Life-safety systems manufacturer, C-Tec, has launched an innovative range of ultra-safe fire alarm mains isolator key switches. Designed for use on all types and makes of fire alarm system, the BF326 series allows the mains to a fire panel to be switched on/off as per the requirements of BS 5839-1.

Available in red or white in flush or surface and with or without an LED Indicator, they can help to keep engineers safe during routine testing and maintenance. Supplied with a plastic key and plastic key switch mechanism to reduce the risk of electric shocks, they have no exposed metal or conductive parts so no earthing is required. Fitted with a 5A high rupture capacity fast blow fuse, they feature a mechanically linked double pole switch to prevent the risk of contacts welding together and false isolated readings on LED variants.

Brian Foster, C-Tec’s UK Sales Manager, said: “Our new fire alarm mains isolator key switches are robust, reliable and very versatile. As with all our products, they are manufactured here in the UK at our multiple third-party certified facility to the highest quality standards. For additional assurance, all variants have been independently tested to the prime insulation and isolation requirements of IEC/EN 60669. They also have an optional branding label that allows them to be used on evacuation alert and emergency voice communication systems too.”

According to the latest research published by Marketsandmarkets, the traffic management market is expected to reach USD 75.74 billion by 2029 from USD 43.53 billion in 2024, at a CAGR of 11.7 % during 2024–2029.

The research finds that governments worldwide have strong visions of improving traffic management across cities and fulfilling future mobility demands. They are undertaking several initiatives to provide better infrastructures, enhance security and safety, and offer seamless traffic flow. These factors are strong indicators of the economic development of a region. Smart city and intelligent transportation initiatives have boosted the traffic management market. For instance, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore, along with Intelligent Transportation Society Singapore (TSS), has developed a master plan, Smart Mobility 2030, to enhance the travellers’ experience and the country’s existing transportation systems. Regional governments are encouraging private companies to develop and renovate road infrastructures. Governments are working with private organisations to finance and deliver traffic management projects.

The private enterprise end-user segment to see strong growth

Private enterprises use advanced traffic solutions to make their operations more effective and create better customer experiences while saving money. Businesses that run logistics, transportation, retail, and entertainment services depend on good traffic flow to ensure deliveries arrive on time and give customers easy access while running their operations well. Private companies use Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and traffic data technology to plan better routes and control their vehicle fleets while offering automated parking systems to their customers. Big shopping malls, sports stadiums, and business campuses use traffic management systems to handle crowds during busy times. These solutions improve operations, benefiting the environment and boosting company profits.

Implementation services to contribute largest market share

The implementation services install and connect advanced solutions to improve traffic management while making roads safer and less congested. This involves installing ITS, traffic lights that adapt to conditions, video cameras for surveillance, and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) networking hardware. Service providers link new technology to current systems to solve problems at both urban and intercity traffic levels. Service providers configure systems and test operations while teaching authorities how to use the new systems. The implementation services segment helps update transportation systems to reach permanent mobility objectives through real-time monitoring and automated traffic management.

Regional analysis

Asia Pacific, home to nearly 40% of the world’s population, is witnessing diverse implementations of traffic management technologies. Fast urban growth and rising population numbers make traffic management difficult across the Asia Pacific. Densely populated countries such as China and India deal with severe traffic congestion problems. Asia holds six of the world’s top ten congestion hotspots, and Bengaluru and Manila stand out among them. The researchers found that various Asian nations are implementing major traffic management projects to solve transportation problems through initiatives such as Australia’s Gateway WA Perth Airport and India’s Smart City Kochi. These projects work to upgrade transportation systems and make traffic easier to handle. Modern sensors and internet connectivity help analyze real-time traffic data to develop advanced management systems while giving drivers accurate info to avoid traffic delays.

Key players

The report profiles some of the key players in this sector such as Cisco, Mundys SpA, Swarco, Siemens, IBM, Kapsch Trafficcom, Thales Group, Q-Free, PTV Group, Teledyne Flir Systems Inc., Cubic Corporation, Tomtom, Huawei, ST Engineering, Chevron, Indra Sistemas, and Econolite.

CREAPLUS, one of the leading providers of comprehensive IT and cybersecurity solutions and services in Slovenia and the region, has signed an agreement with Coro to distribute its eponymous cybersecurity platform in the countries of the Western Balkans.

By offering the Coro platform, CREAPLUS aims to strengthen the cybersecurity of micro, small and medium enterprises, which are the most vulnerable group in cyberspace. The solutions offered by this platform will primarily benefit regional providers of managed cybersecurity services in the micro, small and medium enterprise segment: providers who’s operational and business performance is directly linked to the use of affordable, efficient and highly productive solutions for their security operations centers.

