World Telecom & Surveillance Blog

Congratulations to Glenn VanVoltinburg and Family!

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A big congratulations to Glenn VanVoltinburg and his family.  Glenn's daughter, Melissa was married this past weekend.  We thought we'd share a couple photos with you.  Here at World Telecom & Surveillance, Inc. we cherish these lifetime events and enjoy celebrating with our employees and their families.

Here Glenn is walking his daughter, Melissa down the aisle.

And here they share their father/daughter dance! Another amazing lifetime event that we love to see and are proud that Glenn was able to share this moment with his daughter!

Congratulations Glenn! This is another one of those lifetime events that we are so happy to celebrate with our employee, Glenn!

Thermal Security Cameras Help Execute Port Security

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Thermal Security Cameras help officials to execute Port Security.

To say the Port of Portland is a large and complicated infrastructure is a gross understatement. The Port of Portland is responsible for servicing more than 800 vessel calls each and every year, "accounting for more than 14 million tons of ocean-going cargo." (Lee, David. "Eyes Open Wide," Security Products Magazine, March 2012, Vol 16, No. 3, p 46.)  The operations that take place there are ongoing, day and night, year round, and so it is extremely important that the Port of Portland's security infrastructure be effective no matter the weather and/or lighting conditions.

The port security upgrade, a project that has taken port officials two years designing and implementing, focused on several terminals and, "multi-modal facilities that need to control access from pedestrian, vehicle, rail and sea routes." (Lee, David. "Eyes Open Wide," p 46.)

According to David Lee in an article in Security Products Magazine, as well as www.security-today.com, "Some of the new security systems focus on the cargo and it's containers...an Optical Character Recognition system, which scans shipping container markings and matches these markings to a truck's license plate, and Radiation Portal Monitors, which scan containers for abnormal levels of radiation...other parts of the port security upgrade include the installation of improved guard houses...improved access control through the implementation...and integration of Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) thermal imaging cameras."

Even though they are available for less than $3000, this can be viewed as a costly investment, however the benefits of thermal Imaging helps execute Port Security unlike any other security upgrade:

• The thermal imaging camera acts as a force multiplier, more effectively read by law inforcement, making their response to crime more effective and using agency resources more efficiently
• "Thermal security cameras let you see what your eyes can't: invisible heat radiation emitted by all objects regardless of lighting conditions." (Lee, David. "Eyes Open Wide," Security Products Magazine, March 2012, Vol 16, No. 3, p 46.)
• Thermal cameras aren't limited by the basic limitations of visible-light imaging, so they are effective in ANY environment, in all weather, day or night...
• "Thermal security cameras have been widely adopted as the imaging technology of choice to answer federal regulations requiring continuous 24-hour surveillance, observation, and monitoring of the perimeter and control areas at critical infrastructure facilities such as nuclear plants, energy production facilities and ports." (Lee, David. "Eyes Open Wide," Security Products Magazine, March 2012, Vol 16, No. 3, p 48.) 

Best New Business Gadgets 2012

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Here is a highlight of the 17 Best New Business Gadgets 2012.  World Telecom and Surveillance, Inc has picked their three favorite Best New Buseiness Gadgets of 2012 from PC World's online magazine article, "17 Brand-New Business Gadgets."  PCWorld has chosen 17 of the most Awesome Biz Gadgets: 

"If you're looking for the latest and greatest gadgets that you can also write off as business expenses, look no further. Here are a ton of brand-new tech toys that will spice up your office and (we hope) make you a lot more productive. You'll find everything from cool mobile accessories to file-sharing alternatives to a headset that reads your brain waves."

Here are a list of our top three favorites:

• ESI 250 Smartphone for the Desktop!!! 

  The ESI 250 Smartphone for the Desktop is an enterprise-grade smartphone for small and medium-size businesses. It looks like a regular office phone but has a 7-inch color touchscreen and third-party apps such as Evernote. The ESI 250 lets you send text messages and record calls, and it offers features such as reminders, automatic call distribution, and advanced conferencing. The phone uses VoIP running on ESI servers that support 5 to 300 phones. Slated for release in June, the ESI 250 will be available throughresellers for $400 to $500.

  

• Cobra Tag G5

  When our keys or phone go missing, this key fob communicates with your smartphone to set off an alarm when the two become separated by more than 30 feet. Should your keys or phone disappear just press a button on the key fob and it will cause your phone to ring or the Cobra app on your smartphone will tell you where the tag last was. The Cobra Tag G5 will be available at the Cobrasite and at Amazon sometime before this summer, for about $60.

