SecurityInfoWatch.com Blogs

So I’ve got to admit, when I first started working for Security Dealer a year ago this week, I had a lot to learn.  (Of course, learning never stops, but you know what I mean…)  As I look back on my first weeks on the job last February, one of the first concepts that caught my attention was “convergence.”  As someone who started playing computer games in the first grade, designed Web sites in high school, and studied computer science in college, the idea of IT and physical security converging for new and better security solutions made sense to me.  However, I did find one thing about it troubling: Why was it taking so long?  Hadn’t high-speed internet practically saturated both the residential and commercial markets by 2001?  Shouldn’t most security solutions already be networked in 2006?  Well, at least that’s what I thought.   

One year later, I like to think that I now have a better understanding as to why older technologies have remained profitable for security dealers, manufacturers, etc.  I also have a better appreciation for the efforts that companies are making in order to transition their customers to newer technologies.  For instance, we are seeing hybrid solutions popping up in both access control and video surveillance, allowing people to gradually transition on their own terms. Moving from standard prox cards to smart cards or even biometrics comes to mind, as does the transition from analog to digital video. 

One of the topics that I find most interesting is convergence, and more specifically, how dealers are adapting.  I can see where some people who have been running good security dealerships for years might be hesitant to switch over to network-based solutions, especially when their customers aren’t demanding it and they’re still turning profits.  On the other hand, others see a bold new world and are hungry to learn new technologies in order to seize the future.  Some people are embracing the changes of convergence, whereas others are resisting.   It’s a compelling topic because the stakes are so high.   

-Greg

So, I’m not in San Francisco this week attending the RSA Conference, despite my wishes. But I have been enjoying some of the blog reports coming out of this IT security show. Now some might be asking why I should pay attention to an IT-focused show like the RSA conference when our industry is still (despite all the buzz) heavily focused on gates, fences, analog cameras, guards and old reed-style contacts for intrusion detection. The answer should be obvious. While yes, mag stripe cards and security fencing may still define much of commercial security, it’s rapidly moving beyond that and I’m watching our industry as a whole pay a lot more attention to what’s happening at the RSA Conference versus the FenceTech show.

Some of the things I like coming out of the RSA show:

– Data privacy and network authentication are topics we harp upon. So, apparently, does Bill Gates. In his address to the crowd, he was talking a identity authentication, smart cards and a migration from passwords to something of recognition or token presentation. Jack Vaughn covered the topic as part of TheServerSide.net blog community.

– We got a press release from a company you probably know well if you’re delivering access control systems: HID Corporation. The folks at HID were at RSA demonstrating what they call their Crescendo technology. Cut to the chase — it’s their card technology designed specifically for converged physical and network access. Given that they demoed this new product at the RSA show, it’s a touch of commentary on who will be leading convergence.

– You put a bunch of security people in a room and they’re naturally suspicious. At the RSA show they naturally try to bust each other’s chops in regards to network security and notebood security. AirDefense was apparently playing that game. The company was trying to spot unprotected wifi devices, and even noted some wireless networks pretending to be the official RSA network.

– How many articles have you seen from industry magazines talking about how to talk to your company executives about security investments? Don’t we always think that when IT security wants something, they get it instantly, but we’ve got to prove that the camera for the parking lot is worth the money? Well, it’s no different on the other side of the fence. SC Magazine is a good read for IT-specific security professionals, and I love this report from RSA 2007 talking about how to convince the C-level that IT security spending is worthwhile. It’s proof that security expenditures are handled the same way, whether you’re on the “physical” or the “logical” team.

–Geoff