United Nations recognise peace process developments in the country

he members of the Security Council welcomed encouraging developments in South Sudan’s peace process, including the beginning of the formation of a Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGNU), and recognised that this represents a significant step towards sustainable peace by the parties to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.

The members of the Security Council also welcomed the spirit of compromise and political will demonstrated by the parties in order to create the conditions necessary to advance the peace process.

The members of the Security Council called on the signatories to the Agreement to finalise establishment of the R-TGNU and all transitional institutions, including the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Agreement, which is necessary to build trust between parties and consolidate steps taken towards lasting peace.

The members of the Security Council commended the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for its leadership in advancing the peace process for South Sudan, the mobilisation of the African Union and all other international stakeholders for their important contributions. The members of the Security Council underscored the need for continued and active engagement on South Sudan by the region and the international community to ensure that peace, stability and prosperity are restored in the country.

The members of the Security Council recalled the costs of continued armed conflict in South Sudan and stressed the importance of full implementation of the Agreement. The members of the Security Council urged all parties to ensure the full and meaningful participation of women, youth, faith groups and civil society in implementation of the Agreement.

The members of the Security Council expressed concern at the dire humanitarian situation in South Sudan and reiterated the need for the parties on the ground to facilitate, in a manner consistent with relevant provisions of international law, the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The members of the Security Council underscored the pressing need for accountability for continuing human rights abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence, and violations of international humanitarian law in South Sudan. They welcomed the Comprehensive Action Plan to End and Prevent All Grave Violations against Children signed by the Government on February 7, 2020 and called for its swift implementation.

The members of the Security Council recalled the obligations for the Government of South Sudan set forth under the Status-of-Forces Agreement with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and called upon the Government to allow UNMISS freedom of movement to implement its mandate to protect civilians, monitor and investigate human rights, support the delivery of humanitarian assistance and support implementation of the Agreement.

The members of the Security Council stressed that actions which threaten the peace, security or stability of South Sudan may be subject to sanctions under resolutions 2206 (2015), 2290 (2016), 2353 (2017), 2428 (2018) and 2471 (2019).

The members of the Security Council reiterated their support for the people of South Sudan and reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of the Republic of South Sudan.

alarms

Alertex IP Bridges in Education

Luminite are delighted to announce that, following feedback from larger school estates, Alertex IP Bridges can now be linked, meaning any number of devices can be installed on a site. The IP bridge connects Alertex devices to a local network enabling a school to remotely monitor lockdown devices. The bridge reports which unit has been triggered, allows for remote tests of the system both site wide or individual tests and reports low battery and signal strength status. It also facilitates text and email notifications to key personnel. Recent development of the IP bridge software means that Bridges can now be linked. This has a number of advantages – it allows for larger schools to have an unlimited number of lockdown devices on a site. It also means that bridges can be linked without location restrictions. Within a Trust, for example, one site can see activations or check on the health of the system across all the school locations within the group, as long as they are on the same network. The system consists of a master IP bridge device (Main Zone) and multiple slave devices (each representing a separate Zone). The Master bridge serves as the primary control unit whilst the slave bridge relays information and activates or deactivates as instructed. Each bridge and the units assigned to that bridge work on a selected frequency to prevent interference and ensure reliable communication. Frequency changes are made using the BLE terminal app. Each slave has a unique Device ID and static local IP and is linked via the master IP bridge’s web interface, where it can be assigned a zone name. The master operates independently if no slaves are connected, covering a single UHF zone. Adding slaves expands the system, with all devices communicating over the local network. Users monitor all Alertex devices from the master interface.

