August 2019 – Top News in the Security and Risk Industry

There’s a lot going on in the world of physical risk and vulnerability; it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the latest news and developments. We’ll keep you informed with the best content to keep your organization safe and secure. Check out the top news and headlines from the past month.

ASIS Announces Recipients of GSX 2019 Innovative Product Awards

From ASIS: ASIS International announced the recipients of its 2019 Innovative Product Awards (IPA) for Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2019, to be held September 8-12 in Chicago. Winners include Ouster, Compliant Technologies, IP Video Corporation, Orion Entrance Control, Sternum, and Sure-Fi.

Our take: GSX is the biggest trade show in the security industry and there is a lot of innovation on the exhibition floor. As a consultant, the more you know about security innovations, the better off you’re going to be when it comes time to offer suggestions to your clients. As a security professional, you should definitely make the effort to go, walk the exhibition floor, and see these innovative products, plus the hundreds of others that will be showcased. There’s no better place to see new solutions to old problems, and — often — to new problems.

User Study Reveals Access Control Credential Trends and Pain Points

From Security Sales & Integration: ID Wholesaler, an online retailer of identification security solutions, has released its new proximity card survey, “The Current State of Access Control Card Usage.” A major takeaway from the survey reveals that the majority of users feel access control cards are too expensive. More than 50 percent of survey respondents selected the cost of proximity cards as their most problematic item.

Our take: While proximity cards can be expensive, it’s important to consider the alternative: hard keys. If someone loses a key, the company’s next step should be changing all the locks and issuing new keys, which is a much greater expense — when companies actually do this. Proximity cards are much more easily, and cheaply, replaced.

Patriot One and Xtract Technologies Sign Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Agreement

From Security World: Patriot One Technologies announced that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Xtract Technologies to explore the potential for joint research and development activities. Xtract will work closely with three of the PATSCAN platform component teams—CMR, TMS and VRS—to explore how artificial intelligence technology can augment multiple data sets, such as people and threat objects, to enhance sensor threat-detection performance.

Our take: Systems like Patriot One Technologies’ PATSCAN System currently provides security by being easily hidden and using sensors to identify alloys in concealed weapons that allow it to identify a gun’s make and model — even if it’s entered the building disassembled. Pairing the PATSCAN system with AI will help increase the likelihood of identification of weapons and reduce false positives. This could be a great proactive way to identify threats.