Technology Update from ISC West 2021

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By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers

ISC West 2021The 2021 International Security Conference West Coast (ISC West) was much smaller this year, but still packed a punch for technology announcements. The smaller crowd still showed a lot of enthusiasm for the latest and greatest innovations in Commercial Video Surveillance, Access Control, Visitor Management, Intrusion detection, Public Safety and Emergency management.

Cyber and Physical Security Convergence

The overwhelming conversation this year was around the convergence of cyber and physical security. The physical security of cyber networks and the management of commercial and industrial IOT (Internet of Things) devices. High profile hacks have made the world pause and analyze how to better protect their networks and data from outside intrusion.

Currently Worldwide – 65 billion IOT devices

  • 127 IOT devices being connected every second.
  • Each device allows for the possibility of a vulnerability onto your network.
  • More to come on this from Kenton Brothers in the future.

Artificial Intelligence

ISC West 2021 - Artificial IntelligenceArtificial intelligence and Robotics continued it’s flag waving this year. There are always large crowds around booths and displays for this type of technology. The use of artificial intelligence to analyze commercial video surveillance and create a proactive approach to stopping intrusion or crime continues to be a very strong driver for many companies.

Davantis, BriefCam and Avigilon continue to lead the way and evolve the technology to more use cases. The video analytics, AI learning and user input continue to make huge gains in deep learning and proactive measures.

With diminishing law enforcement personnel levels all across the country AI can help bridge the gap. There is no doubt that it is a force multiplier and will change the law enforcement and security industries forever.

Robotics

ISC West 2021 - RoboticsThe robotics offerings showed very well this year at ISC West. Cobalt robotics continued to show the strength of AI, Deep Learning and Human Intelligence all working together to create secure spaces. Their announcement of the open IP addresses check was a topic that many responded to. “Robots can also help with wireless signal intelligence: WiFi and cellular signal strength heatmaps, locations of rogue wireless access points, and the presence and identity of nearby electronic devices through techniques such as MAC address fingerprinting.”

Cobalt continues to wow customers with it’s ability to adapt to the workspace and create endless services.

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ISC West 2021 - AsylonThe show saw some exciting new technology surface this year. Asylon showed off the its offering of Robotic perimeter security. This includes their offerings of both drones and “Guard Dogs or cats”. The combination of these two platforms gives you complete coverage and the ability to gain proactive intelligence quickly. The space is innovating quickly!

Commercial IP Video Surveillance

Axis Communications

Axis Communications enables a smarter and safer world by creating network solutions that provide insights for improving security and new ways of doing business. As the industry leader in network video, Axis offers products and services for video surveillance and analytics, access control, and audio systems. This year, Axis spotlighted their ability to converge their platforms to one united system. Axis produced a great video that showcases the new convergence of their offerings.

Avigilon

Avigilon was busy fielding questions around the H5A system cameras.  This FIPS compliant line of video surveillance has produced some excellent cameras for a wide range of needs.  This line has truly raised the bar for cyber and physical security compliance. The addition of convolutional neural networks as the edge greatly increases the ability to have better, faster analytics driving commercial video surveillance.  All while encrypting the footage.   Check out their video explaining the line in more detail.

One new product that deserves a mention is the G.L.O.V.E.  system.

The GLOVE, which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, is a conducted electrical weapon (CEW) from Compliant Technologies. It is designed to be used in conjunction with an officer’s defensive tactics training and other use of force tools to more effectively de-escalate use of force incidents and bring non-compliant subjects under control in a safe and timely manner. Another force multiplier that is more reliable than a Taser.

In conclusion, the show was smaller this year but still packed the same punch! We look forward to next year and getting back to normal soon.

Here’s Why The Children’s Place Wants Us to “Get More Garretts”

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By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers

How do we react when a customer surprises us with a request?

The Children's PlaceKenton Brothers recently finished a large commercial access control and commercial IP video surveillance integration for The Children’s Place. They’re a nonprofit organization that has been committed to meeting the developmental and mental health needs of the very youngest survivors of abuse, neglect and other trauma since 1978. Within the Kansas City community and beyond, the agency’s specialized expertise in working with traumatized young children has made The Children’s Place a recognized leader in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

This story is about one of our best security consultants and his adoption of the KB Core Value of Customer Focus and how he took service to a whole new level.

One day recently, The Children’s Place called and asked for someone to come take a look at adding a video intercom entrance. They had an issue with one of the doors not opening. As a new system, Garrett recognized immediately that it could be a software or scheduling issue. Instead of scheduling a technician, he went on site himself to see if he could help immediately. He was able to get to the site quickly to take a look, hoping it was programming related.

When Garrett arrived at the site, he did some quick troubleshooting.

GarrettThe reader was functioning, it would read badges, but the lock wouldn’t unlock. He located the panel and determined the fuse on the power supply for that door had blown and tried replacing it with a spare from the panel. After attempting to use the lock again, the fuse popped, indicating a short in the wire or the lock, which provided more information for the customer and for our service department for when they arrived on site.

