may 2017 Issue 387
Securing Networked Devices l Technology: Future Opportunities l Review: Bosch Home Automation l Physical Security - Why IT Matters l Sony SNC-VB770: Let There Be Light l The History of Alarm Monitoring l Review Dahua Starlight Anti-Corrosion IR Dome l Special Feature: Surveillance Cloud l Case Study: Swinburne Integrates IVA l SecTech Roadshow: Bring on the Big Boppers!
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The details definitely matter, but security shouldn’t be short sighted. At Genetec we realize that systems that work are systems that work together. Our software is the only one to bring together video surveillance, access control, license-plate recognition and enterprise security applications via a unified, cloud-enabled platform. Whether you’re a security specialist, a police chief or a CEO, successful solutions see the whole picture, today and tomorrow.
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editorial s ec u ri ty e l e ct ro n i c s & netwo r ks may 20 17 i s s ue 387
By John Adams
SecTech is Your Roadshow
ECTECH Roadshow, which kicks off in Sydney on May 4, is the perfect opportunity for installers, end users and consultants to get across the most capable solutions on the market – with a sharp focus on operational performance – while meeting with suppliers, customers and colleagues. Alongside SecTech Camera Shootout’s 3 huge broadsides of the industry’s best surveillance cameras, including low lights, bullets and in Sydney PTZs, SecTech incorporates a panel discussion on the vital topic Securing Networked Security Devices and a presentation on video contents analysis. As ever, the point of SecTech’s Camera Shootout is which of the latest cameras performs the best in a range of conditions, including low light, no light and backlight. We’ll look at the low light group first, then move on to bullet cameras – these represent a fast-growing area of the market and combine the best camera systems with the most rugged camera bodies. In these 2 tests, we’ll be looking at sharpness and colour rendition using Norman and most importantly for night time operations, we’ll be using Ronnie Rotakin to show us motion blur. A particular highlight of SecTech Sydney is its leveraging of the towering stand at Randwick Racecourse to run off the world’s best PTZ cameras against each
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Our roadies are bringing their newest goodies on this collective national tour – alarms, access control, locking hardware, surveillance, management systems, storage solution – as well as stacks of brilliant prizes.
other in a shootout the likes of which the world has never seen before. These are the big boppers - powerful and rugged surveillance solutions for serious applications. As well as being a great venue for an expo, Randwick is a cracking spot for a PTZ shootout and we’ve been speaking with course management to see if we can organise a couple of training runs in the afternoon to allow us to check out IVA, track very fast moving objects and indulge in a wee flutter. There are 12 manufacturers at the shootout this year, including a couple we’ve not seen on the test jig – Honeywell, Uniview and Mobotix, the latter of which is now fully integrated into our management solution, Genetec Security Center. The full list includes Sony, Panasonic, Bosch, Axis, Hikvision, Dahua, Vivotek, Honeywell, Uniview, Mobotix, Pelco and Samsung. We’ve never had so many manufacturers on the jig so it’s going to be a cracker. Our manufacturers are bringing their latest and greatest cameras – many are just released and at least one is a prototype slated for release later in the year. Want to know how the best cameras in the world stack up against each other? SecTech Roadshow is the answer! SecTech is also designed to allow visitors, manufacturers and distributors to get down to business when talking about security technology – it’s short and sharp – over the course of the roadshow 1750 installers, end users and consultants across 5 cities will get a look at
the very latest electronic security solutions from the best manufacturers and distributors in the business, while enjoying a light lunch and a couple of drinks (if you pre-register there’s free parking). SecTech is a great event – it’s small enough to be local yet big enough to be must-attend. SecTech has more roadies in 2017 than ever before – the expo sold out when Consolidated Security Merchants signed up last week, taking the final spot on the truck. Best of all, our roadies are bringing their newest goodies on this collective national tour – alarms, access control, locking hardware, surveillance, management systems, storage solution – as well as stacks of brilliant prizes. This year’s SecTech roadies include Camera Shootout sponsors Hills and Genetec, as well as Video Alarm Technologies, Honeywell Fire & Security, Bosch Security Products, LSC, CSD, Pelco, Video Security Products, C.R. Kennedy, Hikvision, ICT, Dahua, Mobotix, Tyco Security Products, BGWT, NX Witness, Q Security Systems and Consolidated Security Merchants. SecTech Roadshow hits Sydney on May 4, Melbourne on May 9, Brisbane on May 11, Adelaide on May 18 and Perth on May 23. If you want to see the latest electronic security solutions, check out the best cameras, learn more about securing networked security devices, as well as catching up with your customers, colleagues and friends, SecTech is your Roadshow. n
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40: Physical Security - Why IT matters
may 17 22: Securing Networked Devices In the wake of attacks against hundreds of thousands of networked connected devices, including cameras and controllers, network security is finally receiving the recognition it deserves as a vital component of any networked electronic security solution. 32: Future Opportunities Where does the future lie for electronic security installers – what are the opportunities? Is it more of the same? Intrusion, surveillance, access control, along with a wider capacity for automation, with more capable, more accessible, management solutions? Or something else? 36: Bosch Home Automation Bosch’s integration to VeraEdge home controller allows users to control more than 220 devices including Bosch alarm panels, Z-Wave lights, locks, climate control and energy monitoring devices via app. This solution allows installers to laterally expand new and existing installations to meet the expanding demands of customers.
The security industry is generally quite mature with regards to risk management and mitigation, yet there is a perception that IT security and physical security are unrelated domains, with attitudes often being either that anything being connected is bad or that IT Security is an IT problem. 46: Let There Be Light Sony’s SNC-VB770 is a low light weapon that combines high resolution and stratospheric ISO levels to offer unsupported low light performance that’s superior to any other commercially available CCTV camera on the planet. How does it work in the real world? SEN finds out… 66: Cannonball Run Dahua’s IPC HDBW823EP-Z-SL is a 2MP Starlight, anti-corrosion dome featuring a 1/1.9-inch 2MP progressive-scan CMOS sensor, 120dB of WDR capability, delivering 60ips at 1080p, a 4.116.4mm motorised lens, 50m of IR, IP67 and IK10 rating and H.264 and H.265 compression options. Performance matches the feature set. 74: Surveillance Cloud When it comes to your surveillance video, what is your storage strategy? Where do you plan to store the data? How long will you need to keep it? How often will you access it?
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76: Swinburne IVA
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Swinburne University in Melbourne is using rapidly advancing IVA technology from iCetana, Snap Surveillance, Milestone and Cognimatics to enhance the level of safety and security that it offers across its campuses.
Latest business, product and technical news from Australia and around the world. 59: Monitoring When the first intrusion alarm system was installed in 1858 its response to intrusion was to sound a local ‘gong’ alarm bell but it wasn’t long before the inventor of the burglar alarm took things to their logical conclusion and established his own monitoring station.
80: Big Boppers At SecTech Roadshow Camera Shootout we’ll compare big PTZs, low light and bullet cameras from Hikvision, Dahua, Honeywell, Panasonic, Sony, Bosch, Samsung, Pelco, Axis, Vivotek, Uniview and Mobotix.
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84: editor’s choice What’s new from our manufacturers. 88: helpdesk Our team of electronic security experts answers your tough technical questions.
MAY 2017 ISSUE 387
SECURING NETWORKED DEVICES l Technology: Future Opportunities l Review: Bosch Home Automation l Physical Security - Why IT Matters l Sony SNC-VB770 Let There Be Light l The History of Alarm Monitoring l Review Dahua Starlight Anti-Corrosion IR Dome l Special Feature: Surveillance Cloud l Case Study: Swinburne Integrates IVA l SecTech Roadshow: Bring on the Big Boppers!
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Publisher Bridge Publishing Aust. Pty Ltd ABN 11 083 704 858 PO Box 237 Darlinghurst NSW 1300 tel 61 2 9280 4425 fax 61 2 9280 4428 email info@bridge publishing.com.au
Editor John Adams Advertising Manager Monique Keatinge Contributors Simon Pollak Wayne Arvidson Customer Service Annette Mathews tel 61 2 9280 4425 annette@bridge publishing.com.au
Design Tania Simanowsky e: taniasdesign@ optusnet.com.au
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CSD Employs 15 New Staff, Seeks 5 More p.14 Atlas Gentech To Bring Leasing Model To Australian Market in 2017 p.16 2GIG Co-Founder Lance Dean Joins SecureNet Technologies p.18 Hills Bolsters Security Business with New BDM Appointments p.20
news in brief
compiled by john adams
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Video Security Products Merges with Fusion Security
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VIDEO Security Products reports it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Fusion Security, a division of Fusion Power Systems, a provider of CCTV systems and services, effective May, 1. “This merger with Fusion Security, based in Melbourne and Perth, further strengthens
our position in the security distribution market,” said VSP’s Zaki Wazir. “The combination of Fusion’s rapid growth along with master distribution agreements with Verint with our solid year on year growth will provide our clients the skills and expertise to ensure that projects are delivered on time, on budget and meet the
expectations of all stake holders. This partnership is also expected to result in greater efficiencies and significantly increase our market share. “As with all important business decisions, we will work closely with our clients, partners and employees to make the integration process as smooth as possible,” said Wazir. “The integration of Vlado Damjanovski both companies will take place over the next 10 days. In the meantime, our customers will continue to receive the same high quality service they have come to expect. The Fusion Security team in Melbourne will merge into the premises of VSP Port Melbourne, while the team in Perth will integrate over the coming months. Fusion Security, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Video Security Products.
Frankland Centre Seeks Gallagher (Cardax Commander) Upgrade n THE Frankland Centre, a 30-bed high security forensic inpatient unit located on the Graylands Hospital campus, at Mount Claremont in Perth, WA seeks a Gallagher (Cardax Commander) upgrade.
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The facility maintains a secure perimeter complete with electronic perimeter intrusion detection technology and the internal spaces are electronically controlled and monitored. Electronic security
operations are conducted from the master control room located within the Frankland Centre. Security systems are fundamental for the safety and wellbeing of staff, patients and visitors and accordingly are viewed as essential infrastructure. The existing Gallagher Cardax-based security management system provides the overall security system control and monitoring functionality for the
Frankland Centre. This system is currently a combination of legacy Cardax Commander equipment and the newer Gallagher FT Command Centre equipment. There are also interfaces with ancillary control devices which have resulted in numerous functional dependencies and interconnections. This request is for the upgrade of the existing system to contemporary standards. The RFP closes on May 18.
ARA Expands Woodpend Business With Qld Appointment SECURITY distributor ARA reports that it is continuing its expansion of the Woodpend hardware business with the appointment of Patrick Kennedy to the Woodpend Hardware Queensland office as business development manager. According to ARA’s managing director, Stuart Harmer, Kennedy has many years of experience in the architectural hardware world and is well respected in South East Queensland. “Woodpend Hardware provides a complete doorway solution for residential, commercial and industrial premises,” Harmer said. “We are the only security distribution company in Australia which can provide unsurpassed knowledge on both electronic and mechanical security, including an architectural hardware consultation and specification service.” With a head office based in Wayville South Australia, Woodpend Hardware was established in 1986 to service the needs of building industry in South Australia. Since then Woodpend has grown to employ 24 staff. The Woodpend business was purchased by the ARA Group in April, 2016.
Patrick Kennedy
Unit 14a, 2 Eden Park Dr, Macquarie Park NSW 2113 Tel: +61 2 8599 4233 Toll Free: 1300 557 450 (Australia only) Email: salesau@hikvision.com
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Will Hasna
CSD Employs 15 New Staff, Seeks 5 More n CENTRAL Security Distribution has employed 15 new staff and is currently seeking 5 more as the company continues its powerful growth trend. “CSD is still growing at unprecedented rates having recently added 15 new staff members to the team and we are still looking for more,” said Peter Grimshaw, general manager of sales and distribution. “James Todd has been a valuable addition to the Victorian team as
Peter Grimshaw
our enterprise BDM, concentrating on the Inner Range product line-up and high end surveillance opportunities. With a project pipeline literally spilling over the top, James will have his work cut out keeping up with the overwhelming demand for CSD’s products in Victoria” Grimshaw said. “Likewise, in WA and NSW, the increased demand for high level technical sales has seen us appoint Craig Romero in a BDM role out of the Balcatta office and Jason Blowers out of the NSW office,” Grimshaw said. “These guys bring extensive knowledge of enterprise level solutions are great additions to the team.” According to Grimshaw, the hiring process has been a full-time role for the team at CSD. “The appointment of a head office Warehouse and logistics manager, 4 new technical support staff, two internal staff in each of our Northmead NSW, Mulgrave VIC, Tullamarine
We are always hiring so if the right person comes along we will definitely create a role for those who can contribute to the successes of CSD. VIC, Canberra and one in our Qld offices will all help keep up the high service levels that their clients have become accustomed to,” Grimshaw said. “Right now, we are still looking for 5 new people to join our Victorian team in various roles so if there are any SEN readers out there looking for a challenging role in Australia’s fastest growing security equipment distributor, please get in contact with us. We are always hiring so if the right person comes along we will definitely create a role for those who can contribute to the successes of CSD.”
Will Hasna Joins Bosch Security Systems n With a solid security sales background from his lengthy tenure at Hills, and most recently with Pelco, coupled with product management experience honed at Rittal, William Hasna comes to Bosch with the right mix of knowledge and capability to promote and grow the Video Systems business. “I am excited to join an organisation that has a strong product portfolio and is focused on delivering customer service excellence,” Hasna said. “With new, innovative video technology coming this year, we anticipate delivering the quality,
reliability and performance that is synonymous with the Bosch brand. “I am really looking forward to working with the Bosch team to develop and nurture the video business within our region.” Bosch Security Systems general manager Chris Dellenty said he was delighted to welcome Hasna to Bosch. “It is clear that William has an outstanding track record and has been an enormous asset to his previous companies,” Dellenty said. “I have every confidence he will contribute in the same way with Bosch.”
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Micah Hines Joins BGW Technologies Queensland n MICAH Hines has joined the BGWT Queensland team in a sales engineering role. “Micah’s appointment completes the recruitment drive for quality people into our QLD team” said Alan Whitehead, BGWT Qld state manager. Micah joins BGWT with experience in technical, support and sales roles within the security industry. Micah has a strong and broad technical base across all electronic security segments including intercoms alarms, access control and CCTV. Micah has held various roles including as a technician for a systems integrator, technical support roles, as well as sales engineering
roles with Pacific Communications and DAS/Hills. “We are delighted to have Micah join our QLD team”, said Robert Meachem, GM for BGW Technologies,
“Micah’s key roles will be to help drive sales in the QLD/ NT territory and to provide technical expertise for the branch and our customers.” Micah joined BGWT Qld on the 3rd April.
Micah Hines
John Vrdoljak Joins Dahua Australia as BDM n WITH ongoing Dahua growth across the Oceania region John Vrdoljak has joined the team as the business development manager for Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Vrdoljak joins Dahua after previous sales and technical roles at Assa Abloy, NEC and Panasonic. In his role at ASSA ABLOY Vrdoljak was working with consultants and end users to create opportunities to feed back to distributors. “John joins us after 8 years at Assa Abloy and has a great reputation and strong network of contacts that we are sure he will be able to use to
John Vrdoljak (left) and Tony Lagan
expand Dahua’s reach into the Australian market” said Tony Lagan, Oceania business development manager at Dahua. “John brings a wealth of experience and industry knowledge to our team and we are very excited to have him join us as we continue to expand.”
Atlas Gentech To Bring Leasing Model To Australian Market in 2017
Introducing Consolidated Security Merchants
n ATLAS Gentech’s Simply Leasing finance business, which provides all sorts of office equipment, including security solutions, will be launched into the Australian market after enjoying great success over the ditch. Simply Leasing is a finance business which started out leasing Atlas Gentech equipment but now provides financing across the board. A re-launch is planned for coming weeks and Atlas Gentech MD, Steve Varney, said the company is considering expanding into Australia this year. Varney told Heather Wright of Channel Life that leasing isn’t about customers not having the up-front cash anymore – he said there are real benefits for resellers to offer leasing as an option early in the sales conversation.
n FROM May 1, Consolidated Security Merchants reports it is trading as a national electronic security and technology distributor at all branch locations previously occupied by Security Merchants Australia (SMA) in Qld, NSW, VIC, SA and WA. “Moving forward, all key brands will be represented at these branches with an extended range of integrated access control, CCTV and security solutions,” said Wayne Trethowan general manager of CSM. The newest brand added to the CSM stable is DDS, a leading manufacturer of advanced access control and alarm monitoring systems. DDS products
“A lot of corporates and even government departments and schools, want a total cost of ownership, or a known quantity if you like,” Varney said. “They want an operating model, rather than a capex model. There’s a big trend towards that globally and it’s really taking hold here as well. “Users have realised that if you buy a photocopier, IT equipment, security equipment or whatever, it’s not an asset – it’s really just something you’re going to have to buy every 5 years.” For resellers, he says leasing reduces the barrier to a sale in terms of upfront money and having to get capex approvals when selling to large corporates, while also making the customer ‘a bit more sticky’. When leases expire, Varney said customers tend to just return to the integrator and upgrade the lease again. Steve Varney
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“The other advantage is you keep the customer’s system up to date a lot more. When they’re on a lease there is a finite decision to be made at the end of the lease about upgrading. “When they buy the asset, they tend to sweat it too long, particularly security systems – you can see some diabolical systems and the customer just won’t upgrade them when it’s not on a lease.” Varney said there’s a big financial incentive for resellers too, with Simply Leasing delivering cash into the hands of resellers within 48 hours of equipment being received by the customer. “A major corporate could take 60 days to pay, whereas if you’re getting paid in 48 hours, it’s good cashflow.” However, he says despite the benefits, many resellers don’t mention leasing as an option early on in the conversation, instead leaving it as simply a line on the bottom of an invoice. While Simply Leasing may have started out as a leasing arm for Atlas Gentech, Varney says demand for the leasing was such that it now does ‘all types of equipment and a mixture within one installation’.
The range offers extreme scalability to support a broad range of applications from single sites to large complex high security multisite applications and the latest cutting-edge hardware with high performance enterprise
Wayne Trethowan
are represented by Consolidated Security Merchants in Australia with branch locations and training facilities in each state territory. The range offers extreme scalability to support a broad range of applications from single sites to large complex high security multi-site applications and the latest cutting-edge hardware with high performance enterprise software. “DDS security solutions offer seamless integration of access control, alarm management, T&A, CCTV, and video analysis, etc, along with further integrations to BMS, Fire, LPR etc via API, OPC server or ModbusIP,” Trethowan said.
