Blogs

Voluntary vs. Required. That debate regarding the sharing or reporting of vital information emerged in recent days after another salvo in the war on cyberattacks was fired in Washington, D.C. Last week, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Mark Warner (D-Va.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), introduced a bill, titled the Cyber Incident Notification Act of 2021, that requires all federal agencies, contractors, and organizations considered critical to U.S. national security...

My first beat when I joined Security Systems News in 2016 was covering the residential scene, which fortunately for me, was undergoing an incredible transformation driven mainly by the rise of the smart home and, of course, the ability to control everything from our almighty phones. I remember the ceiling that security was trying to break through was that 25 percent mark for home security system adoption – a number the industry had been stuck at for quite some time. But back then, there...

If you are just reading the headlines, or watching the latest “breaking news” reports – is there ever not breaking news? – you’d think the latest round of bans of facial recognition technology (Maryland and even my beloved Maine are the latest two!) is creating momentum in that direction, but, fortunately, that is not the case! In fact, with the help of advocacy groups within our very own security industry, including the Security Industry Association (SIA), we are...

Two weeks ago, I blogged about the successful Moms in Security golf outing that four amazing women in our industry put together for a great cause. Feeding off that phrase – “amazing women in our industry” - something else happened that day at the golf outing that was the catalyst for this week’s blog. Following five hours on the golf course in 100-degree heat, I was about to have a fine meal of ribs, chicken and beans in the clubhouse. However, I was summoned by someone...

No, don’t worry – we haven’t been hacked! But we are undergoing a “40 under 40” Class of 2020 takeover of our website, again! For the third time this year! This is my favorite time here at Security Systems News because we get to celebrate, in a really big way, eight more “40 under 40” winners from our class of 2020. This is also the time of the year to inspire you to nominate someone – a peer, a co-worker, someone you mentor (even yourself) –...

The pictures say it all. The hard work of the four amazing moms pictured above – (from left to right) Min Kyriannis, CEO, Amyna Systems; Antoinette King, PSP, Founder, Credo Cyber Consulting, LLC; Elisa Mula, Founder, EM Designs (EMD), LLC; and Janet Fenner, President, Defined Marketing - culminated in a successful day for the security industry, all for a wonderful cause. We at Security Systems News were proud to sponsor and be on hand for the inaugural Moms in Security Charity Golf Outing...

I guess the Baltimore City Council didn’t read my blog from two weeks ago. It should have. Maybe the council would have reconsidered the unfathomable decision it made on June 8 to approve what would be the most extreme ban by a local jurisdiction on personal and business applications of facial recognition technology.  The vote was 13-2 in favor of the ban, which would most certainly place security on the backburner at a time when security should be front and center on the priority...

The numbers are getting kind of crazy, people. And I am not just talking about the big national cyberattack stories that we are seeing, but also the personal stories that go on daily within our homes and organizations. Just in the last month, I have seen several colleagues (don’t worry I won’t name names) get their emails compromised to the point that they sent me a malicious file to open. And, let’s be honest, when a close industry friend sends you a document to check out,...

Is it possible that security technology is criminal in nature? Sounds like that line of irrational thinking is what is behind one of the more puzzling decisions made just last week by the Baltimore City Council’s Public Safety & Government Operations Committee. The committee’s mind-boggling move on May 26 to advance a proposal that would ban nearly all applications of facial recognition technology in the city raises one simple question – What were you thinking? There’s...

While the U.S. begins to pull itself out of quarantine (the New Yorker cover sums it up perfectly), we here at Security Systems News have been hearing from all facets of the industry – dealers, systems integrators, consultants, manufacturers, end users – that things are starting to open up again, as new business pipelines (bad choice of word considering the recent Colonial Pipeline incident) begin to get back to pre-pandemic levels, and better, for some. As Eagle Eye Networks...