On The Editor's Desk

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...

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 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,...

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...

Names of individuals left to right in the photo with Governor Kemp: Dan Gordon, President, Gordon Security Systems, Inc., Doug Bassett, Executive Director, Licensing and Compliance, XFINITY Home, COMCAST, Becky Busby-Maiello, Co-Owner, VP Sales, SDI. (Systems Distributors, Inc.), Stan Martin, Executive Director, SIAC (Security Industry Alarm Coalition), John Loud, President, LOUD Security Systems, Inc., and Vice Chairman, ESA (Electronic Security Association), Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp,...

As Security Systems News’ Managing Editor Cory Harris and I have been pointing out lately in our columns, it has been exciting to see the security industry come together in myriad ways to tackle the industry’s top issues. The latest industry association superheroes to join forces are the Security Industry Association (SIA), PSA Security and Security Specifiers, which have jointly developed something our industry desperately needs – a cybersecurity certification...

Heading back today from my first vaccine shot (first of two), I got to thinking about this past year, and how we as a nation, as an industry, are inching our way back to the way things were before this nightmare called COVID hit us all just over a year ago. I don’t know if it is just me, but I have been insanely driven, work-wise, this past year, and I have learned that this new work-from-home dynamic does come with some caveats, as I am sure many of us have learned over this past year....

With Mission 500 recently opening nominations for their 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award and 2021 Humanitarian Award, we here at Security Systems News wanted to highlight how important it is to recognize those companies that do give back, while hopefully inspiring others. We also wanted to use this opportunity to gauge where the industry is when it comes to CSR programs, and just giving back, in general. After a year since COVID, the need to give back to those in need is greater...

Brivo and ASIS International released their fifth annual Physical Security Industry Survey, based on responses from more than 500 U.S.-based physical security and facility management professionals, fielded from November 2020–January 2021. Results reveal that more than half of respondents see increases in spending on security in the near future.  The Brivo Smart Security Trends Report: Physical Security Disruption in the COVID Era focuses on physical security impacts from COVID,...