Technologies
Morpho Launches Secure, Multifunction Biometric Tablet
(NEW YORK) — Joaquin Guzman, better known by the nickname "El Chapo," didn’t get to be one of the world’s most notorious and elusive drug lords without knowing a thing or two about how to cover his tracks. According to senior law enforcement officials, Guzman used some of the latest counter-surveillance gadgets to keep out of sight. Though El Chapo might have been able to be harder to find if he went completely off the grid, Todd Morris, the founder of Brickhouse Security, said that wasn’t a likely option. "You could go to the most extreme case and live a cave with messengers coming and going, but then what’s the point [of being a drug lord]?" he told ABC News. "Typically, the goal [of a drug dealer] is to maximize invisibility without minimizing the joy of the billions of dollars you have." Top-notch security means more than just a thorough pat-down for every visitor and a handful of security cameras looking over the premises. Here’s a couple of the gadgets that Guzman may have used to keep out of sight from the law: Spectrum Analyzer Chances are that Guzman wasn’t trusting a Wi-Fi password to keep his cyber activity hidden. "There’s no way you could make that secure, so more likely, all of his computers were Ethernet connected," Morris said, referring to the hard-wired connection to the Internet. But in the case that someone planted a bug to turn the computer into a surveillance device, Guzman could buy a […]
Source krvn.com
Video-Ready Servers From Secure Logiq Promise More Performance At Lower Cost
By Tom Reeve on February 26, 2014 SecureLogiq, manufacturer of high specification video servers, has relaunched its product range to provide 12 off-the-shelf server solutions for HD video applications. Previously the company specialised in bespoke solutions including its top-end server configuration that is 4U high and can record 1000 HD CCTV cameras (1080p) at full frame rate continuously and store the images for 30 days. The company’s servers have been used on projects such as the London 2012 Olympics, the London Shard ANPR system, Cross Rail and Mersey ferries. We spoke to SecureLogiq sales director Robin Hughes, formerly business development director at Avigilon for over six years. Robin Hughes Hughes told us that the new product range has been designed to provide customers with an easy to understand range of products that would scale up from entry level according to their needs. The product range comprises 1U, 2U and 3U servers which have been fitted out with high specification components and fine tuned for handling high quality HD video. As a result, the machines are able to record more channels at a faster rate and store it for longer than comparable size servers. Hughes said the company is responding to a requirement in the market for high spec servers that wasn’t being addressed by traditional IT servers. “The feedback we have had from the market is that this is the missing piece in the HD jigsaw puzzle,” said Hughes. “People are telling us that they want a less expensive, […]
Source www.securitynewsdesk.com
EIZO DuraVision FDF2304W-IP 23-Inch LCD Monitor
EIZO has showed off a new LCD monitor ‘DuraVision FDF2304W-IP’ to its range. Designed for security (it allows the connection and operation of the IP camera directly without using a PC), this new 23-inch IPS LED-backlight monitor provides 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 8ms response time and 178/178 degree viewing angles, and features HDMI, LAN and 2x USB 2.0 connectors. The DuraVision FDF2304W-IP will begin shipping from May for unannounced price yet. [ EIZO ]
Source www.gizmodo.cz
Seagate Releases Surveillance HDD Exclusively For Video Surveillance Market
Seagate, a globally recognized American storage vendor has announced the release of its Surveillance HDD, which is a 7 th generation drive, engineered specifically for video surveillance and video analytics applications. Seagate Surveillance hard disk drives are available in 3.5 inches dimension and in a 4TB storage capacity which can store up to 480 hours of HD content. Seagate Surveillance Hard disks are incorporated with rotational vibration sensors and can reliably perform in systems with up to 16 drives. These drives can perform excellently in environments where camera count is plenty and can support write workloads from up to 32 channels. Moreover, Seagate Surveillance hard disk drives are manufactured in such a way that users can customize power settings and better support motion-activated cameras, without a miss of a single frame. Seagate Surveillance HDDs are being offered with 1 million hour MTBF and consume less power and emit less heat with greater design flexibility. Seagate Surveillance Hard Disks are exclusively designed for all 24×7 security applications and are available from the second week of March 2014 worldwide. The price of the Seagate Surveillance Hard Disk drives with 4TB capacity is $137.
