We are proud to announce ZKTeco Europe and Antenall d.o.o. have signed a Strategic Distribution Partnership to further develop ZKTeco’s market presence of Access Control, Time Attendance and Security solutions in the Serbian market.

As a Distribution Partner, ZKTeco Europe welcomes Antenall d.o.o. as a new key partner in Serbia to broaden ZKTeco’s relevance and increase our presence in the addressable Adria market. This partnership expands the development of opportunities by being exposed to new perspectives and expertise. We hope customers benefit from the strengths and offerings each organization brings to the Security industry.

About Antenall d.o.o.

Antenall d.o.o. was established in 2003 in Belgrade, Serbia. The company has been developing along with new global trends and as one of the leaders in the security business, they successfully provide complete solutions to their customers and meet all business challenges.

About ZKTeco
ZKTeco is a multinational enterprise, that specializes in the manufacture and development of time and attendance and access control technology. With over 20 years’experience in the global market, it benefits from a highly qualified team of over 3500 employees worldwide with its own manufacturing plants that, together with its R&D and engineering departments, ensures complete in-house production of all aspects of its hardware, firmware and software. One of the pioneers in multibiometric and RFID technology, ZKTeco’s products are present around the world, with over 180 million users worldwide, and we continue to grow.

For further information of the products and services we can offer you, please contact us at sales@zkteco.eu.

The global contactless biometrics technology market size is expected to reach USD 30.15 billion by 2027, registering a compound annual growth rate of 20.3% from 2020 to 2027, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc.

The latest information from the research company suggests that, rising demand for security and surveillance due to an increasing threat of terrorist attack and penetration of contactless biometrics solutions in enterprise applications is anticipated to propel the market growth. Additionally, the demand is steadily increasing amid the COVID-19 outbreak. This pandemic has also influenced various digital businesses, which are now developing facial recognition systems to secure their online platforms.

A rise in digital banking across the globe is creating major impetus behind the introduction of voice and facial recognition in the banking and financial sector. For instance, in June 2016, Citigroup Inc. introduced voice biometrics to verify customer’s identities. The use of contactless biometrics authentication for banks offers an additional, convenient, and user-friendly way of verifying their customers, thus delivering a consistent and superior user experience with strong and secure authentication across channels.

Moreover, software vendors are providing various development kits to the market, allowing technology providers to offer advanced contactless biometrics software for their hardware. By way of example, according to Grand View, in January 2020, Facefirst, launched a software development kit (SDK) for identity verification product developers to integrate advanced facial recognition into their systems. The SDK works offline or online, runs in a docker container, and supports Linux OS to enable easy integration into any IoT device.

Some of the key organisations named by the analysts as major players in this market include Aware Inc.; Fingerprint Cards AB; Fujitsu Limited; Gemalto N.V.; HID Global; Idemia; M2sys Technology; NEC Corporation; Nviasoft; and Touchless Biometric Systems AG.

HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, announced a collaboration with Fidesmo, a provisioning company that makes it possible to connect contactless services to wearables. Fidesmo has integrated HID’s next generation Seos credential technology into secure element chips that are used in a wide variety of wearables.

“As wearables grow in popularity, organizations of all types will be confronted with the need to support new form factors for physical access and other popular applications,” said Steve Currie, VP and Managing Director of Extended Access Technologies with HID Global. “Working with Fidesmo to bring more use cases to wearables delivers on the promise of Seos credential technology to provide users the freedom to use their preferred device, whether it’s a phone, card or wearable, to easily navigate their daily life.”

Because Seos credential technology is designed for flexibility, Fidesmo can load the Seos applet into the tamper-resistant secure elements (SE) produced by the most prominent chipmakers in the world. This will enable wearables manufacturers using the broadest range of SE chips to add building and parking access as well as complimentary applications to their smart watches, watchbands, rings and other devices. Authentication to PCs, IT systems and cloud applications, secure print job collection, time and attendance, point of sale, and automated cashless vending, are some of the numerous additional applications supported by Seos credential technology.

