The Security Week That Was: A Recap - Nov. 12-18, 2005

Nov. 18, 2005
SIW Editor Geoff Kohl gives a weekly surveillance of news shaping your profession

If you’ve ever wondered what the value is of the cameras you install -- beyond catching vandals or routine crime at your place of business -- then take a look at a court case this week from Florida. In the case, surveillance video from a car wash was key in putting away a Florida man who abducted, raped and killed a Florida girl. In an earlier story posted on SIW, the video was described as being used to pinpoint the suspect with the girl.

Less than a week later, the jury shut the case with a guilty verdict (see story), and the prosecution noted that the surveillance video, though grainy from possibly outdated technology, was instrumental in bringing the young girl's killer to justice. It's a good reminder that the technology we invest in, sell or install isn't always about the bottom line or ROI or even the commission, but that sometimes it's about creating justice in an often unjust world.

Cool security technology at casinos

Our ears perked up this week when Gaming Partners International announced that it will be supplying 600,000 RFID-enabled gaming chips to secure against counterfeiting and cheating at casinos. The chips are able to electronically register at readers, such as cash stations. The chips are making their first appearance at Macau, China casinos.

Different standards for different alarms

Here at SecurityInfoWatch.com, we recognize the problems that false alarms present to cash-strapped police and fire departments, and we recognize that some verified response policies (such as Fremont, Calif.) are a necessary evil when the budget is too tight and manpower of LEOs is just too low. However, Dallas is trying a unique approach, with a proposal to continue to respond to homeowners' alarms while putting business on a verified response policy. Read more here.

New wiretap requirement

The FCC made waves this week with its requirement that all network providers and VoIP providers make their systems wiretap-ready within 18 months. This speaks volumes about the convergence of phones and networking, and it may have an eventual fall-out for today's IP video systems that use leased networks for video transfer between facilities and security executives' stations or even monitoring stations.

Also of note this week...

On Wednesday, Steve Lasky (publisher/editor of Security Technology & Design) and I drove in from the suburbs for the monthly ASIS Atlanta chapter meeting. We had the pleasure of hearing from Richard C. Raisler, the director of community-wide security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. Raisler, a former member of the Secret Service assigned to the White House, discussed event security and offered insights based on his experiences securing presidential events. His look into "on the record" events versus "off the record" events was especially poignant in today's changed world.

Israel-based NICE Systems purchased FAST Video Security, a European maker of IP surveillance products. SYS Technologies also made a network video surveillance acquisition with its agreement to buy software company cVideo. Also in the world of acquisitions, Smiths Detection picked up LiveWave, a firm that handles networking of sensors.

We had reported earlier that rumors were circulating about Brink's selling off its global logistics and shipping company BAX Global. Those rumors were made true this week. Brink's sold the division, focusing all of its energies back on its core security business.

Securing New Ground wrapped up this week in NYC and the rumor is that there are major acquisitions on the table for 2006. Look for a show report on Monday from Cygnus Security Group's Susan Whitehurst.

Experts on CCTV, School Security and more

I want to underscore two new columns and a Q&A worth your time. Axis' Fredrik Nilsson continued with his "myths of IP surveillance"; Charlie Pierce began an in-depth look into video compression technologies, and ADT's Patrick Fiel sat down for a Q&A about school security in response to last week's fatal shooting at a Tennessee high school.

That's all for this week. Stay safe, keep your people and facilities secure, and check out SecurityInfoWatch.com for the latest news affecting our profession.

The Weekly Top Stories (see what your peers are reading):

  • Dispelling the Top 10 Myths of IP Surveillance: Myth No. 9
  • Is Access Control Ready to Take Control?
  • Our Man in the Field: The Process of the IP Solution, Part IX
  • Dispelling the Top 10 Myths of IP Surveillance: Myth No. 1
  • Changing Technology and Procedures to Prevent Against School Violence
  • LP Managers Work to Shut Down a Major Shoplifting Operation in Oregon