The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) has delivered a high-capacity system to help cyber defenders track what occurs on NATO’s networks.

The system, which reached full operational capability in November 2021, will strengthen NATO’s cyber security posture and ensure critical data and communications are protected. This project was executed under the Capability Package (CP) 120 Programme, which aims to refresh and enhance cyber security capabilities used by the NATO Cyber Security Center in support of its services.

NATO strengthens cyber security posture with cutting-edge capability
Croatian company KING ICT d.o.o. worked with the NCI Agency to deliver a more robust enterprise Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system to replace NATO’s existing capability. In September 2020, the Agency awarded the 7.8 million EUR contract to deliver the solution.

The new system helps the NATO Cyber Security Centre, run by the NCI Agency, to better detect and respond to security events, strengthening NATO’s security incident detection and response posture. The capability now has a more robust and powerful high-capacity infrastructure, enabling experts to analyse and correlate vast amounts of data, which is critical in a more connected world. Delivery of the new enterprise logging solution also contributes to long-term cost-reduction and consolidation by making use of state-of-the-art hyper-converged infrastructures.

“Final acceptance of this project’s deliverables marks the conclusion of a successful collaboration between NATO and industry,” said Jeroen Pinas, Senior Project Manager in the NATO Cyber Security Centre. “This project was completed within scope, cost and ahead of schedule and demonstrates that NATO and industry can be extremely effective when they join forces to successfully deliver NATO contracts.”

“The project teams on both sides have demonstrated exemplary flexibility given pandemic-related constraints, and set a very high bar for our future projects. There will be more industry opportunities in other tranches of the CP120 Programme in 2022,” said Frederic Jordan, the Head of the Cyber Security Programme Delivery Branch at the NATO Cyber Security Centre.

La Pinada Lab, located in Valencia, Spain, is an open innovation center that paves the way for future living. It is the first eco-district that is co-created by its residents. The center focuses on the sustainability of the urban environment by facilitating processes that tackle key contemporary challenges such as renewable energy, waste management, sustainable drinking water, smart mobility, accessibility, alternative construction methods, involvement of diverse populations, and more.

The Lab works alongside corporations, startups, administrations, and other stakeholders with the ambition of not only designing an inclusive, sustainable, and meaningful environment but to develop solutions that can be applied and scaled up in different contexts.

La Pinada Lab facilitates processes to test, deliver, and implement solutions to support a more inclusive, cohesive, and conscious way of living in the community. This results in shared living experiences in urban density and efficiency for all involved audiences like customers, operators, and third-party service providers.

The lab is a 900 sqm. venue that is currently under construction and is scheduled for opening in mid-June. This space will support events and networking activities, workshops, operate as a testbed for pilot projects and other experiments, and serve as a showroom for advanced solutions and technologies.

This cooperation of Eagle Eye Networks and SALTO Systems is designed to expand the ways video surveillance is used in co-working and co-living spaces. In addition to security, video surveillance can foster collaboration and deliver insights into building usage and how visitors interact with the property. Eagle Eye Networks installed a cloud video surveillance system and its integration with SALTO cloud access control is a powerful example of the role that integrated security will play in providing holistic security and insights into buildings.

Reduced manpower

“We are excited to contribute to the La Pinada Lab initiative in Spain to foster innovation and collaboration,” said Rishi Lodhia, Managing Director, Eagle Eye Networks EMEA. “Our ecosystem of technology partners help expand the possibilities of our own products and services, making them even more useful for our customers. After moving to Eagle Eye Networks, the City of Elche, Spain has reduced the number of employees needed for camera monitoring and maintenance, while city officials are gaining more insights from the cameras. In La Pinada Lab we go one step further to not only show the advantages of cloud video surveillance but how cloud video surveillance and cloud access control create an integrated security solution.”

Identifying opportunities

Christian Schmitz, Vertical Lead for Shared Living and Work Spaces at SALTO Systems, said the solution gives La Pinada Lab the ability “to connect the dots between lifestyle and technology, allowing them to build the right tech infrastructure.” SALTO and Eagle Eye Networks are joining La Pinada Lab’s partnership programme as Project Partners. The first step is to incorporate both Salto smart access products and technology and Eagle Eye Networks cloud video surveillance into the infrastructure of the La Pinada space, Schmitz said. “And being installed in a lab, it is only natural to observe and experiment with the use of Eagle Eye technology and SALTO’s keyless experience, identifying opportunities for new solutions and the impact of digitisation and automation on daily life.”