“The Fidesmo team is honored to join HID’s partner network and looking forward to our mutual journey as we provision HID’s secure access credentials over our platform,” said Mattias Eld, CEO, Co-Founder of Fidesmo. “Working with HID we are forwarding our vision to enable people to choose their favorite wearable and connect and use it with any contactless service they need – anytime, anywhere.”

The partnership makes it possible for employees to use their personal wearable device to add the access control service, and companies can also order a number of wearables for their dedicated use, in special areas or even adding more services to them, like payment or their employees’ public transit job ticket.

Fidesmo’s integration process allows wearables manufacturers to add contactless services to the tamper-resistant secure element in their devices. This also makes it possible for contactless service providers to distribute their services to many devices without the need for hardware. For wearables users, no pre-configuration is needed. They simply connect to the services and applications that have been provisioned to their wearable, easily and securely.

Adding access control capabilities to wearables also addresses environmental constraints, such as a clean room with specific gear and uniforms that preclude using smart cards and/or biometric identification—making it ideal for pharmaceutical production environments, as well as operations rooms, mining, car and food production, and anywhere where sanitization compliance is a priority.

There are imminent changes to the Securitas Group Management team, which will be reduced by two, as Aimé Lyagre, COO and CTO Security Services Europe, has decided to leave the group.

According to the company, this role is not replaced and the responsibilities will be split between Henrik Zetterberg, who remains COO Security Services Europe and a member of Group Management but with expanded responsibilities across Europe, and Thomas Lundstedt who joined Securitas as European Solution Leader in April 2020.

The role of President Aviation will no longer be part of Group Management. These changes are effective from July 1, 2020. All other Group Management members continue in their present roles.

“Aimé Lyagre has decided to leave Securitas. During his 16 years with Securitas he has been a highly appreciated leader and colleague. Among many other things, Aimé has been instrumental to delivering Electronic Solutions in Europe. I want to thank Aimé for his contribution and wish him the best of luck going forward”, says Magnus Ahlqvist, President and CEO.

Cisco Systems announced that it intends to acquire ThousandEyes, a security-software company, reportedly for close to $1 billion.

San Francisco-based ThousandEyes is an interesting startup, that has made a name for itself with its service that watches pretty much the whole internet to help companies figure out the source of performance problems of websites and web-based apps. For instance, it can determine if an outage is the company’s fault or that of its service providers.

While Cisco wouldn’t say what it plans to pay, ThousandEyes has raised a total of about $111 million with an estimated valuation of $670 million as of February 2019, according to Pitchbook. Bloomberg previously reported that the deal could be valued at “nearly” $1 billion.

On March 5, ThousandEyes reported that it had $100 million worth of revenue under contract for its 2020 fiscal year — representing growth of almost 80% year-over-year.

“The combination of Cisco and ThousandEyes will enable deeper and broader visibility to pinpoint deficiencies and improve the network and application performance across all networks,” said Cisco executive Todd Nightengale.

Bloomberg News reported earlier in the day that the deal was in the works and could be completed Thursday, with a price tag approaching $1 billion. Cisco did not disclose the purchase price. Cisco expects the deal to close before the end of its fiscal first quarter, which begins in August.

A new report from Marketsandmarkets on the managed security services market to 2025 projects the sector to grow from USD 31.6 billion in 2020 to USD 46.4 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 8.0% during the forecast period.

The rising instances of security breaches and increasing number of attacks that pose a threat to large and small organisational systems are anticipated to be the major market drivers. The need to adopt necessary steps in advance for securing the overall security posture and technological advancements in cloud and IoT has bolstered potential use cases across verticals.

Managed security services (MSS) are proactive security measures tailored according to the need and ever-evolving security landscape of organisations. These services include continuous monitoring and analysis, advanced technology, network assessment, and application and security specialists to advice stakeholders in organisations. Managed Identity and Access Management (IAM) helps in driving automation, managing consumer identities, and establishing a risk-based approach, among others. Some of the companies are integrating technologies such as robotics with IAM. single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) are the two most common systems used in IAM. Hence, the managed IAM segment is expected to be a larger segment during the forecast perioed.

