electronic access control

Hardware Bloat: The negatives of shoehorning equipment into a system.

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By Baer Halvorson, Security Systems Engineer at Kenton Brothers

Hardware BloatAs an engineer, I look at photos of doors every single day. I zoom, I scroll, I furrow my brow, I scoff, I even take an immediate coffee break at the sight of some doors. Implementing security is a never-ending song of “just when you think you’ve seen it all…” One thing I want to highlight for a brief moment is a very specific problem that isn’t normal, but is common.

The door pictured is a perfect example of how time, multiple integrators, changing needs and the lack of system sterilization can cause problems. Shoehorning as much hardware as possible onto a door to fit the current need without proper removal of unnecessary devices creates a couple of major issues. Let’s break down how this happens by identifying what causes this problem; we’ll define system sterilization and its importance in the life-cycle of physical security systems and then we’ll address what to do to be smart and thorough in protecting the future of these systems.

The Setback

Not often enough do system integrators in the physical security space or clients needing security take into consideration the life-cycle of the system. There is no problem identifying the need, the integrator can easily identify the hardware for the moment and initial set up/billing are all very fluid processes in our industry. It’s only when you get to higher-level, usually enterprise systems, that the conversation of life-cycle comes into play. When this isn’t discussed in a medium to small security system, time can end up altering door design and the system itself can shift its purpose.

Hardware BloatFor example, perhaps the parking lot gets re-designed and now a door isn’t optimal for employee entry. Maybe the hardware takes a beating and the problem surrounding a device won’t resolve easily so the integrator pitches a different solution. All of this can lead to a door like the one pictured having hardware bloat, multiple locking devices, overlapping systems and more. The greatest threat posed by this issue is that there are now two to three times the amount of failure points and this door could end up easily compromised or become a burden to the system.

System Sterilization

The single greatest way to combat the issue of hardware bloat is system sterilization.

System sterilization is when a door needs to change for system purposes and security integrators remove the old defunct hardware from the site. This might incur more cost than leaving hardware on the door because you’ll need to patch holes, cover cuts, and repair frames to satisfy aesthetics. Often, because of this cost, the choice is made to leave the existing hardware even though you’re installing a new solution. This might not seem like a big issue for one door but over time, if obsolete devices are left in the field, you end up with a system that begins to become difficult to service and confusing to manage.

If a security manager or business owner audits their security program regularly, they can incorporate system sterilization and make sure that the system is running as lean as possible. This will cut time and save money in troubleshooting, and also satisfy the aesthetic of the space. When system sterilization is considered, the life-cycle of the physical security system is improved and lengthened providing better overall security and cost savings for its users.

Future Avoidance

Hardware BloatThere are a couple ways to make sure that access control, video surveillance and intrusion systems are avoiding the issue of hardware bloat.

The responsibility falls first to the customer’s security integrator; they are being paid to not just provide hardware but provide security solutions. The next person the responsibility falls on is the individual in charge of managing the system. Between the two of them, the integrator and system manager, they should be asking these three questions at every audit or change to the system:

  1. Is there any hardware installed in the field that is not in use?
  2. Are there any areas that have redundant devices that don’t call for it? (Redundancy is not to be avoided but appropriately implemented.)
  3. Are there solutions implemented within the system that are overkill?

Conclusion

Understanding that hardware bloat can slowly creep into a system and cause issues is the first major step to making sure that a physical security system is serving its purpose. Knowing what system sterilization is and how it can extend the life-cycle of a system will improve overall security and help provide financial savings. It’s important to keep an eye on this at every audit and/or change to the system and asking how the system can be further sterilized. Applying this to physical security systems will help keep the world a safer place which is the ultimate goal of physical security!

If hardware bloat is a problem for your business, and you’re not sure how to clean it up, we can help. Give us a call!

Facial Authentication vs. Facial Recognition: Understanding the Differences and Applications

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By Gina Stuelke, CEO of Kenton Brothers

Facial Authentication vs. Facial RecognitionBiometric technologies have gained immense popularity for their convenience and enhanced security. Among these technologies, facial authentication and facial recognition stand out as two of the most discussed and applied innovations. While the terms are often used interchangeably, they refer to distinct processes and serve different purposes.

In this blog post, we’ll break down the differences between facial authentication and facial recognition, their underlying technology, and their real-world applications.

What is Facial Authentication?

Facial authentication is a biometric verification process where a system compares the face of a user to a pre-stored image (or template) to confirm their identity. This technology is primarily used in situations where a user must prove they are who they claim to be, such as when unlocking a smartphone, accessing a secure area, or logging into a banking app.

