Acre Security has announced the appointment of Kumar Sokka as its new Chief Executive Officer, signaling a strategic shift aimed at reinforcing the company’s long-term growth and innovation agenda.

Sokka, who joined Acre in 2024, previously led two major divisions—Comnet and Intrusion—while serving as a key member of the executive leadership team. With over 20 years of experience in scaling enterprise software ventures and driving digital transformation, he is expected to bring a renewed focus on customer engagement and operational execution.

He takes over from John Skowronski, who had held the role of Interim CEO since August 2024. Skowronski will continue to support the company in an advisory role to the Board of Directors, following his efforts to sharpen Acre’s product direction and market approach during his interim tenure.

As CEO, Sokka plans to steer Acre through its next phase by strengthening relationships with clients and partners, and advancing a unified platform that integrates access control, identity, and intrusion solutions. The goal is to help organizations modernize security infrastructures at their own pace, without compromising stability.

“It’s an honor to take on this role at such a pivotal time for Acre,” Sokka said. “With a solid foundation and a talented team in place, we’re focused on clarity, execution, and innovation — staying connected to our customers and driving the future of smart, adaptable security.”

Integrated Control Technology (ICT), a leading provider of intelligent access control, intrusion detection, building automation, and security solutions,  is pleased to announce Martin Vermaak as the new Chief Operating Officer at ICT.

As ICT continues to expand its global footprint, the company’s executive leadership remains focused on making strategic investments that foster a team committed to driving success for partners and customers worldwide. The addition of Martin to the executive team reinforces ICT’s commitment to strategic growth and world-class manufacturing.

Before joining ICT, Martin brings over 15 years of experience at the senior executive level in various roles, including Manufacturing Operations Director, Managing Director, and Chief Operating Officer.  As the new Chief Operating Officer at ICT.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Martin as our new Chief Operations Officer. His expertise and leadership align perfectly with our strategic vision and commitment to investing in streamlined and reliable operations for our partners and customers. With Martin on board, we are strengthening our ability to deliver industry-leading physical security solutions and unmatched support to our customers worldwide.” –  Andy Bane, Chief Executive Officer.

For more information or to inquire about interview availability, please contact Lee Densem, APAC Regional Marketing Manager at ICT, at ldensem@ict.co or +64 9 476 7124.

Allianz Arena, home to football giant FC Bayern Munich, has officially become the first stadium in Germany to implement a fully contactless access system, enabling seamless entry via Apple devices.

The transformation was made possible through a collaboration with Skidata, a subsidiary of security solutions provider Assa Abloy. The advanced system allows spectators to enter the venue using their iPhone or Apple Watch, significantly streamlining the process of admission for the stadium’s more than three million annual visitors.

Using near-field communication (NFC) technology, the system enables users to simply tap their device near a reader at entrance points. This eliminates the need for physical tickets or app-based barcode scanning, reducing wait times and minimizing contact in high-traffic areas.

Beyond ticket scanning, the integrated solution gives stadium operators access to real-time data through mobile monitoring tools, ensuring smoother management during peak crowds. Digital tickets can be issued and managed within the stadium’s internal platforms, while the system continues to support traditional ticketing methods.

To further enhance crowd control, Skidata has introduced a block-based access management feature. This setup limits entry to specific zones within the arena, capping each at 1,500 people to optimize safety and flow during events.

Multiple organizations—including FC Bayern Munich, the German Football Association, and arena operator MSG—can set individual access parameters, offering flexibility across various events and uses. The same infrastructure also manages entry to the FC Bayern Museum and guided stadium tours, which draw hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

This deployment positions Allianz Arena at the forefront of digital fan experiences in Europe, combining security, efficiency, and innovation in one of the continent’s busiest sporting venues.

The global cloud security posture management market size is estimated to reach USD 10.37 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 10.3% from 2025 to 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The rapid adoption of cloud computing across industries has been a major factor driving the growth of the cloud security posture management (CSPM) market.

As businesses increasingly migrate their workloads and data to the cloud, ensuring robust security and compliance has become a top priority. CSPM solutions offer real-time monitoring, automated security checks, and continuous risk assessment, giving organisations greater visibility and control over cloud environments. The rising number of high-profile data breaches and cyber security incidents has fuelled the demand for CSPM tools as enterprises seek proactive measures to protect their sensitive information and intellectual property.

