​BUSINESS NEWS

Fraud in online transactions can mean trouble for both customers and businesses. Looking into the problem, iovation analyzed 240 million Internet transactions from August 2013. The company found that 30.2 percent of transactions conducted from Tor were fraudulent, compared with an overall fraud rate of 1 percent for all online transactions that month.

Tor (originally known as “the onion router” because of its layers of encryption) enables people to browse the Internet anonymously. It is used by an estimated 500,000 to 1.5 million people each day. While many users simply want to protect their identities from exposure, criminals can also exploit the anonymity provided by Tor. For example, experts believe that a dramatic increase in Tor use last summer was due to a botnet that may have engaged the service.

By identifying high-risk devices and transactions, iovation’s ReputationManager 360 service helps customers reduce fraudulent activity on their Web sites. The service leverages current and past device behavior intelligence to stop fraud, and it thwarts more than 200,000 fraud attempts daily.

PARTNERSHIPS AND DEALS

Under a new partnership, Saker Solutions Limited will sell and support security optimization software and virtual guard force training software from ARES Security Corporation in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Barix AG is supporting Crestron Rava-enabled touch screens, enabling device communication with analog door stations to provide voice intercom, telephone, and paging without a central server.

CNL Software has integrated its physical security information management software with Future Fibre Technologies central alarm monitoring system for an installation at a major U.S. refinery.

Napa State Hospital is using a location-aware safety alert solution from Ekahau Inc. for keeping track of patients and staff. The system was installed by AT&T and NetXperts.

Emergency Communications Network has acquired the emergency notification contracts of Global Connect, a Web-based voice messaging provider.

I.D. Systems, Inc., is providing its PowerFleet wireless vehicle management systems to the Raymond Corporation.

IndigoVision has developed a module that enables seamless communication between its control center management software and the Southwest Microwave INTREPID perimeter detection system.

IQinVision is providing HD megapixel cameras for enhanced security to the Woonstad Rotterdam Housing Corporation.

Ashcroft Law Firm, LLC, is using encryption technology from KoolSpan Inc. to secure voice and data communications.

Maxxess Systems security systems provide integration to KONE Corporation elevator access control interface. One customer using the integrated product is the Samrya Twin Towers in Qatar.

The Nuclear Protection Academy is working with Total Protection Services Global to provide training resources for security professionals at nuclear power facilities.

Quantico Tactical is now the official police equipment supplier and strategic alliance sponsor for the FBI National Academy Associates.

Raytec infrared LED illuminators have been installed at Headingley Cricket stadium, home of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club. They provide light for the stadium’s dome cameras.

Webalo mobile access products are now being distributed in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg by BPMpartner B.V.

Y3K has been helping Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace football clubs’s ground in South London, to upgrade the CCTV system.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

Caddo Parish Public Schools in Louisiana is upgrading its video surveillance system. Stanley Security Solutions is managing and installing the project, using cameras from IQinVision.

The FBI is using biometric technology from MorphoTrak in its nationwide palm print identification system. Lockheed Martin is the integrator on the Bureau’s Next Generation Identification system.

G4S Technology has installed access control and CCTV systems at six West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust sites. The system is being installed at each of the 15 Make Ready Hubs around the region and at Trust Headquarters.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has ordered liquid detection technology from Optosecurity in preparation for the upcoming partial liquid ban lift in Europe.

Smith & Wesson Security Solutions has received a contract from the U.S. Army and Engineering Support Center, Huntsville, Alabama, to provide access control point design and construction services at U.S. Department of Defense installations.

The Byron Rogers Federal Building in Denver is being renovated and includes blast hazard-mitigating windows made by Wausau Window and Wall Systems and installed by Harmon, Inc.

Wavesight and OCS Security Services are deploying communication infrastructure for a wireless CCTV network in the Boston area of Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. The Lincolnshire Council worked directly with OCS to keep expenses low.

AWARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS

The ASIS Accolades awards for security’s best new products were given at the ASIS 59th Annual Seminar and Exhibits in Chicago. The winning companies were Axis Communications; DAQ Electronics, LLC; FST21 Ltd.; HID Global; Medeco Security Locks; Samsung Techwin America; Sargent Manufacturing Company; Securitron Magnalock Corporation; SRI International Sarnoff; and Thermal Imaging Radar, LLC.

AMAG Technology has announced that Network Harbor and Panasonic Corporation of North America are Certified Partners in AMAG’s Symmetry Extended Business Solutions Program.

Contemporary Services Corporation has received SAFETY Act designation for crowd management and event security services.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted several patents to HID Global for gesture-based methods of authentication.

Moxa announced that its headquarters for Global Design and Engineering operations received Aon Hewitt’s Best Employers Taiwan 2013 award for superior employee engagement and leadership.