Fastest growth in healthcare vertical
The banking, financial Services, and insurance (BFSI) vertical is expected to dominate the MSS market with the largest market size, while the healthcare vertical is the fastest-growing vertical during the forecast period. MSS are expected to help the BFSI vertical in keeping the confidentiality of sensitive data, which will, in turn, help in maintaining the overall security posture. The biggest advantage of using MSS in the BFSI vertical is 24/7/365 monitoring, which results in immediate incident response and remediation in case of a security breach. The BFSI vertical is very careful about the security of the sensitive data of its customers. Hence, for enhancing the protection of online services from cyber attacks, companies operating in the BFSI vertical are adopting MSS .

In the healthcare vertical, MSS such as medical device penetration testing, network segmentation for medical equipment, device inventory and risk analysis, and medical device risk assessments will play an integral role in securing entities related to patients as well as hospital data. Moreover, MSS also helps healthcare organisations comply with stringent Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliances.

Highest market share in Asia Pacific
Geographically speaking Asia Pacific is predicted to hold the highest market share during the forecast period. Technological advancements such as cloud, 5G, and IoT have led SMEs and large enterprises in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region to largely rely on MSS. Also, stringent government regulations on adopting security measures, cyber security incidents, and cloud technology adoption are driving the adoption of MSS in the region. Major vendors covered by the Marketsandmarkets analysts in the managed security services report include IBM, AT&T, NTT Data, Secureworks, DXC Technology, BT Security, Atos, Infosys, Verizon, Cognizant, Cipher Security, Wipro, Accenture, Optiv Security, Trustwave, The Herjavec Group, Centurylink, Kudelski, and Nuspire.

Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, recently launched the first special production line for face masks at the Bosch plant in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. “Containing coronavirus is a challenge for society as a whole. By equipping our associates with masks we make ourselves, we are helping to relieve the burden on the market. Moreover, we are doing the groundwork that will enable us to safely resume operations and protect our associates,” Denner says.

Following a coordinated ramp-up that will run until the end of June, the company will make over half a million masks a day on five production lines at four locations worldwide. The lines were designed by Bosch’s special-purpose machinery unit. Bosch is making the design plans available to interested companies free of charge. Bosch has already received inquiries from over 30 companies regarding the designs of the special production line.

Bosch designs a production line for face masks
In combination with other hygiene measures, face masks are an effective means of reducing the risk of new Covid-19 infections. Developed by Bosch’s special-purpose machinery unit in just a few weeks, identical, fully automated production lines for face masks are now being set up at several company locations. In addition to the lead plant for Industry 4.0 in Stuttgart-Feuerbach, where two lines are planned, mask production will be ramped up at the Bosch locations in Naganathapura, India, and Juárez, Mexico, in successive weeks. A facility at the Rexroth plant in Erbach, Germany, will round off the manufacturing network. Overall, by the end of June, the production volume of the five lines is set to exceed ten million masks a month.

Relieving supply bottlenecks
The face covering is primarily intended to impede the spread of pathogens from the wearer’s nose and throat. At the same time, the mask acts as a barrier to bodily fluids produced by people in the immediate vicinity. Bosch is manufacturing surgical mask types I and II, which comply with the European DIN EN 14683 standard, and will use them mainly to protect its roughly 400,000 associates worldwide. Bosch wants to make any excess capacity available to third parties, provided there is demand and the masks satisfy country-specific standards.

Furthermore, Bosch is making the designs, technical drawings, and assembly instructions of the lines available to other companies free of charge, as well as information about how the masks are packaged and distributed. “Our special production lines give us greater independence, since masks can be made directly on site, right where they are needed,” Denner says. Bosch’s special-purpose machinery unit offers interested companies expert advice and supplies complete systems on request. “Bosch is responding to coronavirus by developing technology. We are contributing our innovative strength and extensive manufacturing expertise,” says Rolf Najork, the Bosch management board member responsible for industrial technology.

