On The Editor's Desk

I have to say I miss going to a sporting event and cheering on my favorite team, going to a concert, doing anything other than watching live events on TV! The energy and excitement of being there live, sharing in the moment with thousands of other like-minded people creates, hopefully, great memories. Unless your team loses, or the band stinks, but that is a different story! For sports fans (me included), the sight – and sound – of fans back in the seats and organized sports...

There is one thing cybersecurity experts can guarantee … no sorry, it’s not invincibility against an attack! It is, unfortunately, an assurance that cyberattacks – in their many shapes, forms, sizes and intensity – will continue for the foreseeable future, ad nauseum! But that doesn’t mean we have to take it sitting down. The cybersecurity world, and security professionals as well, need to continue to do their part to stay one step ahead of these cybercriminals,...

It seems like all we have been talking about these days is access control. Sure, thermal and infrared technology continues to be a hot topic during the pandemic, but for many end users, it was, and still is in some respects, more about deciding if that even is the best technology to solve the problem. And, more importantly, if it is, finding the right company among a sea of companies trying to cash in on the thermal camera space.  Today, though, it is more about creating an...

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...