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Australian IVA Developer Snap Scores Milestone Certification n MILESTONE Systems’ partner Snap Surveillance has achieved the status of Milestone Certified Solution with its integration to XProtect Corporate IP video management software (VMS). Snap’s user interface (UI) software automatically finds relationships between the camera fields of view — both overlap and near overlap. It
As a relatively new entrant into the global security sector, Snap draws significant value from working with a market leader in Milestone, and being an active partner within the Milestone Open Community
then presents the camera network to the user in a variety of ways that reduce information overload, according to the company. The solution uses video analytics on individual video streams as a pre-processing step (to determine scene occupancy), then processes the occupancy signals from across the camera network in concert to determine the inter-camera relationships. Milestone says certifying this software integration provides the assurance that the solution functions, operates, performs and easily integrates with Milestone XProtect VMS. “As a relatively new entrant into the global security sector, Snap draws significant value from working with a market leader in Milestone, and being an active partner
within the Milestone Open Community. Having our solution certified is an important validation for Milestone integrators and end users of our software — they can be confident in the reliability, stability and performance of the integrated solution,” says Simon Langsford, CEO, Snap Surveillance. Established in September 2009 and based in Adelaide, South Australia, Snap’s core technology has been commercialized from worldleading research in largescale video surveillance undertaken between 2005 and 2009 in the Australian Centre for Visual Technologies (ACVT). Snap’s technology focuses on a camera network as a whole, rather than applying computer vision techniques to individual cameras in
Henry Detmold
isolation. This results in software with the ability to automatically learn the relationships between cameras across the network, and to apply this knowledge of the network topology in generating a simple, robust and intuitive video pursuit tool for security operators.
CSD Sees Growth in Interactive Alarm Systems: Mark Cunnington n INTERACTIVE alarm systems featuring Z-Wave automation and video alarm verification have made significant impacts in the North American market over the last decade, however, they have been slow to catch on in the Australian Market. That’s about to change, argues CSD’s MD, Mark Cunnington - integrators Mark Cunnington
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are finally starting to make the switch. “It’s not so much a situation where customers are screaming for home automation, rather they are now being presented with 2 options, a traditional alarm system or an interactive system for a small price premium - and they are choosing the interactive system
with push notifications and video verification to a smart mobile device,” Cunnington said. “And the interesting thing about a product like our SkyGuard is that it is compatible with many of the major alarm systems in Australia (Paradox Reliance/NX, DSC, Honeywell),” he said. “Integrators can go back
to their current base of installed systems and offer them a range of upgrades – push notifications with system status, video verification, video doorbell, Z-Wave automation, etc.” CSD has a complete range of interactive systems, including Paradox’s soon to be released Insite video verification solution, Inner Range Multipath products with push notification and the SkyGuard video and automation solution. Inner Range’s SkyGuard provides 3G monitoring, on camera and cloud video storage, z-wave automation, selfmonitoring and optional back to base monitoring already compatible with over 70 Multipath central stations nationally. According to Cunnington, CSD is presenting the SkyGuard range of products at the upcoming SecTech National Roadshow being held in May and currently has a promotion featuring a Skyguard gateway module and a camera.
2GIG Co-Founder Lance Dean Joins SecureNet Technologies LANCE Dean has joined Australian-owned provider of interactive security and automation technologies, SecureNet Technologies. Lance will be an active senior advisor and board member. “Dean has extensive security manufacturing, interactive applications, and security market channel knowledge, which is a highly-valued asset to SecureNet and known throughout the security industry,” says Andrew Wilson, SecureNet CEO. “His joining SecureNet will be instrumental in helping to shape our future.” Lance is a veteran of 33 years in the security industry with 10 years at Honeywell before co-founding 2GIG Technologies in 2008. The 2010 launch of the 2GIG Go!Control panel turned 2GIG into a major industry player, having to date sold more than 3 million systems. “I’ve been following SecureNet since first discovering them during my time at Nortek,” Dean said. “SecureNet’s disruptive solution is building great momentum within the smart home and security, MSO and quickly evolving Internet of Things [IoT] markets. “Now dealers have access to a quality alternative solution that provides a fully branded application and true platform customization for their unique offering of interactive services. I’m excited by the opportunity to join the SecureNet team, and I look forward to helping accelerate SecureNet’s momentum.”
Lance Dean
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news m ay 2 0 1 7
Hills Bolsters Security Business with New BDM Appointments n HILLS is bolstering its security business across the nation with the recruitment of Aaron Lane as business development manager in Western Australia, and Leonie Cox as business development manager residential, based in Sydney. Lane joins Hills after 8 years at Downer Security and Network Services, and comes to the business with a strong background in access control and CCTV, and a deep understanding of the security landscape. Cox returns to Hills after pursuing overseas interests
With the security landscape evolving rapidly, organisations are increasingly looking for guidance and advice on their approach to security
and, having worked in the security sector for over 20 years, brings with her a wealth of industry experience and a vast catalogue of contacts in the building industry. She is tasked with developing business in the residential and multi-dwelling building sector with products such as Bticino, Reliance and Tecom. Hills CEO, David Lenz, said the appointment of Lane and Cox strengthened the company’s sales capacity and expertise to provide state-of-the-art, purposebuilt security solutions. “With the security landscape evolving rapidly, organisations are increasingly looking for guidance and advice on their approach to security. These appointments add substantial experience to our sales capability and will ensure we continue to
provide innovative, future proof solutions to our clients, and exceptional outcomes for the end user. “Aaron’s experience, together with his technical knowledge, will boost Hills’ ability to provide true turnkey offerings to our clients, consultants and end users, and his customer service focus and industry contacts will bolster of our position in the west,” Lenz said. “The experience and insight that Leonie brings will strengthen our presence in the building sector, and lead the charge to achieve sales growth in this market. “With their extensive experience and vast knowledge of the security industry, Aaron and Leonie will be instrumental in ensuring our team remains at the forefront of security expertise, technology, and best practice,” Lenz said.
Aaron Lane
Leonie Cox
Mike Richardson
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Network security
Securing Networked Devices In the wake of attacks against hundreds of thousands of network-connected devices, including cameras and controllers, network security is finally receiving the recognition it deserves as a vital component of any networked electronic security solution.
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ETWORK security is a science that N exists in the backend of many electronic security solutions – a disparate realm that at first glance seems unconnected, yet is the hearthstone of most our infrastructure. From networked access control, intrusion, automation, and video surveillance solutions, to cloud-based alarm systems and direct-connected NVRs, access controllers and even single devices, this is a deep and complex area. No electronic security solution with an exposed network port can be considered secure without the application of network security policy. According to Brendan White of Mobotix, the greatest vulnerabilities of network devices are unauthorised access and backdooring. “By opening a port for the network device to communicate over the internet via port forwarding, most people don’t realise that you are essentially opening a 2-way door unless the individual is versed in networking and knows to allow specific connections to and from the devices in question,” White explains. “For example, if I
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Try googling your full name and be shocked at how social media platforms such as Facebook are open to web crawlers - this is an incredible vulnerability and identity issue.
port forward a generic camera on the following IP Address: 123.456.789.012:8080 (with Port 8080 for transmissions over the wider internet) and anyone were to ever type this address into their web browser, they could access the camera. “In addition, even if they don’t have your user login, just stumbling across your camera’s login page they will be able to execute brute force attacks. These are programs scripted to sequentially test different username and password combinations against anything that is hosting a login domain, whether it be HTTP-based (web page) or software-based. If the infiltrator is also able to figure out what your camera model is, they can assume you are using the default and can then leave a computer running 24/7 to brute force your camera. This would only take a matter of time provided they know where to start.” And White says that most integrators leave their cameras communicating over the wider internet using HTTP instead of HTTPS – that’s a big no-no. “The only thing you need to know here is that the ‘s’ in HTTPS stands for SECURED,” White says. “Let’s look at an example. Say you access your camera’s
login page at 123.456.789.012:8080. An experienced infiltrator (if/when they gain access to your network or router) can initiate a man-in-the-middle attack. When the camera asks you (through the web browser) for a username and password, the HTTP protocol sends this information in raw text. The manin-the-middle attack allows the infiltrator to sniff these packets of data that you are sending. They will then automatically send the information forward to your intended destination and could do this for weeks, even months, siphoning all information you may be using such as banking, dropbox login credentials, camera logins etc. “What are the chances that someone is going to find my camera’s public IP address and guess the correct port you ask?”, says White. “Can you really say that you are allowed to take this risk on behalf of any of your customers? By adding in networking devices with port-forwarding you are opening up vulnerabilities in the customer’s network. For this reason, we always urge installers to ensure proper protocols are followed and to adhere to the advice of the site’s network administrator as they are aware of the vulnerabilities in networking in general.” There are other risks, too. “If you Google ‘public cctv cameras’ you will get directed to websites such as Insecam that have web crawlers running in the background,” says White. “In saying all this, you might think: “Well, why would we want to put any camera over the internet? It depends on the security capability of the camera. What’s vital is working with manufacturers who value network security. Cameras (and any other networked connected devices must be able to: l Disable web crawler browsing (By blocking common ports/addresses that signatures identify as ‘web crawlers’) l Disable HTTP communication and only allow HTTPS connections (So data sent between any PC and your camera is always encrypted and unreadable by any 3rd parties that may be listening in between) l IP address filtering: Only enable specific network devices to have communications with the camera. For example, you could make it so that in an office environment, only the boss’ laptop and the on-site CCTV computer can initiate connections to the camera. The camera will automatically refuse any connections from foreign network cards that you have NOT allowed in its whitelist. In terms of the wider internet, it can automatically refuse connections from outside network connections without needing to know who the intruder is. l Intrusion detection - after a specified number of invalid login attempts, you can tell the camera to block the IP address of the infiltrator as soon as (for example) 3 incorrect logins are registered and consequently can send the owner or network administrator an email to alert staff of the attempted intrusion.
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Network security
l Certify any recordings made by a camera via X.509 Certificate Signing (a 2048-bit AES public key cryptography encryption which is part of the highest level of encryption in the networking standard) to authenticate that video footage was produced by a specific camera without any modification to the footage allowing camera footage to be officially authenticated in court and legal proceedings, if required. Mobotix cameras offer all these network security capabilities. According to White, the single most important thing installers and integrators can do to ensure their customer’s networked security solutions remain secure are to change username and password of the network device on the local network and if the device is exposed to the internet, deploy IP address filtering with white list to only allow authorised addresses In White’s opinion, password management can be as important as passwords themselves. “Password management defines who has access to these passwords as well as the way these passwords are stored,” he explains. “Password application refers to the complexity of passwords and how those passwords are transmitted to the network device (via HTTP, etc). One is just as important as the other and your network security is only as good as your weakest link.” When it comes to setting up a VLAN, White says the configuration and complexity is dependent on the network switch (Typically Layer 3). “Generally, you would create a VLAN on your network switch then you would assign specific ports to specific VLANs,” says White. “This is generally used as a way to limit the amount of transmissions being broadcast by all devices within a network. For example, you may find that a large corporate office may have all of their SIP phones running on VLAN1 and their workstations can run on VLAN2. This way, all devices will only be able to communicate to other devices within the same VLAN, without transmitting unnecessary information to other devices and can limit hopping, which is the transmission of data through multiple devices to reach a destination. Hopping can reduce overall network bandwidth communications and prevent bottlenecking.” According to White, the process of blocking an IP address that makes multiple attempts to breach a password is straightforward when understood. “In general, a network device (if it offers the feature) can take note of specific IP addresses that have numerous failed login attempts,” he explains. “By default, most network devices will allow all devices to communicate with it and when a possible intrusion is detected (identified by failed login attempts), the device can add the offending IP address into a blacklist, sometimes temporary, sometimes permanent, which will outright decline any incoming communications to prevent further suspicious activity.”
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Something that’s a bugbear for many installers and end users is whether or not electronic security devices can still be secure if connected directly to the internet.
Something that’s a bugbear for many installers and end users is whether or not electronic security devices can still be secure if connected directly to the internet. And there’s also a question as to whether subnets offer an inherently higher level of security. “Installing a device on a subnet does offer some protection but only if the subnet being used is not a standard Class A (255.0.0.0), Class B (255.255.0.0) or Class C (255.255.255.0) subnet,” White explains. “Because subnets do not stop network scanners from finding your network devices, so infiltrators can still identify your network devices and may not be able to get into them right away, but if you are using a default subnet you can guarantee they’ll try the defaults and compromise your network. To prevent this, you can change the access port of the device in question (Not 80) to add an additional layer of security. Otherwise, you may utilise firewalls via the router or switches (even VLANs help in this regard) to prevent unauthorised network discovery of your security devices. Using mobile devices to steer electronic security solutions remotely is another delicate matter and it needs to be handled with care to ensure vulnerabilities are not introduced into the system. “Depending on budget and existing infrastructure of the customer we would setup the mobile device to communicate back to the security system on a secured VPN via HTTPS, which would then protect devices within the security solution from being exposed to the World Wide Web,” says White. “This configuration would also ensure that only a specific mobile device could access the network using the added layer of credentials that comes with accessing a VPN. This would also protect the customer’s network from infiltration via man-inthe-middle attacks, as communications transmitted through the VLAN are secured.”
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Network security
Bosch’s James Layton says the greatest vulnerabilities of networked security devices are dependent on the complexity of the connected devices. “For example, when considering a storage server or network video recorder, we are usually looking at a device which is a conventional PC at its core, and will often have some form of standardised operating system,” Layton explains. “This facility, if compromised, could allow a hacker access to further network devices. Even in the case of relatively simple components, such as IP cameras or intrusion systems, the fact that the device communicates through an IP network means that it can be subject to denial of service (DoS) attacks, where a hacker may attempt to overload the communication socket with junk data, effectively eliminating the device’s ability to communicate. “Network communication is not new, and myriad are the ways to try and overcome or compromise the functionality or security of IP-based technologies. Security devices are, by design, intended to function beyond attempts to sabotage or overwhelm, and thus it is vitally important that technology is used to protect these devices, and the ecosystems they operate within. According to the pragmatic Layton, self-education is the most important step in ensuring the security of a technology platform. “You can have the world’s finest encryption, most secure sockets, and most complex passwords, but it’s all going to be useless if you don’t understand how these systems interoperate, and you introduce vulnerabilities inadvertently,” he explains. Most failures of security systems these days – either physical or data - have a human aspect at the root cause. It’s one of the reasons that hackers these days employ social engineering techniques (such as phishing emails or phone calls), rather than trying to simply brute-force their way through data barriers. “By being well informed about the technologies behind data security and how they interact with an existing network environment, the installer can
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Most people think that the more complex a password is, the safer a system is... This is only partially true.
ensure they purchase the right equipment, and install it in such a way that it doesn’t risk compromise to the system.” Layton agrees passwords are important but says there’s a trade-off for end users and access control has a major role to play. “Most people think that the more complex a password is, the safer a system is,” he says. “This is only partially true. The real value in creating a password that contains multiple different elements is that it decreases the likelihood that an automated system can brute-force hack through the barrier by just simply trying repeated random combinations. “At the same time, plenty of people get frustrated when password requirements are too complex. The moment you must create a password that contains an uppercase letter, a number, a haiku, a gang sign, a hieroglyph, and the blood of a dragon, there’s a high likelihood that you’re going to write it somewhere so that you don’t forget it and this is where the previously mentioned social engineering comes in. “Despite general knowledge about the importance of network security, people still share their passwords, use their children’s names and their own birth dates. Therefore, more important than ensuring overly complex passwords, is ensuring that even once a user has gained access to the system, they are limited to the functions that they specifically need, and thus you minimise the risk of damage to other areas of the system.” Is there a simple way to apply a VLAN? Layton argues that it depends on the knowledge level of the installer. “When thinking about complexity of network setup, the question becomes what aspect of this is a simple process?” he says. “IT-trained professionals would see VLAN operation as a relatively simple component of networking but for the average security installer still struggling with port forwarding, the concept can feel quite daunting. “When a security tech walks in to a site with an existing IT infrastructure, very few IT managers are going to be punching the air with joy when you tell them that you are going to attach several hundred video-streaming cameras to their network. VLAN set up allows a system to maintain a network segregation without having to install an entirely independent infrastructure. “Setting up a successful VLAN for the most part depends on using the right networking hardware, and having your entire network layout planed out in advance before you start plugging devices in,” explains Layton. “System integrators that feel they may struggle with this should really look to gain assistance from pre-sales support services offered by most distributors and manufacturers.” When it comes to defending against IP addresses that make multiple attempts to breach a password, Layton says many products already have the ability to identify and block brute-force attacks against a password.
“For those products that don’t, the only other reliable method is human diligence – you would have to regularly review system logs for signs of these attacks and then manually black-list the IP in your firewall,” he explains. “The bigger problem is that attackers are generally smart enough to use proxy services that allow them to frequently alter their origin IP. If one address is blocked, they simply move to another address. Block IP ranges can help reduce the risk, but this also comes with the risk of inadvertently blocking desired network traffic. According to Layton, blocking individual IPs or ranges of IPs is unlikely to really solve the problem of brute-force attacks. “For this reason, more secure systems are more likely to go in to an enforced lockout period after too many failed attempts, rather than simply resorting to IP blocking,” he says. “When it comes to securing devices, network segregation of subnets (especially through VLANs) is one way of ensuring data security for network components. When 2 or more devices do not share a subnet, there is literally no way for them to communicate unless static routes are created. “The best example of this would be to have the video security system on a different subnet to the site’s Internet connection. This would prevent external forces from accessing the security system, though it would also make these same resources not available for use through the Internet (such as on a smart phone app).” Layton says secure sockets layer is important for networked security devices as it defends communications.
“Encryption of data is a key measure to ensure ongoing data security within a system,” he explains. “When data is encrypted between the sending and the receiver, the advantage is that even if the data packet is somehow intercepted by a nefarious third party, they are unable to utilise the data without the appropriate decryption key. “The most common forms of shared data encryption are transport layer security (TLS) and its predecessor secure sockets layer (SSL). Using this technology, once 2 devices begin communicating an initial handshake takes place during which both systems automatically agree to an encryption/ decryption algorithm. This then ensures that any communications remain secure, even if intercepted. “More advanced systems are now using public key infrastructure (PKI) where the encryption algorithm for a communications product is freely available, but the decryption algorithm is kept separately by the target system or a third-party validation authority,” Layton explains. “The advantage of PKI comes when we look at thirdparty security system integration. You may have 2 products which interoperate, but due to one system becoming compromised, the integration support is removed. Under normal encryption certificated controls, you could only ensure security if all partners using the same encryption were changed to a new algorithm. With PKI, you can exclude a partner from your system and the fact that they still have access to the encryption algorithm, does not allow them to compromise your system, as they can’t decrypt data sent by other partner systems.