Source storageservers.wordpress.com
Visa Is Experimenting With Biometric Payment Systems
S Apple’s iPhone 5S has a fingerprint scanner, and now Samsung’s revealed a print-reading Galaxy S5 . Each allows for payments to be verified using a swipe of your digits. Is this the possible future of all transactions? Perhaps, and Visa is now exploring the area too to ensure it will be ready for the possible sea-change. "Smartphones equipped with fingerprint scanners are definitely useful. There are all kinds of technologies that we are seeing, and a lot of innovation in this space. We’re working with these technologies, and they are all very interesting," said Jon White, Visa’s Head of Marketing, Mobile Strategic Alliances. For the time being at least, it seems any such system would still need to be linked to a mobile device, and Visa’s current challenge is separating mobile device access authentication systems from the payment credentials ? were someone to infiltrate one system through biometric readings, Visa want to ensure your bank balance would not be compromised. "It’s a different consideration between drawing a squiggle to unlock a phone or putting in a four-digit password to access my mobile to what’s required to access my bank account," continued White. "Secure management of payment credentials are the priority. I think there will be moves to form partnerships in this space though. That will continue, and we will pursue these technologies, but we need these multiple layers of encryption to preserve customer trust and integrity." Consumer attitudes also need to be considered ? "Do users really want […]
Source gizmodo.com
High-Capacity Digital Surveillance Storage: The Economies of Scale
Massive Storage Capacities Introduction Savvy security professionals are migrating to digital video solutions in droves, and with good reason: surveillance digital video recorders (SDVR) boast an unprecedented combination of video quality, storage capacity and flexibility, enabling SDVR-based systems to deliver an impressive range of enhanced capabilities: Higher image resolution More active cameras Longer archival periods Intelligent video recognition Abundant storage capacity is a fundamental enabler of such capabilities, and it is here that some video surveillance deployments can go amiss. In an effort to minimize costs, some SDVR systems may utilize multiple low-cost, low-capacity hard disk drives (HDDs) to meet their storage requirements. On its surface, this approach appears to be a viable option to reduce storage expenditures. But initial purchase price is only one part of total cost of ownership, and in other respects this budget-drive approach actually inflates SDVR system costs. Specifically, deploying a plethora of inexpensive desktop-class drives consumes more drive slots, requires more power (while producing more unwanted heat) and significantly reduces system reliability. In many SDVRs there are only a limited number of drive slots available, and budget drives lack sufficient capacity for more and/or higher-quality video streams or longer retention of video data. The solution? Scale up capacity with a smaller number of large (1TB, 2TB or 3TB) HDDs , purpose-built for surveillance storage duty. The benefits of this approach are both significant and multifold: Compact, more space-efficient SDVR systems can meet the elevated capacity needs of sophisticated surveillance environments, power consumption and […]
Source www.seagate.com
Guangdong Province Selected For First Demonstration Of China National SVAC Video Surveillance Standard
The announcement mentions that continuous advances in the performance of video-surveillance equipment and applications, including devices and systems, have been accompanied by a variety of formats and standards, which have reduced government’s ability to protect public safety and share, transmit, and store image data in networks. Therefore, an urgent need has arisen for networking and image coding techniques that follow a unified national standard. At the same time, China has sought to develop its domestic security industry, supported by domestically owned intellectual property rights, which follow uniform national standards that support higher image coding and video encryption. To achieve these goals, the Ministry of Public Security selected Guangdong province as the first province for a demonstration of the SVAC video-surveillance standard. As of the end of 2013, Guangdong province had already completed installed a total 1.81 million image-acquisition sites, comprised of two different types, which have played an important role in the administration of public security. About Guangdong Province Guangdong Province possesses the largest economy in terms of GDP and some of the strongest scientific and technological capabilities and the most developed foreign trade in China. As the pioneer in China’s economic reform and opening, Guangdong province maintains rapid and sustainable development of its economy, marks constant improvement in its degree of openness, and ranks first in China according to many economic indicators. The province’s GDP contributes about one-eighth of national GDP, and has ranked the largest for many years. The value of Guangdong’s total import and export trade represents approximately […]
