How big data and IoT revolutionize the security industry (Part 2)

"Big data" and the "Internet of Things"(IoT) now are not only discussed in the IT and communications idustries, but they are also ready to influence and even upturn the securiy industry. While we anticipate a connected society, the world is also vulnerable to malicious physical and cyber security attacks. Fortunately, security technologies have evolved and developed to prevent any disasters from happening.

When the world starts to look into "big data" and how IoT can benefit everyone, the trend forces the security industry to gradually switch their attention to data and content beyond product specifications to better fit the needs of a connected world.

Open Platforms Drive Total Integration
Integration has been an unstoppable trend in all industries, especially when it comes to IoT. Eventually, in a connected world, every system will be connected in a single network. The security industry will also continue to evolve. To build up a future-proof solution, integrating different systems through proprietary SDKs and APIs no longer seems like enough. Companies now concentrate on how to construct a more open platform in order to seamlessly manage and utilize different resources in different security equipment. According to Genetec's white paper, it suggests that a truly unified platform in video surveillance can optimize resources by sharing common servers and databases for authentication and permission, licensing, configuration settings, alarms and evens, audit and activity log, video recording, and access logs.

"Because of the open and standardized features, IP-based video surveillance has become more accessible and affordable. End users in small-scaled market sectors, such as SMBs, now are willing to consider IP-based products. We do see an increased demand for these types of products from the education sector in K-12 schools, retail and even residential sectors are picking up," said Kostas Mellos, product marketing, video, Interlogix and Lenel.

Looking at the access control market only, it has been actively developing with the introduction of different new technologies. The market's high growth still mainly comes from the migration from mechanical locks to electronic locks. However, what is really driving the growth of the market is the need for open platforms. Access control systems, in the past, were very closed, simply for restricting entrance to a building, room, and property. Until recently, users have started to realize the benefits whenever it links with other systems. “What really differentiates us from other companies is, in our hardware and firmware. We develop to an open platform and protocol, which is very critical for the credentials and access control systems for future expansion or integration of other future technologies. That is why we are chosen for replacement projects and also big projects, like One World Trade Center,” said April Daltron-Noblitt, Director of Vertical Marketing at Allegion. Both the access control and video surveillance markets are developing their solutions very fast in open platforms, which also is closely tying both sides together. Companies, like Axis, Avigilon, and Genetec have developed their own integrated systems. The partnership of video and access control companies has become basic to form an integrated system. “Genetec offers its end users a unified security platform, which seamlessly integrates video, access control, and license plate recognition. The open platform supports a vast ecosystem of cameras, access control edge devices and third party software tools, including analytics, biometrics and perimeter detection hardware.

Genetec's IP access control system is also increasing its compatibility with other access control hardware products. The most recent ones are our partnerships with ASSA ABLOY and Salto, who produce quality WiFi, PoE wireless locks,” said Andrew Elvish, VP of Marketing and Communication at Genetec.

On the other hand, PSIM is not only able to supervise multiple distinct systems and further manage information coming from these systems, but also presents all the information in a single user interface, which plays a vital role in big data and IoT. “Verint recently launched a new situation management platform that allows users to integrate a variety of systems providing real-time intelligence to respond to events,” said Courtney Mamuscia, Global Communications Director of Verint Video & Situation Intelligence Solutions at Verint Systems. “This new solution expands our current PSIM application that has experienced significant growth in the critical infrastructure sectors and city-wide surveillance.”

However, some experts also warn that some PSIM products might have problems in lacking a built-in video, access control, and event integrated solution, which should be the key for selecting a “real” PSIM.

Social and Business Identity Takes Shape
While IoT gradually takes shape in the access control industry, end users have become more comfortable with making online payment via cards, PCs, tablets, mobile phones, and other wearable devices. Paym, a UK-based company, announced in April that consumers can use their mobile to make bank payments in the country. This trend is also going toward granting physical access control remotely via mobile devices, making access control as a service (ACaaS) gain more adoption. Furthermore, Brivo Labs claimed itself an IoT company, which launched its and also the industry's first social access management solution this year. Its main objective is to use social identities to “develop innovative applications that connect virtual communities with physical spaces,” said on Brivo Labs' website. According to Lee Odess, VP of Marketing at Brivo Systems and GM of Brivo Labs, by using Brivo Labs' API platform, physical access authorization now can be granted by using your profile on social networks, like Facebook and LinkedIn, on mobile devices and wearable computing devices, such as Google Glass. It is truly a revolution in the physical access control field. Next, Brivo will develop their solution to adopt Bluetooth devices to provide end users more convenience to remotely access and manage doors.

Identity Management Spurs Growth of Biometrics
When we, as end users, start to enjoy the freedom of multiple ways of payment and easy access to a space, worries about the security mechanism in these solutions arise. What makes things worse is when we lose our credit cards, with tap-andpay- on-the-go feature, or mobile phones or devices, it also means we lose our credentials and even precious money. On the other hand, for enterprise users, especially multinational companies, how to well secure their physical and intellectual property, help workers make mobile offices work more efficiently, and get easy access in these spaces without spending extra time and paper work becomes their top priority in access control. A robust identity management solution becomes prerequisite for users ranging from public to enterprise users. For enterprise users, multi-factor identities for both physical and logical security could be the best choice; biometrics is an important factor binding all these together.

“HID acquired IdenTrust to expand our identity management and secure authentication solutions offering, and enable us to provide banking customers with a trust network for issuing, authenticating, and using digital identities based on open standards,” said Jeremy Hyatt, Director of Global Public Relations of HID Global. “Our Lumidigm acquisition extends our multi-factor authentication portfolio with biometrics for high-security environments, while positioning us to deliver a variety of new secure identity solutions.” Besides, biometrics also becomes a unique selling point for different fields because of its unique identification feature, according to Bill Spence, VP of Sales of North America, Europe and Australia at Lumidigm. In amusement parks, biometrics has attracted many return customers. Lumidigm's solution was adopted by amusement parks, where parents' fingerprints had to match their child's RFID wristband when collecting them from the park grounds. On top of that, the system can also ensure that only one person uses each ticket. To prevent ticket fraud, parks today can link each ticket to a specific customer with the touch of a finger.

The demand for identity management provides new startups with pretty big business opportunities too. Bionym developed the first wearable authentication device that utilizes a user's electrocardiogram (ECG) to validate a person's identity, according to their company website. Zwipe, a new, next-generation biometric card, a contactless smart card credential with on-card fingerprint reading, eliminates the problems of solely deploying PINs and standard cards. The contactless Zwipe biometric card lets users authenticate themselves directly on the card through something they are, a fingerprint, using their already installed card reader. Only then will the card system activate the lock. This is much more secure than simply using a standard card, which verifies only something they carry, the card. Also many companies, which develop NFC rings and bracelets, intend to provide more flexible and innovative solutions to secure our access to either the virtual or non-virtual world.

A Connected World Makes a Safer Environment?
Thanks to IoT, we can expect a connected world in the future. Although new technologies bring us more convenience in terms of mass information and life comfort, do these also help us construct a safer environment? Without making security the priority, I am afraid that all these new and innovative technologies would be in vain. If the aforementioned developments in the security industry can cause everyone to be more aware of security, I would say the future of this connected world will be bright

* Take look into How big data and IoT revolutionize the security industry (Part 1)