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Network security
Layton says that when defending network ports from scanning and attempted breaches it’s important to understand first what a network scan is. “Most network scans are not targeted attacks – the hacker is simply scanning a range of unknown IP addresses looking for an exploitable vulnerability,” he explains. “Such vulnerabilities will usually come from software packages that have not been updated, or malicious software (malware) that may have previously been installed by a virus. “Getting scanned does not contribute a security breach on its own. The situation would be analogous to having a burglar drive past your home looking for an easy target for a break-in. If the hacker does not identify a vulnerability, they will simply move on to scanning the next IP in range. “If constant network scans are really a concern, one methodology to limit exposure would be change the port range of your network connected device from its default. Recent successful attempts to gain unauthorised access to NVRs has come from hackers knowing what port is opened by default for a given system – they simply scan IP ranges for a device with this port open and then attempt to use the connection software for that NVR using the default password. “We need to realise here that where this hacking attempt was successful, the root cause was still the human factor – having the port open was part of the regular operation of the NVR, but failing to change the default password was the true vulnerability.” According to Layton, there are 2 main considerations when it comes to using mobile devices to control security eco-systems. “First off, most mobile devices have a standardised method of user access control – whether it’s a PIN, fingerprint recognition, or lock screen pattern,” Layton says. “This automatically limits who can access the apps on the device if it is stolen or found. Many security system apps also give the option of or require using an additional password or PIN. Where possible, it will always be safest to have multiple levels of authentication – your kids may know your phone PIN to play Candy Crush, but you don’t want them accessing your office security system. “The second consideration is that for high security applications, it is possible to get specialised apps for a mobile device that allow the device itself to authenticate to the system as a known device. Such systems will often use the Unique Device ID (UDID) number of an Apple device or the IMEI, Android ID, or MAC of an Android device. These apps prevent your mobile device from being “spoofed” by a hacker, even if they can compromise your passwords or PINs.” At Inner Range, Russell Blake argues the greatest vulnerabilities of networked security devices include default passwords that haven’t been
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Most network scans are not targeted attacks – the hacker is simply scanning a range of unknown IP addresses looking for an exploitable vulnerability.
changed, unneeded services that are running in the background that present an attack vector, unpatched and out-of-date firmware/software that contain known security vulnerabilities, operator permissions that are not locked down and weak implementation of security defences (e.g. devices that don’t allow long and complex passwords, easy allow privilege escalation attacks, etc). “If there’s a single thing security installers can do to help ensure networked security devices remain secure it would be to truly understand, understand and understand,” Blake says. “Understand network security, understand the application they are working with, understand the customer’s requirements and understand how network attacks are continually changing and how defences need to keep up to date. With a solid foundational understanding and a willingness to always what’s new, everything else will flow.” Blake says VLAN complexity is subjective. “I would say setting up a VLAN is a relatively easy process even for someone that has no network certification or strong IT experience,” he explains. “The answers are easy to find and pleading ignorance just won’t cut it these days. VLAN’s are nothing to be scared about. They are simply layers that create isolation and increased security between network segments. In Cisco’s Command Line Interface, setting up a VLAN and assigning ports to VLAN’s can be done in as few as 2 easy commands.” If installers are trying to secure systems against attacks on ports, Blake says different systems and vendors may approach securing against brute-force attacks differently. “Any security system that takes itself seriously, however, should have an easy-to-configure tick-box or similar that enables a brute-force blacklist feature, if that feature isn’t already enabled by default,” he explains. “Defending again port scanning can be difficult to defend against given the increasing stealth of reconnaissance scanning and masquerading of attacks. Saying that, basic principles can be put into place to stop the vast majority of attacks. Establishment of dedicated network security devices are key, with examples being a good quality
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Network security
stateful firewall (at the internet border and even between network segments if necessary) and an internal IPS/IDS (Intrusion Prevention System/ Intrusion Detection System) – take Cisco Meraki’s MX appliances as a consideration. “Other configuration options to help prevent attacks can include shutting down ports that don’t need to be used, setup of VLAN’s to segregate traffic and isolate an attacker, setup of access control Lists to surgically control the flow of traffic (particularly for high security devices), locking network ports to pre-defined MAC addresses, setup of a centralised system log server to actively monitor and report certain activity and of course change any default password to a strong and uniquely applied password and keeping security devices patched with the latest firmware/software.” According to Blake, SSL (or TLS as SSL’s successor), is critical for secure communication with security devices as it provides both encryption and authentication. “I’m sure everyone understands the principals surrounding and need for encryption, but authentication is also important as it validates that the device you are talking to is actually the real device and not a counterfeit device such would be seen in man-in-the-middle attacks.” Mark Shannon at BGWT believes 2017 will possibly be the year for the general security industry to become more aware of the potential risks that unsecure devices can have on the network. “This awareness is a great thing and there are 2 main aspects for securing network devices and these 2 combined form the biggest vulnerability,” Shannon says. “Firstly, the device itself and whether or not at the device’s firmware level, it is secure enough. That is, has the manufacturer provided firmware with inbuilt protection measures to help
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Setting up a successful VLAN for the most part depends on using the right networking hardware, and having your entire network layout planed out in advance before you start plugging devices in.
protect itself against brute force attacks, injection of malicious codes and the like – these are important components to help prevent breeches. “Secondly, at the human level and whether we have done all that can be done to ensure that the measures to protect the device are implemented. Ensuring the end user/consultant specify that the job requires the right level of security for the risk and then follow it up to ensure that the installer implements it accordingly – it needs to be a closed loop process. Today, these 2 things are lacking and I am hoping that the awareness of recent events will help in the reduction of breeches.” What does Shannon think is the single most important thing installers and integrators can do to ensure their customer’s networked security solutions remain secure? “We can make people change default passwords, implement network security using 802.1x and install firewalls, etc, but the one thing that covers it all is to implement a security strategy and let all stakeholders know the necessary practices to follow,” he says. “Starting at the planning stage of the security system, to the installation stage and then the ‘afterwards’ stage where it becomes even more critical to ensure breeches do not happen. The ‘afterwards’ stage tends to be neglected as it is forgotten about. “Too often people have the attitude: “The system is running so everything is ok”. However, there are practices that ring alarm bells. Even connecting USB memory sticks to offload footage may contain a virus, spyware or the like and unless a rigid practice is implemented and followed, the good work done at the start can be easily undone afterwards once the system is running. A security strategy is critical and it needs to be made known to all parties involved in the security system. A strategy means that when a party interacts with the system, they have a framework to work within to keep the system secure.” Passwords are important, too, argues Shannon. “We all know the story about the chain’s weakest link and this tends to be where the breech will occur,” he explains. “The password tends to be the weakest link on many occasions. Passwords are important but they are only one aspect. Where passwords tend to fall down is because on occasions, more so than not, they are left at default or changed without a password management plan. Even to just change a default password doesn’t make the device more secure. It should be, “What do I change it to”? This is password management and it forms part of the overall security strategy for the system. Password management has a number of aspect: 1 - That passwords are actually implemented, 2 – that passwords are difficult to crack, 3 – that passwords are well-protected and encrypted, and 4 - where possible, passwords should be changed periodically. This all forms a password management system and a strategy should be implemented at the planning stage.” n
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● Special report
Installations
Future Opportunities Where does the future lie for electronic security installers – what are the opportunities? Is it more of the same? Intrusion, surveillance, access control, along with a wider capacity for automation, with more capable, more accessible, management solutions? Or something else?
HEN it comes to electronic security technology it’s not easy to get a complete sense of what the future holds and given falling hardware prices, increased competition and layering in the market, that can be unsettling. According to Daniel McVeigh, senior product manager, Gallagher, there are opportunities, too. “Advances in open standards and field device intelligence are opening up greater opportunities for installers to add business value not only by installing and maintaining security products, but by enabling smarter and more efficient business systems at their customer premises,” McVeigh explains. “I believe installers who invest in staff training and retention, who look to solve customer problems beyond traditional security concerns, and who leverage the resources of best of breed security product manufacturers will be the winners in this future environment.”
W
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In McVeigh’s opinion, the biggest technical challenge for installation businesses in the future will be finding and retaining excellent technical employees. “It will not only be important to have employees who understand the industry and install to a high standard, but also to have those who have the vision to see problem solving opportunities at customer sites and present valuable solutions to the customer,” he explains. “These people will be short supply, so installers that focus on creating a culture where this type of person thrives should do well.” While the manufacture of intrusion, access control and automation solutions (with CCTV integration) that are simpler to install and integrate has introduced installers to a wider range of possibilities when it comes to growing their businesses, McVeigh points a finger at open standards as the key. “Open standards support for data transfer
BY J O H N A D A M S
between disparate security system components has turned systems integration from expensive, custom work to a more repeatable and cost-effective process,” he says. “This in turn has enabled more viable business case payback for investing in the benefits that a fully integrated security system can provide. A major building trend is intelligent video analysis, which is becoming much more capable and appealing to installers and their customers. “IVA is an example of the technology mega-trend towards automated, intelligent decision-making driven by a variety of incoming sensor inputs,” says McVeigh. “This trend promises more efficient and effective implementation of business policy, something customers are likely to increasingly value.” Underlying the technologies of the future is the network and McVeigh says security technicians ignore IT networking skills at their peril. “More and more security system components are interconnected via IP networks, and communicate to servers on LAN, WAN or cloud infrastructures,” he explains. Training is at the core of technological shifts and McVeigh says installers should be staying on top of basic IT networking, trouble-shooting, and security skills, as the need for these skills will only increase in the security industry. “Installation businesses should invest in their staff’s understanding of how the different security system components they install can integrate with each other, and how they can integrate with non-security systems on a customer’s site,” he says. Over at ASIAL, John Fleming says there is a continued acceleration of technological advances and these are opportunities for installers to offer bundled solutions with real benefits for the customer. “The potential is for the installer to now offer more products and services,” says Fleming. “They need to be able to advise customers without bamboozling them with tech talk. The outcome would be increased revenue and the opportunity for ongoing services. “Customers will demand more business intelligence from their investment in systems, so installers need to keep a competitive edge by offering analytics to support decision making. At the same time, they will need to evaluate risk if they bid for work outside their capability or financial capacity.” According to Fleming, the biggest technical challenge for installers is going to be knowledge of IP, including deploying networks and cyber security issues. “In the future, all devices will reside on a network so ignore IP at your peril, the national broadband network (NBN) will be 50 per cent complete by July 2017 and the digital world is already changing the way we live, shop, work and get entertainment,” he says. “Management of money, health and security are transforming rapidly. Security technicians and their employers need to make a conscious effort to gain
IVA is an example of the technology mega-trend towards automated, intelligent decision-making driven by a variety of incoming sensor inputs Daniel McVeigh
an understanding of IP if they are to survive in the security industry. “Installers will need to have an end to end knowledge of IP including cyber security requirements. The Internet of Things (IoT) will activate a lot of data from devices but if the security is not in place it will potentially leave their clients vulnerable.” Meanwhile, Hikvision’s Cliff Simons argues the lateral application of existing technology gives electronic security installers plenty of opportunities for the future. “Cameras are now being used for more than simple surveillance purposes but as information gathering devices,” Simons says. “They are used as people counters, they track retail hotspots in stores and can identify car registration plates. In many undercover car parks, there are cameras that provide details of where the empty spaces are and can inform lost shoppers the location of their car. These are just a few examples but they show us that installers will soon be assisting businesses with a lot more than security. “Installers will be providing intelligent cameras, that will require very precise locating, intensive programming (usually with the assistance of special software and a laptop), and head end software tailored to the needs of the operator – this is a move away from plug and play installations to solutions that provide valuable information to very smart management solutions. Installers will need to be savvy with IP addressing and networks,
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Installations
Security technicians and their employers need to make a conscious effort to gain an understanding of IP if they are to survive in the security industry. John Fleming
which is not hard to learn but goes beyond the simple installation of a domestic alarm system.” According to Simons, the manufacture of intrusion, access control and automation solutions (with CCTV integration) that are simpler to install and integrate has introduced installers to a wider range of possibilities. “With the advent of very clever integrations between multiple systems within the electronic security market, installers now have great opportunity to expand their solution to the end user, and thus grow their revenue and business,” he says. “Video surveillance is now readily ‘integratable’ with so many other systems that end users can confirm activity with visual evidence. “There are now cost-effective NVRs that work as mini enterprise stations. They incorporate many extra features such as people counting, point of sale integration, and automatic number plate recognition, to name just a few. These are easily configurable and are letting installers bring their expertise to retail chains, car parks, large car dealerships, hotels as well as many other applications. The security installer of the past is now an assistant to marketers, facility managers, sales managers, and many others who sit outside the security circle.” Simons says IVA is a great tool in bringing specific activity to the forefront of a system when needed. “IVA events are brought to the attention of an operator, without the need to cycle through useless footage of nothing of significance,” he explains. “IVA is far more effective than simple continuous or motion-activated recording, which may still be there in the background if needed but
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not necessarily displayed 24/7. This provides more intelligent monitoring and takes away from the need for constant human observation.” Simons argues installers cannot ignore IP and keep up with the latest security technology. “Today’s installers have to be familiar with IP technology,” he says. “It can be easily learned at TAFE in a short course format, or you can teach yourself using guides on the internet. Anyone installing technical products needs to keep up with the basics of those products or remain in the world of simple analogue systems. Those that have moved with the times are embracing greater opportunities in the market and making more money in their businesses.” Training is an important part of staying on top of the latest technological releases. “Vendors of products are providing training to the installers on either a free basis or for a course fee,” Simons says. “Either way, these courses are teaching technicians how to successfully install the latest products on site. Many of these courses include basic networking modules relevant to the products being deployed in the field. “Other modules are relevant to the correct installation, programming and commissioning of the systems. These courses do take people out of the normal work day (where income is produced) however they provide the basis for companies moving forward with the latest products available in the market. “Businesses that place a value on furthering the education of their employees are often the ones that grow and retain the loyalty of their workers,” says Simons. “Invest in them, and they will usually provide you with the results needed to satisfy customers and expand your horizons.” n
Video surveillance is now readily ‘integratable’ with so many other systems that end users can confirm activity with visual evidence. Cliff Simons
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● Product review
Bosch
By j o h n a d a m s
Bosch Home Automation
Bosch’s integration to VeraEdge allows control of more than 220 devices including Bosch alarm panels, Z-Wave lights, locks, climate control and energy monitoring devices via app. This solution allows installers to laterally expand new and existing installations to meet the expanding demands of customers. OSCH’S integration to VeraEdge highlights the holistic view the company has of the home automation market. Rather than create a home automation and security solution from scratch, the integration means VeraEdge interfaces with and controls the Bosch G Series integrated intrusion and access panels, as well as the Bosch Solution 2000 and 3000 intrusion panels. While the security system can still be managed in the same way, what’s great about the integration to VeraEdge is that it means all the interconnected devices can be controlled through an easy-toconfigure web interface, or via a smartphone or tablet using the Vera app for IOS and AndroidOS. The app allows users can create if/then ‘scenes’ which allow events such as alarm triggers or temperature thresholds to trigger actions on other devices, while notifying users via push, SMS or email. Best of all, these features and more have no monthly fee. “Bosch sees security as being about buying peace of mind from the perspective of the end user and we see the next step as being how can we add joy of life to make users want to use our products every single day,” says Bosch’s James Layton. “This will be a big focus for Bosch over the next 12 months – how we can combine these desirable capabilities with our alarm panel. “In the security industry, everyone wants to
B
There’s no monthly cost for the cloud component of this solution, it’s all free – including 5 seconds of footage on an alarm event accessible from the cloud via the app.
36 se&n
have the panel in the middle and the home devices revolve around that but in reality, the home device is better located in the middle with the alarm panel and other devices revolving around it.” According to Layton, there are a number of wireless technologies jostling in the home automation market and Bosch has decided Z-Wave and ZigBee are the wireless technologies it will support. “Z-Wave has the benefit that every product must conform to the standards of the Z-Wave Alliance and is tested by the Alliance – it will work with other devices,” he says. The kicker is that it’s in the licensed band for many countries and that means devices are not transferable between countries. ZigBee is high frequency 2.4GHz, which is open in most countries, so devices are interchangeable but the standard is not controlled so tightly. We have released devices conforming to Z-Wave and will have ZigBee by the end of the year.” According to Layton, the VeraEdge Z-Wave controller requires power but no other connections (you can wire it to a network if you want) and managing the system is a cinch. To demonstrate its simplicity, Layton takes out his phone and connects to the controller via the mobile app. “There you are,” he says. “You can see I am connected to an alarm panel, lights, a camera and other devices, including this small fan, which I control through a switch. I can turn on my AC and set it to 25 degrees. I can view the camera, I can arm
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● Product review
Bosch – at one level we are looking at what security services end users might be prepared to pay for – to that end we are working on cloud-based security solutions where video is uploaded into the cloud if a panic button is pressed for control rooms – we will charge for cloud-based higher performance video forensic services which will be managed by Bosch and supported by AWS. “At the same time, we do not see big money in cloud services with alarm and automation products, so we have decided to facilitate high level integration and well-developed automation and management into our alarm panels at no cost. Expanding on this, we will add Amazon Echo into our panels later in the year and we have a full wireless panel coming in 2017 that will support all these functionalities and integrations, too. At the heart of this thinking is the idea is that by encouraging users to interact with their systems every day, they will want to keep their system up to date and to expand its capabilities.”
Features of VeraEdge the alarm system. And this is all addressed via wireless. There’s even a ball valve water sensor that can be controlled via the app to monitor water usage.” How does the AC integrate? I ask. “This unit has standard heat pump wiring in the back so it will work with virtually any AC unit of this type on the market. With split systems, we can replicate the IR remote. When it comes to mains lighting, there’s a controller that sits behind a light switch. Every Z-Wave device links by wireless and every mains-powered device is also a repeater.” Something that’s a little different about Bosch’s model is there’s cloud support but no service fee. “There’s no monthly cost for the cloud component of this solution, it’s all free – including 5 seconds of footage on an alarm event accessible from the cloud via the app,” Layton explains. “You buy the hardware and that’s it. It’s all cloud-based – end users manage the system using scenes. “For instance, if the ambient temp goes above 25 degrees and the alarm is disactivated, the AC turns on to maintain 23 degrees cooling – you then name the scene, add notification to get push messages of these events. The security device is still the panel. When I manage the system, I communicate with the Z-Wave controller and the panel is simply another device the controller communicates with.” When it comes to the business model of Bosch’s cloud service, Layton says there are 2 parts. “In Australia, there are a lot of cloud-based solutions and the problem is that they make services not hardware and it’s hard to make money with just one and not the other,” Layton explains. “We have multiple approaches to cloud
38 se&n
At the heart of this thinking is the idea is that by encouraging users to interact with their systems every day, they will want to keep the system up to date and to expand its capabilities.
