March/April 2022 Industry News: Advanced Emergency Response

ADVANCED EMERGENCY RESPONSE

The Coconut Creek Police Department in Florida provided an online demonstration of its Active Law Enforcement Response Technology (ALERT), a program that focuses on how businesses and communities at-large can be safer through immediate communication with local law enforcement. The ALERT system offers police departments real-time access to security programs and solutions, such as surveillance cameras, that are installed throughout an area and connected to the system. In an emergency, such as an active shooter situation, police officers gain direct access to live feeds from surveillance cameras, access control solutions, and public address systems.

ALERT was initially rolled out in 2020 as a way to instantly respond to attacks on schools as part of a School Safety Grant, funded by ALERT, and it has received interest from other jurisdictions, including Coral Springs, Florida, and Margate, Florida.

MERGERS & MOVES

Allied Universal & Norred & Associates
Allied Universal acquired a full-service security firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, and New York-based MSA Security—a threat protection solutions firm.

SilverSky & Cygilant 
The acquisition widens SilverSky’s reach, building up its presence in the United Kingdom.

Sigma Defense LLC & SOLUTE 
The acquisition of the technology and engineering firm expands Sigma’s DevSecOps portfolio, gaining additional focus on cybersecurity and cloud architectures.

DigiCert, Inc & Mocana
The purchase of Mocana will provide Internet of Things manufacturers with a fuller platform for managing device cybersecurity.

AWARD

The U.S. Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer issued its 2022 Interagency Partnership Award to Liberty Defense Holdings for its millimeter-wave shoe screening technology, which can eliminate the need for passengers to remove their shoes during airport screenings.

CONTRACT

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) awarded an $81 million contract to Peraton for background investigation services.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

HelpSystems launched its Educational Partner Program, with the goal of facilitating cybersecurity learning and knowledge in college and university classrooms.

PARTNERSHIPS

Testing Solutions
The Acquired Data Solutions (ADS) and Asset Security partnership will offer ADS clients additional support for automated security tools and Internet-connected devices.

Cybersecurity
Mexican broadband provider Allot Ltd. partnered with BusinessSecure to provide a zero-touch solution to protect Allot’s fixed broadband small and medium-sized business and home office customers.

Active Shooter
Siemens and Shooter Detection Systems integrated their respective safe and secure building and gunshot detection technologies to improve public safety for clients.