Modern surveillance systems are making use of data from social media networks in order to provide fool-proof security. At the forefront of these efforts are PSIM companies that look to take advantage of their technological strengths.
Adlan Hussain, VP of Marketing at CNL Software pointed out that social media is playing a significant role in security management strategies within safe cities, transportation, education and corporate security.
“Social media sources, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram provide incredible insight on attitudes and beliefs that often has a direct relationship with individual and collective behavior,” he said. “This can provide security professionals with intelligence of potential incidents long before they materialize. Security management has embraced this valuable source of intelligence, and security practitioners are now leveraging technology to understand and predict potential flashpoints, and to confront emerging threats using security systems.”
James Chong, CEO and Founder of Vidsys, said that the company’s Converged Security and Information Management (CSIM) platform integrates physical security systems together with big data analytics tools, social media, open source feeds and other inputs, and can correlate internal vulnerabilities with external threats.
“Situational awareness data pulled from multiple sources provides more information to support better decisions, as well as dynamic reporting that allows business leaders to have a more comprehensive understanding of where these threats are happening and how they could potentially impact business operations,” said Chong.
Udi Segall, Director of Business Development at Qognify, added that their solution gets an alert from the social media monitoring that trigger a pre-defined mitigation plan that guides the actions of operators and field personnel.
Social media, just like any other system connected to a PSIM solution provides data to the right person at the right time, Hussain said. Alarms and alerts can be triggered within the PSIM, requiring operators to investigate and confirm physical activity based on social media feeds.
“To increase Public Safety, organizations need to better understand and manage the disruptions and threats in their environments,” Chong said. “In a crisis, key decision makers want the ability to manage risk by having the timeliest and most accurate information possible.”
This includes using predictive policing tools and open source analytics to determine, for example, where crowds may be assembling and what might present credible threats to both the public and property. The key to an effective solution is to correlate data from multiple sources, and so when taken together, all of this information enables a more accurate understanding of what key resources may be necessary to address the situation and when and where they will be needed.