Fernando Fernandez of TGT Consulting is the Eagle Eye Networks certified reseller who did the installation at La Pinada Lab. He said this “was one of my first installations of the Eagle Eye Cloud VMS (video management system) product and I am truly impressed with its capabilities and flexibility. Now I am able to offer my clients a broader range of services, from telecommunications to physical security as a service.”

Mobotix is continuing its strategic expansion and strengthening its operational business by reaching an official agreement to acquire Vaxtor Group (Vaxtor), Tres Cantos, Spain, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) based video analytics provider, specialising in optical character recognition (OCR) and deep learning technologies.

Vaxtor’s OCR analytics technology, and in particular their automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) products, provide a wide range of solutions for numerous vertical market segments. With 100% in-house development, their technical vision, expertise, continuous R&D investment and product quality have secured year-on-year growth and healthy operating profits. Vaxtor has a broad global customer base, in 50 Countries, and partners with most of the relevant players in the industry, delivering both camera agnostic and at the edge video analytics in various sectors.

Their analytics technology, used in combination with cameras, allows the automated capture of e.g., letters, numbers or other machine and human readable data and enables such information to be recorded and processed cost-effectively at high speed and trigger any related processes.

This is both a facilitator and accelerator for Mobitix’s vertical market strategy as the use of these technologies can be applied in e.g., government, retail and transportation sectors but also, for example, in the tracking of containers, vehicles and aircraft the logistics and manufacturing areas.  Market intelligence estimates that the global market for ALPR solutions alone will increase from $2.3 billion to $3.8 billion by 2025, a CAGR of 10%.

In addition, Vaxtor’s products are tailor made for the Mobotix 7 high performance camera platform and have the competitive advantage that their analytics apps can be run decentralised on board the camera, removing the need for expensive peripheral hardware. They are also integrated into the Mobotix Hub video management software.

With all these factors taken in to consideration, the acquisition offers extensive commercial and development possibilities and synergy effects, in particular the opportunity for close development collaboration between Vaxtor and the recently formed Mobotix Development Office in Madrid, all of which will allow both companies to address emerging growth markets or future requirements more effectively.

Mobotix CEO Thomas Lausten commented: “This acquisition is a significant step in our strategy of strengthening our artificial intelligence and deep learning capabilities and, whilst Vaxtor will continue to operate as a stand-alone company, is based on compelling commercial and development synergies and clear strategic benefits for both parties.”

Novo Memoorijevo istraživanje otkriva da je više od godinu i po nakon početka pandemije globalno tržište sigurnosti pokazalo izuzetan stepen otpornosti, nadmašujući neka druga globalna tehnološka tržišta, ali i projekciju najboljeg scenarija koju je ta istraživačka kompanija donijela prošle godine.

Prema analitičarima, pandemija pomaže da se preoblikuje industrija sigurnosti, podstičući pojavu i brz razvoj novih poslovnih modela, a istovremeno nastavlja naša društva činiti sigurnijim ne samo od pandemije već i od kriminala i terorizma.

Memoorijeva najnovija analiza prodaje sigurnosnih proizvoda po fabričkim cijenama pokazuje da se globalna prodaja u 2021. snažno vratila u odnosu na 2020. godinu te narasla na preko 33,8 milijardi dolara vrijednosti, a procjene su da će se rast nastaviti u narednih pet godina složenom stopom od čak 7,2 posto.

Glavni tehnološki pokretači su rast interneta stvari i integracije sistema u objektima, rastuća potražnja za daljinskim upravljanjem i kontrolom, posebno ACaaS i VSaaS uslugama zasnovanim na oblaku, te AI videoanalitika. Uz to, analitičari sugerišu da će kriminal, stalne terorističke prijetnje, granični sporovi i izbjegličke krize i dalje pokretati usvajanje sigurnosnih tehnologija.

Brojke pokazuju da videonadzor i dalje drži najveći udio u prodaji sa 57%. Taj se segment sigurnosti brzo oporavio te porastao za 14,5% na godišnjem nivou nadmašujući prodaju iz 2019. i dostigavši vrijednost od 21,65 milijardi dolara u 2021.

360 Vision Technology, the UK manufacturer of rugged HD, hybrid, radar and thermal PTZ imaging cameras, is delighted to announce the appointment of Dani Townsend to the role of Sales & Marketing Executive.

In her new role at 360 Vision, Dani will join the company developing new customer relationships, new business leads and maximising sales through new and existing customers, whilst helping to maintain the high level of service and support 360 Vision customers have come to expect.

Joining 360 Vision from AMG Systems, Dani brings a wealth of experience in account management, sales support and customer relationship support.