13 May 2025

security

Verkada introduces new dual-head camera

Verkada announced its new dual head camera and enhanced alerting capabilities on its Command platform, along with a wide range of updates that will make it even easier for its customers around the world to keep their people and places safe. Verkada is expanding its multisensor line with a new dual head camera, the CY53-E Two-Camera Multisensor. With two viewing angles from a single install point, an advanced onboard processor, and 2.55x optical zoom in each sensor, organizations can minimize potential blindspots with increased visibility and AI-based analytics and alerts. Verkada also introduced enhanced alerting capabilities that enable customers to integrate Verkada Guest, LPR, Alarm events, and Helix events into Verkada’s Alert Inbox. This means that security teams at a manufacturing site can now receive an alert anytime a visitor or contractor arrives on-site, or a luxury retailer can get an alert anytime a customer purchases a specific high-value product. This will significantly enhance its customers’ ability to monitor, assess, and respond to critical issues. “Each new product and feature that we introduce is purpose-built to serve our customers’ evolving needs,” said Brandon Davito, Senior Vice President of Product and Operations at Verkada. “Whether it’s our new two-camera multisensor to monitor entry and exit points more effectively or our customizable, cross-product alerting capabilities, every addition to Verkada’s platform is designed to support efficient enterprise deployments today and scale with our customers into the future.” Verkada also announced a range of additional product and platform updates, including: Deeper integration between Alarms and Access Control with the addition of door event triggers – door opened, door held open, and door forced open events – to the Verkada Alarms solution. Like intrusion sensors, any access control alarm trigger can be assigned to alarm partitions, paired with cameras for video verification, and subject to the same arm/disarm methods as schedules or key codes. Features designed for enhanced emergency response with Verkada’s Intercom, including the ability to create a unique, local phone number associated with outgoing Intercom calls. This not only gives organizations more visibility and the ability to call and “talk down” to a specific intercom, but also enables them to configure 911 dialing for blue light deployments or emergency scenarios. Continued improvement to the visitor experience with an expanded set of on-demand credentials that organizations can grant for temporary building access, which now includes PIN and QR code options, as well as a new Cisco Meraki integration that provides guests with automatic access to the WiFi network at check-in. Enhanced features and functionalities that speed up investigations, including the ability to group persons of interest into lists and the expansion of History Player Search to include vehicles. New deterrence capabilities, with a wireless siren and strobe that can be triggered by Verkada Alarms. Verkada is also enhancing large site support across its Alarms product with the ability to now connect an unlimited number of its BK22 keypads with one ethernet drop and reducing wiring costs with the ability to daisy-chain up to four of its BE32 expanders. Enhanced functionality for customers on-the-go with Verkada Guest, LPR functionality, Floorplans, and “My Account” page now available in the Command mobile app. Refreshed UI and search experience in Command that will make it even easier for security administrators to navigate their settings on Verkada’s platform, with instant filtering and new feature groupings. Verkada customers can now simply type keywords related to any Command admin setting and find what they need.

12 May 2025

Access Control

Critical new foreword to EN 15269-2

ASSA ABLOY Door Group is drawing attention to a critical update in fire safety standards that significantly impacts the design and specification of steel fire doorsets. A new UK National Foreword has been published alongside the revised version of the extended application (EXAP) standard EN 15269-2, following concerns raised within the industry about potentially unsafe design practices previously permitted under the standard. Industry testing revealed that the addition of a threshold to a steel fire doorset – previously allowed without further evidence under EN 15269-2 – can compromise fire performance, particularly when used with certain core constructions commonly specified in the UK. While this concern arose too late to influence the technical content of the revised standard, the UK voted against its publication due to these safety implications. Despite this, the revised EN 15269-2 proceeded following broader European consensus, with only a limited amendment stating that thresholds should be constructed from fire-resistant material. To address the resulting gap and guide industry best practice, BSI has now issued a UK National Foreword. Although non-normative, it provides an explicit advisory that thresholds should only be included where supported by direct fire testing evidence to EN 1634-1. This foreword reflects growing awareness and internal industry discussions on the risks posed by assumptions in fire doorset design, and aligns with guidance currently being communicated to members by the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF). Brian Sofley, Managing Director at Door Group, said: “ASSA ABLOY Door Group welcomes this clarification and strongly encourages manufacturers, specifiers, and contractors to act on the guidance now available. Ensuring fire doorsets are supported by robust test evidence is essential for protecting lives and meeting compliance expectations.” In line with this, ASSA ABLOY Door Group confirms that its Powershield range of steel fire doorsets meets the most rigorous fire testing requirements, including full compliance with EN 1634-1. This ensures that Powershield doors not only meet regulatory standards but also provide a high level of assurance in real fire conditions. To learn more about Door Group and the range of products and services it provides, go to https://www.assaabloy.com/uk/en.

6 May 2025

ANPR

Genetec launches AutoVu plugin

Genetec announced the AutoVu ANPR Analysis Reports plugin, an advanced investigation tool that expands ANPR-based forensic search capabilities within Genetec Security Center. The new plugin empowers law enforcement officers and investigators to quickly narrow down a pool of suspects using vehicle behavior patterns—specifically driving speed and travel cohorts. By eliminating manual data sorting and enabling targeted, efficient analysis, the tool is designed to save investigators critical time. “This plugin gives investigators what they need to close cases faster,” said Steve Hins, Product Group Manager, ANPR at Genetec Inc. “With just a few clicks, they can spot patterns and behaviors in vehicle data that would otherwise take hours or days to uncover manually.” The AutoVu ANPR Analysis Reports plugin offers two key functionalities: With the Cohort Analysis feature, investigators can identify vehicles that consistently travel with another vehicle of a known license plate—revealing patterns that may point to coordination, accomplices, or organized criminal activity. Instead of manually reviewing read reports, officers can input a known plate, select relevant ANPR cameras, and define how often vehicles appear together (e.g., within a few seconds, across multiple cameras). The system then identifies potential vehicle cohorts instantly. In cases like organized retail theft, this is especially valuable: a known suspect vehicle might be linked to multiple incidents, and cohort analysis can reveal if another vehicle, such as a getaway car, is consistently nearby, helping investigators quickly narrow down their pool of suspects. The Time and Speed Analysis feature enables investigators to quickly identify vehicles exhibiting outlier behavior, such as those fleeing a crime scene, by comparing the estimated speed of vehicles traveling between two ANPR cameras. Officers simply select cameras located within a zone of interest and define a time frame (e.g., one to five minutes). The system then generates a report listing all vehicles that passed both cameras, along with their estimated speeds. This enables investigators to immediately spot anomalies—such as a vehicle traveling 60 mph in an area where most were going 30—without sifting through thousands of license plate reads. In incidents like a hit-and-run, this tool helps pinpoint suspects in seconds by revealing which vehicles sped through a defined area right after the event. Availability The AutoVu ANPR Analysis Reports plugin is available globally as a paid add-on for Security Center, through the Genetec network of accredited channel partners.

