Industry News: Denison College and the Florida Institute of Technology Implement Allegion Mobile Credentials
Higher Education Institutions in Florida and Ohio Opt for Smart Student Mobile Credentials
Two college campuses partnered with Allegion US and two technology providers to install mobile credential technology across their facilities, aiming to improve student satisfaction through innovation.
The schools began looking for a change to their access control system for different reasons. The Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Florida, needed to update its legacy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Denison College in Granville, Ohio, had recently adopted more modern secure hardware. The result in both cases was reduced reliance on physical student identification cards, leaning more on mobile devices to enable secure access.
With the implementation of Mobile Student ID in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, students can access campus amenities, facilities, and residence halls using their smartphones. The new mobile credentials eliminate the need for traditional ID cards and integrate with the established and configurable access control system, CS Access, used by both FIT and Denison.
The projects also required support from two Roper Technologies companies, Transact Campus and the CBORD Group, Inc., which provide campus ID solutions and integrated security solutions, campus card, and cashless systems, respectively.
Mergers & Moves
Pye-Barker Fire & Safety // AAA Fire Extinguisher Co.
Fire protection, life safety, and security services provider Pye-Barker acquired AFA, Inc., doing business as AAA Fire Extinguisher Co. The move expands Pye-Barker’s immediate operational abilities for Texas-based customers.
Palo Alto Networks // Portkey
Global cybersecurity company Palo Alto announced its intention to acquire Portkey, which delivers a critical centralized control panel to manage and protect autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agents. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Palo Alto’s 2026 fiscal year.
Gardiner Service Company // IntelliTech Fire & Security
Gardiner acquired IntelliTech, an Ohio-based full-service provider of fire protection and building safety systems. The move expands Gardiner’s line of fire and life safety offerings, including nurse call, closed-circuit television systems, access control, and telecommunications.
Acron Technologies // Sightline Intelligence
Acron closed the purchase of Sightline—a specialist provider of edge-based AI processing capabilities and target recognition technology for autonomous aircraft, defense, and other mission-critical applications—at the end of April 2026.
Halt!FIRE // Green Fire
Fire prevention technology and product provider Halt!FIRE announced the acquisition of Green Fire, an environmentally responsible fire safety technology company that has been used in commercial and industrial applications. The purchase makes Halt!FIRE a fully integrated fire safety provider, offering products and support to municipalities, power and energy companies, utility contractors, and commercial and industrial operators.
H.I.G. Capital, LLC // Global Elite Group
An affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a multinational investment firm, completed the purchase of Global Elite Group, a provider of aviation security services to airports. Global Elite Group previously belonged to Securitas.
Senstar Technologies Corporation // Blickfeld GmbH
Senstar completed the acquisition of Munich-based Blickfeld for €10.4 million ($12.1 million) in cash and €1 million ($1.2 million) in performance-based earnouts. Blickfeld produces 3D Lidar sensors with integrated software for security, volume monitoring, industrial, and traffic applications, deepening Senstar’s portfolio of security offerings.
Awards
The National Safety Council presented its 2026 Robert W. Campbell Award to UL Solutions, an applied safety science company that provides testing, inspection, certification, and advisory services. The award honors organizational excellence in championing environmental, health, and safety as fundamental values.
Brigade Electronics was honored with the 2026 Market Leadership Recognition in the commercial vehicle safety systems industry for achievements in product reliability, responsive support, stock availability, and user-friendly design. The recognition comes from consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
Contracts
SuperCom announced that it recently won four new direct agency electronic monitoring contracts with five counties in New York, specifically for the company’s PureSecurity GPS monitoring technology that supports offender supervision programs.
Reports
IntraFi released the findings of a Q1 survey of banking executives, who cited the likelihood of a weakening economy and cybersecurity and fraud risks as their top concerns. While 56 percent of respondents said they were primarily worried about an economic downturn, 54 percent said their top fear was cybersecurity and fraud, driven mainly by concerns of hackers’ use of AI.
A new report, Workplace apps are watching, keeping tabs, and sharing what they learn, by Incogni, found that several modern work apps—such as Gmail, Notion, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and more—gather an average of 19 data points per user and frequently share information with third parties, often for advertising and marketing purposes. Several of these platforms have also experienced data breaches or the discovery of vulnerabilities that could result in leaking of workers’ information.
New research published by Bridewell found that more than 26 percent of healthcare organizations have low cybersecurity maturity, indicating a lack of all recommended threat and detection capabilities. The research was based on an analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Breach Portal, looking at both active investigations and archived breach reports between 2023 to 2026.
In the new Genetec 2026 State of Physical Security Report, results indicated that 89 percent of respondents said they use security data to help keep security officers safe, while 81 percent use it to improve real-time situational awareness. Another key finding was that 44 percent of respondents said a lack of staff was their primary challenge.
Zimperium’s Zlabs released its 2026 Banking Heist Report, which found that 80 percent of fraud events now happen through online or mobile platforms, making mobile banking apps the largest and most lucrative attack surface.
Identity solutions provider HID announced the release of its market study, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in the Age of AI and Automation. The study found that 67 percent of the European and U.S. IT leaders surveyed are already automating certificate renewals and that AI agents are emerging as a new identity category, which carries its own set of new certificate and trust requirements.
Announcements
Fire Help Center, an online resource for wildfire safety and recovery information, is urging residents in wildfire-prone areas to reassess preparedness plans because many communities are experiencing periods of heightened risk outside of traditional peak windows.
In Nogales, Mexico, dormakaba opened a new production facility, representing a multimillion-dollar investment intended to support commercial growth in North America. The new facility will produce and ship mechanical and electronic locks to 40 countries worldwide, including the Canada, Germany, India, and the United States.
Embedded runtime cybersecurity provider Exein announced the opening of its APAC headquarters and Taipei office. The new hub will operate as a regional operations and technology base, offering regional partners the ability to accelerate the adoption of runtime cybersecurity across its ecosystem of Internet of Things.
Partnerships
Transportation. Third-party logistics provider Range Logistics partnered with Highway, a technology provider for freight brokers. The partnership is meant to improve internal cargo security planning, specifically in areas like carrier verification, onboarding speed, and fraud prevention throughout Range Logistics’ operations.
Fire safety. Home safety technology provider X-Sense has partnered with the Markesan Fire Department in the U.S. state of Wisconsin to improve local fire prevention efforts. As part of the arrangement, X-Sense is donating wireless smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, which will be installed during emergency calls to replace outdated or nonfunctioning devices. The partnership extends to schools and community events, where firefighters will demonstrate correct alarm placement using the donated alarms.
Robotics. Suprema signed a three-party memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Motor Group Robotics LAB and Hyundai Engineering & Construction to team up on safe and convenient robot services for residential properties.