Source www.ad-hoc-news.de
The Road To Interoperability With ONVIF
By Kirsty McMahon on February 19, 2014 Guest article by Scott Hudson, V ice-Chairman of the Technical Services Committee for ONVIF. Within the security market, hybrid environments are becoming more and more common. With a myriad of products from different manufacturers, wouldn’t it be nice, with little or no effort, to have these products work seamlessly with one another — a true plug-and-play scenario? Standards-based interfaces, such as those offered through ONVIF, the open industry forum for IP-based physical security products, have addressed the issue of interoperability among products at a basic level. While true plug-and-play capabilities can be difficult to achieve across multiple manufacturers, ONVIF addresses this interoperability through the definition of compatible specifications known as Profiles. At a minimum, certain functionalities must be supported for conformance with ONVIF’s profiles for video management, recording and access control. For example, Profile S for video streaming specifies how to stream video using RTSP, while Profile G for video recording specifies how to configure and start a recording. The specific details are defined in each respective Profile Specification available from the ONVIF site. While ONVIF provides a common definition that all of these conformant devices must follow, the challenge has been that while products may be in conformance with a profile, there can be some latitude in the extent to which various products achieve that conformance. Complying with the profile puts everyone on equal footing, but levels of performance may vary from meeting the minimum requirements to well exceeding it. So […]
Source www.securitynewsdesk.com
Eagle Eye Debuts Partner Program For Cloud-Based Video Surveillance
The days of storing your video surveillance footage on a hard drive or disc may soon be coming to an end—especially if the folks at Eagle Eye Networks have anything to say about it. Eagle Eye has taken the wraps off a new channel partner program, which will allow its VARs to sell the company’s line of home and business surveillance software to customers throughout North America. Eagle Eye Networks is one of the first surveillance companies to offer its VARs access to an on-demand cloud-based security and operations video management system (VMS) surveillance software, according to company CEO Dean Drako. “Video surveillance, which has traditionally been kind of a traditional security business, is becoming much more of an IT business,” said Drako in an interview with The VAR Guy. “We’re saying, ‘Hey, let’s do to this business what Dropbox did to the file service business.’” Eagle Eye Networks’ resellers and end users simply install a device called a Bridge in each location they wish to be monitored and connect their cameras to the cloud via a monthly subscription service. Users connect ONVIF or analog cameras to the Eagle Eye Bridge, which then stores and uploads footage to the cloud. All of the data can be accessed remotely and managed from central website. Drako is the former founder and CEO of Barracuda Networks (CUDA), a company specializing in IT security, network an application delivery and data storage, including the company’s popular spam filter appliance. Drako and his team began […]
Source thevarguy.com
Disposable RFID Wristband Is Increasingly Used For Access Control Management
Recently, the disposable RFID wristband has been newly released by DAILY RFID who is a leading professional RFID products manufacturer, combined with the radio frequency technology and smart card technology. Market Press Release
Flir Enhances Thermal Security Camera Portfolio
24-02-2014 Flir has added a number of enhancements to its F-Series and PT-Series security cameras, including a totally new and user-friendly web interface, an enhanced level of security with three login levels, and continuous e-zoom functionality. The new e-zoom functionality has now been added to all 640×480 versions of F-Series and PT-Series cameras. This means that there are now no fixed intervals whilst using the zoom functionality; users can now stop at any zoom position. The e-zoom appears as a very smooth and continuous image along the entire zoom range. Other new features include a new web interface that offers a live streaming video page and web-based camera controls (for pan-tilt-zoom functionality, pre-set and scan lists, AGC pre-sets and much more) and enhanced security with three login levels (user, expert and admin). F-Series thermal security cameras let users see intruders and other threats clearly in total darkness and in bad weather. Fully enabled for control and operation over digital and analog networks, F-Series thermal imaging cameras are available in 160 × 120, 320 × 240, and high-resolution 640 × 480 formats, providing up to 16 times the image clarity and longer threat detection range performance than lower resolution cameras. Network-ready, pan-tilt, multi-sensor thermal security cameras, the PT-Series allows users to see intruders and other threats clearly in total darkness and bad weather. The PT-Series precision pan/tilt mechanism gives operators accurate pointing control while providing fully programmable scan patterns, radar slew-to-cue, and slew-to-alarm functionality. Fully enabled for control and operation […]
