5 December 2012

Bob Ayers joins Glasswall Solutions

As commercial director  Bob Ayers, a 30 year US intelligence officer in the US Army and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), has recently joined Glasswall Solutions, a UK security company who protect against ‘malware in file’ based attacks, as Commercial Director. One of his first roles has been to launch the first commercially available solution for examining and correcting file structure and removing harmful content from file objects, through a partnership with UK cyber security software provider Assuria. While in the DIA, Bob was responsible for the security of over 40,000 computer systems that processed classified information in the US Army, US Air Force, the US Marine Corps and all Defence Agencies (less the National Security Agency). After making major changes to the way Department of Defence (DoD) classified information processing systems were developed, fielded and accredited, Bob was appointed to head a program to improve the security of all (Classified and unclassified) information processing systems in the US DoD.   With a staff of over 150 personnel and an annual budget of over $100 Million Bob instituted a major improvement program for DoD computer security. He:   1.      Implemented the 1st DoD Computer Incident Response Team 2.      Initiated a new and improved system for the certification and accreditation of all DoD Systems 3.      Created professional computer security specialists in the DoD. This involved creating a new occupational speciality of Computer Security Specialist via the setting of professional standards, creating a training and education program, and creating a new career path for computer security personnel. 4.      Established the first DoD malicious code analysis and evaluation program 5.      Established the first program to evaluate commercial security products being considered for us by the US DoD. Bob was next appointed as the Director of the US DoD Defensive Warfare Program, where he was responsible for protecting US DoD systems from attack by organised adversaries such as nation states and international groups.      

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SecurityNewsDesk.com appointed as exclusive video provider for Intersec 2013

Messe Frankfurt has signed an agreement with Security Media Publishing, appointing it as the exclusive video media provider to Intersec 2013. Security Media Publishing is a world leader in security event TV production, producing daily news reports from a number of shows under the SecurityNewsDesk TV brand. The SecurityNewsDesk TV team will provide daily news reports covering each of the five product sections at Intersec – Commercial Security, Information Security, Fire & Rescue, Safety & Health and Homeland Security. The video news reports will be recorded on the show floor and edited overnight. The finished productions will be available on the Internet each morning of the show and promoted to tens of thousands of security professionals through the Intersec and SMP email databases. Tom Reeve, editor of SecurityNewsDesk and lead producer of SecurityNewsDesk TV, said, “This will be one of our most challenging productions to date, but we are excited to be working with Messe Frankfurt and the team at Intersec to produce what we expect will be our best news reports yet.” SMP’s Director of Media, Peter Mawson, said, “We’ve been providing event organisers with new ways of delivering news from their show floors for some years now. With over 100 productions to our name, to be working with such a prestigious provider of Security, Fire and Safety events, as Messe Frankfurt is a privilege as well as an acknowledgement of the global standing of our productions. “I have seen Intersec grow from year one and this decision by the organisers to uplift the way their show news is delivered is further acknowledgement that Messe Frankfurt are truly leading the way in the Middle East. Being able to present the highlights from the event in short, easy-to-absorb news reports will mean even more people will be able to benefit from the knowledge and expertise that Intersec brings together.’’ The announcement provides opportunities for exhibitors to gain additional profile for their brands at the event including sponsorship, video news items and tailored productions. The sponsorship opportunity would place your brand front and centre on one or more of our video news reports. Or if you don’t want to sponsor the video news, you can book the NewsDesk team to appear on your stand and create a professionally produced video message. This one-minute video will put the spotlight on your company and be available for: Distribution through our extensive email databases Uploading to our popular YouTube channel Uploading to your company website Copying to laptops and mobile devices for use by your sales staff “We have found that exhibitions are the ideal environment in which to record interviews and demonstrations,” said Tom Reeve. “Shows have a buzz about them that looks and sounds great on video. You often have just the right people on hand to do product demonstrations or be your company spokesperson – and the stand, meticulously dressed with products and branding, is the ideal backdrop for it.” Peter Mawson added: “It’s a cost-effective way to gain additional benefit from your investment in appearing at the show. To add further value, Security Media will release your footage to our own databases to give you access not only to the visitors to the show but the rest of the industry as well.” Reserve your filming slot and discuss your requirements, contact The Intersec organisers’ team Roisin Bailey +971 4 38 94 551 roisin.bailey@uae.messefrankfurt.com Security Media Publishing Ltd Peter Mawson +44(0) 1543 250456 peter@securitynewsdesk.com

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Derek Maltby interview: How effective is CCTV?