How it Works:

  1. Enrollment: The user enrolls their face into the system by scanning it, typically with a camera. This creates a template, which is a mathematical model of the facial features.
  2. Comparison: When the user attempts to access the system again, their face is scanned in real-time and compared to the stored template.
  3. Matching: If the live scan and stored template match within a certain threshold, the user is authenticated.

Key Features:

  • One-to-One Comparison: It compares a user’s face against their own stored template, confirming their identity.
  • Security: It is typically used in secure environments where users need to prove their identity (e.g., smartphones, banking apps).
  • User Control: Users usually initiate the process and consent to the comparison.
  • Common Applications:
    • Smartphone unlocking (e.g., Apple’s Face ID)
    • Secure access to apps and services (e.g., banking apps)
    • Physical security systems (e.g., building access)

What is Facial Recognition?

Facial recognition is a broader technology used to identify or verify a person from an image or video in a database or a public setting. Unlike facial authentication, facial recognition often works without the active involvement or consent of the individual and can be used in surveillance or identification tasks.

How it Works:

  1. Image Capture: A camera or video feed captures the face of a person in real-time or from a photograph.
  2. Feature Extraction: The system extracts facial features from the image and creates a biometric template.
  3. Database Search: The system compares the facial features to those in a large database to find a match.
  4. Identification or Verification: If a match is found, the person is identified or their identity is verified. If no match is found, they remain unidentified.

Key Features:

  • One-to-Many Comparison: Facial recognition systems compare a person’s face against many stored templates in a database.
  • Surveillance and Public Use: It’s often used in public spaces for surveillance, identifying individuals without their active participation.
  • Privacy Concerns: Since individuals may not know when their face is being scanned, the technology has raised privacy and ethical concerns.
  • Common Applications:
    • Law enforcement and criminal identification
    • Airport security and border control
    • Retail and commercial surveillance
    • Marketing and customer analytics (e.g., identifying returning customers)

Key Differences Between Facial Authentication and Facial Recognition

Facial Authentication

Purpose: To verify an individual’s identity
Comparison Type: One-to-one comparison (individual vs. stored template)
User involvement: Requires user participation
Security vs. Convenience: Primarily for security (e.g. unlocking devices)
Privacy concerns: Lower (user initiates the scam)
Common User Cases: Smartphone authentication, banking apps Law enforcement, public surveillance, marketing

Facial Recognition

Purpose: To identify or recognize individuals in a crowd
Comparison Type: One to many comparison (individual vs. database)
User involvement: Can be passive and without user consent
Security vs. Convenience: Primarily for identification tracking
Privacy concerns: Higher (can be used without user consent)
Common User Cases: Law enforcement, public surveillance, marketing

Privacy and Ethical Considerations

While both technologies offer undeniable benefits, they raise important privacy concerns, particularly facial recognition. Since facial recognition can be used without the knowledge or consent of the individual, it poses potential risks related to surveillance and the tracking of individuals in public spaces. Many governments and organizations are still working to strike a balance between the benefits of these technologies and the protection of individual privacy. On the other hand, facial authentication, which requires user consent and involvement, is generally considered less invasive, as it is used for secure access to personal devices or services.

Facial authentication and facial recognition are two powerful biometric technologies with distinct purposes and applications. Facial authentication is typically used to verify a user’s identity for security purposes, while facial recognition is used to identify individuals from a crowd or a database. Understanding these differences is crucial, especially as both technologies continue to evolve and become more integrated into our daily lives.

Whether you’re concerned about privacy, security, or convenience, it’s essential to stay informed about how these technologies are being used and regulated. We are here to guide you, give us a call.

From Legacy to Leading Edge: A visual journey through the evolution of security technology

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From Legacy to Leading EdgeBy Gina Stuelke, CEO of Kenton Brothers

Back in 2008, our industry experienced a significant convergence event joining physical security and IP based networks onto a common platform. This was a major shift away from the disparate systems we had become accustomed to. That seems like such a long time ago! Today, we are involved in another convergence event involving physical security and cyber security.

The two pyramids in the images below represent the technology stacks used by Kenton Brothers, with each layer reflecting the progression of security technologies and how our offerings have elevated over time.

Kenton Brothers 2008 Technology Pyramid

Kenton Brothers Systems for Security: Pyramid1. Base Layer (Mechanical Locking Hardware): Traditional, physical locking systems.
2. High Security Cylinders and Masterkey System Implementation: The introduction of advanced physical keys and locks.
3. Legacy and Stand-Alone Access Control and Analog Video Surveillance Systems: Initial electronic security measures, such as standalone access systems, video surveillance and analog technologies.
4. Network-Based (IP) Access Control and Video Surveillance Systems: The shift to internet-based systems, improving remote access and integration.
5. Integration Services: Combining different systems (video, access control, etc.) for better coordination and ease of use.
6. Hosted and Managed Services: Outsourcing and cloud-based security management to external providers.
7. Video Analytics: Using software to analyze video data and identify suspicious activities automatically.