For such a compact little unit, VeraEdge offers a large and layered functionality, including onetouch control of an entire integrated system, the ability to view all cameras and control devices from an app wherever there’s network connection, and preconfigured settings making expansion a snap. There are neat features like geo fencing, which alerts the system to your approach and activates lights, AC, etc. The same feature works in reverse to turn off devices to save power when you leave the home. There’s WPS easy push button pairing for Wi-Fi devices, improved multi-camera management, intuitive user set up and control, local control of devices to avoid any latency or connectivity issues (works locally even when your Internet goes down) and multiple trigger events for complete customization of automation scenes— by time of day, motion, day of week, sunrise/ sunset, or depending on other device(s). Bosch’s VeraEdge allows addition of door locks, video cameras, thermostats, lamp dimmers, energy meter monitors and smart switches, smoke sensors, CO2 sensors, floor sensors and lots more. There’s a common user interface across all platforms (PC/Mac desktops, smartphones, tablets), integrated help with simple, contextual help callouts and links to detailed documentation on the support site. There’s also energy management using pre-configured device settings for easy setup; at a glance reporting of household energy consumption with daily, monthly, and annual reporting. There’s also improved access control with simple PIN management and a user-customizable dashboard with favourite devices pinned for easy viewing, access and control. n
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â—? Special report
Cyber security
By S i m o n P o l l a k*
Physical Security Why IT matters The security industry is generally quite mature with regards to risk management and mitigation, yet there is a perception that IT security and physical security are unrelated domains, with attitudes often being either that anything being connected is bad or that IT Security is an IT problem.
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ORE years ago than I care to admit (and definitely beyond the statute of limitations) I was working on the access control system at a correctional facility. Happily minding my own business, I was approached by an inmate of considerable size who enquired if I was working on the security system. After confirming that this was indeed the case, he suggested that he had some friend who would be VERY interested in getting hold of addresses and alarm codes, and in return, I’d get a 30 per cent cut of any proceeds. Frantically looking around for a corrections officer and trying to look calm, I managed to
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● Special report
Cyber security l Lists of master and installer codes and passwords l Upload / download software which would allow the exfiltration of codes or the addition of back door credentials. l Client and employee information l Contracts, tender documents, and other commercially sensitive information.
What would the impact to your organisation be if someone hacked into your systems, accessed client lists and alarm codes then proceeded to carry out a series of break and enters? introduce myself giving someone else’s name and suggested that we should talk once he got out. While we may not think about it, all security organisations have information on their systems that would be immensely valuable in the wrong hands and it’s possible we’re not all doing as much as we should to protect it. If we consider information security through the risk management process that we are well familiar with, the first step is to identify our valuable or business critical assets. Some of the areas that are particularly specific to the security industry include: l Site details such as names, addresses, alarm codes, rosters, site orders, and stand down passwords – all very useful if someone want to break into a site l For technical security providers and consultants; as-built drawings and design documents detailing all the security technology at a particular site
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There are people for whom all of this information would be valuable, and while this list may be a little criminal-centric, there is also a lot of information that would deliver commercial advantage. While never officially confirmed, it is alleged that the plans for the ASIO Headquarters including communications schematics and server room locations were stolen from the computer systems of a building contractor involved in the project after it was hacked by the Chinese government. If these claims are indeed true, it would have made for a very bad day for the company that got hacked. There not all that much new and unique about doing a risk assessment so I’m not going to look at every step in painful detail as it’s a methodology most security professionals are very familiar with. Consider the threat actors who may wish to do harm to your organisation, or compromise these assets. While the threat actors are listed in many different ways, they can be broken down into a few specific groups against whom you may need to defend your systems: l Criminal Organisations – This can include ransomware attacks, individuals or groups who want to access your information for criminal gain, or who want to use your IT infrastructure for bot nets or other “free” computing resources. l State Sponsored Hackers: If you are working on projects for government, military, or law enforcement, your systems could certainly be a target. l Trusted Insiders: While sometimes tarred with the same brush, I find it handy to break this down into two sub-sets. The first is the malicious insider – the employee who goes into competition and takes a copy of your client files, or the excontractor who wants to do malicious damage to your systems. The second is the unwitting (some may say foolish) insider – the person who opens a malware laden email attachment, or downloads freeware from the web and accidentally infects your IT systems. l Issues Motivated Individuals & Groups: While hacktivists are a less common threat in the security industry, there are certainly groups who take exception to the activities of some security organisations, and those who wish to do harm to the clients we are tasked with protecting. What would the impact to your organisation be if someone hacked into your systems, accessed
● Special report
Cyber security
client lists and alarm codes then proceeded to carry out a series of break and enters? Would your organisation be able to recover from the reputational damage, let alone any possible lawsuits? There is an increasing focus in larger businesses on the cyber security controls of their 3rd party providers and having robust certified cyber security controls in place will become more and more of a basic requirement when providing B2B services. Once you have a view of your valuable data and those who you may want to protect it from, you’re best to work with a cyber security professional to assess, and if necessary, improve your controls. Modern IT environments are highly complex and variable so any solution should be tailored to suit your specific requirements. Find a provider who understands risk management and with whom you are comfortable that their proposed solution addresses your business risks. As well as protecting the information stored on your systems, what about a compromise on the availability of your systems? Email has been the ubiquitous form of business communication for some time now. If your clients emailed you with a service request and didn’t get a timely response, would they consider other providers? What if your service and booking system was taken offline for a few days? Another form of fraud that has become quite popular of late is invoice fraud. One of the common ways this takes place is that a criminal raises invoices for services not rendered then has an inside accomplice approve the invoices for payment. Alternatively, a criminal determines a 44 se&n
...the rapid acceleration of cybercrime has presented all of us with additional threats that we must ensure we have the capability to manage.
regular supplier then convinces an organisation to update said supplier’s bank account details to those of the criminal. By the time anyone realises the money has gone to the fraudulent account, the funds are long gone. I was recently discussing this over coffee with the owner of a large guarding provider and asked him “if I found the name of one of your guards on LinkedIn then sent an email to HR@yoursecuritycompany. com.au asking to update my bank account details, would your office just process it?” After some consideration, he agreed that it would more than likely just get done, even a few requests in a pay cycle would not be uncommon. How would a similar event sit with your organisations risk appetite – a loss of maybe $5k - $10k, some unhappy staff, and maybe a little reputational damage? In all likelihood such an incident wouldn’t have a major impact, but if you can mitigate it through a simple validation process, is it worth doing so? While physical security risks have not diminished – and depending on the domains in which we operate they have potentially increased – the rapid acceleration of cybercrime has presented all of us with additional threats that we must ensure we have the capability to manage. Assessing and mitigating risk is something the physical security industry is well familiar with – it’s time we started to apply those skills to our information assets, too. n
Simon Pollak is a security professional with more than 25 years’ experience in physical and cyber security, smart buildings and automation systems. A licensed security consultant, he holds a Masters of Cyber Security and a Masters of Business Administration (Technology) and writes a monthly article in SEN discussing all things cyber security.
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● Product review
Sony
Let There Be Light Sony’s SNC-VB770 is a low light weapon that combines high resolution and stratospheric ISO levels to offer unsupported low light performance that’s superior to any other commercially available CCTV camera on the planet. How does it work in the real world? SEN finds out…
Build quality is typical Sony full body – the camera is well made with no rough edges or misshapen ports and the lens mount mechanism works sweetly.
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BY J O H N A D A M S
N the lead-up to SecTech Roadshow’s camera shootout, SEN got hold of Sony’s 4K SNC-VB770, a full frame Exmorpowered CCTV camera with a stonking ISO rating of 409,600. Typical full-frame still cameras have ISO performances of up to 24,000, so the VB770’s ISO number is stupendous. The SNC-VB770 offers low light performance under 0.004 lux thanks to an enormous ISO of 409,600, which allows signal amplification that’s strong enough (yet controlled enough) to make for shutter speeds fast enough to snag motion in low light. Does it get down to 0.004? We can’t test light levels that low, but minimum illumination is spec’ed at 0.004 lux (30 IRE) with normal (1/30th sec) shutter speed, not slow shutter. This camera is compatible with Sony’s E-mount FE lenses with the lens supplied separately. In this test, we’re running the 770 with Sony’s FE F1.4 35mm full frame lens attached. At full frame 35mm offers an angle of view that’s similar to around 5mm at 1/3-inch, which is ideal for the street. Let’s do the specifications first. The full-frame CMOS gives a resolution of just over 12MP, minimum scene illumination is claimed to be 0.004 lux at F1.4, with a 1/30th of a second shutter speed and an ISO of 409,600. Dynamic range is equivalent to 100dB (View-DR technology), gain is zero to +72dB, shutter speed is from 1/1 to 1/10,000 of a second. You have to take a considered view of the seemingly low dB number for WDR – Sony cameras, including this one, handle backlight very well. There’s exposure control, exposure compensation, AGC, iris control, white balance options including TW, ATW-PRO, fluorescent lamp, mercury lamp, sodium vapour lamp, metal halide lamp, white LED, one-push WB, manual, indoor and outdoor. Eagle-eyed CCTV people will have noticed this is not a day/night camera – there’s no cut filter and that enhances image quality. Other features include tone correction, visibility enhancer, de-fog, highlight compensation, flicker reduction, distortion correction, XDNR noise reduction, intelligent scene capture, 24 privacy masks of various colours, shapes and sizes, and edge storage using 128GB microSD. Up to 20 clients can access camera views via the browser at the same time. There are loads of resolution options – I run at 3840 x 2160 H.264 main profile – and there’s bitrate control via CBR/VBR and the capacity for 5 simultaneous streams. Analytics is DEPA Advanced offering intelligent motion detection, face detection, tamper alarm and scene analytics – these include intrusion, passing existing, disappearance, capacity, left object and removed object. There’s also multitracking of 4 targets in a scene. On the system side, this camera needs i7 3.4GHz or higher processing and if you want 30ips at 3840 x 2160, you need a GPU capable of this performance with minimum 4GB of RAM or higher.
I
35mm daylight
Easy faces
Great depth of field
Strong resistance to motion blur
se&n 47
● Product review
Sony As soon as I look at the monitor I can see that Sony’s VB770 is something special – performance is not the same as other cameras we’ve tested.
Strong backlight 80,000 lux
I measured 400 lux
2 – 4 lux with black holes
Networking capabilities include IPv4, IPv6, TCP, UDP, ARP, ICMP, ICMPv6, IGMP, MLD, HTTP, DHCP, DHCPv6, DNS, NTP, RTP/RTCP, RTSP over TCP, SMTP {client}, HTTPS, FTP (client), SNMP (v1, v2c, v3), TLS {v1.0}, *SSM (Source Specific Multicast), QoS, DSCP, Multicast Streaming Support and ONVIF Conformance Profile S. The camera can also handle IEEE802.11b/g/n wireless networks with optional IFU-WLM3 for wireless peer-peer camera setup using a smart phone app and there’s IEEE802.1X for authentication. There’s no analogue video output, but there’s HDMI, a microphone input jack, an alarm input and an alarm output. Build quality is typical Sony full body – the camera is well made with no rough edges or misshapen ports and the lens mount mechanism works sweetly. For external applications, you’d need to install the VB770 in a housing – it’s big (though not particularly heavy at 720g without lens), so you’d need to make sure you chose a housing wide and high enough to accommodate its dimensions, which are 104mm long x 84.6mm high x 118mm wide (without lens). When it comes to operating temperature, the VB770 can handle -5 to 50C, which is about normal for a full body camera. In hot climates, you’d need to think about a fan-cooled housing or mount the camera under a roofline. (Sony supplies housing solutions designed to accommodate the VB770 camera and lens options), The lens we are using is Sony’s Zeiss Distagon F1.4 35mm with 9 rounded aperture blades and an aperture range down to F16. This lens weighs about 600g, has an angle of view of 64 degrees, is sharp and gives nice contrast and colour rendition. Photographers rave about the way the Zeiss Distagon renders bokeh quality that enables foreground objects to ‘float in the air’ and that’s a fair judgement. More importantly for CCTV people, it has no dust sealing at the rear, so you need to bundle it up, even when installing it internally.
Camera performance on the street I start my test at 5.15pm and it’s already getting gloomy between the buildings. The 35mm F1.4 lens has a good wide view of the street and I position it to avoid trees and walls. It’s a nice focal length for a full frame camera on the street, 35mm. As soon as I look at the monitor I can see that Sony’s VB770 is Ronnie shows blur well managed
48 se&n
● Product review
Sony Depth of field is sensational – all those pixels really do add up. I think I have admissible face recognition at 25m, which is super performance.
No lux colour
5 lux at face
0 lux at face
something special – performance is not the same as other cameras we’ve tested. Detail is very high – this makes digital zoom more than an annoying toy. This is a wide-angle lens yet I get levels of face recognition quality I’ve not seen before – if you put an 85mm lens on the VB770 you could take portraits with it – this camera really is that good. Colour rendition is sweet, too. I can still get plates at distances of up to about 20m depending on vehicle speed even though it’s gloomy outside now. Depth of field is sensational – all those pixels really do add up. I think I have admissible face recognition at 25m, which is super performance. Even past the point of face recognition, levels of
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detail are exceptionally high. That word ‘detail’ really is the key in daylight performance. There’s loads of detail everywhere you look at a wide-ish focal length of 35mm (that’s about 5mm @ 1/3rdinch). I’m getting watch faces, the patterns in socks, shoelace colour, the design of pendants hanging around necks, the funny looks on people’s faces – none of this stuff is typical in a wide street scene and I have it out to 16m in extreme detail, softening but remaining exceptional all the way out to 80plus metres on the other side of Albion Street. There’s a point and a vehicle speed at which I lose plates and a distance at which I lose faces and this comes closer to the lens as light falls – it’s inside 20m at about 5.10pm. Re-focusing helps. At 5.25, with light levels seeming the same on the monitor, but dropping significantly outside (they are around 800 lux), I lose faces at 16m and they get soft at 12m. Plates get softer and softer and at 5.40pm I lock the bottom shutter speed to 1/100th of a second. The slower shutter speed costs me detail deeper in the scene but I have my faces back at very high levels of detail again. Later on, I decide 1/50th of a second is my best shutter option and I lock that in for the duration of this part of the test. There’s a point I lose moving plates – I’m not prepared to up the shutter speed to keep them. At about 7.10pm, Norman heads out front to do his thing. This is the best image of Norman ever on the street in 7 lux. He’s positively glowing at 10m. I have detail including the A-line down, lovely skin tones and excellent colour rendition, including white into yellow, which is always the first delineation to go. I wonder if I can see Norman’s eyes and when I zoom in, I find the streetlight is provoking CAs from the lens to a depth of about 5 pixels. This is a fast lens and it’s wide open so not surprising. I notice I still have face recognition at 20m. This is all at 35mm – no zooming. Something I note is that noise levels are very low in 7 lux. Later, I find the only way to provoke noticeable noise from the VB770 is to point it at complete darkness. At 7.49pm I get a moving plate at 20m, blooming is well controlled, too. From this point on, things remain the same. The light is between 4-7 lux across my scene and the image is solidly consistent with little or no false colour. I often notice cameras struggle to handle the low colour temperature of the sodium street lights but the VB770 is un-phased by it, returning a cool colour rendition. Next day I put the camera above the lane. It’s
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● Product review
Sony lens and looking closer it seems that with the lens focused at about 16m I have relatively mild bokeh to about 4m. The wide aperture is likely playing a part here but the price is well worth the brightness of the scene as the sun disappears. Perhaps the only elements of this scene that alter with the transition from 8000 lux to sub-4 lux are the near side of Fred’s fence, which was out of focus anyway and is pitch dark to the naked eye. On the monitor, I can see the fence in colour but it comes courtesy of noise thanks to that freight train ISO rating. Interestingly, the noise is localised at the dark edges and there’s no sign of it in the brighter centre portion of this scene. And it’s only visible when the flood lights are on in the lane.
bright – I measure just over 80,000 lux with the sun to the North above Albion Lane, about 70m away. In the lane, the width of the 35mm lens has limitations – probably 60 per cent of the scene is of walls that I would dial out with a varifocal lens – a 50mm lens would be better out here, with a lower mounting height. Regardless, levels of detail are exceptionally high - this is still by far the richest wide view I’ve had. I can read the Albion Lane sign at full wide – hooray! Most importantly for this part of the test, WDR performance is excellent. I have BLC off but there’s no sign of blooming, no CAs looking into the sun (there is spherochromatism at other times), and it’s a very nicely balanced image, with no digital blockiness, plastering or false colour. Resolution is so high and light into dark performance is so linear, I can look into a distant neighbour’s garage up on Albion Lane using digital zoom and make out a mother holding up her toddler before putting him into a car seat – this is at 35mm! Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, images from the lane are notable for their natural colour rendition, huge levels of detail (jeans labels, the colour and design of carry bags as far as Albion lane, watch straps) and colour balance. I can also see barrel distortion thanks to the brick and block walls all around – it looks around 1.5 per cent. This is not an easy scene to manage but the VB770 swallows it whole. I get a plate moving up the lane past 20m and my neighbour comes out to do some woodwork and when he takes off his shirt at about 20m, I can see he’s had his appendix out. At about 5.30pm, something interesting happens to the image – it loses focus. There’s no cut filter, this not being a day/night camera, so I’m thrown for a moment and adjust shutter speed trying to recover sharpness. But a re-focus brings everything back together again – later I find a night focus is best for day and night performance. Detail levels remain stupendous. It’s at this point I notice there’s a little blur on the adjacent fence line. Earlier, when pedestrians had walked under the camera I had noticed faces were out of focus right under the 52 se&n
1/100th of a sec gives great face recognition
This is a tough scene – faces at 16m
Norman at 7 lux
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● Product review
Sony
WDR performance very solid.
