Everyone should feel safe in his own home. Unfortunately that’s not always the case. All you have to do is watch the news for proof that home invasions are on the rise in New England.
From Windham, New Hampshire to Newton, Massachusetts to Brockton, Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island there isn’t a community that hasn’t been affected. Read more →
Social network sites are great because they make it easy for you stay in touch with family and friends. The problem is too many people don’t realize that they could be exposing themselves to any number of security risks. In this video, American Alarm Blogging Team’s Sunny Gault will give you some tips to ensure that your social networking activity doesn’t compromise the safety of your family or your home.
Does your social networking activity compromise your home security? Read more →
Owners of investment real estate properties understand the value of highly skilled property managers. Property owners, especially those that own multiple income properties, rarely have the time or expertise to manage the day-to-day operations, and routine maintenance of their properties. That’s where a property manager comes in.
A property manager has many responsibilities, and is usually very good at multi-tasking. The property manager is the liaison between the owner, the occupants, and all the other people who interact with the building. He’ll be responsible for everything from collecting rents, or fees in the case of condominium properties, to keeping the building well occupied and maintained. Read more →
System administrators often have to look for innovative solutions for managing bandwidth when it comes to establishing IP video networks to accommodate your business video surveillance system. Because digital video can place a high demand on network resources, you have to do some careful planning to maintain expected service delivery standards, especially in larger facilities where you’ve deployed a formidable number of cameras.
Fortunately, there are a number of solutions available that can simplify the bandwidth requirements of remote video monitoring without compromising security or coverage. One of the most promising is moving from a unicast-type IP video network system to a multicast model. You can greatly reduce bandwidth requirements by avoiding direct, concurrent connections between IP cameras and workstations or recording systems requesting video feeds. Read more →
If you are a healthcare provider, or do business with healthcare providers, you are probably familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPPA, which was designed to ensure the security of patients’ private health information. With the rise of the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and other healthcare information technology (HIT) by physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, privacy and compliance concerns are greater now than ever. As reported in Businessweek, healthcare providers, insurance companies and related business partners reported 373 business security system breaches affecting almost 18 million patients between September 2009 to October of this year, according to Department of Health and Human Services.
Various technologies are used by providers of HIT and EHRs to ensure that a patient’s data remains secure. But even the best encryption protocols can’t always prevent a security breach because of something like the theft of laptop, or an “inside job” by an unscrupulous employee. That’s why healthcare providers are encouraged to consider taking serious physical security measures, such as access monitoring, burglar alarms, and video surveillance – as part of their overall security systems.
Of course, it’s not only patient information that makes healthcare providers criminal targets. Medical facilities are known to have high value assets on their premises, such as medical equipment, not to mention drugs. It’s also not uncommon for healthcare workers in emergency rooms, mental health clinics, and certain other kinds of facilities to be subject to violent outbursts or attacks by violent or emotionally disturbed patients.
According to crime researchers, hospital emergency rooms traditionally have been the most likely areas to have security risks. However, the increased problems of drug dependence, mental health issues, and homelessness, combined with other social problems caused by the economic downturn of the past several years have contributed to increased security threats for all areas of health care facilities.
Fortunately there are business security system companies that specialize in the unique compliance and security needs of healthcare and medical facilities. These companies understand the challenges of both data and physical security faced by the healthcare industry, and they know how to help medical facilities integrate safety and security measures into their day-to-day operations. They do this not only with the latest in state-of-the-art security systems and access control measures, but also by training all personnel how to minimize risk, and help create a secure and compliant environment for workers and patients.
Travel Channel’s show “Hidden City” came to American Alarm, experts in business security systems, to learn about modern bank security for a show that focuses, in part, on “The Great Brinks Robbery” of 1950. Hosted by best-selling crime novelist Marcus Sakey, the episode also delves into the stories and the legends of the Boston Strangler and Whitey Bulger.
At American Alarm’s Command Center, President Wells Sampson briefs Sakey on the latest technologies that modern robbers are up against, such as biometric fingerprint readers; perimeter sensors on doors and windows; interior motion sensors; vault and safe systems; panic buttons at key locations; video surveillance systems, and live police feeds.
With American Alarm’s use of such cutting edge security technology, it would be very difficult for the Brinks robbers to repeat their infamous heist today. As Sampson says, “We’re a security company and we’re looking to catch bad guys.”
You obviously can’t keep an eye on your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t install remote video monitoring to get the job done for you.
Recent advances in business security systems have added an entirely new dimension to the level of protection offered by video surveillance, including the ability to instantly notify both owners and local law enforcement should an intrusion be detected.
That last sentence makes an important distinction between an actual intrusion and one that appears to be on the verge of taking place. In the past, business video surveillance has primarily been used as a tool to help in the prosecution of vandals or thieves after the fact. It offers a record of the criminal activity that took place after the perpetrators gained access to the facility or property in question. Read more →
We probably all know someone who pocketed a candy bar or a pack of gum from the local store when they were kids. They probably caught hell from their folks when they did. The truth is today shoplifting is far from a petty crime. In fact, it costs businesses nationwide billions and forces them to consider a business security system upgrade.
Sure, there are still the petty thieves that come in to pilfer what they can and these crimes can add up to some significant losses for businesses. According to the FBI, shoplifting rings are considered major organized crime. We’re talking about sophisticated groups of shoplifters, who case out stores just like banks. They come equipped with floor plans and special foil-lined bags that block the signals of security sensors. Read more →
The transition from analog-based business video surveillance to an IP-based digital monitoring has gathered significant momentum over the course of the past five years. However, there are still many organizations that choose to maintain existing analog video systems because of the perceived costs associated with moving to an IP solution, as well as concerns about reliability. Fortunately, it is possible to combine analog and IP video surveillance under the same umbrella and in doing so reduce the overall security budget. Read more →
Controlling who has access to the sensitive areas of your business has always been an integral part of any overall security system. However, in the post 911 world, such issues take on even greater concerns and greater challenges as matters of privacy, identity theft and Homeland Security also have to be taken into consideration.
Advanced access control systems can do a whole lot more than merely control who has access to your premise or key areas and when that person has access. They can be used to track specific employees, monitor the locations of high-value equipment or assets, and even verify employee hours and attendance records. Read more →
