Monitoring Matters

Well, we’re just one day away from getting together with our loved ones and feasting on turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes, loads of other scrumptious offerings and, of course, mouthwatering dessert to cap off our Thanksgiving smorgasbord. As we spend time with our family and friends on Turkey Day and throughout the holiday season, this is a perfect time to focus on all the good things that happened over the past year, especially with the challenges we have all faced due to...

Last week, Security Systems News Editor Paul Ragusa was feeling the love. This week, I’m feeling angry and sad. The horrible, unspeakable tragedy that occurred last weekend at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, in which eight people were killed and scores of others injured during a crowd surge at a concert headlined by rapper Travis Scott, created a wave of emotions for someone like me who has attended hundreds of concerts over the years, including massive stadium shows. While I...

As I sit by my living room window looking out at all the gloom following a late-October Nor’easter, I’m smiling from ear to ear because today marks one of the prouder moments for all of us in the Security Systems News family. Why, you may ask? You don’t have to look any further than the main page of our website, as we made the announcement earlier today that three outstanding, brilliant women in the security industry – Kasia Hanson, Antoinette King and Min Kyriannis –...

Yes, I was thinking about Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, from the classic 1960s comedy as I came up with the headline for this blog, and more specifically, all the devices he and his sidekick Agent 99 used to fight the international organization of evil, KAOS. Remember the shoe phone? Or the coin-operated door? How about the lipstick remote control? Or the pencil listening device? Flash forward more than 50 years. Just think if Agent 86’s devices were “smart,” life would have been...

If you’ve read our website over the last month or so, you’ve noticed an uptick in the amount of merger and acquisition (M&A) stories we’ve posted, and as Karen Carpenter beautifully sang so many years ago, we’ve only just begun. The wheeling and dealing in the security industry have been hot and heavy during the late summer and early part of the fall season. In case you have not been able to keep up with the goings-on of all the business transactions over the past several...

Working together for a common goal often leads to great things. Case in point – check out the top story on our website and you’ll notice the huge announcement we were proud to share this week, as PSA and Security Systems News joined forces to create the new Integrator of the Year and Bill Bozeman Awards, honoring the top systems integrators within the security industry. Months of planning between SSN Editor Paul Ragusa and Candice Aragon, vice president of marketing and events at...

It’s website takeover time! For some reason, I had an 80s flashback when I started to write this blog on the “40 under 40” takeover happening this afternoon on www.securitysystemsnews.com. With visions of “Forever Young” dancing in my head (yes, I had a hard time choosing between the Alphaville song from the early 80s or the Rod Stewart hit from the latter part of the decade), we continue to honor the outstanding young professionals who are making their mark in the...

I enjoy writing feel-good stories, and the story we posted today on our site is just that – a truly inspiring article on why you should never give up on your dreams. Min Kyriannis’s story is not your typical “Family immigrates to the United States in search of the American dream” scenario. It’s a lot more than that. Kyriannis grew up in New York in Flushing, Queens (which happens to be my hometown) and has worked in a variety of technology and security roles for...

And the ransomware attacks just keep on coming. Add Fortune 500 company Accenture to the ongoing list of major companies that have been victimized and compromised in recent months as the Dublin, Ireland-based global cyber consulting firm was breached last week by a cyber threat using a strain of ransomware known as LockBit. Reports indicate that the hackers, known as LockBit 2.0, demanded $50 million in exchange for the more than 6TB of Accenture’s data they stole. A threatening message...

It’s not often that we at Security Systems News write an article that just tugs at your heartstrings and makes you want to hug your loved ones a little tighter. I just put together a feature that really tells a story of courage and inspiration that I wish had a happy ending, but unfortunately does not. The story of security coach/mentor Jeff Snyder is one that was brought to our attention by Min Kyriannis, CEO of Amyna Systems, who informed us that he passed away in June at the much too...