We asked Derek Maltby, Managing Director of the independent security consultancy Global MSC Security, to offer his thoughts on some of the questions asked in icomply’s survey for control room managers and operators, ‘How effective is CCTV?’ Do the police inform control rooms of evidence captured? “One of the big bugbears of people running CCTV operations is that they  rarely get any feedback, even though some of the offences they have captured are quite serious.  With ‘not guilty’ pleas, the evidence is challenged in court and the control room staff may be aware of what’s happening.  But with ‘guilty’ pleas, the information goes underground and doesn’t get fed back to those who’d like to know the results of their efforts. Most of the CCTV sites that we have visited are not informed of the results of any court cases by the police as, generally, the police don’t know the results themselves.  If guilty pleas are made by the person who is arrested, then the evidence isn’t challenged, the CCTV evidence isn’t used, and the person is found guilty.  I think control rooms would like to know what an offender is found guilty of, as they may be charged with a number of offences. But when everyone is cutting costs, why would the police put another process to inform others of the outcome of a court case?  Perhaps the answer is to have something trigger in the GUI to say when the court date is and what the result is.  There has to be a way to speed up the process – somebody knows what the result is.  People have criminal records, of course, and those are updated by someone.  Control rooms need something that will send a message to some authorised person, so that they can cascade that result. Operators are like any witnesses.  If someone witnesses a crime in a street and make a statement, they would be interested to know what happens.  They’ve done their duty to help uphold the law, and it’s just human nature that you want to know what happens.  The same applies with operators – it can be disillusioning to never find out the result of the court case.   I’m not sure if the National CCTV Strategy that was published five years ago addressed those issues.  There’s so many things that could make CCTV more effective, and providing feedback that what you’ve reported is worthwhile would make a significant impact.” Do control rooms charge insurance companies? “We recommend to our clients that they should charge for the information they’re providing.  A lot of control rooms will just charge £10 as a subject access request, but the information is obtained on a very expensive system.  Why aren’t insurance companies contributing towards the costs of this?  The nominal £10 charge doesn’t go towards offsetting any of the associated costs of getting the recording, so that’s something that public space CCTV should attempt to recoup.” If you’d like to take icomply’s survey to win 12 bottles of wine worth over £100, please visit our survey.  Prize draw closes 7/12/12. See more of the interview with Derek Maltby talking about the Global MSC Security Seminar 2012 in Leeds on icomply’s YouTube channel.  

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ODSecurity opens new US office in Texas

ODSecurity, manufacturers of the SOTER RS Security Through Body Scanner, one of the world’s most advanced security x-ray scanning systems, continues to expand its presence around the globe with the opening of a new office in the USA. The new branch, ODSecurity USA, will be based at College Station, Texas, USA, and will provide sales operations, as well as offer customer training, product demonstrations and technical support to customers in the United States and Canada. “The Soter is currently in operation worldwide, and our customers include custodial facilities, customs and airport security operators,” said Jan Steven Van Wingerden, CEO of ODSecurity in the Netherlands. “The new office represents our commitment to bringing our world class product, technical support and customer service to customers in this key US market.” The new office opened this month and will be managed by John Shannon who said “The level of customer interest in the introduction of Through Body Scanning capability into the US Correctional Facility market justifies our establishment of a dedicated operation.” The SOTER RS is a low dosage full body scanner which combines ultra low radiation with maximum visibility, for use at airports and prisons. Within seconds the SOTER RS reveals hidden items, such as weapons or narcotics, diamonds, or any stolen or smuggled goods. It doesn’t even have to be metal. The SOTER RS shows a clear difference between human tissues and other materials. Even ingested or camouflaged items will be shown. For more information on ODSecurity’s range of products or to arrange a demonstration, please contact Jan Steven Van Wingerden at j.s.van.wingerden@odsecurity.com or John Shannon at john.shannon@odsecurity.com www.odsecurity.com