“The state of cybersecurity in the micro, small and medium enterprise segment is concerning. As global trends and reports from local cybersecurity response centers show, cybercriminals are targeting this segment of businesses, where it is easier to make money through various forms of attacks, from fraud and extortion to identity theft and other sensitive data,” said Mitja Trampuž, CEO of CREAPLUS.

Based on the Coro platform, regional security operations center service providers will be able to offer customized managed cybersecurity services to the most price-sensitive and consequently most under-secured segment of businesses. Furthermore, the Coro platform’s ease-of-use and AI-automated processes make it an ideal solution for cybersecurity service providers serving markets with severe staffing shortfalls and the need to ensure maximum productivity due to cost pressures.

According to Trampuž, Coro’s technologies are virtually the only ones designed from the ground up with micro, small and medium-sized businesses in mind.

“This is a specific group of users where cyber protection needs to be high quality and comprehensive, yet simple and affordable for these companies and their cybersecurity partners to even be able to take it on. Coro is the answer to the challenges faced by managed cybersecurity service providers in this market segment who are looking for the most efficient technology solutions for their security operations centers,” added Trampuž.

“We are thrilled to partner with CREAPLUS to bring Coro’s cybersecurity platform  to the Western Balkans. This collaboration aligns with our mission to provide affordable, comprehensive, and automated cybersecurity to SMBs and managed service providers in underserved markets. CREAPLUS has a strong regional presence and deep expertise in IT security, making them the perfect partner to expand our reach and help businesses in the region stay protected against evolving cyber threats. We look forward to working together to empower small IT teams and enhance security operations across the region.” Piers Morgan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EMEA at Coro, on the Partnership with CREAPLUS.

With the Coro platform, lean IT teams and cybersecurity service providers can deliver comprehensive and easy-to-use managed cyber protection in one place. Coro’s platform empowers organizations to easily defend against malware, ransomware, phishing, data leakage, network threats, insider threats and email threats across devices, users, networks and cloud applications.

About Coro

Coro, the leading cybersecurity platform for small and midsize businesses, revolutionized cybersecurity with the introduction of the world’s first modular cybersecurity platform in 2023. Coro’s platform empowers organizations to easily defend against malware, ransomware, phishing, data leakage, network threats, insider threats and email threats across devices, users, networks and cloud applications. Coro’s platform automatically detects and remediates the many security threats that today’s distributed businesses face, without IT teams having to worry, investigate, or fix issues themselves. Ranked on the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 for its second consecutive year, Coro is one of the fastest growing cybersecurity companies in North America today.

The best of both worlds: former CEO Hayden Burr transitions to Chief Innovation  
Officer role while welcoming new Chief Executive Officer Andy Bane

Integrated Control Technology (ICT), a leading manufacturer of intelligent access control and security solutions, announced today the appointment of Andy Bane as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Andy succeeds ICT founder and former CEO Hayden Burr, who will transition to the role of Chief Innovation Officer.

By investing in the future, ICT is positioning itself to drive greater value, create new opportunities, and strengthen relationships worldwide. Under Andy’s leadership, ICT will focus on scaling its operations, strengthening its go-to-market strategies, and advancing its technology platform to anticipate and meet evolving customer needs.

Founded in 2003, ICT continues to be driven by a firm commitment to helping partners and customers secure their success. This leadership transition embodies a strategic investment in ICT’s future growth. ICT’s appointment of Andy Bane as CEO and Hayden Burr as Chief Innovation Officer will leverage both their unique skills sets, providing the best of both worlds to benefit ICT, its partners, and customers.

New CEO Andy Bane Brings Decades of Operational Excellence 

Andy Bane brings more than three decades of leadership, innovation, and growth experience across venture-backed startups, private equity (PE)-backed scale-ups, and publicly traded enterprises. Most recently, he served as CEO of Element, a SaaS industrial software company specializing in data solutions for operational excellence. His track record includes roles at ABB Enterprise Software, Ventyx, and Global Energy Decisions, where he successfully led teams in developing and scaling solutions that combine hardware and software for integrated customer value.

“I’m honoured to welcome Andy to ICT,” said founder Hayden Burr. “We’re excited about the new energy and perspective he will bring to ICT, and how his decades of operational excellence will help us continue to scale our operations, strengthen our go-to-market strategies, and advance our technology platform to meet our customers ever-evolving needs.”

“I am thrilled to join ICT at such a pivotal moment of their journey,” said new CEO Andy Bane. “Hayden and the ICT team should be proud of what they have built the past 20 years. I’m inheriting an impressive foundation with a differentiated product portfolio, a global customer base, and a dedicated team. I look forward to working alongside this talented group to expand our reach, continue to find ways to best serve our customers and to build on the company’s legacy of innovation and customer success.”