Source www.securityworldhotel.com
Apparently, Humans Are Programmed To Obey Robots
In Kinsasha – capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo – two eight-foot-tall robots have been installed in order to direct traffic. As you can see above, the machines look more than a little absurd – like something straight out of a 1960s science fiction film. They aren’t exactly intelligent, either. They just tell cars where to go. And apparently, they do a better job of it than the human operators ever did – apparently, people just tend to listen to them more readily. It may have something to do with the fact that each of the two robots is equipped with an array of security cameras to record ne’erdowells. They’re basically highly visible speed cameras. At this point, you’re probably scoffing a bit. After all, this has nothing to do with robotics, right? Those two machines are basically glorified, highly-visible speed cameras. Of course people behave around them! Why wouldn’t they? Not only that, they’re something like eight feet tall. I don’t know about you, but if a machine that size directed me to do something, I’d more than likely comply – even if I did realize on some level that it was merely an inanimate object. Ultimately, it appears as though the deference people give these simple traffic bots tells us very little about how robots and humans relate to one another. Uh, yeah. Turns out, it isn’t actually that simple. According to scientists in the field of robot-human interaction, the human brain is wired in […]
Source flippies.com
H.265 Compression Set To Make A Mark On IP Video Surveillance
H.265/HEVC could enable IP cameras with even larger megapixel counts The emergence last year of a new format for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is poised to have a huge impact on IP video surveillance cameras over the next few years. Among the benefits of the new H.265/HEVC coding format over the legacy H.264/MPEG-4 is a 40 percent or more bit rate reduction at the same visual quality. Therefore, a camera could provide either better visual quality than H.264 with existing network and storage requirements, or it could provide the same visual quality with 40 percent less network and storage needs. H.265/HEVC could enable IP cameras with even larger megapixel counts – 20 megapixel cameras, for example – to operate more efficiently without overwhelming network infrastructures. H.265/HEVC also brings improvements in noise levels, colour spaces and, most importantly for surveillance, an enhanced dynamic range. H.265 implementation inevitable but some years away Implementation of the new standard in most IP video cameras, however, is still years away. As with other video standards, the security market inherits the H.265/HEVC format from the much larger consumer electronics market. Typically, after standards are developed, it takes several years for their use to make its way into various markets, starting with the consumer video market and later into security and other smaller markets. Currently, the leading video coding format is H.264/MPEG-4, which was initially developed in 1999 and has only recently become the de facto standard in the security/surveillance market, more than a decade […]
Source www.sourcesecurity.com
HuperLab Announces New Generation HuperEyes 3D Stereo Camera
Published on 11 Feb, 2014 Huper Laboratories (known as huperLab), a leading developer of intelligent video surveillance system, and a technology innovator on 2D & 3D video analytics, video/audio codecs and streaming technologies, has announced the availability of new generation huperEyes™ 3D Stereo Camera that features water-proof and streamline-type looks design for better outdoor use. The newly-developed 3D stereo camera wizard can further ensure easy and flexible installation. As the outdoor surveillance demand for people counting continues to grow, the new generation huperEyes™ 3D Stereo Camera improved the water-proof and stream-line design that is set to be ideal for outdoor use. With this new 3D stereo camera, huperLab is bringing its own strengths to video content analysis based on stereo computer vision while it can ensure higher accuracy. It is expected to widely fit different use scenarios and reduce environmental effects. Based on the mimic human eyes of 3D vision, along with exclusive design of huperEyes™ 3D camera, the system can sense and track the objects in depth whether the objects are moving toward or away from the camera. As the new development, it brings higher accuracy to better distinguish adults, children and other objects with different heights in high density area, as well as reduce errors by less light and shadow influence. Taking Taipei Int’l Flora Expo for example, the outdoor use scenario, the counting results in crowded visitor flows can achieve 95% accuracy. The same solution for indoor use scenario, installed in Palace Museum can further achieve […]
