployed at different access points throughout the city.

“This is a big cost savings benefit for traffic cabinet security upgrades because typically, fewer than half of ITS cabinets are situated at high priority sites that require more expensive digital locks,” noted Jerry Burhans, USA managing director of AAGS-CI. “These affordable high security mechanical locks fulfill security requirements for most other access points, offering DOTs and municipalities significant savings over an all-digital locking system.”

The electromechanical option of the 75481 series supports electronic access control, key tracking, and audit trails with ABLOY’s CLIQ Web Manager software.

Access rights can be updated and lost keys can be deleted electronically.

“We determined the most important thing was to secure our traffic signal cabinets because the expensive technology inside those enclosures requires regular servicing,” said Thai. “We use the ABLOY mechanical locks because they are very secure. CLIQ is pretty straightforward since it is web-based software. We can get pretty creative with setting the permissions and validity periods, and we are eager to see how it turns out.”

The team at Western Pacific Signal assisted with training and software set-up before placement of the locks began throughout the city.

“They are a well-educated and sophisticated customer when it comes to cybersecurity, and they have invested in a lot of expensive, leading edge accessories and peripherals that are inside the traffic signal cabinet. San Jose is probably one of the more cutting edge municipalities in the western United States,” said company founder Don Shupp.

“The average customer may invest between $20,000-$25,000 worth of equipment, but some of San Jose’s cabinets have twice that value. They recognized the increased risks and the potential losses of a cabinet break-in. They also understand the attributes of having more control over contractors working on those cabinets, and not needing the added expense of having a crew remove their padlocks in advance of the contractors doing their work. So they are open minded and willing to explore new technology.”

Early reports on installation of the AAGS-CI system are impressive.

“The installations are easy to do,” said Thai. “It is a drop-in replacement for what we currently use, which was partly a selling point for this solution. We did not have to modify the cabinets in any way, and it takes about 10 minutes to remove the old lock and install the new one, which makes it very convenient.”

Kory Hamill 469-934-2094 https://abloyusa.com Watch Video

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