Kenton Brothers 2024 Technology Pyramid

Kenton Brothers Technology Pyramid1. Base Layer (Security Policies and Procedures): Security begins with robust organizational policies and procedures, a foundational aspect in modern security systems.
2. High Security Physical Hardware: Continues from previous physical security technologies but is more sophisticated.
3. Detection: Active detection systems for unauthorized access or incidents (includes sensors, alarms, etc.).
4. Access Control: Advances in access control technology (includes biometric and smart credentials).
5. Video Surveillance: Video monitoring remains central, but with higher resolution, better storage, and cloud integration.
6. Analytics and AI Support: Modern video surveillance includes AI, improving event detection and proactive analysis.
7. Cyber Hardening: Reflects the growing importance of cybersecurity, securing systems from hacking and digital threats.

What are the comparisons in technological advances?

  • Shift from Analog to IP: Over the last decade, analog systems (present in the first pyramid) have largely been replaced by IP-based systems, which allow for higher quality video and easier integration into larger networks.
  • Integration of AI and Analytics: Modern systems (second pyramid) emphasize the use of AI for proactive security management. This shift moves beyond video analytics to AI-supported threat detection, reducing human workload and improving accuracy.
  • Focus on Cybersecurity: The first pyramid lacks any mention of cybersecurity, which has become essential in modern security infrastructures due to the increasing threat of hacking. Cyber hardening in the second pyramid highlights this critical evolution.
  • Increased Use of Cloud Services: The second pyramid also reflects advances in cloud technologies for video storage, processing, and real-time analytics—leading to more flexible, scalable, and manageable systems.
  • Detection Technologies: Detection is more advanced in the second pyramid, likely including smarter sensors and automated systems integrated with AI.

Security systems have evolved from primarily physical and standalone solutions (first pyramid) to highly integrated, AI-driven, and cyber-secure ecosystems (second pyramid). These technological shifts have led to more automated, efficient, and intelligent systems capable of responding to modern-day security threats.

Has your commercial security stack been in place for a long time? It may be time to take a good look to make sure you are keeping up with the aggressive changes in technology. And if you need help, please give us a call!

Door Naming Conventions – Keeping Businesses Organized and Secure

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

Door Naming ConventionsOne of the most critical aspects of planning a commercial security system design for a facility is organization. Taking the time to get the details right ensures that all users of the system easily understand how the various components and functions will work together. One of the topics that can cause a lot of confusion is how to verbally reference a specific door inside your building(s).

Depending on the size and nature of your business, an organization can end up having to secure a lot of doors!

Part of the KB Advantage is that we take pride in creating custom solutions for our clients. And that’s not marketing speak… We actually enjoy the process of working with you to design customized commercial security systems that will protect your people, property and possessions. We also like partnering with you to maintain or update your existing commercial security systems. Knowing that employees feel safer, and security officers have more confidence in their system, puts a smile on our face.

Regardless of the size of your access control system, it’s a good rule of thumb to have a naming convention established for the various doors in your system. For smaller systems, this is as easy as naming a door Main Entry or Employee Door. But what about when we’re talking about a system that has 10, 20, or even 500 doors? This is where you will see the value of our 127 years of experience providing commercial security solutions to businesses nationally.

A Conversation with Vince

Door Naming ConventionsI sat down with one of our employees, Vince Gelei, to learn more about our best practices for door naming conventions. Vince is experienced in the process of building and programming the many access control systems we provide for our customers.

Sometimes, it’s hard to put into perspective the number of devices that are involved in the access control programming for a single door. Without having some structure, the system can become convoluted and hard for both the end user and integrator to operate and maintain. Vince provided some great insight on the key factors for developing such a framework within an access control system:

  • End User’s Security Capacity – Determining the technical level of our customers plays a big part in system design. (We can’t provide a solution that’s hard for our customers to understand and use.) We want to make sure the final naming conventions will be an intuitive reference for the end user. This is the first priority in system programming.
  • Access Control System – The commercial security system that the customer has chosen also plays a big part in how we set up naming conventions. The capabilities of their system dictate what we can and cannot do when setting up doors and their naming structure.
  • Territory or Location – We would want to set up a City Reference if you have a national presence. For a specific region all the way down to a single building, we would set up a Building Reference. (These terms are the first step in verbally referencing a specific door.)
  • Total Door Count of Site – When we know ahead of time how many doors are on site and how they function, we can document this in your access control system. (This is not a feature supported in all access control platforms. This is another reason why our system design process is critical.)
  • Site Floor Plans – With existing floor plans we can document the solution for quick reference.
  • Door Numbers – Do the facilities have pre-established door numbers? If your building already has door numbers, we would simply leverage that convention.
  • Potential for Growth – Is this just the first phase of implementing a commercial security solution for your organization? If so, we want to plan for future phases and the growth of your organization. Trying to develop this afterwards can be a nightmare!