Hybrid environments

As hybrid cloud deployments become more prevalent, the demand for CSPM solutions tailored for hybrid environments is rising. With businesses adopting a mix of public, private, and on-premises cloud infrastructures, hybrid cloud CSPM tools offer a unified view of security, enabling consistent security policies and controls across the entire hybrid ecosystem. These solutions bridge the gap between cloud environments, providing seamless security management and ensuring compliance across diverse cloud resources. As organisations embrace DevOps practices to accelerate software development and deployment, the need for security to be seamlessly integrated into the development pipeline is critical. CSPM solutions are now designed to fit into the DevOps workflow, providing security teams with real-time feedback on security risks during development. This integration fosters a culture of security awareness and enables organisations to implement security best practices from the early stages of application development.

Strategic initiatives

The CSPM market has been witnessing an increasing number of strategic initiatives taken by the companies operating in the market, such as mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships. The strategic initiatives aim to improve the solution capabilities and customer base and reach new audiences. For instance, in February 2022, Snyk Limited (a U.S.-based cyber security solution provider) announced the acquisition of Fugue, Inc. (a U.S.-based CSPM solution provider). By the acquisition, Fugue, Inc.’s current capabilities will extend the Snyk Developer Security Platform, enabling it to offer CSPM designed by developers for developers.

Cloud security posture management market research highlights:

Solutions dominate: The solution segment dominated the market with a revenue share of over 68.0% in 2024. The attributes of the CSPM solutions, including automated remediation capabilities and continuous monitoring, have played a significant role in protecting data, resulting in the solution segment’s growth.

Strong SaaS segment: The SaaS segment dominates the market with a revenue share of over 40.0% in 2024. The presence of CSPM solution, which features attributes including the ability to assess the security posture of SaaS applications, and enforce best security practices, has played a significant role in the growth of the SaaS segment.

Fast growing hybrid solutions: The hybrid segment is projected to be the fastest-growing segment from 2025 to 2030. The availability of CSPM solutions, which are best suited for hybrid cloud, offers conditions monitoring and analysis of resources across all environments, which has driven the growth of the hybrid segment.

Regulations drive SMEs: The small and medium-sized enterprises segment is projected to be the fastest-growing segment from 2025 to 2030. SMEs have been working toward increasing their cyber security defence owing to the increasing cyber-attacks and stringent cyber security regulations. This trend is also seen in the CSPM market, thereby driving the growth of the SME segment over the forecast period.

A new report from the Public Safety Threat Alliance (PSTA) threat intelligence team, titled “Public Safety Threat Report: How threat actors maintain access in public safety systems,” sheds crucial light on an often-overlooked phase of cyber attacks. The report examines the techniques cyber criminals use to maintain persistent access in public safety systems such as 911 emergency call handling, radio networks and computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems and looks at how public safety agencies can guard against these attacks.

Gaining initial access to mission critical systems is often just the beginning for threat actors. For public safety agencies, understanding how these cyber attackers maintain access after they’ve breached defences is absolutely critical. If the attackers can stay inside the network they can continue to pursue their malicious goals, causing significant disruption and putting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of mission critical systems at risk.

What is persistent access?

After successfully breaching a network and gaining initial access, threat actors don’t want to be kicked out. This is where persistent access comes in, a key stage within the cyber attack lifecycle.

The primary goal for the attacker is to maintain access to the target network over an extended period. The threat actors aim is to set up multiple access points into the network. This ensures the attacker can return to the network even if defenders identify the initial intrusion and block it.

The PSTA report highlights just how prevalent this is with over 78% of adversaries that targeted public safety systems within the last year using at least one form of persistence to maintain their attacks.

Compromised environment – maximum disruption

Persistence enables threat actors to return to the network after reboots, patching, or even after defenders have removed malware. Successful persistence leads to prolonged dwell time, enabling attackers to locate high-value targets like domain controllers and sensitive data. It allows the attackers to continue to achieve their desired objectives within the compromised environment, ensuring maximum disruption.

Detecting and preventing persistence

Defending against persistence requires a focus on identification because it’s a post-exploitation technique – meaning the breach has already occurred. Early detection is critical to disrupting the attack chain before significant harm is done.

The report clearly shows that persistence is not just an optional step for threat actors, but a fundamental technique used by the vast majority of attackers targeting public safety systems. By understanding how adversaries maintain access – through compromised credentials, new accounts and built-in system features – public safety organisations can better detect threat actors during the persistence phase, preventing progression to the final attack stages where data is stolen and systems are compromised or destroyed.