Something else that’s interesting is the sensitivity of this camera to low light. The lane is quite dark save for 3 street lights – one 4m in front of the lens, one 40m from the lens and a third 70m from the lens. All around these three 1800k pools of low pressure sodium are dark holes. There’s a PIR-activated floodlight at 18m and when this turns on and off it has an impact on the whole scene as amplification winds up when the light is off. Any amplification adds noise but even after long deliberation I can’t decide if amplification increases or reduces detail overall – it’s a bit both ways and that balance is a good thing. I put Norman out and he looks good at 10m from the lens with a measly 2 lux at the face – colour rendition is solid – I have face recognition and with a turn of the mouse wheel I see I have his entire target with a little softness to the A line – that’s down to spherochromatism and amplification noise. Once I’ve dragged Norman back inside (he wanted to head down to the KB for a pint), I get Ronnie Rotakin out into the lane. I’m expecting to get some reasonable blur levels out here at 1/50th of a second but no, blur is the lowest I’ve ever seen it, which confirms our findings at SecTech Camera Shootout last year. Excellent performance, Sony. Later when I play around in the darkest corner of the courtyard things get weird. There’s no night mode to mess around with – I just point the camera (I’m at 1/25th of a second now) and have at it. There’s some noise there but I have lovely colour and tons of detail. After this I head inside and turn out all the lights and with zero lux at the lens the VB770 is giving colour, face recognition and the license plate. Is this the best low light camera we’ve ever tested? Yes, it certainly is.
Conclusion Sony’s SNC-VB770 is an excellent surveillance camera. In terms of core functionality, it has abilities in low light that are unmatched by commercially available competitors and there
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are real world applications in which it would excel. Typically for a Sony camera, it does the basic things very well, almost to the point of not noticing them – colour rendition, control of noise, low distortion, minimisation of digital artefacts – the core aspects of surveillance are all exceptionally well managed. The combination of a full frame (35mm) sensor and the Sony (Zeiss Distagon) 35mm F1.4 lens is a good one. The price you pay for the excellent low light performance is spherochromatism and chromatic aberration when there’s strong light playing on areas of high contrast but it’s a price well worth paying. At all times, the VB770 gives unparalleled face recognition on the street at what is a relatively wide 64-degree angle of view. A lot of the cameras we test do reasonably at close faces (inside 8m) at wide angles but the 770 does it out towards 12m in very low light and provides portrait quality images in good light closer and admissible faces to 25m. This camera’s ability to deliver a colour image of Norman, with court admissible face recognition in complete darkness is the standout capability. Just, wow. n
Features of the SNC-VB770 include: l
I mage Sensor 35mm full-frame Exmor CMOS 12.2MP
l
inimum Illumination (30 IRE) 0.004 lx M (ISO409,600, 1/30 s, F1.4)
l
ynamic Range Equivalent to 100 dB with D View-DR Technology
l
Gain Auto/Manual (0 dB to +72 dB)
l
Shutter Speed 1/1 s to 1/10,000 s
l
xposure Control Exposure compensation, AGC, E Shutter speed, Iris
l
hite Balance ATW, ATW-PRO, Fluorescent lamp, W Mercury lamp, Sodium vapour lamp, Metal halide lamp, White LED
l
There’s one-push WB, Manual, Indoor, Outdoor
l
Lens E-mount with FE lens optional
l
Easy Zoom and Quick Focus.
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● Trouble shooting
Alarms
by j o h n a d a m s
Looking for Trouble Trouble shooting alarms is always a challenge, especially when the system is old and tired, and when there are no plans explaining where the zones loops lie. But if you’re careful you might be able to work out the nature of the problem without leaving the control module. AVING established there’s no obvious fault with a system – no trouble LEDs or icons blinking, the first step is to establish where the problem lies. Is it in the control panel or in the zone? Your actions will depend on system configuration as well as the age of the system. In the old days, there was a simple way to check the zone integrity at the controller end on closed loop zones. You just removed both wires from the zone input and ran a jumper across the terminals. As far as the controller was concerned the system was secure and armed and if an installer removed one of those jumper wires, the system would go into alarm. It’s a little more complicated these days with EOLs used to make a loop that’s protected by application of the correct resistance. Quite simply this means a zone can’t be shorted by an enterprising crook who jumps the terminals then removes sensor inputs or shorts the zone across the sensor terminals. Happily for the troubleshooter, you can use the EOL to create a virtual protected loop with the sensor disconnected. Just bend the 2.2k EOL till it connects with the relevant zone terminal and the shared common terminal and you’ve effectively got a protected loop. If the zone now works perfectly then the chances are you’ve got a sensor, connection or loop problem. But if the problems persist, it will be a controller fault. You can test the controller’s response by removing one side of the EOL from the zone terminal, or by shorting the loop,
H
In simple closed loop systems things are easier because anything in the loop causing an alarm must be an open contact.
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● Trouble shooting
Alarms Checking the loop
You can test the controller’s response by removing one side of the EOL from the zone terminal, or by shorting the loop, and seeing if the system goes into alarm. and seeing if the system goes into alarm. If there’s a controller problem then your antics may not be detected by the panel. Checking all the zones is a fiddle but is easy enough. Depending on the protective loop configuration, work your way across the zone inputs, Z1 and shared C (zone 1 and shared common), then on the right of the common, Z2 and C (zone 2 and shared common). You’ll be using the same single 2.2k EOL resistance on each set of inputs. Take into account that the procedure varies depending on the sort of protective loops that are built into system. A single closed loop will require you to disconnect both loop wires, to add jumpers (or an EOL) across the terminals and to trip the system by lifting the jumper or EOL wire. But a double closed loop with no ground will require both +In and +out be removed and replaced by +In to +out and -In to -out. All will depend on the sort of protective loops the system contains - yes you’ll need those manuals all right.
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Let’s say that as you worked your way across the zone inputs no fault was found with the controller, but Zone 2, to which loop were attached 1 PIR and 2 Reed switches protecting a room and 2 doors was unusual. The controller behaved perfectly when tested with the EOL and the permanent trouble went away. The next step is to establish what kind of fault it is you’re facing. Is it a foreign potential, a ground, a short, or an open? Probably the strangest and potentially most damaging to the system is the presence of a foreign potential (voltage) on the loop. Happily, it’s also the least likely problem you’ll encounter. When you use the voltmeter to check a loop what you’re measuring is current on a wire so it’s important to establish whether the system has a voltage on its zone loops when disarmed. Some old systems won’t have power when disarmed and in these instances, you can either use as ohmmeter or continuity tester (both have builtin power), or disconnect the siren and strobe outputs and test the system when it’s armed. At this point, check for power across battery terminals and for power across loop terminals. Remove the connecting wires to each zone and replace them with the voltmeter’s connections. If the right voltage is present, assume that the trouble lies with the loop. Again, complexity is introduced to troubleshooting on the basis of the loop’s nature. In simple closed loop systems things are easier because anything in the loop causing an alarm must be an open contact. But if it’s a double closed loop then an alarm could be the result of an open in one wire, an open in a second wire, or a short between two wires. It could even be the result of a ground on the hot wire if the loop has one side grounded permanently. For the sake of this discussion let’s assume that the loop containing the PIR and two reeds is closed and the 3 devices are connected to a cable run about 21m long with the devices spread out at 7m intervals. Go to the middle of the cable run between the first PIR and the first reed. If there’s appropriate voltage at that point then the system is good to that point. Now go past the first reed. If the system remains good then you know the failure lies on the other side of the first reed and is caused by either the second reed switch or cabling or its terminations. Another technique when testing loops is to place the voltmeter leads over the terminals of each device. What you’re looking for here is voltage and if you find it then you’ve found your open contact. This is a simpler method but it has weaknesses. For a start this method won’t indicate broken wires and nor will it be useful if there’s more than just 1 open contact in the loop. n
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History of Alarm Monitoring
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When the first intrusion alarm system was installed in 1858 its response to intrusion was to sound a local ‘gong’ alarm bell but it wasn’t long before the inventor of the burglar alarm took things to their logical conclusion and established his own monitoring station. T might not be immediately obvious but alarm systems and monitoring solutions have been synonymous from the beginning – customers have always wanted a response to intrusion events. Alarm systems and alarm monitoring technologies weren’t developed at the same time, but they weren’t far apart and from the start alarms and monitoring were synonymous. The first alarm system was installed on February 21, 1858, in Boston, Massachusetts, by inventor, installer and later, monitoring station owner, Edwin T. Holmes. At the time, the ability to detect intrusion through the properties of electricity was considered magical and not only was Holmes lauded, he was inundated with requests for alarm systems from business and domestic users across America. Holmes alarm system detection devices and loops were a composite service – the wires both detected and reported the alarm. This report saw a solenoid knocking into a gong when a wire was disturbed. Holmes’ alarm sensors comprised wire that was coiled along window sills and around entry points. Later sensors comprised conductive lead foil and mechanical or magnetic switches with very fine wires laced between them to form a detection trap, and there were also wooden dowel alarm screens, all of which relied on the breaking of a normally closed circuit. Once Holmes had got into alarm manufacturing and installation he quickly saw the opportunity in monitoring and response. Alarms were connected back to his monitoring station by direct lines, strung in the air. In its hey-day there were thousands of alarm
I
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lines strung up to the top floor location of Holmes Protection Inc’s central station. Early monitoring was a challenging science. You can hardly imagine the issues with short circuiting and signal loss through attenuation. As time went by multiple alarms at multiple sites were installed on single copper loops but it wasn’t the best idea for reporting accuracy
or reliability. False alarms were a real issue. Problems like line breaks and grounds could put a whole loop and dozens of customers off line. Installation techniques were best described as ‘interesting’. Wires, connections and terminations were all uninsulated, termination boxes were not weatherproof and rusted break-wheels in
Edwin Holmes
se&n 59
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signal boxes caused attenuation aplenty. While soldering had been invented by the ancients, materials in the 19th century varied in quality and soldering in the field was difficult to get right. Shrink-wrapping of connections was not conceived and cable jackets were still in development. Protecting the integrity of loops became such a major issue that monitoring companies did whatever they could to keep electricity flowing with techs sent out with long coils of jumper cable to restore circuits on the fly in the event of building fires or line failures. Much of the early history of monitoring belongs to ADT Security Services. ADT was founded as the American District Telegraph Company in 1874 by merging 57 district telegraph delivery companies – each company operating in an area comprising the radius of the direct line comms technology of the day. The concept of alarm monitoring was well and truly established by the late 1880s, with wired electric protection systems reached New York. Wired protection technology could be used to monitor manual fire alarm pull boxes, burglar alarms or holdup alarms. In fact, so blended were the services offered by ADT that its messengers also acted as security patrols. The next step forward in monitoring technology was the development of the McCulloh Loop in the 1880s. Thought to have been developed by Chauncey F. McCulloh of Baltimore in 1882, the loop was so capable it was still being used in the 1990s. As ADT’s Fred Gibson explains, the loop not only bypassed faults, it gave a clear indication of where they were. “The McCulloh apparatus provides an indication of the occurrence of a break, a ground or a combination of the two on the associated line,” wrote Gibson. “By proper switching, the operator in effect may divide the faulty line into 2 circuits, each extending from the central station to the fault, and is so able to receive ground signals over a circuit ending in an open fault or break signals over a circuit terminating in a ground fault.” ADT originally used a single relay for each McCulloh loop circuit, requiring
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At the time, the ability to detect intrusion through the properties of electricity was considered magical and not only was Holmes lauded, he was inundated with requests for alarm systems from business and domestic users across America. operators to have considerable skill when manipulating the signal around a fault. This technique was improved in 1901 when a 2-relay version was introduced in Milwaukee and proved to be much easier to operate. For 100 years, the reliable and clever McCulloh loop was the mainstay of monitoring technology giving reliability, accountability and allowing subscribers to share the costs of the loop. It was a great development but had its drawbacks. In terms of installation the phone/ alarm/monitoring company ran a pair of wires out to a location and allowed multiple premise units to be wired in series with the main feed – just like modern direct line. The main feed was routed to a secure location, which had a room full of car batteries to support the loops and was linked to a machine with spools of paper and little probes with ink at the end. The premise units were replaced with a device that used a wheel with spokes protruding from it. As the wheel turned, it opened and closed a set of contacts that sent a series of Morse Code-like pulses to the monitoring center. At the monitoring center, each pulse would cause the probes to release ink onto a thin spool of paper. For example, if the premise unit’s code wheel had two spokes followed by three spokes followed by one spoke on it, the monitoring center would see lines of ink that when counted, identified premise unit number 2-3-1. Trouble was, if you knew how, the loop was easy to compromise. Cutting the phone line in an unsecured site would disable all of the secured premise units on that feed and the monitoring station was blind to where. Another hurdle to overcome was that if more than one site’s alarm tripped at the same time, the clash of pulses was hard to decipher. Then
there was the issue of maintaining all the loop batteries. Installers and monitoring stations of the past must have longed for wireless. It would be nice to claim that from the 1890s through to the 1970s huge advances were made in security technology but they weren’t. The fundamentals remained the same, though ADT did add automation to the process. As late as 1969 Electric Signals’ control room operators at Redfern in Sydney (later Wormald Brothers) were manually deciphering McCulloh alarm signals from end user premises and calling police patrols using plug-in switchboards. It was the invention of the block semiconductor by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments in 1958 that really fuelled new electronic security detection and monitoring technologies. Working alone while his colleagues enjoyed a few weeks holiday, Kilby built a tiny self-contained, monolithic integrated circuit using a single piece of semiconductor material the size of a thumbnail. In a single stroke Kilby paved the way for microprocessors, CCDs (invented by Canadians George Smith and Willard Boyle in 1969), and the pyroelectric elements used in PIRs - variously invented in 1979 by Eltec Instruments, Mullard and English tech house, Plessy. The big news with semiconductors was the fact they drove Gen-4 of the computer age, with developments by Intel Founder Robert Noyce leading the charge. Computers and control panels changed the way alarm systems were monitored, making them far more functional and as time went by, infinitely smarter. Thanks to Kilby and those who came after him, ADT was able to build the first automated monitoring station with receivers and computers in the early 1970s. n
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â—? Company snapshot
Genetec
Unification of Genetec Genetec is one of the pioneers of unified IP security solutions and continues to expand the boundaries of possibility with solutions like Mission Control.
Genetec is also affiliated with many international industry associations, where its solutions meet their respective needs and demands. As innovators and leaders, working with established organizations helps provide strategic direction and speed enhancement and adoption of its open standards solutions across the security industry. Today, Genetec is a global provider of IP video surveillance, access control and license plate recognition solutions unified in a single platform, called Security Center. The company works with partners on 6 continents to help provide safer, more secure environments for small to medium-sized and enterprise-class businesses in over 80 countries.
Genetec Unifies Operations OR more than 15 years, Genetec has led the development of world-class unified IP security solutions. The company began in 1997 by pioneering the first-ever IP video management software, giving customers at the time never-seen-before system flexibility, hardware freedom and ease of system growth through a powerful, open solution that was easy to use. Genetec’s security solutions are deployed throughout industries such as city-wide surveillance, education, gaming, law enforcement, parking enforcement, retail, transportation, and many more. The open architecture of its solutions enables integration with one another, as well as with third-party solutions, letting customers leverage investments and lower total cost of ownership.
F
62 se&n
Security Center is the unified security platform from Genetec that blends IP security systems within a single intuitive interface to simplify your operations. From access control, video surveillance, and automatic license plate recognition to communications, intrusion, and analytics, Security Center empowers organizations through enhanced situational awareness, unified command and control, and connectivity to the cloud. Genetec also offers Security Center Subscription which is an innovative ownership option from Genetec that gives end users the freedom of pay-asyou-go licensing when they invest in an
â—? Company snapshot
Genetec
Genetec is a global provider of IP video surveillance, access control and license plate recognition solutions unified in a single platform, called Security Center.
on-premises unified security platform. Users can lower upfront costs and get access to Security Center with a term contract that includes updates, support and free trials to cloud services.
Building confidence and empowerment The Synergis IP access control system (ACS) heightens the security of an organization and increases readiness to respond to incidents and threats, all while leveraging any existing network and security equipment investments. With advanced security measures and support for an ever-growing number of 3rd party access control devices, the Synergis system gives users the confidence to protect people and assets. Mission Control is a Decision Support System that provides organizations with new levels of situational intelligence, visualization, and complete incident management capabilities. It allows security personnel to make the right decision when faced with routine tasks or unanticipated situations by ensuring a timely flow of information. Mission Control empowers organizations to move beyond simple event and alarm management by collecting and qualifying data from thousands of sensors and security devices, spotting the most complex situations and incidents, and guiding security teams in their response following organization-specific processes and compliancy requirements
Simplify Case Management, Speed Investigations The increase in the amount of evidence gathered from surveillance systems, body cameras, and civilians can help solve crimes. However, it also presents new challenges for the investigation process. With a case management system that facilitates collaboration between security
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Mission Control a powerful tool for situational awareness.
departments, outside agencies, and the public, security teams you can overcome these issues and speed up investigations in a cost-efficient manner. Meanwhile, the AutoVu automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) system automates license plate reading and identification, making it easier for law enforcement and for municipal and commercial organizations to locate vehicles of interest and enforce parking restrictions. Designed for both fixed and mobile installations, the AutoVu system is ideal for a variety of applications and entities, including law enforcement, municipal, and commercial organizations.
Use Security Infrastructure to Engage Shoppers The emergence of e-commerce, consumer connectivity and higher consumer expectations are changing retail dynamics. Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers that can cut through the noise and deliver a superior customer experience will win loyalty and increase in-store conversions. Retailers that don’t have an intimate understanding of their shoppers will be at a disadvantage. With Genetec Retail Sense, retailers can use their existing security infrastructure to transform customer experience by: l Maximizing time staff spends with shoppers to reduce abandonment l Boosting display and promotion effectiveness to drive traffic l Tailoring product placement and store layout to shopper preferences. With core modules like visitor counting, conversion rates, queue management, heat maps, directional analysis and face capture, retailers can unlock the intelligence that allows them to better understand consumers, make real-time informed decisions and increase both consumer engagement and in-store profitability. n
â—? Product review
Dahua
Cannonball Run Dahua’s IPC HDBW823EP-Z-SL is a 2MP Starlight, anti-corrosion dome featuring a 1/1.9-inch 2MP progressive-scan CMOS sensor, 120dB of WDR capability, 60ips at 1080p, a 4.1-16.4mm motorised lens, 50m of IR, IP67 and IK10 rating and H.264 and H.265 compression options. Performance matches the excellent feature set.