Source www.sourcesecurity.com
Exacq Technologies Releases New S-Series Enterprise Server
Exacq Technologies Releases the new S-Series Enterprise Friday, 07 February 2014 19:39 Exacq Technologies, part of the Security Products business unit of Tyco, manufacturer of video management system (VMS) software and servers used for video surveillance, has released the new S-Series Enterprise line of networked video storage servers. The new S-Series Enterprise line of networked video storage servers from Exacq Technologies allows users to add extended storage and archived storage to any exacqVision server running the exacqVision Professional or Enterprise Video Management System (VMS) software. In addition, S-Series Enterprise servers can be used to archive video from exacqVision Edge IP cameras. exacqVision Edge is a full-featured VMS that runs directly on compatible IP cameras. By using the S-Series to archive video and audio, users can optimize their network load with scheduled archiving. The S-Series Enterprise includes flexible, user-defined archiving rules to store critical video and audio longer. Additionally, the S-Series allows users to consolidate video archives from multiple exacqVision recorders to one or more S-Series devices.??Users can also extend their exacqVision storage without the need for an additional recorder. The S-Series Enterprise is expandable to 80 terabytes on enterprise-class hard drives utilizing RAID 5 or 6 for maximum hard drive reliability. The S-Series Enterprise servers also include redundant power supplies to significantly reduce the risk of a system power failure. With the S-Series networked storage server, exacqVision users will have one unified VMS solution to administer and monitor the storage and recorders. This single user interface reduces the complexity […]
Source www.eurosecglobal.de
Orlando International First To Launch Biometric Kiosks for Arriving Passengers From Visa Waiver Countries
The Vancouver ‘Experience’ ORLANDO, FL. – Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the first U.S. airport to welcome travelers from visa waiver countries with innovative biometric kiosks to expedite the arrival experience. These self-service kiosks are now operational and processing international passengers who have Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval prior to travel. The passenger-friendly kiosk enable travelers from arriving international flights to complete their Customs Declaration Form on touch-screens, have passports read and fingerprints and facial images captured. The innovative system adopts a “land, touch, go” concept that enhances the arrival experience. “This continues our Board and staff’s commitment to positioning Orlando International as a world-class airport in customer service,” says Frank Kruppenbacher, Chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “Reducing the times for arrival processing enhances the customer’s Orlando experience and makes Orlando an even more attractive global destination.” “This has been a collaborative effort with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), SITA (Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques) and Vision-Box,” says Phil Brown, Executive Director of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “It introduces innovative technologies to meet a real world need.” International traffic increased 4.9% for the rolling 12 months. Orlando has non-stop international service to 34 destinations.
Source www.aviationpros.com
The Hyperspectral Era Has Already Begun
February 06, 2014 // Peter Clarke Opinion: the hyperspectral era has already begun Research institute IMEC, a pioneer of hyperspectral imaging, is helping roll out the technology in high-end markets but we should not lose sight of the fact that hyperspectral imaging is already in use in very high volume in consumer market The hyperspectral era has begun and it seems likely that CMOS image sensors are about to embark on classic S-shaped adoption curve for the addition of infrared to visible light sensing. IMEC developed a set of filters to sit on top of a commercially available CMOS image sensor in 2012. And the research has continued to make progress through 2013 and 2014 with IMEC able to define 100 bands across the visible and near-infrared parts of the spectrum from 600-nm to 1000nm wavelength. However, that work by IMEC may have given the impression that complex hyperspectral imaging is aimed at high-value applications in space, in defense, in industy, in agriculture, medical and surveillance applications (see The future of video surveillance is hyperspectral ). It used to be the case that technologies that started off in high value, low volume applications would, over many years, gradually increase volumes and reduce in price due to economies of scale and manufacturing amortizations and trickle down to consumer electronics. But things move a lot faster in the 21st century and hyperspectral imaging is already in use in very high volume in consumer markets. In that regard we must look to […]