“Throughout my experience in the security industry, I have seen the tangible benefits and commitment British technology manufacturers can bring to the security market,” says Dani. “In this domain, 360 Vision stands out for its commitment to quality, customer care and offering the very latest camera surveillance technology for deployment across an ever-expanding mix of applications. I can’t wait to start my journey with this highly respected British brand.”

The latest market report from Berg Insight show that the North American market for home and small business security systems is proportionately more than three times larger than the European market.

The overall penetration rate among the around 150 million households and businesses in North America was 21.5 percent, compared with an overall penetration rate of 6.8 percent among the around 245 million households and small businesses in Europe.

There were, according to the researchers, an estimated 32.3 million active monitored alarm systems in the US and Canada at the end of 2020, and about 16.8 million active monitored alarm systems in Europe (EU27 + 3) at the end of 2020.

Growth potential in Europe

This market data, says Berg Insight, thus indicates a significant growth potential for alarm systems in the European market, especially in the residential segment where the current penetration is only 5.6 percent. However, growth on The European market is anticipated to vary considerably from country to country in the next few years. The Nordic market is forecasted to grow the fastest, while other major markets in Europe will show less growth due to high market fragmentation and fewer specialist alarm service companies that actively market solutions. In both Europe and North America, interactive security services and smart home products are key growth drivers in the home security market.

Diverse range of players

Companies from a wide range of industries offer home and small business security systems on the European and North American markets. The traditional home security systems market is served by specialist home security companies such as ADT, Verisure, Brinks Home Security (Monitronics) and Sector Alarm; security service companies such as Prosegur, Securitas and G4S; telecommunications and cable television companies such as Comcast, Telus, Cox Communications and Bell Canada; as well as utilities, banks and insurance companies such as EPS (Crédit Mutuel), Crédit Agricole and Groupama. The DIY home security systems market is led by start-ups such as Frontpoint, Simplisafe, Ajax Systems, Ring (Amazon) and Wyze Labs. DIY security systems typically include self-monitoring as a standard feature and professional alarm monitoring services are offered as an option.

The leading players

ADT is the leading provider of professionally monitored alarm systems in North America with 6.5 million residential and business customers at the end of 2020. ADT is followed by Vivint, Comcast, Simplisafe and Brinks Home Security (Monitronics), all with between 900,000 and 1.7 million monitored alarm system customers at the end of 2020. In the US, only a few market players offer services nationwide. Instead there are several smaller home security providers with a strong local presence. In Europe, Verisure is the clear market leader with 3.8 million residential and small business customers. The company is active in 12 European countries and four countries in South America. Other leading players in Europe are Sector Alarm and EPS Télésurveillance, a subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel, both with more than 500,000 monitored alarm systems at the end of 2020.

Morse Watchmans will join TouchPoint’s Intelligent Inventory Management platform, which focuses on developing inventory management solutions that enable the secure, accurate and efficient management of consumable inventory and high value assets in a variety of end markets. Morse Watchmans provides customized, technologically advanced key control and asset management systems that integrate with access control and other physical security systems. Morse Watchmans proprietary software, RFID technology and innovative hardware configurations provide businesses with proven security products.

Morse Watchmans serves a variety of end markets including security, hospitality, education, gaming, property management and data centers. As the market leader, they have earned an outstanding reputation for quality, innovation, customer service and loyalty.

“We are excited to add the Morse Watchmans technology, expertise and solutions to our Intelligent Inventory Management business, as this expanded offering further enhances our ability to create value for our customers,” said Brian McNeill, chairman, president & CEO of TouchPoint. “Morse Watchmans is a terrific addition to TouchPoint’s growing Intelligent Inventory Management platform. It strengthens our global position in the growing security and asset management markets.”

Assa Abloy has acquired approximately 85.7% of the shares in Małkowski-Martech S.A. from the Małkowski family, through an off-market transaction. The purchase price for the 85.7% of the shares in the company amounts to approximately MEUR 7,28.

Małkowski-Martech is a Polish producer of fire rated curtains and gates.

“The addition of market leading fire rated curtains and gates from Małkowski-Martech strengthens our commercial fire rated door product portfolio. The combined offering allows us to even better address the customer needs for flexibility in building design and ease of installation,” says Neil Vann, Executive Vice President of Assa Abloy and Head of EMEIA Division.

Małkowski-Martech was established in 2000 and has some 150 employees. The main office is located in Czołowo, Poland.

Sales for 2020 amounted to about MEUR 11 with a good EBIT margin. The acquisition will be accretive to EPS from the start.