Door Naming ConventionsVince also goes on to explain, “A door could be named doors, access points, portals, etc. in your existing system. We help our customers rename them in a way that end users operating the system will be able to quickly identify the physical location of any door. Of course, with larger sites there is more complexity. We work with the end user to create a site-specific nomenclature that is typically composed of literal door numbering, but also acronyms to codify and differentiate the different locations.”

The overall recommendation from Vince is that door naming is a small but important detail when planning out your security system.

At Kenton Brothers, we have the experience of working closely with our customers and partners to design and implement customized commercial security solutions. Whether it’s time for you to plan and build out your first solution or update your existing security systems, give us a call. We would love to help you.

Does your access control have a WOW factor?

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

Does your access control have a WOW factor?Access control is typically a Ho-Hum discussion. Who gets access to your doors? When during the day do they get access? Do you want pictures on your badges? What doesn’t get discussed often is how access control can make it easier to manage your facility. Ease of use is vastly different across access control platforms. Your decision on access control software can significantly affect how you manage your facility!

First, let’s start with site plans, or maps. 

Suppose you have someone that is watching your facilities, like a guard, SRO, or facility manager. In that case, a site plan can give you a visual representation of your facility and its security at a glance. For instance, in Gallagher, the site plan can show you if all the doors are open or closed, locked or unlocked, the last person who scanned through the door, whether it has been propped open or even forced open.

Does your access control have a WOW factor?If your Gallagher system is integrated with your camera system, the site plan will show you nearby cameras on the site plan. Likewise, if the intercom system is connected, the site plan allows you to talk to the person at the intercom, all through one interface.

Since Gallagher has a built-in intrusion system, showing the alarm status as well as arming and disarming can all be done through the site plan as well. Finally putting it all together, for facilities that are actively monitoring their system and you have an alarm where a door is forced open, or any other type of event, the alarm manager can show you on the map where the event is taking place, any cameras in the area, whether the alarm is armed and the last person who swiped through the door.

Although a common phrase at Kenton Brothers is that security and convenience don’t mix, mobile credentials are the exception.

Does your access control have a WOW factor?From a convenience perspective, mobile (or sometimes called Bluetooth) credentials can be issued easily through a web portal or software via text or email. Mobile credentials can be issued from hours and hundreds of miles away. From a security perspective, mobile credentials are already more secure than most physical cards. Usually, the cards have to be activated by the user, which makes cloning harder. In some instances, the credential is tied directly to the access control system and has a more unique identifier. Then on top of the already more secure credential, they normally can be combined for a multi-factor authentication like face id, fingerprint, or pin number.

Mobile credentials come in a couple of flavors, two independent systems for mobile credentials and access control, which is a little less convenient, and one combined, or integrated, system which is easier to use. Gallagher offers all of these convenience and security features. Furthermore, five mobile credentials come with every system so you can try it for yourself!

The next WOW! factor component is a mobile app to control your system from afar.

Does your access control have a WOW factor?Mobile apps are split fairly well among access control systems. Systems that have been around for decades are struggling to convert their very robust systems to also include a mobile app that has basic functionality. Newer systems that might have only been around for 5-8 years may only have a mobile app, but lack deeper access control features you might need. Gone are the days when our workforce comes in at 9 am, takes an hour’s lunch, and leaves the office at 5 pm.

People are working the hours that work for them, their family, and their business. This means visitors might come at all hours, people could get locked out while walking their dogs or stepping out for a late-night snack. A Mobile app gives authorized people the ability to allow approved staff into the office from anywhere with internet access. Good mobile apps also allow viewing and disabling cardholders as well as arming and disarming alarms.

Gallagher offers all of these features and even adds an evacuation process where you can account for everyone quickly, in case of an emergency. Just like mobile credentials, Gallagher includes one mobile app connection for each system.

Does your access control have a WOW factor? Does your access control have a WOW factor?

Gallagher is releasing new features constantly.

Does your access control have a WOW factor?There are some new features that we haven’t been able to use yet, but look great. The first is a VoIP/SIP server. Without getting too technical, most IP intercoms now are basically IP phones installed next to a door. Each have basic capabilities to call another IP phone. The Gallagher implementation offers the ability to answer intercoms, directly through the Gallagher app. While this won’t replace full integration of intercom systems, it will start to replace intercom integration where the end-user only needs a few intercoms.

The next new feature is a client web application, this new application allows users to connect with Gallagher over a web interface, rather than the full client or mobile app.

If you want to know more about how you and your company can take advantage of these WOW factors, give us a call!