News Round Up | Risk

November 2019 – Top News in the Security and Risk Industry

November 27, 2019 | 3 min read
Industry news november

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.

Physical Security and Cybersecurity Need to Converge

From Signal: Greater concentration on separate physical security and cybersecurity has led to a major loophole characterized by the insider threat. Combining the two disciplines holds the key to protecting against devastating data breaches, Robert Bauman, president and CEO of Trusted Systems Inc., said this month at TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019. Bauman noted that reliance on sensitive compartmented information facilities and separate data encryption has not kept up with the evolving threat picture, leaving a security gap that opens the way to malevolent insiders. “You can’t use the word ‘always’ very often,” Bauman offered, “but when it comes to security, it’s always a people problem.”

Our take: Cybersecurity and physical security are always related — cybersecurity often leads to physical damages, and loose physical security opens the door for data theft. Criminals know that; in fact, bad actors often use both cyber and physical attacks at the same time. We believe that to keep your assets safe, your security program should treat physical and cybersecurity as two sides of the same coin.

Global Physical Security Product Reached $34.3Bn in 2019

From BusinessWire: A new report shows the total value of world production of physical security products in 2019 was $34.3Bn, an increase of 8.5%. Of the three product categories covered in the report, video surveillance had the highest rate of growth at 9.7% over the last 3 years. Access control is also growing and is expected to exceed projections, thanks to biometrics, identity management, wireless locking systems and access control as a service (ACaaS.)

Our take: It’s no surprise the physical security product market is booming. Thanks to the technological developments of the last decade, physical security products are becoming more and more advanced. They’re also more exciting. Back in the early aughts, the most interesting security devices on the market were cameras. Now — thanks to advances in fields like artificial intelligence and biometrics — companies are actually producing the kind of security products we used to see only in movies.

This transforming drone can be shot out of a cannon

From The Verge: Drones are incredibly useful machines in the air, but getting them up and flying can be tricky, especially in crowded, windy, or emergency scenarios when speed is a factor. But a group of researchers from Caltech University and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have come up with a solution: fire it out of a cannon. The engineers’ creation is called SQUID, short for Streamlined Quick Unfolding Investigation Drone, and it looks like one of those whistling Nerf balls. It’s under a foot long, weighs 18 ounces, and has four spring-loaded rotor arms that snap into place in less than a tenth of a second after the drone is launched.

Our take: Drones are a fascinating invention, but as we’ve discussed, they can also be dangerous. Like other innovations, drones can be used by criminals and terrorists as well as by hobbyists and legitimate businesses. While shooting drones into the air may be an efficient (and fun) way to get them aloft, we should also be aware that criminals can use this technology to get malicious drones airborne more quickly.

2019 Homeland Security Today Awards Honorees

From Homeland Security Today: Homeland Security Today, the nonprofit news organization for homeland security news, announced its 2019 Holiday Homeland Security Awards, including Federal Homeland Security Person of the Year Kevin McAleenan, former Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and State/Local Homeland Security Person of the Year James Featherstone, Executive Director of the Homeland Security Advisory Council at Pepperdine University. The list also includes private companies that have made contributions.

Our take: Security is an important business, and we’re always happy to see the people who have made us safer recognized for their contributions. We thank them for their hard work, and wish them and all our readers a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

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