Mobile Devices Deliver Remote Video

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One of the biggest advances of business surveillance and business security is the capacity for Mobile devices to deliver remote video to business owners and managers. The delivery of video to mobile devices saves time and resources.

With the advances of handheld devices and mobile smartphones, security command centers are becoming increasingly mobile.  Employees or business owners monitoring a business location, no longer have to be onsite to see what is happening on the premises of their work place. With the help of security cameras and smartphones applications, business owners and certified employees can now access businesses surveillance camera footage virtually anywhere they have internet access.

"Imagine this scenario: A large, often unmanned utility substation has suffered repeated acts of vandalism from theives looking to steal copper and other valuable materials.  The utility operator installed cameras aroudn the site perimeter in an effort to deter thieves and otherwise monitor any potential criminal activity.  The company's security director is watching a weekend football game in his living room when his smartphone beeps with an email alert warning of an alarm at the substation.  He picks up his tablet and opens an app that allows him to pan and zoom the camera to see real-time video from the site.  The problem turns out to be no more serious than a deer repeatedly running into the perimeter fence, and he goes back to enjoying his game."  (Arcement, Brandon.  Mobile Security: Security's Range and Capabilities. Volume 15, number 12, page 16.  December, 2011.) 

This technology will save business owners (or those hired to monitor business security) time and money.  This security director would have had to respond to the alarm either by leaving his home and going to the site himself, or he might have had to send someone else to investigate the alarm. Because his mobile device delivered remote video he saved time and resources, thus saving his company money.

Here are several ways that mobile devices deliver remote video:

• Sobriety check points and pat downs can use mobile devices to record and transmit real-time video to a command center, thus protecting officers from claims of mistreatment.

• Small business owners have the capability and flexibility of monitoring their business location when out in the field, saving them the cost of hiring an onsite security guard.

• Security command centers are becoming mobile, allowing more information to be known before guards, officers and other first responders.  Officers  approaching a potentially dangerous situation or site where an alarm has been triggered now have vital video information. Superiors can oversee their actions from the command center and determine if backup is required.

The biggest advantage when mobile devices deliver remote video, is that there is no need for cabling or even a mass business Wi-Fi network.  Video can stream using cellular networks. 

Arcement states, "A word of warning before deployment: verify the volume of data to be streamed and check out the cost of data plans from network providers. Adjusting for a slower frame rate, lower resolution or higher compression can reduce bandwidth problems and save money (pg 18)."

Audio is also being integrated with this technology to ensure even more information is streamed to the security command center.  "Some organizations also are connecting these mobile devices to emergency notification systems, intercoms and external loudspeakers, allowing officers at an event to communicate directly with the larger community.

Stay tuned for next weeks blog to see more ways that mobile devices deliver remote video and more importantly, how you can get started with mobile security.

NFC Enabled Smartphones Simplify Access Control

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NFC enabled smartphones simplify access control for businesses more than ever before.  With the Near-Field Communication Enhancements the potential for the range in which this technology can be used continues to grow.

A major university on the west coast has recently started using this smartphone technology for access control of students and staff in their dormitories.  Door locks are opened by students and staff using their NFC-enabled smartphones.  The majority of students and staff using their smartphones for more simple access control stated that using a smartphone to unlock a door was as convenient as using a campus ID card, and nearly all students commented on their interest in using their smartphones to simplify access control to the recreation/sport center, and when paying for meals, tickets and merchandise.

NFC-enabled smartphone technology also allows the cellular network to reprogram and deliver keys to new employees and vendors and alter the rules for the use of each digital key.

According to an article by Brandon Arcement in Mobile Security Magazine he states, "An employee or a vendor at a government facility may have already received approval for access only to find a door where access is denied.  With a traditional access card, the person would be required to return to the security operations center to have authorization for that door added.  But with NFC enabled smartphones, that authorization could be added remotely by simply calling the security desk.  The process would take seconds rather than many minutes to complete."

And doors are not the only things that NFC-enabled smartphones can access and unlock.  Smartphones simplify access control to drawers, file cabinets, drug carts, and other valuable properties that businesses or individuals want to keep limited access to.  

According to Arcement this technology available through NFC-enabled smartphones is also less expensive than traditional smart cards, "The infrastructure required for these locks is usually less expensive than that of a standard online card reader, yet, combined with the smartphone, it can create an audit trail to show who has accessed an asset and when. These less expensive solutions allow for robust access systems to be applied in areas that may have previously been considered cost prohibitive."

In addition, NFC enabled smartphone can provide extra security for students and staff who may want to feel safer while moving about campus late at night.  Duress calls can be made from their NFC enabled smartphones to the security command center, where the phones GPS capabilities can pinpoint the call on a campus map.  "With virtually all students now carrying a mobile phone, it may be possible in the future to reduce the number of remote intercoms and communication stations on campus," says Arcement.

