Uruguay has been home to quality football since time immemorial.  While a football court is an age-old source of dreams and ambitions, it draws the young en masse which is exactly the demographics that Uniview wants to protect with its tried-and-tested products.

A series of cameras have been installed at the Futbol Playa Honda in Montevideo whose football court is now under the watchful eye of Univew’s products. The club asked for surveillance systems that will not only ensure fair play but also serve to protect the dreams of young aspiring football players.  When going for this installation, the old adage that misses is as important a lesson for veteran players as the scores does not apply – Uniview’s cameras are not allowed to miss when it comes to the security of the Futbol Playa Honda’s breeding grounds of new talents.

Dahua Technology has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Lorex, a video security company headquartered in Canada with operations in North America and the U.K. to Skywatch a privately held cloud services company headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.  Dahua states that the transaction is valued at around $72 million US dollars.

Commenting on the transaction, Fu Liquan, President and Chairman of Dahua Technology said, “Lorex has been a crown-jewel in Dahua’s global enterprise since we acquired it. However, it is in the best interest of our shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders to execute this transaction, which will create value in both the immediate-term for our company, and over the long-term for Lorex’s stakeholders. We wish the Lorex team every success in this next chapter of their journey.”

The transaction will enable Skywatch to accelerate its entrance into the North American market and other international markets for its growing cloud services business, while enabling Lorex to further grow its already robust video security business in its existing markets. The company does not expect to change its footprint in the markets in which it operates and aims to drive growth across those markets and potential new markets in the coming years.

“Over the course of more than 30 years, Lorex has established itself as one of the most trusted brands in video security in North America. We look forward to working with Lorex’s world-class team to build on its trusted brand, distributor relationships, and industry-leading products to fuel future company growth and to meet growing customer demand for smart video security and IoT solutions. This transaction not only adds a valuable and growing asset but also paves the way for our cutting-edge cloud services business to establish itself in the North American market. Together, we see an enormous opportunity to create exceptional value”, said Skywatch founder Chairman Dr. Wei-Chao Chen.

Let’s be honest: thieves of all categories simply adore trading establishments. Someone pulls a wallet out of a woman’s purse while in line, someone opens the cash register at night, or someone shovels things from the counter under their jacket. The video surveillance system will help to punish miscreants. How to make it as effective as possible?

Among the most important criteria are correctly chosen places for installing CCTV cameras. It’s one thing if you have a small shop. In this case, literally, several CCTV cameras will be enough: in the entrance-exit area and the main hall, so that the cash register and counters are visible. But if the store is a little bigger, it is worth considering all the “hot” points.

Let’s start with the most obvious:

• Trading hall. If its area is large, then several CCTV cameras should be placed around the perimeter.
• Cash desks, as well as checkout areas
• Entrances/exits, including rear and emergency exits
• Warehouses with goods
• luggage storage
• The area close to the store

Installation of CCTV cameras in these places is a “must-have”, and it is probably not necessary to explain why exactly. However, there are several places that are often forgotten, but which are no less important.

• Ramps and loading platforms: more for personal safety, but thefts happen there too.
• Entrances to service premises: the personal things of employees and store property are often the target of offenders. For example, someone can quickly grab a laptop from the office if the workplace is left unattended.
• The area with ATMs, top-up terminals, coffee machines, etc.: it is always crowdy here, people stand in lines, get money, wallets… A fishy place for a thief. And a larger predatory “fish” can target an entire ATM, pretending to be a technical specialist!
• Area with garbage cans: unfortunately, employees of large stores are also not very honest. Taking something expensive to the trash and then picking it up is also a working scheme.

A little general advice. In trade establishments, CCTV cameras should be installed in the most visible places. This will become a factor of passive protection. Having felt the watchful “look” of the video surveillance system, the thief will most likely change his mind about committing a crime.

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Security cameras made by Chinese company Hikvision can no longer be installed in or on government buildings after cabinet minister Oliver Dowden declared them “current and future possible security risks”. This came after calls for a nationwide ban by a group of MPs and peers, but doesn’t go far enough, according to the UK’s outgoing biometrics and surveillance cameras commissioner.

Hikvision is partly owned by the Chinese government and is the largest CCTV provider in the world, serving schools, public institutions and secret laboratories in the UK. It supplies up to 60% of UK public bodies with CCTV cameras according to a report by Big Brother Watch, which found that the cameras from Hikvision and Dahua, another partly Chinese government-owned manufacturer, were used by 73% of local authorities, 35% of police forces and 63% of schools in the UK.

The new decision by the UK government includes a ban on the future installation of any security cameras made by companies subject to Chinese security laws and came after a review of the security risks linked to surveillance systems on the government estate.

“The review has concluded that, in light of the threat to the UK and the increasing capability and connectivity of these systems, additional controls are required,” Dowden wrote in a statement to parliament.

Over a million of these cameras are thought to be on buildings across the UK, including on government and publicly owned property.

In a statement to the media, Hikvision said it was “categorically false to represent Hikvision as a threat to national security.”

“Hikvision is an equipment manufacturer that has no visibility into end users’ video data,” the Hangzhou-based company said. “Hikvision cannot access end users’ video data and cannot transmit data from end-users to third parties. We do not manage end-user databases, nor do we sell cloud storage in the UK. Our cameras are compliant with the applicable UK rules and regulations and are subject to strict security requirements.”

MOBOTIX AG confirms that all MOBOTIX products and systems comply with the requirements of the United States National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and are 100% NDAA-compliant.

The NDAA Section 889 contains a new set of guidelines that allow for increased protection against espionage and hacker attacks. In addition, there are named Chinese companies that produce components used for telecommunications purposes, (including security products) that will be no longer be acceptable.

For clarification purposes, MOBOTIX does not use any SoC (System on Chip) or any other components that are capable of processing software from Chinese companies. Furthermore, MOBOTIX products that are sourced from its OEM partners (Original Equipment Manufacturers) are also 100% NDAA compliant. MOBOTIX has clearly demonstrated a defined 3-step self-certification process that its products and systems do not contain forbidden components.

“MOBOTIX technology is not only a world leader from a quality perspective, but also from a data and cyber-security perspective.  It has always been extremely important for us not to use components from risky suppliers to protect the security of our customers and partners through our own design.” explains Hartmut Sprave, CTO of MOBOTIX AG.