Big Data Gives Standards-Based Security Big Opportunities

by Larry Lien, chairman, the PSIA; vice president, product management, Proximex

“Big Data,” which is a hot business topic, is made up of vast quantities of “little” data from an amazing array of sources. In the security realm, video images, people counts, door events, sensor readings, card swipes, biometric readings, RFID tags, alarms and alerts—taken together, these and more comprise the Big Data our industry generates.

Sophisticated data analytics can parse physical security data combined with other data to reveal valuable patterns and correlations. A city’s tourism bureau might combine historic weather data, video images and crowd counts from various venues on specific dates to understand tourist behavior patterns better and how to tailor discount offers to send to smart phones. Meanwhile, a security director might use the same data to scale resources more efficiently across different venues based on predictive analytics forecasts of trouble spots.

In short, security systems gather unique data that can be used to generate additional business value beyond securing the enterprise. PSIA members building our specifications into their tools and systems will be well positioned to be part of the data revolution. Standards-based systems integrate faster with enterprise IT infrastructure and its tools; share data and intelligence more easily across many platforms; and eliminate the need for expensive and difficult-to-maintain custom interfaces.

During the upcoming ASIS annual show, the PSIA will again be demonstrating how our Working Groups are anticipating and acting on security, IT and business trends. Members adopting our specifications are positioned to deliver business value alongside better security solutions. You don’t need Big Data analytics to know that’s a winning proposition in today’s markets.

(Please join us at the PSIA's Enterprise User Interoperability Showcase at ASIS on September 23. Register here to reserve space for you and your colleagues.)

Access Control Standards Revolution Now In Progress

We wanted to share our perspective on access control standards adoption after reading a recent news release from IMS Research. This release indicated that “open standards for access control could bring a dramatic change for vendors and alter the face of the access control industry as it is known today.” We agree. Our perception, in fact, is that the industry is much further along toward embracing open access control standards than the release authors appreciate.

First, we see firm support among access control vendors for building open specifications from the PSIA into their product roadmaps. Leading access control companies, including Assa Abloy, HID, Honeywell, Kastle Systems, Stanley, Tyco/Proximex) ,UTC/Lenel and Verint sit on our board of directors and have participated with time, money and talent in our various working groups. They helped develop the PSIA’s Area Control Specification, which includes access control and intrusion detection. (The IEC, an international standards body, and the PSIA are in discussions about a global access control standard, in part because of the robust features of our Area Control Specification.)

All our members also understand standards do not prevent them from being innovative or addressing specific customer needs but rather make it easier for their systems to communicate unique data and intelligence to other systems and devices. Today’s most influential technology developments, including mobility, Big Data analytics, consumerism, the Internet of Things, all call for more interconnected devices and users. Security industry systems and tools must be ready to easily integrate with growing networks of sensors, apps, smart mobile devices and digital tools from other industries. Standards will help the industry accomplish this.

From an economics perspective, widespread use of the PSIA’s Area Control Specification will make it easier for users to get residual value from their closed, proprietary systems. Because all PSIA-compliant tools share the same common event vocabulary, only one “translation” is necessary to connect a closed system to a comprehensive set of security tools. Contrast that to writing (and maintaining) dozens of unique interfaces to link a closed system to modern tools.

Finally, at the spring IFSEC security show in Birmingham, UK, we spoke with many VMS manufacturers who told us they need to build richer access control functionality into their systems and want to investigate the PSIA’s Area Control specification. They underscored the message that integrators, consultants and end users want the ability to share intelligence across and beyond the security ecosystem, such as to building automation and enterprise systems.

IMS Research says open standards will reshape access control; we at the PSIA already see that evolution under way.

Emerging Issues in Access Control

We had some thoughts about a recent post by Kim Kornmaier on the Honeywell Security Channel blog.

One way security integrators and consultants can address the access control issues laid out above is by using products and systems that comply with the Area Control Specification and/or the Access Control Profile (http://psialliance.org/AreaControlOverview.html) from the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA).  

PSIA-compliant products all share the same event vocabulary. With the Area Control specification, systems and components from different manufacturers can quickly share data about terminated employees or unauthorized access. Security professionals need only enter the revocation command once; it will then propagate automatically to the other systems. Access privileges across a corporate or campus network are cancelled within minutes, with minimal effort, greatly improving security.

A clear common vocabulary across compliant components also makes it easier to integrate IT security and physical security systems to address potential blended threats. In addition, that commonality means consultants and integrators can add vital new components into legacy security solutions more quickly. That’s because they only need to map the legacy systems’ communication to one PSIA-compliant vocabulary, not many different interfaces.

Finally, because the PSIA specifications are created by leading industry vendors, the specifications reflect industry demand, including support for cloud, wireless and mobile security solutions.

Vendors like HID, Ingersoll Rand (Schlage), Kastle Systems, Honeywell, Mercury, Proximex, and ASSA ABLOY are all actively implementing these specs into products. Inovonics has already introduced a PSIA-compliant access control wireless gateway, and we expect to see more commercially available solutions soon. So the industry is well at work on meeting these emerging issues for end users.  