Hayden Burr Assumes Role of Chief Innovation Officer

As Chief Innovation Officer, Hayden Burr will continue to bring expert security market intelligence, unparallelled ICT product expertise, and a comprehensive understanding of ICT’s history and the principles that have shaped the company’s success thus far.

When asked about his transition into his new role as Chief Innovation Officer, Hayden shared: “After more than 20 years leading ICT, I’m excited to pivot to a role that will enable me to think deeply about future needs, and where things are headed…to think not only about product innovations, but also all the ways we can evolve as a company to better meet the needs of our partners and customers.”

Securing Your Success Starts with Listening

The foundation of any strong partnership is two-way communications. In that spirit of partnership, ICT wants to hear from current and future ICT customers, ICT dealers and integrators, and technology partners. What needs and opportunities do you see?  Please share your ideas, questions, or feedback by visiting ict.co/best-of-both-worlds.

For more information or to inquire about interview availability, please contact Aude Desbrières, Operational Director EMEA at ICT, at adesbrieres@ict.co or +44 7939 336991.

A new survey from Omdia reveals that phishing scams are the leading security threat for smartphone users, with 24% of respondents reporting they have fallen victim to these attacks. Phishing, which includes fraudulent texts, emails, or calls designed to trick individuals into revealing sensitive personal information, remains a significant concern as cybercriminals continue to exploit unsuspecting consumers.

Omdia surveyed 1,572 consumers across the Americas, Asia & Oceania, and Europe in October 2024 for the fourth annual Omdia Mobile Device Security Scorecard. The survey found that the next most common security issue was malware and viruses, followed by physical theft, such as pickpocketing, mugging, or snatching.

In Omdia’s recent assessment of leading premium smartphones, Google’s Pixel 9 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S24 outperformed Apple’s Iphone 16 Pro and other Android-based devices, including the Oneplus 12, Xiaomi 14, and Honor Magic 6 Pro. Anti-phishing protection proved to be a weak spot across all devices, as none successfully intercepted all phishing texts, calls and emails.

Simulated spam calls revealed that all Android devices from Google, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Honor, and Samsung successfully flagged suspected spam calls before users answered, while the Iphone 16 Pro lacked similar voice call protection.

No device flagged simulated phishing emails from Gmail as phishing, only identifying them as spam when sent from Google’s SMTP.

Considerable variation in performance

Despite gaps in detecting phishing texts and emails, devices with Google Safe Browsing protections successfully blocked the link from opening, displaying a warning screen and requiring user confirmation to proceed. Performance across browsers varied significantly: Samsung Internet effectively blocked most links, including advanced custom URLs, while Xiaomi Mii and Oneplus Internet browsers failed to warn users about known malicious links, underscoring inconsistencies in Android device’s security.

“The lack of security protection, particularly against the growing threat of phishing attacks, is eroding consumer trust,” said Omdia Senior Analyst, Aaron West. “When consumers were asked if their trust following a security issue increased (due to how well the issue was handled) or decreased, 73% reported they had reduced trust in the smartphone brand and operating system developer.”

Consumers should be vigilant but better protection needed

“Despite the latest protections in place by some manufacturers, it is difficult to protect 100% against phishing attempts, highlighting the severity of the issue and potential impact to consumers. That said, smartphone manufacturers can (demonstrated by the more advanced phishing protection capabilities available) and should have a better baseline of phishing protection – such as voice call protection, and all Android devices making use of Google’s Safe Browsing protections,” said Hollie Hennessy, Principal Analyst, Omdia. “This needs to be paired with awareness activity from manufacturers and the wider industry to help consumers be vigilant and prepared”.

XPP, a leading provider of integrated payment solutions in seamless payments for public transportation, and Oxivo Group, a multinational Dutch/Turkish conglomerate specialised in unattended electronic payments in retail for vending machines, parking, EV charging, and in end-to-end integrations in the world of IoT-based machines – have entered into what is being called a groundbreaking partnership agreement.

Together, they will introduce a new, revolutionary seamless payment service to the Turkish market that will fundamentally change the way payments in public transport are handled and experienced. This payment platform is an innovation that is relevant for many European public transport providers.

The first project that XPP and Oxivo are taking on in their new collaboration is to combine XPP’s payment services, based on the Vayapay and Ginger platforms, with Oxivo’s deep market expertise and established presence in Turkey.

“This partnership is a major step forward in our development,” said Tom van der Poel, CEO of XPP. Together, we are strongly positioned to take transactions in Turkey’s public transport to the next level and will develop an infrastructure that several public transport companies in Europe will be able to benefit from.”