The Public Safety Threat Alliance (PSTA)

The PSTA was established by Motorola Solutions with Jay Kaine as Director, it is recognised by CISA, and shares vital cyber security information and analysis with public safety agencies. The PSTA publishes threat reports providing crucial intelligence and analysis as well as hosting webinars with cybersecurity experts who share their insights and expertise. The PSTA offers its threat intelligence products and services for its members at no cost.

Ruijie Networks announced a partnership with Criteo, the Commerce Media company, aimed to equip their global datacenters with “100G TOR Switches”.

Ruijie Networks have been selected by Criteo following a tender issued to several vendors and thorough analysis of their proposals. With over 5.2 billion advertisements per day, which equals to 60,671 ads served per second, Criteo needs a high-performing and reliable network in each of its data centers worldwide to support the flow of data generated for the delivery of the compute and storage capacity based on 39,000 servers.

“Ruijie Networks have been selected not only because they propose a powerful and competitive 100G data center switch, but also for their capabilities to provide support services on SONiC, the Open Networking operating system that Criteo started to implement in 2019” said Djothi Carpentier, Staff SRE at Criteo.

Jean Senechaut, Director of Cloud Service Providers at Ruijie EBG, France, commented: “Ruijie offers an impressive portfolio of networking products, with data centre switches being a key component. We are very proud to begin a strong partnership with Criteo, and we aim to continue expanding in the HPC and AI markets by delivering a high-performance, cost-effective networking solution.”

About Criteo

Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO) is the global commerce media company that enables marketers and media owners to drive better commerce outcomes. Its industry leading Commerce Media Platform connects thousands of marketers and media owners to deliver richer consumer experiences from product discovery to purchase. By powering trusted and impactful advertising, Criteo supports an open internet that encourages discovery, innovation, and choice. For more information, please visit www.criteo.com.

About Ruijie Networks

Ruijie Networks (SZSE: 301165), founded in 2003, is an industry-leading network infrastructure and solution provider. We are always committed to fully integrating technologies with applications, and creatively solving customer challenges. Ruijie has eight R&D centers, and a global presence in over 100 countries and regions across diverse industries.

The global anti-drone market will reach USD 14.51 billion by 2030 from USD 4.48 billion in 2025, registering a CAGR of 26.5% from 2025 to 2030, according to the latest reports from research company, Marketandmarkets. The global anti-drone market is primarily driven by escalating security concerns over the unauthorised and potentially malicious use of drones across military, critical infrastructure, and public spaces.

Increasing incidents of drone-related threats, such as espionage, smuggling, and attacks, have compelled governments and organisations to adopt robust counter-drone technologies. Advances in detection and mitigation technologies, including AI-powered systems, multi-sensor integration, and directed energy weapons, further propel the market by enhancing the effectiveness and reliability of anti-drone solutions.

Ground-based solutions projected to dominate

The ground-based segment is expected to hold the largest share of the anti-drone market in 2030 due to its versatility, ease of deployment, and ability to cover vast areas with integrated sensor arrays. These systems can incorporate multiple detection and disruption technologies, such as radar, RF jamming, and directed energy weapons, making them effective against diverse drone threats. Their suitability for protecting critical infrastructure, military installations, and public events further drives widespread adoption. Additionally, they offer scalability and easier maintenance compared with airborne or naval platforms, strengthening their dominance in the market.

Commercial sector the strongest vertical

The commercial segment is expected to exhibit the highest CAGR in the anti-drone market during the forecast period due to the rapid expansion of drone usage across industries such as logistics, agriculture, construction, and event management, which raises concerns over safety and security. Increasing investments by businesses to protect assets, comply with regulations, and ensure operational continuity drives demand for effective counter-drone solutions. Additionally, the growing awareness of drone-related risks in crowded urban environments and critical commercial facilities fuels the adoption of advanced detection and disruption technologies. The rising trend of integrating anti-drone systems with IoT and cloud-based platforms further accelerates market growth in this segment, making it a key revenue driver.

Americas hold largest market share

The Americas held the largest share of the global anti-drone market in 2024 due to the strong focus on security and defence, supported by substantial investments in advanced counter-drone technologies. The presence of extensive critical infrastructure, including airports, military bases, and government facilities, makes the region highly vulnerable to unauthorised drone activities, driving urgent demand for effective detection and mitigation solutions. Leading defence contractors, such as RTX, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, are actively developing sophisticated systems that combine radar, electronic warfare, and directed energy weapons to address these threats. Additionally, stringent regulations and coordinated efforts between government agencies and private sector players facilitate the rapid deployment and integration of anti-drone systems across various applications. This combination of strategic priorities, technological innovation, and regulatory support solidifies the position as the dominant market in the global anti-drone landscape.