Leon Fisher, the new VP of Operations and Security, has been with Children’s Place for about a week or so at this point. Leon was interested in learning how the systems work. After a quick discussion with him about the location of his panels and their function, it was clear he was interested in learning much.

Garret said, “I explained Gallagher Access Control and the panel parts and functions, where his backup power was for the system, the cameras and their locations, Milestone video software, etc. Then I asked if he had access to the software yet. He said no. “

Garrett was faced with the real time decision to schedule time with our training team or make the right call and do the training right there, right then. As part of our Customer Focus core value Every KB team member has the right to make the right call for the customer. Even if it costs us time and money – do the right thing!

Garrett made the right call.

“We went to Leon’s office and I was able to remote into his server from my laptop. I helped him download and install the Milestone Video client and the Gallagher Command Centre client. From the server, I was able to create login credentials for him and help him log in and begin using the systems.

While I was there, I asked him about how they use the system currently. He mentioned when they prop the doors open for the bus loading/unloading with children, the doors will beep. I mentioned this is an alert to let someone know a door is open when it shouldn’t be. I mentioned we could turn that sound off per door and implemented it on the spot with help from our remote services group.”

Mobile Features

“Then I mentioned that every license of Gallagher comes with some mobile features as well. He asked what they were and I mentioned Mobile Command Centre and 5 built in Bluetooth Credentials. I explained that with Bluetooth credentials, you can use your phone as a badge in addition to the badge they wear. He asked how difficult it was to use, and I explained it would only take me a few minutes to set up and issue the credential for him. I set up the Command Cloud on the server and enabled the Bluetooth reading feature on all readers and then issued him a credential. He called the President in so I could give one to her as well and one other employee. They were very excited about that feature!”

Gallagher Mobile Command Centre

“While the President was in the office, he asked about the Mobile Command Centre and what it can do. I had him download that app and set him up with the authentication code on the spot and explained how to unlock doors and change schedules using the mobile app. I also mentioned using this app you can scan the Gallagher MiFARE DESFire EV2 badges on an android or iOS device.   

I showed Leon how it worked and he asked why they would need that functionality. I mentioned that every Gallagher license comes with one mobile command centre license, but they also come with a mobile evacuation license. I explained you can use the mobile device as a mustering emergency reader to “check employees out of the building” at an emergency muster location. This creates an accurate list of all employees who may still be in the building. For this to work, they would need to add a badge out reader and have employees badge out as they leave the building so that an accurate list of who is in the building and who isn’t can be maintained. At a previous location, Leon mentioned they did this with a white board, but that this method was much more useful and the President agreed.”

Gallagher Mass Communication

“This led me to talking about mass communication which is also built into Gallagher. I mentioned this could be used for emergency messaging and can be initiated from any reader via a mobile device or badge action by anyone they give the ability to in the system. These messages can be pre-written for specific scenarios and sent to specific groups of employees by email, text, or push notification. This was discussed as something they would very much like to implement for employee safety and communication.”

A routine visit?

The Children's PlaceWhat was thought to be a routine visit to look at one problem turned into a four hour impromptu training and education session on the abilities available in the tools they already had. Garrett and the Remote Services Group were able to not only help Leon start using his systems in their most basic functions, but also enhance his experience and comfort by creating specific and tailored solutions within his existing environment. The time spent with The Children’s Place solidified our stance as their building safety partners and removed many potential pain points before they became a problem.

This proactive approach is what Customer Focus means.

When I read Garrett’s breakdown, I reached out to Leon at The Children’s Place to ask him his perspective.

Leon said, “Garrett and the Kenton Brothers Remote Services Group did an amazing job explaining and teaching us about our enterprise level system so that we could use it to its full potential.” He also shared, “It’s overwhelming to start a new position in an organization and at the same time try to learn this advanced system and it’s capabilities. Garrett was incredibly knowledgeable and he was willing to take his time and answer all of our questions. He gave us tips along the way.” Leon mentioned, “It was a shock that a salesperson would be that knowledgeable! We’re even implementing the mobile evacuation system and employee mustering process for emergencies!”

Garrett went further.

Cloning GarrettGarrett called our manufacturing partner Gallagher Access Control and told them The Children’s Place story. Gallagher wanted to help support them also and donated all the licensing needed to implement the mobile evacuation system and the emergency employee mustering process. This was a gift of almost $8,000 in software. Great job Gallagher!

Finally, Leon shared what impressed him most about Garrett and his Customer Focus. One Saturday, Leon was trying to let the cleaning crew in remotely from his mobile phone. He wasn’t sure what he was doing wrong and reached out to Garrett to see if he would answer. Of course, he did – even though it was a Saturday and Garrett was on vacation. He worked with Leon and got the cleaning crew into the building remotely. Garrett even checked in the next morning to be sure all was well.