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., was awarded the Supply Chain Security and Loss Prevention Council 2013 Award for Excellence in Security for the second year in a row.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ASTM International is launching an initiative to develop standards for body armor worn by military and criminal justice personnel. The effort is being supported by the National Institute of Justice, the U.S. Army Program Executive Office, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

American Fibertek Inc. has posted new product videos on the YouTube social media site.

Avigilon has published The CCTV Manifesto, which outlines a six-point plan for responsible surveillance. It can be downloaded from avigilon.com.

Blancco has developed a white paper offering guidelines to ensure secure and efficient erasure of data from mobile devices. The paper is available at blancco.com.

Industrial Scientific Corporation has sold its Oldham fixed-point gas detection business to Industrial Safety Technologies.

Vicon Industries Inc. has launched a Spanish language Web site at vicon-security.mx.

ASIS NEWS

Security Buyers Forum a Smash Hit

In July, ASIS International held a first-of-its-kind event at Loews Ventana Canyon, Tucson, Arizona. The ASIS Diamond Club Security Buyers Forum was an invitation-only, hosted venue to provide one-on-one, in-person buying experiences between security professionals and solution providers who matched their need.

The forum drew security executives associated with buying from product categories such as access control, biometric technology, computer security, detection equipment, IPvideo surveillance, perimeter protection, and more. To be invited, the buyers had to be in charge of an annual security budget of at least $1 million or the company had to have Fortune 500 standing. Buyers also had to be in search of supplier solutions and have purchasing plans scheduled within the next 12 to 18 months, and they had to be the final decision makers or key members of their companies’ buying teams. The travel, hotel, and group meal expenses for qualified security executives were covered. In return, they agreed to attend all prearranged appointments with solution providers.

Rick de Treville, CPP, director of security for CNL Commercial Real Estate, was one such buyer who received an invitation to the event. Thinking, at first, that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” de Treville says he found that the forum had a “very gracious tone. We were very kind to the vendors, and they were very kind to us.”

The forum, he states, “served a real purpose. It let both sides see that each had needs, and to say, ‘Let’s lay them all out and see what fits and what doesn’t.’ It was an open-ended kind of atmosphere.”

De Treville explains that the solutions providers made 20-minute presentations, during which they gave an overview of their products or services along with a relevant case study. Afterward, buyers had prearranged one-on-one meetings with vendors who had products of particular interest. “It was like speed dating,” de Treville jokes.

One buyer who met with a number of vendors was Kelly S. Klatt, CPP, director of safety and security at Loews Hotels at Universal Orlando. Klatt says he found the interaction with the vendors to be “very informative two-way streets. I learned more about their products and services, and they were able to learn more about my industry and how their products fit into our environment. I was also able to meet with a few specific providers, who are now working with me on a major hotel project.”

De Treville also made a purchase from one of the forum’s solution providers. “So, I am living proof that this format made sense because it humanized the [vendor] and gave me the opportunity to truly evaluate whether that company’s products can fit your business needs,” he comments. Additionally, the social aspects of the event, such as luncheons, allowed the buyers and vendors to connect on a deeper level. “We got to know them as people,” he says.

Among the companies that participated were Axis Communications; Altronix; iView Systems; Competitive Edge Software, Inc.; Morpho Detection, Inc.; ASSA ABLOY; Tech Systems, Inc.; Digital Watchdog, Inc.; FrontierMEDEX; Video Insight/Sentry 360; and FLIR Systems.

Tyco Integrated Security also participated. Joe Kierych, the company’s global business development manager of national accounts, says that his experience at the forum was “fantastic.” Kierych met with buyers in what he calls an “intimate atmosphere. It was very personal.”

Because of the event, Kierych reveals, not only did Tyco end up with new customers, but because he had time to socialize with other vendors, some of them have forged an alliance and are now working together. “It was very productive, and the business that came out of it was great. I hope they schedule another forum quickly, and we’ll be there for sure. I’ve told a lot of people on our marketing side how good it was, and they are elated.”

“The ASIS Diamond Club Security Buyers Forum was an outstanding experience,” states Klatt. “It was well-planned and executed by the ASIS staff, who made sure all sessions were on time and fulfilling.” Klatt adds that it was the “best conference experience I have been a part of.”

De Treville agrees. “The depth that it took it to, you would not get that at a trade show.”

“I would recommend having one a quarter, it was such a success,” says Kierych. He says that the reality is that “we’re not just vendors and customers; we’re business partners, and this is the way to build the relationship for both.”

ASIS is planning another Diamond Club Security Buyers Forum next year. It will take place July 16 to 18 in Bonita Springs, Florida.