6 May 2025

banking

A Breakthrough in Fraud Detection at GISEC

DuoKey will unveil its groundbreaking use case for encrypted financial intelligence at GISEC Global in Dubai next week. Designed to address the challenges of fraud detection and regulatory compliance, this approach, which combines Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) and Multi-Party Computation (MPC)-based Key Management (KMS), allows financial institutions to analyse encrypted transactions in real time without ever decrypting sensitive data. In a global financial landscape where illicit transactions exceed $2 trillion annually and compliance fines topped $10.4 billion on a yearly basis according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, DuoKey confidential AI use case for the financial sector demonstrates how financial institutions can securely process high-risk transaction patterns, perform watchlist screening and assess customer risk profile, while preserving end-to-end encryption and maintaining jurisdictional data control. “Traditional approaches expose data during analysis, creating systemic security gaps,” said Nagib Aouini, CEO of DuoKey. “Our use case shows how FHE and MPC-based KMS together allow financial institutions to detect fraud, meet AML obligations and collaborate securely without any compromise on data confidentiality or sovereignty.” DuoKey financial intelligence solution enables secure collaboration between banks, regulators, and fintech providers by allowing cross-border investigation and compliance workflows without revealing underlying customer data. This addresses a longstanding roadblock to industry-wide fraud detection while complying with privacy and regulatory standards such as GDPR, FATF, and PCI DSS. Visitors to GISEC Global will get the opportunity to explore the live use case at the DuoKey booth (D-120, Hall 6) starting on May 6 until May 8. Schedule your personalised demo at GISEC Global to see how DuoKey financial intelligence enhances fraud detection and compliance. Demonstrations include real-time transaction scoring, encrypted rule-based screening and dynamic anti money laundering (AML) analytics all with performance benchmarks that rival traditional unencrypted systems.

2 May 2025

Access Control

HID Redefines Physical and Digital Security Integration

HID announced the launch of HID Integration Service, a platform that integrates physical security, cybersecurity and digital identity management. This integration platform-as-a-service (IPaaS) was designed to empower application developers, solution integrators and software vendors to seamlessly and rapidly integrate essential physical security solutions, streamlining processes and enhancing system interoperability. By doing so, the platform aims to ease the burden of maintenance and upgrades associated with managing and implementing integrations between physical security and cybersecurity systems, thereby lowering costs, streamlining operations and significantly reducing implementation time. “Organizations have long struggled with brittle, complex integrations and the costs to maintain them,” said Martin Ladstaetter, senior vice president and head of Identity and Access Management Solutions at HID. “HID Integration Service eliminates these pain points by providing an integration platform that connects physical and digital security products, reducing time to market for development partners who are building the next generation of security solutions with greater speed, quality, resilience and value.” HID Integration Service directly addresses the top benefits security leaders seek from unified management solutions—improved efficiencies, simplified management and enhanced visibility—helping them: Reduce operational complexities and maintenance costs. Deliver new security capabilities faster into tailored industry solutions. Simplify security touchpoints through streamlined user experiences. Key features include: A comprehensive integration layer that scales from point-to-point connections into multi-party integrations Pre-built integrations that accelerate deployment and reduce development costs Scalability and security to support rapidly evolving business needs HID is privileged to have a few early adopters on the platform. Each brings deep expertise and robust capabilities across various technologies, verticals and security domains. “We are excited about HID’s new integration platform capabilities, which we believe can only add to SwiftConnect’s ability to meet our customers’ expectations and broader needs in the commercial real estate and enterprise markets,” according to Matt Kopel, co-founder and co-CEO of SwiftConnect. “The alignment of vision and direction between our companies will enhance and multiply the business changes our customers are pursuing,” continued Kopel. “We envision a world where ID photos magically arrive in their intended location without human intervention,” said Luke Rettstatt, chief executive officer of CloudCard. “To realize this vision, we must develop and maintain many integrations, which is daunting for a small team. HID Integration Service allows us to focus on RemotePhoto’s AI workflow rather than building and maintaining certified integrations with third parties.” This growing demand for seamless integration and efficiency is reflected in HID’s 2025 State of Security and Identity Report. According to the report, 67% of security leaders are actively transitioning to software-driven security solutions, with nearly three-quarters of organizations considering unified data collection critical to their operations. For more information about the HID Integration Service visit the website.

1 May 2025