“With this collaboration, we combine the best of the Dutch and Turkish fintech ecosystems to provide transport companies with a unique infrastructure for payment systems,” said Sezer Arslan, Founding Partner and CEO of Oxivo Group. “This technology can be used anywhere in Asia and in Europe.”

The partnership is based on both companies’ shared vision to renew the built-in payment process. Oxivo Group has extensive experience in unattended card payments, while XPP contributes to the partnership with its Smart Payment Platform for omni-channels. Together, they can offer an innovative solution for public transport that breaks with the existing payment methods in the sector. This partnership contributes to Oxivo’s strategy to expand its dominant position from unattended payments in retail to tap-to-pay in public transport.

ASSA ABLOY has acquired Invue, a US-based provider of precision-engineered connected asset protection and access control solutions. The company enables tailormade security solutions to a broad spectrum of industries and retailers.

“This acquisition delivers on our strategy to grow our business through adding complementary products and solutions to our core business,” says Nico Delvaux, President and CEO of ASSA ABLOY.

“Invue is a global technology provider at the forefront of innovative security solutions for protecting assets in the retail business. Invue is an excellent addition to Global Solutions, the acquisition will expand our core capabilities across access control and asset protection globally. I look forward to working with InVue’s successful and experienced team” says Stephanie Ordan, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Technologies business unit Global Solutions.

Invue was founded in 1986 and has some 260 employees. The main office is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, US.

Sales for 2024 amounted to about MUSD 165 with a strong EBIT margin. The acquisition will be accretive to EPS from the start.

Armadrone, a cutting-edge developer of strike drones and MDSI, a leading innovator in modular payload technologies, have entered into a strategic partnership. The collaboration unites Armadrone’s innovative drone engineering and MDSI’s novel payload carrier systems to deliver next-generation affordable solutions for allied defenced forces.

At the core of this partnership is the development and integration of MDSI’s payload carrier, Mailman, into Armadrone’s combat drone platforms. Mailman is a precision guided payload carrier that can be paired with Armadrone’s UAV platforms, such as Punisher and Rex, to provide tactical payload delivery at up to 60 kilometers in tough EW environment conditions.

Strengthening allied defence capabilities

This partnership comes at a critical time as global defence forces seek advanced tools to counter emerging threats. By combining their strengths, Armadrone and MDSI aim to provide allied nations with scalable and reliable solutions that enhance operational effectiveness and minimize risk to personnel.

“Armadrone’s mission has always been to create innovative and practical solutions for the modern battlefield,” said Max Subotin, CBDO of Armadrone. “By teaming up with MDSI and maintaining close daily communication with troops on the front lines, we are taking a step forward in redefining what is possible with smaller armed drones. Our daily processes have a deeply personal dimension, as we remain close to our friends who are currently in combat.”

“Integrating Mailman with Armadrone’s UAS platforms, is the initial result of long-term relationship with Ukrainian partners,” said Christian Steinø, CEO of MDSI. “Mailman is designed to deliver affordable effect with adaptability, complementing the engineering capabilities of Armadrone. Together, we are setting a new benchmark for mission readiness, versatility and scalability.”

Founded in 1986, ELAN stands out in the Italian and foreign markets for the high quality of its Made in Italy products and the guaranteed constant availability of products in stock for prompt delivery. It boasts a portfolio of over 400 products and an excellent multilingual technical and commercial assistance service.

ELAN manufactures cables for security applications such as burglar alarm system, fire detection and voice alarm system, structured wiring, CCTV and building automation. The company also entered into the batteries market offering dry rechargeable lead and lithium batteries distributed under the renowned brand BIGBAT, in order to complete its offering to its wide customer base.

Nowadays, ELAN is proudly recognized as a professional and reliable cable and batteries manufacturer able to supply any connectivity and powering solutions to the expanding security market.

Success in the domestic market is also supporting the fast-growing export business. Thanks to the multilanguage international sales office, to a dedicated logistics department and with an extensive knowledge of international security standards, ELAN is continuously empowering its export activities, providing great connectivity solutions in more than 50 countries.

The international sales department not only collects requests from all over the world but also meet ELAN’s customers attending the most popular security exhibitions, such as Dubai Intersec and Adria Security Summit, which represent a significant opportunity to showcase ELAN’s products and to create new connections and business opportunities with international markets.

Technical skills, design capabilities, consolidated experience in cables and batteries and ISO9001:2015 certification, guarantee ELAN’s customers the quality and the reliability of ELAN and BIGBAT branded products, supporting the everyday job of the electrical installers and system integrators.