66 se&n
BY J O H N A D A M S
AHUA’S IPC HDBW823EP-Z-SL is a cannonball hewn from a lump of 316L stainless steel and the immediate impression you get when you hold it in your hands is build quality. It’s tough, the finish is excellent, there’s potting of terminations in the camera chassis, rubber weather seals, polishing of metal and the bubble seems to be largely untinted. Best of all, sensor performance closely matches the excellent specification. Dahua’s 2MP Starlight cameras are strong performers but this one seems to be one of the best we’ve ever tested. The camera has a 4.1-16.4mm motorised lens with a magnesiumfluoride coating (550nm) and a maximum aperture of F1.53, and it’s a fine lens. Before we get into out testing, let’s run through some specifications. At the heart of this camera is the 2MP 1/1.9-inch progressive scan CMOS sensor, delivering 1080p at 60ips and 120dB of WDR. Minimum scene illumination is claimed to be 0.002 lux in colour at 1/3rd of a second and 0.01 lux at 1/30th of a second. Frankly, 1/3rd of a second shutter speeds are more creative than useful with moving objects – you will get motion blur. However, in static scenes you’ll get good detail, including plates and you may get static faces, especially if there’s extra light thrown onto them by mobile device use. Signal-to-noise ratio is greater than 50dB, IR range is up to 50m, angle of view is 92 degrees at the wide end and 32 degrees at the long end, the camera chassis has up to 355 degrees of rotation. There’s a microSD card slot and you interface with the camera through web viewer (I start with CMS DSS then use web viewer), CMS(DSS/PSS) and/or DMSS. When it comes to intelligent video analysis, the camera offers tripwire, intrusion, object abandoned/missing and there are advanced intelligent functions including face detection, people counting and heat map. Video compression options include H.265+/ H.265/H.264+/H.264 in 3 streams and audio compression (in/out) is G.711a/G.711Mu/AAC/ G.726. There’s bit rate control via CBR/VBR, BLC, white balance options including; auto, natural, street lamp, outdoor and manual. There auto and manual gain control, auto and manual noise reduction, 3D DNR, motion detection options including off/on in 4 rectangular zones, region of interest and privacy masking, both in 4 rectangular zones, electronic images stabilisation, de-fog, 16x digital zoom, and flip options including 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees – I’m using 180 for this test.
D
Late afternoon. great DOF
Faces a snap
Dahua’s 2MP Starlight cameras are strong performers but this one seems to be one of the best we’ve ever tested. Faces, no plates as light falls
se&n 67
● Product review
Dahua Something else I notice immediately is depth of field at wider angles of view – I’m at around 5.5mm a lot of the time in this test and the depth of field is high quality.
Full wide 7 lux
Other features include a full range of network security features, an alarm input, ONVIF, PSIA, CGI compatibility and IOS and Android support. Power consumption is less than 18W, operating temp is -40 to 60C. Dimensions are 162.3mm x 118.1mm and weight is 3kg. As mentioned, this PoE camera is a tough monkey, rated to IP67 and IK10.
Driving the Dahua HDBW823EP-Z-SL
Zoomed at 7 lux
Wide
Faces with zoom are easy
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We’re conducting the test on SEN’s Dell Optiplex 9020, which features an i7 processor with 8GB of RAM. While this is not a particularly highspec server on the GPU side, the Dahua handles perfectly well with it, suggesting a relatively lightweight processing demand at 2MP and 60ips. As usual, we’re powering the camera through a basic Netgear ProSafe GS108P switch. There’s nothing else running on the server or the network to cause latency or hassles. Setup is easy, once I get my IP address range properly matched. Bear in mind in the late afternoon and evening shots, the clock on the image display is set to daylight saving time – it’s an hour ahead. It’s afternoon when I start the test and the day is a little murky but I get a good sense of camera performance as soon as I hang this camera on the balcony and sit down at the workstation. This big sensor drags in a lot of detail – the reflections in the paintwork of cars on the street, details of trees and pedestrians. Something else I notice immediately is depth of field at wider angles of view – I’m at around 5.5mm a lot of the time in this test and the depth of field is high quality. I put it down to lens sharpness, sensor quality and evolution of Dahua’s WDR processing algorithms. Distortion is around 6 per cent at the wide end – it’s gone by 5.5mm. I don’t see any chromatic aberrations at all, which is a big deal because it suggests Dahua is paying serious attention to lens quality in-house. Seemingly small things like this speak of a culture of quality manufacture. I keep an eye on bitrate throughout the test – it’s around 6200kbps most the time, even with a lot of movement in the scene. When you’ve got a motorised zoom lens it’s hard not to use it. Lens performance in terms of zoom and autofocus is extremely good. After using the zoom slider, re-focus is only about a second behind – that’s great for live work. The 4x motorized zoom
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● Product review
Dahua
Wide angle 80,000 lux
Faces easy with strong WDR
Veiling flare but my angle is contributing
is ideal for a fixed PTZ like this but you need to take care with mounting height and primary angle of view, it’s relatively easy to zoom too far with a fixed zoom camera, especially if it’s looking downwards. I wind up tilting the camera back on its haunches in the magic arm in order to lift the horizon to help increase my range with optical zoom – you can do this by tweaking the camera body inside the housing, too, but I take the easy option today. My settings are generally default with everything on auto. I notice there is some over exposure on the sunny side of the street my default settings can’t manage but the balance between bright and dark is handled very well. Over exposure reduces
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detail. When the sun moves away a little, depth of field really opens up – I’m talking between 40 and 80m at the wide end of the lens. I can’t get plates of fast moving cars at the wide end as the afternoon darkens. Unlike many low end 1080p cameras, digital zoom is well worthwhile – I get value out of 6 or 7 rolls of the mouse wheel – 16x takes me to pixellation but at more realistic levels, it’s excellent performance. Faces stay with me as the lights falls and this is very pleasing. You get court admissible faces out past 12m with this camera at 4.1mm – within this distance, faces are guaranteed. This is all down to image quality from the lens and camera system. The large sensor means greater pixel spread at 4.1mm, remember. Going through the images later, I think I’m getting distinguishing facial features at 20m with the lens set wide – that’s very good. When I go to the long end with the lens, sharpness improves, though I lose my depth of field thanks to camera angle. At the long end, even in failing light and with reduced aperture, faces are brilliant. When I return to wide, a truck goes by and again no plate, but everything else is clear – no tone mapping, no rocket tail of mid-processed pixels – it’s a rock-solid image. At about 5pm I start getting some blur with fast moving cars as the shutter slows down and this impacts on faces and moving legs, too. Walking pedestrians are still great but when a woman runs down the street, no face recognition. With the camera locked in colour, rendition, which was solid all afternoon, hangs together at 7 lux in low pressure sodium streetlights. Under the low-pressure lights colours tends to yellow orange but the next light up seems to be LED and rendition is very true without false colour. At one point out here, a car headlight catches the camera and there’s noticeable blooming but control of blooming is generally, very good. Overall ability to hold colour in very dark conditions is exceptional – there’s a price in the slow-ish shutter speed but the low light ability is excellent – it stays solid with pedestrians and face recognition is readily available in colour in sub 10 lux out to 10m – further if there’s some environmental light of the type I have in this scene. Skin tones are strong, too. Moving cars are harder to manage – there’s a point in the afternoon when you are no longer able to secure plates and later blur increases but it never seems out of control. Something that’s good is the lack of tone mapping around moving objects until things are quite dark. Control of blooming
Overall ability to hold colour in very dark conditions is exceptional – there’s a price in the slowish shutter speed but the low light ability is excellent...
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● Product review
Dahua
Potted terminations – very nice.
is exceptional as light falls. There are 4-pointed aperture stars. Static plates are great, too. Depth of field stays good into the night, as does detail. For a 1080p camera, detail is very high indeed at wider angles of view. This is a fine camera for the many applications that are heavy on foot traffic at night. Next, I check out monochrome performance and hopping into the browser, I lock the camera into night mode. Again, detail level is unusually high for a 2MP, As you’d expect, detail is higher in monochrome and motion blur is considerably reduced, too. For typical street-lit scenes like this one, you’d probably leave IR off. I also find that zoom is just as potent in monochrome as it is during the day. Contrast in monochrome is fantastic giving big detail and improving DoF. I often point out that monochrome performance is best after dark and here it is again, with strong detail all the way to 16m. In monochrome, face recognition goes out to about 12m and is high quality inside 10m. During this test, I go out front and I’m surprised by how dark it is – on-screen things are much brighter. Something I notice is some interesting ghosts and flare in the lens and bubble – while there are a few of them, they are very compact and you need direct light to generate them. In fairness to the camera, I have it installed at an unusually high angle to the light sources (car headlights) in this scene. At one point too, I notice blooming from a direct hit of a headlight – it’s the dome in my opinion, not the sensor, which is what you want. Something else that’s noticeable is the control of noise – it’s very, very good all the time, no matter the light level. I get a little pulsing in mono but you have to pixel-peep to see noise. In my opinion, this suggests Dahua has gone to another level with the design of its camera system – it’s the best Dahua camera we have tested by a considerable margin. Next day I get started early to ensure strong backlight and while the camera deals with WDR
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Overall, this is an impressive dome that’s hugely rugged and comes with a wonderful specification.
very well, the lens and bubble find it a tougher gig, showing plenty of veiling flare – that’s normal for a dome but worth bearing in mind during commissioning if you plan to wall mount externally. I still have the dome angle backwards, which is not fair on the camera. The flare is strongest when zoomed in – when I pull the lens back to a wider angle of view, the pressure comes off. There’s also a solid purple diamond ghost in the centre of the image which is coming from the front element of the lens. Regardless of these relatively generic dome bubble issues, WDR performance is excellent, as is the lack of CAs - nice work from Dahua there. The adjacent bright and shadow work is very good, too, and I have moving plates looking into about 80,000 lux. There’s no drama identifying Norman’s face or plate in this strong backlight and using optical zoom you can dig a long way into this street scene. Overall, this is an impressive dome that’s hugely rugged and comes with a wonderful specification. Performance from the 2MP 1080p sensor matches the spec, which is lovely to see, and the motorised zoom and super-fast focus gives the camera more power still. The best features of this camera include low distortion, nearly zero CAs, Ability to hold colour while retaining faces to 10m under 10 lux, excellent monochrome performance and a noteworthy lack of noise. This is the best 1080p dome we’ve tested at SEN and the best performing Dahua camera we’ve tested, too. Dahua’s technology is evolving – definitely worth a look. n
Features of the Dahua 2MP Starlight dome include: l
Big 1/1.9-inch CMOS
l
H.265 & H.264 triple-stream encoding
l
60fps@1080P
l
WDR(120dB), Day/Night(ICR), DNR,AWB,AGC,BLC
l
Very capable 4.1mm ~16.4mm motorized lens
l
IR range of 50m
l
MicroSD, POE, Day Night, IVS
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IP67, IK10, 316L stainless housing.
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● Special report
Networking
by way n e a r v i d s o n *
Surveillance Cloud When it comes to your surveillance video, what is your storage strategy? Where do you plan to store the data? How long will you need to keep it? How often will you access it? ECISIONS about video storage are important for law enforcement agencies and municipalities to consider, especially when you think about the changes taking place in the surveillance industry. Camera stream counts are increasing. High-resolution digital cameras are replacing analogue at a fast rate. Body-cams are becoming more prevalent. Retention times for video are getting longer. All these changes culminate to produce more video content than ever before. In fact, industry analyst IHS predicts that 859 petabytes of video will be generated daily by 2020. The question is: What to do with all that data? Many are looking to cloud storage as a possible solution. Overall, organizations are becoming more comfortable with storing data in the cloud, and that’s leading to growth in the public cloud services market. What role should cloud storage play in your surveillance infrastructure? Ultimately, the answer comes down to your overall storage strategy, and your desired balance of capacity, performance, accessibility and cost. Changes in surveillance technology are forcing law enforcement agencies and municipalities to address an influx of data. Here’s a simple example: On average, a 1080p camera generates 10 GB of video per day. If you had a 50-camera installation and were required to retain the video for one year, you would need 183 terabytes of storage capacity. In a city
D
surveillance scenario, the camera count can go up by the thousands (or tens of thousands), depending on the size of the deployment. This drives the storage capacity requirement much higher. From a law enforcement perspective, consider a body camera deployment. One officer wearing a body camera and recording video for 4 hours a day for a full year will generate more than 1 terabyte of video. If you had 1000 officers doing that in your department, they would collectively generate more than 1 one petabyte of video in a year. Cloud storage is an option to consider. Prices vary depending on the provider and length of contract but most offer a low price-per-gigabyte rate to store data. However, you must consider other factors and charges. Typical cloud pricing models include separate charges for activities such as data movement operations, file access/retrieval, deletion, and support. Contracts can be complicated, and costs can add up quickly. The City of Baltimore conducted an analysis of cloud storage costs to support a proposed body camera program. After factoring in all the costs, their analysis revealed an average one-year cost of the cloud solution to be $US1.3M, which escalated over the course of the contract to an average 5-year cost of just under $15M. Consider how cloud fits within your overall storage strategy. The elasticity and remote aspect of cloud storage are tremendous advantages for some applications, such as remote replication for disaster recovery and long-term archival. However, it won’t be the best fit for every application. When integrating cloud storage, consider how you want to use it and the needs of the application. Then, carefully consider the long-term pricing. Cost-effective data management comes down to finding the right balance between performance, accessibility, and cost. A cloud-only approach to surveillance storage can be prohibitively expensive, and may not meet performance or access requirements. A multi-tier storage solution which combines high-performance disk, tape and cloud can help retain the scalability benefits of cloud without sacrificing the cost benefits of other storage media. Depending on your data management capability, each can be managed as a separate tier governed by user-defined policies, including third-party cloud options, which gives you more control over where your files are stored and enables you to better contain storage costs. n *Wayne Arvidson is vice president, Video Surveillance and Security Solutions, Quantum Corporation. A seasoned global marketing, product management, and business development executive, Wayne is an expert on best storage practices for video surveillance, has been published in numerous industry publications and is a regular speaker at industry events. He also sits on the Security Industry Association’s Government Affairs Committee, Working Groups on Body-Worn Video Technology and Homeland Security.
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26-28 JULY 2O17 26-28 JULY 2O17 ICC SYDNEY
ICC SYDNEY DARLING HARBOUR DARLING HARBOUR
THE INTELLIGENCE OF SECURITY The Security Exhibition & Conference returns to Sydney this July to reunite the industry for three days of business networking and intelligence sharing. Offering inspiration and innovation to tackle your security challenges, you can source solutions from the best in the business whilst connecting and comparing with your industry peers.
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● Case study
Swinburne University
Swinburne IVA Swinburne University in Melbourne is using rapidly advancing IVA technology from iCetana, Snap Surveillance, Milestone and Cognimatics to enhance the level of safety and security that it offers across its campuses.
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CCORDING to Swinburne University’s IT security specialist, Chris Goetze, using IVA with the university’s 1020 IP CCTV cameras became viable once the system had gone full IP. This is a big application, with cameras installed on 4 of the university’s smaller campuses – Prahran, Croydon and Wantirna, with video recordings from these sites recorded centrally at Hawthorn where the IVA platforms are also located. The various sites are connected using a 10GB fibre backbone as well as a 400MB microwave link. According to Goetze, the upgrade to digital was the result of Mother Nature. “Back in 2007, there was a big storm that went through Melbourne that caused a fair bit of property damage to our campuses,” explains Goetze.
A
by j o h n a d a m s
Licence plate recognition is integrated into the Milestone package and people counting is handled at the edge.
“As a result senior management realised they needed a way of seeing what was going on all of the campuses in real time. It coincided with us doing a major network upgrade – probably our first one – so it was 10/100 PoE to every point and every comms room we had. And the decision was made to try to leverage off that investment in that network for CCTV.” Swinburne’s security and safety surveillance system comprises Axis cameras and Milestone Corporate XProtect software - XProtect Corporate supports unlimited cameras, users and sites. Handy too, it incorporates integrated map applications and there’s built-in support for Milestone’s powerful XProtect Smart Wall. It’s the IP-based nature of the overall system that allows the university to leverage its IP infrastructure to introduce a number of analytics platforms, including iCetana for detecting unusual behaviour, as well as Snap Surveillance, to learn
about the physical relationship between cameras, which integrate into the core Milestone platform using APIs. Meanwhile, licence plate recognition is integrated into the Milestone package and people counting is handled at the edge. “Because the Axis cameras are effectively a miniature Linux computer, you can deploy apps directly onto them, so we’ve deployed an app from a company called Cognimatics,” Goetze said. “That runs directly on the camera head and sends the data to a SQL database, and you can deal with the data however you want after that.” According to Goetze, the combination of IP cameras and analytics, specifically abormal behaviour detection, helps the uni’s physical security teams pick up things that happen around the university without having to monitor 600 cameras on screen. “For instance, iCetana automatically detects abnormal behaviour or heavily changed conditions,”
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● Case study
Swinburne University
camera-matching Snap Surveillance software gives security staff a visual representation of the camera they’re interested in, along with other cameras nearby. he explains. “It does that without a rule base, so we know it will pick up fights, someone falling over, or a car driving the wrong way,” Goetze said. Meanwhile, camera-matching Snap Surveillance software gives security staff a visual representation of the camera they’re interested in, along with other cameras nearby. “If the security team wants to follow ‘person of interest A’ across the campus, this tool comes into its own because you find your suspect on the camera, and it shows you nearby cameras they might walk towards,” Goetze said. “When you see them on the next camera you just click on it to bring it into the central view, and it, in turn, shows you other cameras that are nearby. This simple intuitive functionality makes it much easier for control room operators to track someone without having to remember it’s camera 68 they need to jump to now, which is in this building. The system just does that for them.” According to Goetze, the use of analytics goes beyond security, with people counting used to assist with the planning of library services. “We use it throughout the 7 levels of the library to work out which areas are overloaded, which areas
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Installing fibre backbone
they need to expand, which services are used more than others. Are the periodicals more interesting than the computer lab?” Goetze says. “We’ve taken it a step further and put people counting in a number of study areas, and then present that information to students in a phone app, so they can see which study areas have spare seating without having to walk halfway across the campus only to find there’s no seats spare.” And now Swinburne is looking to bring facial recognition analytics into the equation. “Facial matching comes on and off the agenda occasionally. We’re quite interested in it, but at this stage it’s quite an expensive proposition,” Goetze said. “Because the university is an open campus, in suburbia and in the city, we have no boundaries. And between us and the police, there are persons of interest who we would like to know if they’re on site or not. That’s where facial recognition would be handy.” According to Goetze, the university is also looking at a retail analytics and heat map platform called Vizualize, which could potentially be a tool for researchers. “In retail, shops use heat maps to work out which of their shops are more popular and how long people stand in front of the shelves. There’s an app we can load on to the cameras that can do heat maps of areas,” Goetze said. “We have some researchers and faculties that are interested in doing that in their research spaces to better understand how people interact with their areas. The researchers are interested in the design of spaces, such as office spaces, and how things are utilised.” n
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● Special report
SecTech camera shootout
The Big Boppers At SecTech Roadshow Camera Shootout we’ll compare big PTZs, low light and bullet cameras from Hikvision, Dahua, Honeywell, Panasonic, Sony, Bosch, Samsung, Pelco, Axis, Vivotek, Uniview and Mobotix for low light, no light, WDR, IR and long range performance (PTZs in Sydney-only).
ECTECH Roadshow Camera Shootout S will see all the biggest CCTV brands going head to head including Mobotix, FLIR, Axis, Hikvision, Dahua, Uniview and Sony, Bosch, Panasonic, Pelco, Vivotek and Samsung. The camera groups being tested include Best Low Light Cameras, Best Bullet Cameras and in Sydney only, PTZ Domes of 36x or higher. When it comes to the general parameters of the shootout, we’ll be looking at performance in typical light, with back light, and in low light. Throughout these lighting conditions we’ll be paying attention to key parameters like motion blur, colour rendition, contrast, sharpness, flare and ghosting, latency, noise and noise suppression artefacts. We are
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especially interested in motion blur in optimum light, in unassisted low light (5-25 lux) and in night mode (sub 5-lux).
The Contenders Let’s take a look at the contenders! The cameras are listed here in order of manufacturer, not organised into groups, but each is identified by group type – first is low light, then bullet, then PTZ. Honeywell HCL2G Ultra Low Light WDR IP box camera l Honeywell HCL2G Ultra Low Light WDR IP box camera features 1080p 2MP at full frame rate, progressive-scan technology, and edge enhancement. ONVIF (Profile S/G) compliance ensures hassle-free, flexible system integration. There’s True WDR, up to 140 dB, True Day/Night capability, Ultra Low Light technology and 3D noise reduction, saving storage and bandwidth together with H.264 High Profile codec, working temperature is -30C to 60C, there’s ONVIF Profile S and G compliance, security features and there’s support for up to 128 GB microSDHC (Class 10) card for local video storage when network is interrupted. Honeywell HBL2GR1 WDR IR Rugged IP Bullet Camera l Honeywell HBL2GR1 WDR IR Rugged IP Bullet
by j o h n a d a m s
Camera has Full HD 1080p at 25/30 fps image with a 1/2.8-inch 2MP sensor, True WDR, up to 140 dB, True Day/Night capability, Ultra Low Light technology and 3D noise reduction, saving storage and bandwidth together with H.264 High Profile codec, working temperature is -40C to 60C, there’s ONVIF Profile S and G compliance. There’s 2.7-12 mm or 5-50 mm, F1.4, motorized focus/zoom lens options, 60m IR, IP67 and IK10 vandal-resistant camera housing and micro SD. Honeywell HDZ302LIK Outdoor PTZ IR Ultra Low Light l Honeywell’s HDZ302LIK features Full HD 1080p resolution, 25/30 fps image with a 1/1.9-inch 2MP sensor, True WDR of 120 dB, True Day/Night, lowlight performance with 3D noise reduction, saving storage and bandwidth together with H.264 High Profile codec, 6.0-180 mm, F1.6-F4.8, 30x optical zoom lens with 360-degree continuous rotation for the flexibility to clearly view the target area with desired width and depth, 200m IR range, IP67 and IK10 rating, -40 to 70C working temp, ONVIF Profile S compliance, security features including individual signed certificates and data encryption. Dahua IPC-HFW8231E-Z5 l Dahua’s IPC-HFW8231E-Z5 Bullet combines the latest high performance DSP and an advanced Sony image sensor technology to provide features such as 2MP Resolution, Starlight low light technology, 140dB Ultra WDR, in built analytics including people counting and heat mapping, Smart Scene Adaptive technology as well as the latest H.265+ compression technology. To top it all off this camera has a 7~35mm motorised zoom lens which when combined with its 100m Smart IR capability means that it can operate effectively at short and long ranges. Dahua DH-SD10A248V-HNI l Dahua’s DH-SD10A248V-HNI PTZ is its 48x 5.7~275mm zoom lens and 450m smart IR. In addition to its long range capailities it uses Starlight technology to produce useable color images in low light, has H.265 compression to lower bandwidth and storage requirements, smart features such as auto tracking, and 120dB WDR. This PTZ can operate in temperatures ranging from -40 °C to +70 °C, is IP67 rated, has 8KV lighting protection and can tolerate an input voltage range of 25 per cent. Samsung XNO-8080R l Samsung XNO-8080R 5MP IR Wisenet X bullet camera features 30fps, WDR off/on, motorized varifocal lens 2.4x (3.7~9.4mm) (100.2°~38.7°), H.265/H.264/MJPEG, WiseStream II compression technology, 120dB WDR, USB port for easy installation, advanced video analytics and sound classification, high powered IR LEDs, D/N, Dual SD card, hallway view, HLC, defog detection with simple focus, DIS, 12VDC/24VAC/PoE, IP67, IK10, NEMA 4X and built-in -40F heater.
XNP-6320RH – 2MP WISENET X Series IR PTZ l Samsung SNP-6320RH features a 32x optical zoom lens and IR viewable length up to 170m, enabling users to capture Full HD high quality images anytime, anywhere. With endless 360-degree pan rotation and 190-degree tilt control, advanced auto tracking functions, power is supplied by 24v AC to accommodate powerful IR illuminators and ultralow temperature operations. XNB-8000 5MP WISENET X full body camera l Samsung Wisenet X offers 5MP @30fps WDR off/ on, simple focus, H.265/H.264/MJPEG, WiseStream II compression technology, 120dB WDR, USB port for easy installation, advanced video analytics and sound classification, true D/N, dual SD card, hallway view, HLC, defog detection with simple focus, DIS using a gyro sensor, and 12VDC/24VAC/PoE. Pelco Optera l Pelco’s Optera panoramic 12MP delivers completely stitched, seamless and blended panoramic views without the disruption and distraction of disjointed sensor boundaries. Featuring 12MP resolution at up to 15ips, with electronic PTZ across the entire panorama for the highest-quality and most uniform image detail possible, Optera elevates both live and forensic scene analysis to a completely new level for today’s security professionals. Pelco Spectra l Pelco’s New Spectra Enhanced high speed PTZ dome delivers Full HD 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second, SureVision 3.0 (130dB WDR), a full suite of built-in analytics, electronic image stabilization, single cable HPOE installation in all models, and much more. Featuring HD optimized dome bubble technology, a revolutionary solid pendant design to eliminate vibration noise, 20X or 30X optical zoom, and precise 360-degree PTZ control. Bosch 5000 Bullet l Bosch’s IP 5000 day/night bullet camera is an IP66-rated 5MP bullet camera with a motorised, varifocal, IR-corrected, board-mounted 2.7-12mm F1.4 lens offering 32-100 degrees of viewing angle and 18-53 degrees of vertical angle. The motorized zoom lens has automatic focus adjustment with 1:1-pixel mapping to ensure the camera is always accurately focused. It works extremely well in the field. The camera has a 30m IR array, the sensor is a 1/2.9-inch CMOS, claimed to offer minimum scene illuminations of 0.07 lux in colour, 0.05 lux in monochrome and 0 lux with IR activated. Bosch 7000 HD Starlight l The 60ips Bosch NBN-71013-B DINION IP starlight 7000 HD Day/Night full body network camera features 720p resolution from its 1.4MP 1/3-inch 1312 x 1069 CMOS sensor. Dynamic range is 84dB, WDR is 100dB and with a fast F1.2 aperture, the camera is
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● Special report
SecTech camera shootout
claimed to offer colour performance at 0.017 lux and monochrome performance at 0.0057 lux. Bosch MIC PTZ l Bosch’s MIC IP dynamic 7000 HD camera has an advanced PTZ platform that was designed using Bosch’s expertise in material engineering, mechanical design, intelligent imaging, and video streaming. The camera complies to some of the toughest industry standards such as IP68, NEMA 6P, and IK10 for extreme mechanical strength and durability. The camera is designed using the latest technology in intelligent imaging and video streaming. Thanks to the intelligent coding and content-based imaging technology (CBIT), the HD module delivers high resolution video, even under challenging light conditions at very low bit rates. Panasonic Aero l Panasonic Aero PTZ delivers 1080p resolution at 60fps with a 30x optical zoom lens. Aero’s image sensor is a progressive scan 1/3-inch MOS type with an area of 5.346mm x 3.336mm. This sensor offers minimum scene illumination in colour of 0.06 lux at F1.6 with gain on high and shutter speed at 1/30th of a second and 0 lux in monochrome thanks to the 150m IR LEDs. WDR is 105dB. The lens has a focal length of 4.3-129mm. The camera is IP67 rated, which means both water, dust-proof and vandal-proof to IK10 standards. Panasonic i-Pro Extreme l Panasonic iPRO Extreme camera models feature H.265 smart coding (Long GOP, Auto-VIQS, Smart Face Coding), H.264 compatibility and mixed mode streaming, recording and viewing, auto image stabilization, secure communication, up to 4-stream simultaneous H.265/264 encoding, enhanced Super Dynamic 144dB at 30fps (depending on model), ultrahigh sensitivity from 0.008 lux to 0.015 in color mode (depending on model), touchable Rain Wash Coating (outdoor models only) and built-in IR LED (up to 130 feet). Panasonic WV-S1132 l Panasonic WV-S1132 is a 1080p box camera based on the i-PRO EXTREME camera systems. It has Extreme Super Dynamic technology delivering 144 dB wide dynamic range, Intelligent Auto (iA) features to provide increased discernibility even in environments with poor visibility, high sensitivity with Day/Night (ICR*) function : 0.01 lx (Color), 0.004 lx (B/W) at F1.4. There’s H.265 compression and Smart coding technology.
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Mobotix MX6 Dual Lens Outdoor Camera l Mobotix MX6 day/night camera features dualcore processor, 1/1.8-inch progressive CMOS sensor, with 6MP (3072 x 2048) resolution, max. frame rates (MxPEG) are 42@HD, 34@FullHD (1920 x 1080), 12@6MP, H.264 hardware codec: Yes, bandwidth adjustment possible; output format max. QXGA, ONVIF Support Profile S, multicast-stream via RTSP, PoE, mini USB interface. Uniview Starlight Bullet l Uniview Starlight Bullet is a 2MP 1080p, x10 Zoom WDR IR Starlight auto focus IR bullet camera. It has Starlight illumination, advanced optical WDR capabilities and is ideal for challenging light environments like retail spaces, windowed areas and bars. Other features include Smart IR up to 100m, Day / Night, H.265, Triple streams, IR cut filter, micro SD card support, audio & alarm in/out, ONVIF compatibility, PoE and IP67 rated housing. Uniview Starlight IPC6858SR-X22 PTZ l Uniview Starlight IPC6858SR-X22 PTZ is a 4K UltraHD IR PTZ with 1/1.7-inch progressive-scan CMOS, up to 4000 x 3000 resolution at 20fps, 22x optical zoom(6.5~143mm), Smart IR with up to 250m range, alarm I/O, audio I/O, H.265, ONVIF-compliance, allweather design, IP66, –45 to 70C temperature range and AC24V, DC24V, 16~56W power draw. Hikvision DS-2CD4026FWD-A l Hikvision’s DS-2CD4026FWD-(A)(P)2MP is a low light smart camera with a 1/1.8-inch progressive scan CMOS giving full HD1080p video at up to 60fps. The camera features 120dB of WDR, 3D DNR, Auto Back Focus, P-Iris, Audio/Alarm IO support and 128GB of on-board microSD storage. Power is DC12V/AC24V/ PoE. Darkfighter and the other Hikvision cameras use a Genetec restricted connection license. Hikvision DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZ l The Hikvision DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZ(H)(S)2MP is a smart, low light IP67 rated bullet with a 1/1.8-inch progressive scan CMOS giving full HD1080p video at up to 60fps. The camera features 120dB of WDR, 3D DNR, Auto Back Focus, P-Iris, Audio/Alarm IO support and 128GB of on-board microSD storage, up to 50m IR range, motorized lens with Smart Focus, built-in heater, audio/alarm I/O and DC12V and PoE support. Hikvision DS-2DF8236I-AEL l Hikvision DS-2DF8236I-AEL 2MP is an ultra-low light smart 1080p PTZ camera with a 1/1.9-inch HD CMOS sensor, optical defog, 36x optical zoom, ultralow illumination, 120 dB WDR, smart tracking, smart detection, electronic image stabilization, 200 Meters of IR Range and Hi-PoE/24V AC power. Sony SNCVB640 l Sony SNCVB640 is part of the new V-series and offers
double the visibility at minimum scene, thanks to the Exmor R CMOS image sensor and XDNR noise reduction algorithms, and can maintain colour integrity at 0.1 lux in colour and 0.05 lux in monochrome. Using advanced imaging technology, Sony’s G6 cameras offer security professionals clear detail and higher visibility with excellent low-light sensitivity, which is ideal for a wide range of demanding applications, including city, transport and commercial surveillance. Sony SNCWR632C 1080 PTZ l Sony’s SNCWR632C 1080 PTZ is a highperformance rapid dome network camera with IPELA ENGINE PRO delivering an extra-wide 130dB dynamic range at Full HD, frame rates as high as 60fps – double that of normal IP cameras - continuous 360-degree PTZ operation, with the industry’s fastest pan speed of 700°/s letting an operator quickly recall pre-set areas of interest in a single, seamless motion. A powerful 30x optical zoom offers wide area coverage, plus the ability to grab detailed close-ups without losing clarity. Sony SNCVB770 l Sony’s SNC-VB770 is a colour-only 4K camera which has Sony’s FE F1.4 Zeiss Distagon 35mm full frame lens attached. The full-frame CMOS gives a resolution of just over 12MP, minimum scene illumination is claimed to be 0.004 lux at F1.4, a 1/30th of a second shutter speed and an ISO of 409,600. Dynamic range is equivalent to 100dB (View-DR technology), gain is zero to +72dB, shutter range is from 1/1 to 1/10,000 of a second. Vivotek IP9171-HP (3MP box camera, H.265) l VIVOTEK’s IP9171-HP is a brand-new professional H.265 box network camera offering up to 30 fps at 3MP. By utilizing VIVOTEK’s sophisticated Smart Stream II, the camera is able to optimize resolution for a desired object or area and thus ensure maximum efficiency of bandwidth usage. Combining both H.265 and Smart Stream II, the IP9171-HP can reduce both bandwidth and storage consumption by up to 80 per cent while maintaining the high standard of image quality. IB9381-HT (5MP Bullet, H.265) l VIVOTEK’s IB9381-HT is a brand-new professional H.265 high-efficiency outdoor bullet network camera, offering 30 fps @ 5-Megapixel or 60 fps @ 1080p with outstanding image quality. By employing H.265 technology, the camera is able to provide higher and more efficient image compression rates than previous H.264 systems. In addition, VIVOTEK’s sophisticated Smart Stream II technology enables the camera to optimize quality for desired regions and therefore to maximize efficiency of bandwidth usage.
Vivotek SD9362EH (PTZ camera, Full HD, 50Fps, H.265) l VIVOTEK’s SD9362EH is a high performance H.265 Full HD speed dome network camera. Armed with a 30x optical zoom lens, the camera is able to capture fine details. Further, the water-proof IP68-rated, vandalproof IK10-rated and NEMA 4X-rated housing of the SD9362-EH protects the camera body against rain, dust and corrosion and provides a wide operatingtemperature range of between -40°C and 55°C. Axis Q1615 Mk II l Axis Q1615 Mk II offers up to 50/60 fps in HDTV 1080p and up to 100/120 fps in HDTV 720p, and is equipped with an i-CS lens, enabling the camera to adjust zoom and focus during remote setup for quick installation and tweaking. There’s Lightfinder technology and WDR – Forensic Capture, Electronic Image Stabilization and much more. Axis Q1659 l AXIS Q1659 has a Canon 20MP APS/c sensor. It features 20MP (5472 x 3648 pixels) resolution at 8 images per second, high-performance image sensor and Canon EF/EF-S lenses, digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) imaging technology with choice of 7 different EF/EF-S lenses depending on requirements. . Axis P1425-LE Mk II Bullet l AXIS P1425-LE Mk II Bullet is a compact, outdoorready bullet camera with built-in IR LEDs and operating temperatures between -30 ºC to 50 ºC. With features such as Lightfinder and WDR – Forensic Capture, AXIS P1425-LE Mk II provides excellent image quality in HDTV 1080p resolution, even in complex light conditions. Axis Q6155-E PTZ l Axis Q6155-E PTZ features a built-in laser that provides instant focus in challenging lighting conditions and in complete darkness. It also delivers HDTV 1080p video at 25/30 fps, with 30x optical zoom. Axis’ Lightfinder and Sharpdome technologies provide full scene fidelity and high image quality in all directions, even in low-light conditions, while Axis’ Zipstream technology significantly reduces bandwidth and storage requirements. n
SECTECH Roadshow hits Sydney on May 4, Melbourne May 9, Brisbane May 11, Adelaide May 18 and Perth, May 23 and some more of the contenders at SecTech’s big Camera Shootout have been revealed.
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Products
Editor’s choice
What’s new in the industry.
Seagate Skyhawk Flies High l OPTIMISED for DVRs and NVRs, SkyHawk surveillance drives are tuned for 24 x 7 workloads in capacities up to 10TB. Equipped with enhanced ImagePerfect firmware, SkyHawk helps to minimise dropped frames and downtime with a workload rating 3x that of a desktop drive and is ready to record up to 90 per cent of the time while supporting up to 64 HD cameras. Distributor: Seagate Contact: 1800 147 201
Inner Range Wiegand<>OSDP Converter for Access Readers
Tyco C•CURE 9000 v2.60 l TYCO Security Products has released C•CURE 9000 v2.60, which incorporates advanced access control policy enforcement and customization, such as after-hours reader groups, expiring clearances and other usability enhancements features with increased operational efficiency. This latest version of the C•CURE 9000 security and event management platform also supports IPV6 address protocols for the iSTAR Ultra door controller and introduces a new C•CURE 9000 Web Client user interface. The platform’s after-hours reader groups allow security officers to funnel access through a central entry point. Expiring clearances allow end users to assign clearances with expiration dates to individuals for multiple doors/readers, while random screening automates screening selection for airports and other high security areas. Additionally, the 2-person and team rule for entry occupancy feature, which is ideal for R&D and government facilities, restricts access to sensitive areas to specific combinations of card holders. And, local time zone awareness for monitoring and reporting. The latest version of C•CURE 9000 is complimented with a new Web Client that provides remote access to C•CURE 9000 directly from a computer with an Internet browser. Distributor: Tyco Security Products Contact: +61 4 6776 3544
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l WHETHER you have an existing site with weigand readers and you want to upgrade to controllers with OSDP protocol or you want to future-proof your site by using OSDP readers onto existing weigand controllers, the new Inner Range OSDP<>Wiegand Converter converts credential reader data from OSDP (Open Supervised Device Protocol) to Wiegand or Wiegand to OSDP. The device can be configured to convert data from an Inner Range SIFER reader to Wiegand data for a Wiegand reader input or convert data from a range of other 3rd party OSDP readers to Wiegand data for a Wiegand Reader input - HID OSDP Readers with firmware V8.6 or later are supported. The device can also convert data from a Wiegand Reader to Inner Range SIFER data for an Integriti serial reader input. i.e. The ‘RDR RS485’ Port (OSDP bus) on an Integriti SLAM (IR-996012), ILAM (IR-996018) or IAC (IR-996035). Distributor: CSD Contact: 1300 319 499
LSC To Release AMC Alarms at SecTech l LSC Security Supplies will launch the popular Italian brand, AMC Alarms at SecTech Roadshow. Founded in 1974, AMC Alarms has developed an international reputation for their market leading design of intrusion devices. “We are delighted to bring such a high-quality brand to Australian shores” said LSC Security Supplies product manager, Scott Leonard. “AMC’s comprehensive range of alarm devices and accessories are a welcome addition to our electronic security portfolio.” The full range of AMC products including sirens, detectors, control panels and accessories are now in stock and available to purchase from LSC Security Supplies, exclusive distributor for Australia and New Zealand. Distributor: LSC Security Supplies Contact: 1300 64 62 69
Honeywell WDR IR Rugged IP Bullet Cameras
Ness Releases MCP-040 4-Door Access Controller l NESS MCP-040 is an intelligent 4 door access controller with and integrated 4 area control feature to interface into Ness M1 intruder alarm system with arm and disarm badging. Ness’ MCP-040 powers and controls 4-doors, 8 x RS485 (and/or 4 Wiegand) proximity card readers. The controller features 50,000 proximity card capability on-board, a 51,200-event log, 4 Wiegand inputs, 8 supervised monitoring inputs, 4-lock outputs, plus 8 programmable outputs, and comes complete with an encrypted ethernet port, making it LAN ready. MCP-040 is supplied with the premium black multi-function housing with unique time-saving features. There’s support for 8 ViRDI biometric terminals (AC2100/H or AC5000) or 8 x AC-R20D proximity card readers, 8-zone supervised intruder detection alarm, 8 programmable outputs, RS-485 comms and arm/disarm via ViRDI devices. The controller uses a 13-15V DC 5A supply. Distributor: Ness Corporation Contacts: +61 2 8825 9222
l HONEYWELL has released its WDR, IR, rugged bullet camera. The cameras feature 1/2.7-inch or 1/2.8-inch 2MP progressive scan imager or 1/3-inch 4MP progressive-scan imager and 60m IR performance. WDR performance is strong at up to 140 dB. There’s support for triple streaming, up to 4MP resolution at 20fps or 1080p at 25/30 fps. Lenses include 2.7-12 mm or 5-50 mm options, both at an aperture of F1.4, with motorized zoom and remote focus. There’s a rugged outdoor housing with IP67 ingress protection rating and IK10 vandal resistance rating, corridor mode viewing capability, on-board camera storage of up to 128GB via microSD card (not included), and ONVIF profile S and G compliance. Distributor: Honeywell Security Products Contact: 1300 234 234
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Products
Editor’s choice
What’s new in the industry.
Genetec integrates Shotspotter into Security Center l GENETEC has integrated ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology from SST Inc., into its unified IP security platform, Security Center. When calls to law enforcement are made to report a gun shot, often the information provided is inaccurate, or insufficient. Without knowing exactly where to respond, police can waste valuable time and resources driving block by block looking for evidence, as victims lack aid and criminals escape the scene. ShotSpotter uses wide-area acoustic surveillance that automatically gets activated when gunfire occurs, providing comprehensive outdoor coverage on campuses and in complex urban geographies. ShotSpotter sensors and cloud-based analysis software triangulate and pinpoint the precise location of each round fired within seconds, the number of shots fired and provide an immediate gunfire alert with an audio clip. Detailed incident data is immediately sent to SST’s Incident Review Center (IRC), a secure data processing and alert validation facility, where acoustics experts analyze the data and qualify the incident in real-time 24/7. Once validated, an alert is sent directly into Security Center, all in under a minute. Distributor: Hills Contact: 1800 685 487
IndigoVision Interceptor PTZ l INDIGOVISION’S HD Interceptor PTZ camera has been making easy work of catching criminals, even in the darkest of nights. The Interceptor camera, working with the latest innovative Sony CMOS Starvis sensor technology, provides stunning HD video in all lighting conditions. Previously the Interceptor was able to track suspects up to a maximum distance of 175m. With recent product updates the maximum distance is now increased to 275m with IR and 250m with White Light illumination. Available in several form factors, the Interceptor is compatible with all IndigoVision Control Center software tiers and is part of IndigoVision’s complete end-to-end solution. Distributor: Indigovision – Integrated Products Contact: 1300 055 164
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Hikvision is the New Black l WITH the increased number of trendy premises utilising the effects of having black coloured ceilings and walls, CSD has just released the Black Series of Hikvision cameras and matching bracketing. The most popular cameras in the Hikvision range are in stock at CSD with other models available on request. The turret camera, varifocal dome camera, and the low profile ‘fried egg’ versions are the most popular cameras in the Hikvision range and have been represented in the Black Series. Distributor: CSD Contact: 1300 319 499
Avigilon HDSM SmartCodec l AVIGILON introduces HDSM SmartCodec technology, which automatically detects
activity levels in multiple regions of a scene to optimize compression levels, and reduce bandwidth and storage consumption, all while maintaining high image detail of the areas that matter most. As a result, when activated HDSM SmartCodec technology can reduce bandwidth by up to 50 percent compared to standard H.264 compression. “With HDSM SmartCodec technology, customers can significantly reduce bandwidth and storage needs, without sacrificing important image detail,” said James Henderson, Avigilon’s chief sales and marketing officer. “Combined with Avigilon Idle Scene Mode and patented High Definition Stream Management technologies, Avigilon provides exceptional bandwidth management across the entire system, from camera to server to client.” All new H4A, H4 ES, H4 PTZ and H4 SL cameras include HDSM SmartCodec technology, and a free firmware download is available for previously installed cameras. The remaining H4 camera lines will integrate HDSM SmartCodec technology over the coming months. Distributor: CSD Contact: 1300 319 499
Geutebruck l GEUTEBRUCK new G-SIM provides the user with extended rights management
features. The user can grant access to recorded images for a limited time only, such as only for the last 2 hours. Furthermore, the rights holder can decide whether other users can see images only once they have entered a comment. As part of an audit, this process is logged and can thus be verified at a later time. There are also new features for the control of movable cameras. A higher-level user can grant or withdraw the rights for the control of one or more cameras during the system’s runtime from a user assigned to them. This feature is useful for large events, for example, as it allows you to respond quickly and flexibly to spontaneous situations and incidents. The new Edge Recording feature ensures continuous recording if the connection between the network camera and the recording server is disrupted. To this end, an in-camera SD card will be used in parallel to the recording on the server. If the camera loses the connection to the server because of a network or server breakdown, the image data will still be recorded onto the memory card. As soon as the connection between the camera and the server has been restored, the image data are automatically transferred from the SD card to the server and are once again fully available for transparent research and image reproduction. Distributor: Geutebruck Australia Contact: +61 2 8969 6302
Genetec announces Security Center version 5.6 l GENETEC Security Center 5.6. stays consistent with the Genetec commitment for cybersecurity and hardening measures and standards which address the changing nature of cyber threats and hazards. With advanced authentication, authorization and encryption technologies in Security Center 5.6, Genetec remains dedicated to protect organizations, security systems, their people, data and assets. The Security Center Web Client has been redesigned with HTML5 to offer users a more fluid and modern web experience. The Web Client ensures Security Center is accessible from any device or browser. With Genetec Plan Manager, operators can now monitor the live status of intrusion areas. Embedded support for ESRI ArcGIS software adds rich layers of visual data so organizations benefit from greater context and insights of their surroundings. Security Center 5.6 introduces a new integration with the Mercury MS Bridge to help end users migrate from proprietary or ‘integrated’ access control systems to a fully unified security platform. Always expanding its ecosystem of access control hardware partners, Genetec has also integrated the SimonsVoss family of digital locks, and added a technology and distribution partnership with STid, a manufacturer of RFID contactless door readers. With the release of Security Center 5.6, the new AutoVu SharpV ALPR camera can be enrolled as an access control reader managed by the Synergis Cloud Link appliance. Distributor: Hills Contact: 1800 685 487
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● Regulars
Help desk ■ Below are the approximate recommendations for rest times (complete rest, that is) between sets according to your goal, per the National Streng th and Conditioning Association (NSCA). *Note that since fat loss depends primarily on diet, there is no official rest-period prescription for it, although we feel that both short and long rests work, depending on the program.
Q: We use a number of PTZs around our large site and use both optical and digital zoom – something we often find is that digital zoom can be tricky to get out of once operators are at full zoom. What’s your advice on this – is digital zoom worth using or not? A: Digital zoom is useful where pixels are available to allow the processor to resolve the image using sharpening – which is the introduction of noise, which leads to a loss of detail - in a very real sense, digital zoom poses an internal contradiction to operators seeking additional data. Concentration of pixels through use of longer focal lengths certainly empowers digital zoom to fish more detail from a scene. If a camera is at a shorter focal length of say, 2.8mm, the wide-angle view will see digital zoom rapidly introducing pixellation and noise. This does not mean digital zoom is not useful at short and long focal lengths but in our opinion, digital zooms offering hundreds of times greater magnification than maximum optical are low in performance (not admissible in court) and unwieldy to manage. They won’t be much good for tracking people or vehicles if your scene has movement, however, the longer the range, the better they will be at giving situational awareness at the comparatively wider angles of
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Our panel of experts answers your questions.
view caused by very large depths of field. Finding yourself at the long end of a 36x optical zoom and a 200x digital zoom can put a pixel peeping operator in an opaque position, particularly in live monitoring applications. The best way to back out of a very narrow angle of view when at full optical and full digital zoom is by using a home pre-set that immediately pulls the camera back to a contextual wide view. For best performance, stick with optical zoom but don’t discount digital zoom’s ability to offer a static detail at very long range. Q: How important are graphic processing units when it comes to 4K camera performance? A: When it comes to GPUs – standard cards work fine with 1080p but with 4K you’ll have some issues with latency. With 4K GPU RAM is a factor – you want a minimum of 4GB and 8GB if you can get it – a 4K gamers GPU like the water-cooled Nvidia GTX Titan X with 12GB RAM would be great for multiple 4K streams, but you don’t need such a purpose-built tool. The Nvidia GTX 1080 with 8GB of RAM (yes, it’s actually 4K), is half the price and very good, too. Doing 4K properly is not plug-and-play, even if you’re only running a single camera. You’ll need to consider your underlying specification and infrastructure. A new laptop of good quality with a capable graphics card can handle 4K but not multiple streams in real time, while an older laptop can handle 4K at 12ips.
Q: What is the greatest downside with wireless alarm and home automation systems, in SEN’s point of view? A: Battery life. The more wireless devices, the more annoying managing battery life becomes. For a straight security system, we would prefer a more compact wired system using the very best sensors – the ones with the highest catch rate that are the least likely to false alarm. Operationally, we prefer integrated CCTV cameras over automation but it’s a personal choice. Q: What is the most vital component of an electronic security solution – access control, alarms or surveillance? Which cannot be done without? A: This is a very site-specific question. We’d argue the most vital aspect of any electronic security (and fire) solution is power – all the systems you mention need to be properly supported – an hour for CCTV, at least 24 hours for access control and intrusion detection. As well as supporting fire systems to appropriate standards, you
need to think about emergency comms, too. As for which of the 3 sub-systems – access control, alarms and CCTV – is most important, depending on the way CCTV is used (casinos are different), we’d argue for most sites it’s the access control and intrusion detection system. Q: Are there any advantages to using wireless access control systems as opposed to hardwired? A: There are definite advantages. Up-front cost is the biggest saving with wireless because instead of installing multiple controllers and wiring them to doors and network rooms, you’re installing a lockset or cylinders – that’s definitely a smaller job. Installing wireless access systems is simpler too and for the same reason – it’s about adding locks or cylinders. These strengths make wireless systems attractive for locations with huge numbers of doors spread over a wide area. Wireless locks can be installed remotely and very quickly, to ensure there’s immediate access control. There’s also a wide selection of credential types, including cards, tags and biometrics. Obviously, you need a data gathering panel of some sort integrated into the system to allow events to be centralised but in most wireless systems, this process is well thought out. Hybrid systems are another good option as they allow greater power and integration capability at the heart of the system and greater flexibility at the edge. Q: What is the best background colour to show skin tones and clothing colours during the day and at night when the entrance area is lit by nondirectional artificial light – the most neutral background? We also have a scene on our site that’s very difficult at times because at some angles of view during the day the architecturallydesigned quadrangle is all a single colour – for some reason this makes it hard to judge distance and tell who is close to who. What’s the answer, in SEN’s opinion? A: What you need to do is create a contrast between the skin tone and background – that obviously varies with skin tones, which range from very light to very dark.
Given you want a background with good reflectance for low light viewing we’d be thinking of light blue or light grey. Trying to match a background to clothing colour outside a photographic studio is impossible, so we’d forget about that right away. You could also think about adding a directional light. It need not be very strong to make a huge difference to camera performance. Camera and lens choice matter, too. Use a slightly longer focal length that eliminates everything you don’t need to see. Small, cheap domes are ubiquitous these days and they’re also universally ordinary when it comes to performance. If you really need ID, use a proper surveillance camera and a quality lens – it need not cost the Earth.
Your issue in the quadrangle is also a contrast issue – you need to break up the space with different colours, or with single bars of colour to allow operators to assess depth of field more effectively. You could achieve this with planter pots with complementary but darker or lighter colours, or you could try to get complementary colours of different tone added to the paint scheme. If the powers that be don’t want to mess with the space, consider adding another camera view at right angles to the primary. Q: In many installations, we use pressure screws in termination and sometimes these lead to issues, with twisted strands in multi-strand terminations being crushed, broken or pushed to one side. Is there a better way to handle terminations in controllers and elsewhere? A: You’re going to be limited by the termination system inside many controllers. But a wire protected-type strip is often best. It does sound basic, but squashing and clamping a multi-strand wire in a wireprotected strip does far less damage than using a conventional screw clamp-type terminal strip. Screw clamps do damage and cut strands of wire, weakening the connection and increasing the chances of faults or failures. n
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MAY 2017 ISSUE 387
SECURING NETWORKED DEVICES
events
l Technology: Future Opportunities l Review: Bosch Home Automation l Physical Security - Why IT Matters l Sony SNC-VB770 Let There Be Light l The History of Alarm Monitoring l Review Dahua Starlight Anti-Corrosion IR Dome l Special Feature: Surveillance Cloud l Case Study: Swinburne Integrates IVA l SecTech Roadshow: Bring on the Big Boppers!
SecTech Roadshow 2017 Date: May 4-18, 2017 Contact: Monique Keatinge on 612 9280 4425 SecTech Roadshow takes up to 20 of Australia’s leading distributors and manufacturers on a national tour – a simple and highly targeted touring tradeshow covering 5 state capitals over 2 weeks during the month of May. In 2017, SecTech Roadshow will visit Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
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+ SECURITY & GOVERNMENT expo
2017 Security Conference and Exhibition
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Date: July 2017 Venue: Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour Contact: +61 3 9261 4500 Next year we’re heading back to Sydney to the brand new International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour and the anticipation is palpable! Our whole team is looking forward to reuniting the industry in sunny Sydney, we look forward to seeing you there in 2017.
SECURITY & GOVERNMENT expo
= DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY.
Security and Government Expo 2017
Date: November 2017 Venue: The Realm Hotel, Canberra Contact: Monique +61 2 9280 4425 Security and Government Expo is a one-day expo with space for 20 companies to promote their technologies and products in the nation’s capital. SAGE brings together government and commercial end users, consultants, integrators and installers in Canberra and the ACT to see the latest security solutions in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
ACCESS CONTROL AND ALARM MONITORING In the ever evolving security market, DDS is facing the challenge to provide more and more complex solutions integrating a growing number of fields revolving around the security of persons and buildings.
SMART
OPEN
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JET
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EXT. BOARDS
Multiple controller option, 2-reader, 4-reader, IP, PoE, Din rail models l DDS is a leading manufacturer of advanced access control and alarm monitoring systems with over 30 years of excellence in global security systems in 40 countries
l DDS products are represented by Consolidated Security Merchants in Australia with branch locations and training facilities in each state territory
l Our security solutions offers seamless integration of access control, alarm management, T&A,CCTV, and video analysis etc along with further integrations to BMS, Fire, LPR etc via API, OPC server or Modbus IP.
l Extreme scalability to support a broad range of applications from single sites to large complex high security multi-site applications
PH 1300 663 904
l Latest cutting-edge hardware with high performance enterprise software
www.csmerchants.com.au
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Compatible with Paradox, DSC, Reliance and Vista ** Connection plans available for Self-Monitoring or Back to Base Verify alarms and events with live video, continuous on-camera storage and event storage in the cloud Offer customers additional monitoring options with push notifications direct to a mobile devices such as - “System disarmed” by kids getting home from school or “System in Alarm” Home automation with Z-Wave wireless compatibility ( Zwave Locks, 240V Power Point, Reed Switch’s etc ) Connects to the I.O.T. (Internet Of Things) NBN replacement for dialler panels