Notes on ISC West from Dave Bunzel, Executive Director, the PSIA

Though the three days of ISC passed in a blur, one thing was crystal clear: Standards are an increasingly important focus for the industry. Integrators, specifiers, and manufacturers with whom I met are increasingly aware that standards are necessary to help the physical security world to present compelling value propositions and to interoperate effectively with modern, business-changing technologies, from a wide range of mobile platforms to intelligent devices that generate a rich pool of data to increasingly powerful algorithms for analyzing the resulting information.

Look at several of the major products recognized by the Security Industry Association (SIA) in its New Products Showcase.  Honeywell, a PSIA member, won in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Solutions category for its LYNX Touch L5100, a system released last year that supports the intelligent home concept and is controllable by non-security industry devices, including iPads and smartphones.

Similarly, Stanley Security Solutions took the honors in the Entry/Exit Screening Systems and Asset Tracking category with its AeroScout MobileView Locator for iPad.

Innovative Security Designs (ISD) took “Best New Product” honors in the NPS with what it says is the first Microsoft Windows compatible IP surveillance camera. The camera is built on Microsoft’s Embedded Windows– thus making it compatible with other key Microsoft corporate products, including SharePoint and Active Directory. (For more, see this story at SecurityInfoWatch: http://bit.ly/10bXeEG).

PSIA member Inovonics received an Honorable Mention in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention category with its recent introduction of the Echostream EN6080 Area Control Gateway.  The first PSIA-compliant device to provide IP-based interoperability of leading access control, video and area control systems, the gateway enables integration, configuration and management of thousands of wireless devices; establishes interoperability among multiple physical security systems and creates a common communications platform on which to build custom commercial security solutions. (Find the release here: http://www.inovonics.com/inovonics-launches-en6080-area-conrol-gateway/)

It does take time for standards to take root—and once they do, they spread rapidly. The PSIA’s specifications have been cultivated by a broad range of companies focused on solving industry needs, not just one or two large vendors protecting their turf.  Now we’re poised to help the physical security industry deliver better solutions more cost effectively and enable its participation in a broader IT ecosystem and the “Internet of Things.” Given the sharpened focus on standards I saw at ISC, the PSIA compliance is poised for a year of exciting announcements, accomplishments, and will gain strong traction in the market..

Streamlining Specification Compliance: Introducing the PSIA Profiles!

Today marks a new maturity for plug-and-play interoperability for the physical security industry, with the PSIA introducing its new Access Control Profile, Intrusion Detection Profile, and Profiles Test Tool. The new Profiles and the Test Tool make it easier than ever for manufacturers to conform to PSIA specifications.

In brief, a profile is a subset of data addressing a specific use case drawn from a rich, robust standard. In this case, the PSIA's Access Control Profile and the Intrusion Detection Profile draw on the PSIA's Area Control Specification. A manufacturer with a tool or technology that doesn't generate all of the data elements spelled out in the Area Control Specification may comply with either of the Profiles instead. That streamlined compliance path will make the PSIA specifications even more attractive to a wide body of manufacturers with well-defined security use cases.

Also, when the manufacturer uses the Test Tool, the tool will generate a compliance certificate. That means integrators, consultants and end users can be certain one PSIA Profiles-compliant product will interoperate smoothly with another Profiles-compliant tool. It's true plug-and-play compatibility!

Honeywell, Inovonics and Kastle Systems have all tested the tool; more vendors have tests scheduled and plan to release Profiles-compliant tools soon.  Visit here for the full news release: http://bit.ly/160P4nL.  And see the backgrounder for more details here: http://psialliance.org/Profiles.html

Interested in learning more about Profiles and how to use them? Shoot an email to dmaguire@psialliance.org.

The PSIA Profiles are coming!

The PSIA Profiles Working Group is finishing up the details and preparing to make its Access Control Profile and Intrusion Detection Profile available. The Profiles Working Group consists of HID Global, Honeywell, Inovonics, Kastle Systems, Mercury Security, ObjectVideo, Proximex and UTC. The Profiles are extremely detailed subsets drawn from the PSIA’s broad Area Control Specification. PSIA Profiles will make it easy for manufacturers to comply with PSIA specifications and guarantee plug-and-play interoperability between their products and all other PSIA-compliant products, from video cameras to card readers.

Intrigued? Read more about the PSIA Profiles development effort here. 

Welcome to the PSIA’s new blog page!

Here you’ll find snapshots of the PSIA’s latest news and developments as well as items from our members and around the Web that we hope you’ll find helpful.

If you haven’t already, do see this article from SDM magazine examining VMS trends.  Dave Bunzel, our executive director, contributes his thoughts about how de facto standards like those from the PSIA are influencing the VMS world.

Be sure to subscribe to our blog to keep with our news—it’s going to be a busy, exciting year!