You can read Brandon's full article here:  http://secprodonline.com/articles/2011/12/01/securitys-range-and-capabilities.aspx

Stay tuned for more information in our next blog regarding how mobile devices and smartphones can deliver remote video, further enhancing and simplifying access control.

World Telecom & Surveillance Recent Job Pictures

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Here are a few pictures of our technicians in action:

Mike McDaniel at Record Range:

Buzzy Silva installing cable:

Near-Field Communication Simplifies Access Control

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Near-field communication enhances business security, but what exactly is near-field communication?  Near-field communication (NFC) is another step in the continued growth of mobile security that is also being used to enhace business security.  According to Wikipedia online, near field communication is a term used for a set of standards applied to a mobile device and a close proximity security device that, "include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi.  In other words, it is a technology that allows for the high frequency, wireless exchange of data between two devices (such as a card reader and a smartphone), separated by no more than about four inches.  

A current example of how this technology can simplify access control, can be seen in some smartphones that contain a user's credit card and/or debit card information, which allows these users to make purchases for items through their smart phones.  And similarly, this technology also has amazing potential for access control applications, allowing business owners to enhance business security.

Here is an example of how this technology is already working.  According to Mobile Security Magazine, in an article titled, "Security's Range and Capabilities," Brandon Arcement gives the example of a Swedish hotel that gives guests the option of replacing their standard room keys with NFC-equipped mobile phones.

"After making a reservation at the hotel, guests receive a text message asking them to check in using their near field communication phones.  Once they do so, either before or as they arrive at the hotel, the NFC chip's key function is activated."

The days of having to wait at the reception desk to be admitted and assigned a common hotel room swipe card are over.  Now guests can go directly to their pre-assigned rooms, and use their phone much the same as a proximity card to swipe into their rooms.  Similarly this card can be used for a range of other functions: ordering room service, calling the front desk, booking a taxi or accessing the internet.  Devices like this are sure to save guests, as well as hotel staff, time and money.

Similarly NFC phones are helping to enhance business security and simplify access control. Like its capabilities within a hotel, Near field communication enhances seccurity in facilities such as office buildings and college dormitories.  

Read our blog next week to learn how near-field communication can enhance business security and more examples of how near-field communication simplifies access control.

Access Control Goes Mobile

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Smartphones and tablet PCs are changing and revolutionizing the ways that we communicate with one another and entertain ourselves.  Today we can use our mobile deivices to communicate with friends and family effectively from virtually anywhere on the planet, and because of these advances in technology smart phones simplify access control and security for business owners.  

Business owners and managers no longer have to be onsite to monitor the security of their businesses.  The mobility and convenience of smartphones simplify access control; handheld mobile devices deliver remote video beyond business walls.  Manufacturers and integrators are hopping on board to join this security solutions wave, creating more security products with a wider range and more specific capabilities.  

According to an article written by Brandon Arcement in Security Products Magazine, (a magazine produced by www.secprodonline.com), "Security's Range and Capabilities, There are Apps for That,"  many companies are creating more and more specific apps that help our mobile devices deliver remote video from businesses:  " Many video technologies offer apps allowing users to view video, control PTZ cameras, integrate video analytics, and start and stop recording.  In some cases, video also can be integrated with Google Earth to quickly link incidents to a geographic location."

Brandon explains, "There are also numerous mobile solutions being offered to augment access control systems. By making the guard, the credential and the reader mobile, the range of security is being greatly expanded.  And with these devices capable of working over cellular, RF or Wi-Fi networks, security solutions are becoming viable in places and situations that, until recently, would have been unavailable or cost prohibitive."

ACCESS CONTROL GOES MOBILE. 

Mobile devices like smart phones are delivering intelligence that is comprable to the components of a business access control system.  Because of this they are now being asked to perform the traditional activities that onsite workstations would normally perform.  Brandon Arcement gives an example of a Canadian petrochemical plant that uses handheld remote card readers with the latest mobile security technologies.  This facility requires that staff maintain an accurate list of occupants onsite, while validating the credentials of all people coming and going:  

• Each time a bus stops at the gate a guard uses him mobile device to enter the bus into the system
• He swipes each passenger's card (credential) to ID them by photo on his mobile device's screen
• A green checkmark indicates a valid ID and clears that passenger for entry; a red "X" indicates that this person is not cleared for entry.