Key players

Some of the key companies operating in the anti-drone market and mentioned within the reasearch include, RTX, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, IAI, Leonardo S.p.A., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Thales, Saab, Droneshield Ltd, and Dedrone, among others.

For a long time, video cameras were used primarily for surveillance purposes. However, with digitalisation, new technical standards, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI), the range of possible uses has fundamentally expanded. Today, cameras offer far more than traditional security functions and are evolving into valuable sensor platforms within modern building infrastructures.

While cameras still play a crucial role in enhancing security, they are increasingly used in other areas such as marketing, parking management, workforce planning, and the control of building systems. Current technological trends, originally developed for security-related applications, are now opening up new use cases.

A prime example is the continuous improvement in resolution: 4K and even 8K cameras allow for highly detailed capture of people, objects, and situations – a development that benefits both security and a variety of other applications. Key advancements include intelligent video analytics, AI integration, cloud-based storage solutions, integration into IoT environments, and mobile surveillance technologies. Modern systems no longer simply record video data passively but actively analyse it in real time – either directly on the device (“on the edge”) or via central servers. This enables automatic triggering of alarms or initiation of processes. Artificial intelligence assists with the recognition of patterns, faces, or number plates and helps in automatically reporting suspicious activities. Instead of relying on local storage media, cloud-based solutions are increasingly being adopted, offering more flexible access and better scalability. Cameras are also becoming integral components of smart building systems – such as in smart homes, traffic management, or building-wide automation. The use of camera-equipped drones is also gaining importance among security authorities and private providers.

Data protection and public acceptance

As the use of camera technologies increases, ethical and legal issues are moving to the forefront. The European GDPR, stricter regulations around facial recognition, and the requirement to label monitored areas are contributing to greater transparency and building public trust. At the same time, clear legal frameworks are essential to ensure the responsible use of such technologies.

Cameras as connected sensors

The term “visual intelligence” is increasingly replacing the traditional understanding of video surveillance. Today, cameras act as multisensory systems capable of detecting audio, temperature, or even chemical signals. Supported by AI-based analytics, they contribute not only to building security but also to the optimisation of operational processes. Close cooperation between manufacturers, integrators, and security experts is creating solutions that deliver tangible added value – from automation to increased efficiency.

New perspectives for building security

Thanks to AI-based video analytics, proactive security strategies are now possible. Cameras can detect behavioural anomalies, movement patterns, or unauthorised access and trigger appropriate responses automatically. Especially in high-security areas such as airports, these systems can flexibly adapt to emerging threats and provide targeted support to security personnel.

Early fire Detection via video

One of the major innovations in fire protection is AI-powered, video-based fire detection. Systems such as Bosch’s Aviotec 8000i IR use deep learning algorithms to detect smoke and flames in real time. They operate reliably even under challenging conditions such as darkness, humidity, or strong air circulation, often identifying hazards earlier than conventional detectors.

Added value beyond security

Intelligent cameras are also being used in sectors such as retail and hospitality. They monitor visitor flows, identify peak periods, and analyse customer behaviour. As a result, they support not only security but also provide valuable operational data for planning, marketing, and personnel management.

Building management through video data

Management software evaluates the captured information and makes it usable for operators – for instance, to determine occupancy levels, demographic structures, or traffic flows. Environmental aspects can also benefit when HVAC systems are controlled based on room occupancy or lighting is adjusted according to demand. In this way, intelligent camera technology actively contributes to sustainability in buildings.

Video technology in the spotlight: Light + Building 2026 as an industry showcase

The potential offered by modern video technology in building environments will be on full display at Light + Building from 8 to 13 March 2026 in Frankfurt am Main. In particular, the Intersec Building section will feature companies from the security and building technology sectors showcasing innovative solutions that combine security, efficiency, and intelligent networking.

The range of exhibits will cover everything from traditional applications such as fire protection, access control, and video surveillance to holistic system solutions for connected buildings. Increasing focus is being placed on protecting digital infrastructures and sensitive data. In smart homes and smart buildings, integrated system technology across various trades forms the basis for incorporating all security-relevant components. With practical innovations and in-depth expertise, the Intersec Building section offers valuable insights into the future of modern building security.

Light + Building

Light + Building, the world’s leading trade fair for lighting and building services technology, will take place from 8 to 13 March 2026.

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