Source www.electronics-eetimes.com
Axis Communications Launches Nitrogen Pressurized Stainless Steel Dome Cameras
By Kirsty McMahon on January 28, 2014 Kent Fransson (Custom) World leader in network video, Axis Communications, has launched three outdoor-ready, marine-grade stainless steel cameras. These cameras enable 360° coverage of wide areas with resolutions of up to HDTV 1080p and zoomed-in detail with up to 36x optical zoom. The top-of-the-line AXIS Q60-S PTZ Dome Network Cameras, in nitrogen-pressurised stainless steel casings, are ideal for surveillance and remote monitoring applications in marine, mining, oil and gas environments, as well as food, medical and clean room manufacturing facilities. The rust-free cameras can resist the corrosive effect of sea water and cleaning chemicals, and withstand high-pressure steam cleaning, while the pressurized nitrogen casing prevents internal condensation. The cameras, with SAE 316L stainless steel and a nylon clear dome cover, can operate in -30°C to 50°C (-22°F to 122°F). In addition, they have IP66, IP6K9K, NEMA 4X and MIL-STD-810G 509.5 approvals, ensuring protection against dust, rain, high pressure/steam jet cleaning, snow, ice and salt fog. The Q60-S comes with a multi-connector cable and a media converter switch that allows for network connection using standard network or fiber optic cables. The switch also enables the cameras to connect to external alarm devices via two configurable input/output ports and to 12 V power. Stainless steel mounting accessories are sold separately. Kent Fransson, Product Manager for Axis, spoke to SecurityNewsDesk about the revolutionary product, saying, “The development of this camera came about following calls from the oil industry for a more durable camera that could […]
Source www.securitynewsdesk.com
Pilot Project Begins To Replace Your Hotel Key With Your Smartphone Using Bluetooth
Soon enough you’ll be able to walk into a hotel, straight past the front desk and have your door open automatically for you without any extra effort required, thanks to a new pilot project by Starwood Hotels (via WSJ ). Two hotels are debuting keyless entry via smartphones that have a companion app installed and can communicate via Bluetooth 4.0, one in Harlem and one in Cupertino, with both set to go live before the end of the first quarter of this year. Notably, the tech doesn’t use NFC, but rather opts for low-energy Bluetooth, which is available on Apple’s latest iPhone models as well as on most contemporary high-end Android smartphones. The implementation by Starwood would deploy virtual keys via their smartphone app to hotel guests, which would allow the guests to then open their hotel room door simply by tapping or gesturing with their device once they arrive. Starwood is bullish on the potential of the tech: CEO Frits van Paasschen told the WSJ that it believes this will be the “new standard” for hotel access, once it gets past the novelty stage. Of course, it has some potential limitations, like how to easily provision multiple keys for guests and their kids, as well as making sure that the tech is secure enough that patrons are comfortable with it. Plus, unforeseen parts of the check-in experience like arriving hours early are things that are often dealt with on the fly by the people manning the desk, so […]
Source techcrunch.com
a.p.i. Monitoring Adds Support For IP Communications From Bosch Systems
A long-discussed plan to bring free WiFi to downtown Beaufort could be up and running by the end of February. A “wire-cutting” ceremony is tentatively planned for Feb. 28. Main Street Beaufort, USA, has been working with Hargray Communications and the city of Beaufort on the plan, which would bring wireless Internet service to the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Transmission equipment would be set up at the park’s pavilion and at the restrooms near the playground. “I’m ready to pull my big scissors out of my closet and sharpen them up so we cut that wire,” Main Street Beaufort executive director LaNelle Fabian said. “I love when we cross long-term projects off our list.” To use the WiFi on a smartphone, tablet, computer or other device, people will have to pass through a landing page with advertisements, information and links related to Beaufort. The service, which will cost $9,000 for the first year, is being paid for in part by that advertising. There are 17 ad spaces, with costs ranging from $375 to $1,500 for the banner at the top of the page, Fabian said. “I tried to keep the price down and small-business friendly, because our first go-around is going to be to downtown businesses so they can target the people who are downtown,” she said. Main Street seeks $4,500 in accommodations-tax money from the city to pay for the rest. The accommodations tax, often referred to as a “bed tax,” is a levy on overnight lodging […]
Source www.islandpacket.com