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Quebec police to use PureActiv video analytics for detection and monitoring

  PureTech Systems has announced  the selection and installation of its Scene Analyzer edge device on several mobile platforms to help the City of Blainville, Quebec,  Canada. It will provide mobile surveillance including the ability to monitor vehicle and people movement throughout the city.  The deployment, procured through the City of Blainville police department, will utilize video analytics and consist of several mobile sensor platforms aimed at monitoring various areas throughout the city for general surveillance purposes including detection and tracking of both people and vehicles. The first phase includes two police investigation kits, which are being designed and built by Panavidéo.  The mobile platforms, referred to as “police investigation kits,” house a variety of sensors, including both fixed and PTZ cameras.  Each kit is also equipped with a cellular link for remote monitoring of the sensors and their alarms via a central monitoring location.  Each kit will include PureTech’s edge device, the Scene Analyzer, which will be responsible for the various video analytic functions, including video detection, classification and tracking.  The resulting alarm and video data will be monitored on a Genetec Security Center VMS, via a recent integration of the popular VMS with PureTech Systems video analytics software. The City of Blainville lies to the north of Montreal and serves as a satellite for that larger city’s working professionals.  Its 51% population growth over the past decade and its large number of events and venues has driven the need for the mobile surveillance capability.   “We developed the scene analyzer edge device specifically for applications like Blainville, where video analytics are needed at the edge,” explains Kevin Campbell, Vice President of Sales at PureTech Systems.  “The scene analyzer has the same level of functionality as our enterprise solution, PureActiv, but it is designed for a fewer number of video inputs and resides on a small compact computing platform versus a rack mounted server.”   In addition to its capability to provide the full suite of geospatial video analytics, the scene analyzer can also accommodate a full range of 3rd party security integrations, including the Genetec Security Center integration featured at Blainville.  The city has currently identified over 32 places where the kits should be deployed on a regular basis. Contact www.puretechsystems.com

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Project CREOLE receives Ministerial Acquisition Award

QinetiQ are delighted to announce that Project CREOLE received a Ministerial Acquisition Award. As prime contractor, QinetiQ delivered full operational capability in August 2012, supporting the Joint & Battlefield Trainers, Simulations & Synthetic Environments (JBTSE) Project Team and Collective Training Group (CTG), Land Warfare Centre. The Award was made to the CREOLE Team which comprised of JBTSE, CTG and QinetiQ Training and Simulation Services Team as the Prime Contractor by Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology at a short ceremony at the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall on the 27th November 2012. Project Creole meets an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) with significant enhancements to existing capabilities already provided by QinetiQ under Synthetic Wrap. QinetiQ’s AIME technology links existing in-field instrumentation to a simulated environment enabling live assets to appear within the virtual battlespace. To enhance training, a Computer Generated Forces (CGF) capability accurately injects military and civilian activity on demand, and virtual assets (such as Unmanned Aerial Systems) are available for control in real time. Operational commitments have led to an increased number of Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities becoming available. Project CREOLE integrates core base ISTAR capabilities into the Synthetic Wrap, including an array of cameras and sensors. The system integrates Government-owned, Commercial Off-The Shelf (COTS) and bespoke components to offer an enhanced training capability within the current training area envelope. Outputs such as Full Motion Video (FMV) from aerial systems or perimeter cameras (whether Live or Synthetic) provide realistic training inputs across multiple command levels. A debriefing capability also allows the recording, replay and analysis of an exercise for both training and experimentation output. Miles Adcock, Managing Director of QinetiQ Training and Simulation Services said “I am absolutely delighted by this award. Delivery of a programme as complex as CREOLE not only highlights our own capabilities, but the strength of our partnerships within MoD as QinetiQ continue to provide the Synthetic Wrap service at training locations across the UK, Canada, Germany and Kenya.” Contact www.QinetiQ.com

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