This entire process is quick, concise and keeps the individuals entering the facility contained within the bus until absolutely everyone is authorized to enter the plant.  This same process is done at the end of day to make sure that  everyone that is supposed to leave is leaving.  Because this system is set up wirelessly this information is transmitted to the command center.  

• There are countless advantages to such a high tech mobile security system:
• It can be used as a tool to keep track of all people on site at the plant during an emergency
• The readers can provide a list of any missing persons during an emergency or routine training.
• If the network connectivity is interrupted, the device has the  smarts to operate autonomously until communication is fixed.
• "Handheld readers can provide remote enrollment sites at large facilities such as ports that use government-issued TWIC cards or other personal ID verification (PIV) credentials.  By handling the authentication at the facility perimeter, the person is enrolled in the database, which can save time for the person at the other ID access points within the facility," states Arcement.

As access control goes mobile, the limits of our business security systems become infinite. The mobility of access control enhances security.  Stay tuned next week for the next installation of this series in mobile security...

5 Tips to Reduce Patch Cord Clutter in Data Centers

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Here are 5 tips for keeping patch panel fields tidy.  For those technicians out there that could use a little advice:  Here is a two-minute video posted to YouTube by Cisco Systems.  This video walks viewers through five steps they can take to reduce or eliminate patch-cord clutter in data centers. The video is narrated by Douglas Alger, an IT architect for Cisco. (See books on data center energy efficiency authored by Douglas Alger.)

Here is a job that World Telecom & Surveillance technicians completed for Caltrans/Butte County......we follow the same tips that Douglas Alger suggests...

BEFORE

AFTER

Alger suggests the following steps for keeping cabling neat and tidy:

1. Make sure that you are planning for the correct amount of wire management when designing your data center.

2. Be sure to use correct lengths of patch cords when making connections. Alger advises: "Don't just allow hardware installers to grab a fistful of 8-foot cables and use them everywhere, leaving excess cable length to either hang free or be tucked away in wire management."

3. Make sure that your data center has multiple lengths of network cable in stock.

4. Try to make sure patch cords are prewired into data center networking rows. This is much more efficient rather than waiting for those rows to be filled with hardware, "and cabling on a piecemeal basis later," Alger says.

5. Patch cords need to be streamlined in the data center through hardware choices. Virtualization, for example, allows more computer power with fewer physical servers and, therefore, less network cabling.

Watch the full video below for further details.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zpRKAwcPxBA

More detailed information can be viewed at www.cablinginstall.com

20 Questions to Answer Before Choosing a Video Surveillance System

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When Choosing a Video Surveillance System for your business, there are many different factors to consider.  We have provided a list of the most important aspects of your business to consider before choosing which video surveillance system is the best fit for your business and your budget.  This detailed and comprehensive worksheet of questions to ask yourself before choosing the perfect video surveillance system for your business.  Here are just a few sample questions:

1.  Power distrubution:  It's important to know exactly how many cameras you will need and how you will power those video surveillance cameras.  The most common problems that occur with video surveillance systems, is not with the cameras themselves, but with the power being supplied to the cameras.  Make sure your budget allows you to invest in a power supply that will ensure your business video surveillance system runs smoothly.  This is not an area to shave yoru budget.

2.  Will the security cameras be placed outside, inside, or both?  There often times an issue of glare on cameras placed outside.  If cameras are placed in direct sunlight this can disturb the image, blind the camera or cause a glare that will hide part, or all, of the picture when viewed on the monitor.  There are specialty cameras that eliminate the glare and capture a clear picture even when the lens of the camera is directly facing the sun.  You may use an outdoor housing case, with or without heater and/or blower. The heater and/or blower built-in housing cases generally require a separate power source. Some cameras are made water resistant and do not need separate housing cases. Some of these also come with removable sunshields.  

3.  CCTV or standard TV?  CCTV (Closed Circuit TV) uses one or more video cameras to transmit video and sometimes audio images to a monitor, set of monitors, or video recorder. The difference between CCTV and standard TV is that standard TV openly broadcasts signals to the public. CCTV is not openly transmitted to the public. CCTV uses either wireless or wired transmission to send the broadcast from the video cameras to the monitor(s) or recording device. Most CCTV systems are used for surveillance, which can include security monitoring, spying, or safety monitoring. 

And More Questions that we'll help you to answer:

• Will my camera be used at day and/or night?

• Does it need to be weather/vandal proof?  

• What focal length do I need from my camera?  

• Do I want a surveillance system that will record constantly, or do i want a triggered motion surveillance system?

• Do I want my camera to be noticeable, aesthetically pleasing, or something hidden?

• Which style will best suit the business security needs: box style, dome, or bullet?

   

All these questions and more are answered here: