New security risks, new technology

Friday, January 04, 2008

David Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Security Industry Association, discusses some of the innovations in intelligent security systems meeting the challenge of public sector protection.

In the post-9/11 world, public sector security has acquired a new urgency and – in one sense – a new definition, since the risks facing high profile public institutions now extend to almost any place where a terrorist attack could inflict large-scale casualties, including mass transit systems, shopping centres and sporting events.

Integration and multiple applications are key words governing current directions in security technology. There is a growing recognition that various measures to anticipate and control risk – including intelligence-based systems to isolate known threats – are often equally relevant to maintaining effective control over access to premises and information. The concept of integration has been around a long time, but it has now acquired a new meaning, reflected in an increasing focus on systems that offer multiple uses and compatibility between the traditionally 'local' aims of in-house security and the public safety in the wider world. Biometric technology is a good example of this trend: the ability to identify people by means of unique personal characteristics such as retinal patterns, faces, fingerprints and voices.

There is evidence that multiple or false identities are used in more than a third of terrorist related activities, as well as in organised crime and money laundering. It follows that current developments in the spheres of biometric passports and national identity cards to monitor travel and immigration clearly have wider potential, extending to the security of public places and access to myriad places and services. This growing focus on the ability to identify individuals will lead to substantial increases in the numbers of biometric technologies and systems deployed. Industry predictions suggest that 9/11's most direct impact on biometrics will be a major increase in public sector spending on the technology for the authentication of individuals, both in their capacity as citizens and as employees.

Another technology rapidly making its mark in access control and the protection of assets is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Used in access cards, airline boarding passes or embedded in valuable property, RFID systems transmit information to wireless readers located at check-out desks and exits. The tag is a paper thin, antenna microchip that stores data, including a unique number to identify people or items. Unlike barcodes, which need to be scanned manually and read individually, RFID does not require line-of-sight. Multiple tags can be read simultaneously through objects like desktops, in any orientation, whilst moving to and from distances of several inches, enabling much faster processing and alerting staff to unauthorised use. Electromagnetic sensors at entrances or exits automatically identify each person or item entering or leaving the building.

Technology is also promising a similar revolution in security systems designed to control and monitor vehicular movement. Advances in Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems are already delivering nationwide coverage across the UK, using automated links with the Police National Computer, DVLA databases and local intelligence records to enable police forces to identify whether a vehicle has been stolen, is 'known,' or is simply untaxed. Camera-based ANPR systems are capable of checking some 4,000 number plates an hour on cars travelling in excess of 100mph, offering clear potential for large-scale access control applications.

The high priority on access control and identity related applications forms part of a wider focus on visitor management practices, designed both to safeguard assets and to enable organisations to fulfil their obligations in areas of public safety. This reflects not only the importance of responding to new levels of terrorist threat, but also to addressing trends in more 'traditional' forms of criminal activity, including the use of false documents for fraud and illegal immigration, and the fast-growing phenomena of identity theft. The multiplicity of risk further highlights the importance of integration in security. There are clear links, for example, between visitor management and issues such as secure document destruction and disposal, new risks to corporate data posed by the growth of WiFi communications across Local Area Networks and, more generally, the correlation between effective access control and an employer's duty of care to staff and visitors under health and safety and occupiers' liability legislation.

The developing trends sit well with recent moves by the UK security industry to embrace European standards in areas of alarm technology, which complements the move towards greater integration by imposing a structured framework to ensure that security is fit for purpose. A number of changes will become evident, including the introduction of a structured risk assessment process to ensure that all areas of significant risk are supervised.

Continuing developments remind us that, although not new in themselves, technologies such as CCTV continue to play an essential role post-9/11. Significantly, relatively recent developments are making security cameras both more versatile and less expensive to procure and operate, opening the way to a host of new applications throughout the public realm. Large-scale systems now deliver live, digital quality images via existing IP transmission infrastructures that are robust, ubiquitous, cost little to set up and are relatively cheap to operate.

New advances are further extending the reach of networked CCTV by direct links to other technologies. Software development is creating the intelligent camera, able to identify suspicious activity by analysing the movements and body language of individuals. Another system is currently being tested whereby high resolution panoramic video imaging is combined with RFID tags to track individual airline passengers, allowing their location to be established with an accuracy of about one metre. Thermal imaging is also being introduced in high-risk locations to extend CCTV surveillance capabilities in difficult weather conditions like fog, enabling cameras to locate individuals at a distance of a kilometre or more. This particular development has provided additional capabilities including the ability to identify newly arrived vehicles in a car park by measuring engine temperature variations.

Perhaps the ultimate expression of integration is the so-called 'tunnel of truth' – its individual components are currently under testing throughout the industry. Capable of checking large numbers of people simultaneously for weapons, explosives and biohazards, the tunnel will incorporate a CCTV face-recognition system that compares pictures of visitors with stored images of known or suspected terrorists. Visitors' ticket or travel documents will be scanned for residual traces of explosives and other chemicals, whilst a 'puffer' will be used to blow air on to the body to dislodge minute quantities of explosives and chemical agents. In a similar development, security scanners are being tested to display objects under clothing and in rucksacks without the use of radiation. Instead of X-rays, images are formed using terahertz waves, which are naturally produced by all objects and people.

There is no doubt that more and more of these systems will be introduced into the public domain in the foreseeable future. The very proliferation of CCTV cameras will be a key driver of the technology, since the ability of individual operators to monitor more and more cameras is clearly limited. Systems capable of identifying individuals and processing video data are set to become an increasingly important part of crime prevention and a necessary element of maintaining the desired element of deterrence.

The British Security Industry Association is the trade association covering all aspects of the professional security industry in the UK. Its 570 members provide over 70% of UK security products and services, and adhere to strict quality standards. For more information, see www.bsia.co.uk, email info@bsia.co.uk or telephone 0845 389 3889.