The international trade fair Security Essen planned for 22-25 September 2020 – Europe’s biggest security exhibition – is cancelled due to the unforeseeable developments of the Corona crisis.

The decision to cancel the fair was taken by Messe Essen in close consultation with the partner associations. The next Security Essen will take place at Messe Essen from September 20 to 23, 2022.

No other choice

Security Essen is a biennial event, taking place every two years.

“The anticipation of this year’s edition and the new concept of Security Essen was great among all those involved, and so all the more difficult for us to decide to cancel the fair”, explains Oliver P. Kuhrt, Managing Director of Messe Essen. “However, the current dynamic situation and the continuing global travel restrictions unfortunately do not permit serious preparations for the fair. As a result, our exhibitors and visitors and also we as the organisers lack the planning perspective which would have been a prerequisite for the customary professional staging of Security Essen this September.”

“The cancellation of Security Essen 2020 is the result of a prudent and careful evaluation of the current situation which we have undertaken together”, adds Norbert Schaaf, Chairman of the Management Board of the Federal Association of Safety Engineering (BHE) and Chairman of the Security Essen Advisory Board. “Since the majority of our fair participants come to Essen from abroad, we had to act with particular prudence. Due to the unclear worldwide development of the Coronavirus pandemic and the associated uncertain travel planning, there was unfortunately no alternative in the end.”

Enormous economic challenge

Dr. Harald Olschok, General Manager of the Federal Association of the Security Industry (BDSW) and member of the Security Essen Advisory Board agrees:

“From the perspective of our member companies, the decision to cancel Security Essen is fully understandable. Personally, I regret this very much, because it would have been my 15th and last Security Essen as Chief Executive of BDSW and BDGW. But for the security service providers, the Corona crisis represents an enormous economic challenge. I am sure that the management and the entire team of BDSW and BDGW with their affiliated member companies are looking forward to Security Essen 2022 – then under better economic conditions.”

Nedap is excited to share the upcoming OSDP upgrade within Nedap’s long-range RFID reader portfolio for automatic vehicle identification. The portfolio will be upgraded and compatible with V.2.1.7 of the Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) standard. This upgrade supports the interoperability of our reader portfolio with a growing number of access control and security products. Over the last few years, an increasing number of access control panel manufacturers is supporting OSDP technology and this upgrade enables seamless integration supported by a highly secured communication standard. Nedap will make OSDP V2.1.7 available for both its TRANSIT and uPASS long-range RFID product line.

Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) standard OSDP has been developed by the Security Industry Association (SIA). According to the SIA, OSDP offers high security and advanced functionalities. The protocol enables bi-directional and encrypted communication based on Secure Channel Protocol (SCP). In addition, for example, OSDP enables monitoring wiring to protect against attack threats. Due to the fact that OSDP is offering secure and bi-directional communication between the reader and third party controller platform, the OSDP upgrade enables security professionals to simplify secured vehicle access.

Automatic Vehicle Identification specialist Nedap is specialized in advanced solutions for Automatic Vehicle Identification for over the past decades. A unique portfolio is developed by Nedap full with high performance long-range RFID and License Plate Recognition systems. Nedap has been at the forefront of simplifying secure vehicle access for decades, while keeping the high accuracy in mind. Security and Parking professionals have been able to improve their operations by benefitting from the latest automatic vehicle identification solutions, by choosing Nedap technology.

OSDP in vehicle access control Technical specialists we would like to encourage to order a demo kit and validate OSDP in vehicle access control applications. For the security professionals OSDP compliancy offers a great opportunity to talk to your customer base about the relevancy of OSDP in security and access control. If you have any questions, please contact us.

OSDP Webinar To give you a complete picture of the opportunities of our updated RFID reader portfolio, Nedap Identification Systems organizes a webinar on the 14th of May, 10.00 AM (CEST). Within this webinar, Ido Wentink (Proposition Manager) and Hans Rappard (Product Specialist), will present in 30 minutes all ins and outs about Nedap’s OSDP upgraded long-range RFID portfolio. Curious? Feel free to register via this link.