Leon shared one final work of advice for Kenton Brothers… Get more Garretts! We start the cloning process tomorrow.

Glazer’s Beer & Beverage Invests in Protecting Their People, Property and Possessions

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We recently completed our fifth commercial security system installation for Glazer’s Beer & Beverage, this time in Waco, Texas.

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From a sleeping bag, a granola bar and a pair of binoculars to over 400 suspects in 60 seconds.

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From a sleeping bag, a granola bar and a pair of binoculars – to over 400 suspects in less than a minute. How one police department utilizes video surveillance to increase arrests, protect its officers and save time – lots of time!

You may have seen this video recently… it’s gone viral in the last few days.

The video is actually from 2018, but it does serve as a reference on how one department in Connecticut would spend days on top of a roof with a sleeping bag, granola bars and a set of binoculars in surveillance of drug houses in their neighborhoods. The dedicated and brave officers would put themselves in harms way to get any intelligence they could on these suspected locations. Once they had their observations complete, they would have to wait for safe extraction from the location as to not break their cover or get harmed in the process of leaving their post.

Sgt. Johnmichael O’Hare explains in the video link that what used to take him thirty-two (32) man hours now takes him less than 1 minute! It’s safer for the officer and can point out details an officer might overlook such as additional houses in the neighborhood tied to the drug house, as seen in the video.

Since 2018 the city of Hartford Connecticut has gone area-wide with BriefCam and Milestone.

So what benefits does this platform give municipalities and police forces?

BriefCam and Milestone SurveillanceOne of our local captains related, “It’s a force multiplier. One officer can run the entire system. This system will help with officer shortages.”

Other benefits of BriefCam and Milestone?

  1. Dramatically accelerates investigations
  2. Gives real-time situational awareness
  3. Real-time alerting – like having an officer watch video 24/7 (without the officer)
  4. Manage crowds in real-time
  5. Real-time License Plate Recognition and alerting
  6. Traffic optimization
  7. Real-time health management

Kenton Brothers Systems for Security is proud to represent BriefCam and Milestone and can help your organization explore this solution. Give us a call today!

WOW! Avigilon FIPS 140-2 certification in its H5A commercial camera line!

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By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers

With hackers and subversives becoming more technically advanced, it is critical to national and local security to stay one step ahead.

One of Kenton Brothers System for Security trusted partners recently announced that their new line of commercial IP video surveillance cameras is FIPS 140-2 certified! What this means is that the H5A camera line now meets or exceeds Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS).

The FIPS Standard

This standard requires that all information, including images and camera information, be encrypted to a minimum standard as it is being transported, processed or stored. This encrypted information can only be unlocked with a specific cryptographic key. So, if you don’t have the specific key, the images or information look like random ones and zeros, making no sense to a hacker that is trying to gain access to your system.

Of course, this is wonderful news as Avigilon has extended the encryption all the way out to the commercial security camera. If someone was able to gain access to a camera feed, it would still be useless to them. This is a WOW! for high security sites such as Federal Government, Municipal Government, Corrections Departments, Financial Institutions and the list goes on and on.

This coupled with the fact that Avigilon is manufactured in North America and is TAA and section 889 compliant, makes it an easy go to for any federal, state or local agency.

Next Generation Video Analytics

Avigilon H5A Camera LineIn addition to this high security update, the Avigilon H5A camera line also features next-generation video analytics technology.

The H5A line leverages the latest in AI-powered video analytics to detect and persistently track more objects – whether stationary or moving – with greater accuracy even in crowded scenes, detect unusual activity in a scene autonomously and apply facial recognition technology to alert off of face watch list matches. These advanced capabilities help provide detailed information on what is happening on your site so you can detect potentially critical security events faster and take responsive action, all while keeping the images and data secure.

The H5A line features unique object detection and self-learning video analytics, both of which allow clients to detect, confirm, and respond more quickly to incidents. These advances combine to create a smarter, more reliable CCTV system that utilizes the most powerful, intelligent technologies to ensure the safety of your people, property, and possessions.

We are very excited about this technology advancement!

Here are a few of the other highlights from the H5A Video Surveillance lineup:

  • The H5A line has camera image sensors with resolutions ranging from 2MP to and AMAZING 61MP and a few with 10K HD option
  • The camera line comes with a 5-year warranty standard
  • FIPS 140-2 CERTIFIED CRYPTOGRAPHY
    Enables the camera to be deployed at sites requiring FIPS-compliant cryptograph
  • NEXT-GENERATION VIDEO ANALYTICS
    Expanded object classifications and more accurate detection in crowded scenes so you can detect faster
  • Once mounted and aimed, the cameras zoom level can be adjusted and image can be focused remotely
  • LIGHTCATCHER™ TECHNOLOGY on board
    Offers exceptional detail in areas with low lighting
  • AUDIO CAPABILITIES
    Available ports for external audio including sirens, microphones and/or loudspeakers for audio talk-down situations

Want to learn more? Please schedule a demo with us today!

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