On The Editor's Desk

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,...

Results from our recent News Poll on the impact of the new administration on the security industry, as well as the new administration’s recent National Security Council (NSC) appointments, got me thinking about the continued urgency for a stronger national cybersecurity posture here in the U.S., especially in light of the SolarWinds incident that the government is still trying to unravel. The truth is, we have known for some time now that nefarious actors can, and have been able to, get...

One thing we can all agree on is the importance of attracting young and diverse talent to the security industry, a mission we here at Security Systems News take very seriously. Our “40 under 40” award program (formerly "20 under 40"), which is going on now for more than a decade, has allowed us to shine a light on, and help propel forward, the next generation of security industry leaders. There is nothing more gratifying than to see the dozens and dozens of past 40 under 40 winners go...

The cybersecurity industry is currently facing a monumental shortfall in security professionals. That is the urgent message sounded from the latest (ISC)2 report from the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, which noted, “There is a lack of capable, fresh, new talent within the industry. Talent that is vital to uphold national cyber defense capabilities.” This is sobering news following the recent SolarWinds attack, among other noteworthy national breaches. In...

The remote workforce phenomenon, brought on by COVID-19 and stay-at-home directives in many of the hardest hit states, has changed, possibly forever, how companies and organizations do business. According to Gartner Research’s recent report on Remote Work, more than 48 percent of employees will continue to work remotely post COVID-19. While there are clearly some positives for moving to a remote, or hybrid workforce model, there are also some pitfalls, or challenges, to such an...

Sorry about the classic movie reference – cue that epic western movie theme music now please – but this year will be remembered as one of the most challenging in American history, and the security industry has not been immune, with the impact of this past year being felt in all facets of the industry, certainly some more than others. The 2020 M&A market, in particular, has had some wild activity. Just in the last six months alone we have seen some big deals, most notably: Allied...

I know, many of you clicked on the title thinking, “celebrate? Does this guy realize we are in part two of a pandemic?!” But, seriously, the entire world as we know it can’t wait to countdown to 2021, and distance ourselves as much as possible from a year that was fraught with uncertainty and challenges, pushing many of us to dig down to places we didn’t even know existed for strength and resilience, and to recalibrate ourselves to this – I promise I’m not going...

We here at Security System News are excited to announce the education program for our virtual SecurityNext conference — held over two afternoons on Feb. 24-25, 2021. This year’s virtual conference follows what was a highly successful inaugural SecurityNext in-person conference earlier this year in New Orleans, right before the pandemic changed in-person conferences for 2020 and the foreseeable future. I am sure we are all looking forward to getting back to some semblance of normalcy as...