Leaders of the Embassy Suites Montreal wanted an all-digital, state-of-the-art network security system for the newly built 210-suite hotel, which is located in one of the busiest sections of the city. An IP-based system provides staff remote access to real-time surveillance footage and advanced features that provide added security in the high-traffic hotel. The network security system includes 35 AXIS 207 Network Cameras that offer high quality video and built-in microphones that enable remote users to view and listen in on the surveyed area. Additionally, five AXIS 211 Network Cameras are used for indoor and outdoor surveillance, motion detection based recording and advanced event management.

“An IP-based system coupled with the modern network infrastructure in the new Embassy Suites Montreal is ideal for an effective security system because it maximizes technology while minimizing cost,” said Bob Moore, regional manager in Canada for Axis Communications. “Recent independent research released by Axis Communications shows that the total cost of ownership for an IP surveillance system is always more cost effective than a traditional CCTV or DVR option when a facility has a built-in network.”

A handful of analog cameras had to be installed in the elevators of the hotel because Canadian law prohibits IP ports in the elevators shafts. Security leaders chose AXIS 241Q video encoders to convert the analog video into fully digital video, completing the digital installation.

“The Embassy Suites Montreal is a next generation hotel with next generation technology that will provide the level of security customers will expect from an upscale environment in one of the busiest cities in Canada,” said InterCam Systems President Elie Kadoch. “With the new IP surveillance system, the security staff will be able to access video anywhere, anytime, ensuring the safety of everyone who enters the hotel.”

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The old surveillance system at several McDonald’s locations in Denmark only focused on traditional security issues, such as theft and vandalism, and did not address the specific and future needs of McDonald’s. The restaurants therefore decided to implement a new system called CheckView from Checkpoint Systems Inc., which is based on the powerful XProtect software from Milestone Systems. This provides integrated features, such as remote clients to monitor retail transactions from the POS system, easily searchable and viewable simultaneously with the IP video images from the cash registers.

The CheckView solution helps McDonald’s better analyze and manage transactions. The Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) module in the CheckView solution records every transaction from the cash register and combines them with the correlated event video in the Milestone XProtect Transact database by date, time and location. This makes it possible to quickly and easily search transactions by specific information - also remotely over the network. This enables the restaurants to monitor internal theft and administrative errors, for better control of inventory shrinkage.

“The system is incredibly easy to manage, and I am confident that we will receive a fast return on our investment,” says Casper Scheibye, Supervisor of McDonald’s in the Copenhagen suburbs of Valby and Hvidovre. “Our investment has received a lot of attention from other company locations.”

The video part of the solution is 100% digital surveillance using megapixel technology from Axis, IQinVision and Vivotek. Megapixel cameras have significantly higher resolution compared to traditional analog cameras and produce higher quality images for recording and printing. Milestone XProtect IP video software is designed with an open platform, which allows just such a mix of different brands of network cameras for a best-of-breed solution.

“Our old surveillance system no longer met our requirements and needs. One of the main reasons for choosing CheckView with the Milestone IP video platform is the ability to upgrade with the newest technology available. The megapixel cameras improve the quality of the pictures, and we can clearly monitor the restaurant, as well as the drive-through areas. With the CheckPoint/XProtect integration, we can also manage shrinkage much more effectively,” says Casper Scheibye.

“The solution is based primarily on Milestone XProtect Transact. Restaurants are faced with the challenges of theft issues and shrinkage, and the opportunity to be able to manage these issues is very attractive. We have an in-depth knowledge about the retail industry and have been responsible for many CheckView solutions. Our collaboration with MDIS creates the perfect set-up, where we are providing the platform, and MDIS offers the know-how to the restaurants,” says Michael Hygild Sørensen, Account Manager at IT Gruppen.

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OnSSI’s IP Video Surveillance System Management Solution is a suite of products running on a single platform that allows security professionals to effectively identify incidents, notify and inform the appropriate personnel both on and off site, and efficiently manage actions to be taken. This is accomplished with advanced system performance features and functionality to more effectively monitor, analyze, control and record system cameras with unlimited scalability. OnSSI’s IP Video Surveillance System Management Solution is also built with completely open architecture making it compatible with virtually any hardware or software application for optimal versatility. This provides an ideal gateway for users looking to take advantage of the inherent benefits offered by IP technology using their existing systems, and for new IP based deployments.

“The intelligence built into our IP video surveillance system management solution crosses several operational parameters”, continued Mr. Piran. “While everything is recorded for archival use, we are focused most on what security professionals need to see at any given moment. By utilizing advanced analytics to detect and filter events, OnSSI’s IP Video Surveillance System Management Solution employs ‘push’ technologies similar to those found in diverse IT management and reporting applications. Fewer people are required to monitor live activity as the events that are important and meet established criteria are ‘pushed’ to the video screen. As a result, clients save money and are more effective.”

OnSSI’s IP Video Surveillance System Management Solution has already been implemented for many thousands of companies and organizations in both the public and private sectors. Some present users include the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; countless universities including the University of Oklahoma, University of Richmond, Long Island University and hundreds of school districts across the country; local government agencies including the New York State Unified Courts System; citywide deployments in major U.S. cities including New Orleans and Anaheim; Statewide DOT systems in Maryland and Florida; Police Departments in Dallas, Baltimore, Memphis, Maryland and many others; as well as commercial giants including various supermarket chains, DHL, and RJ Reynolds.

OnSSI’s IP Video Surveillance System Management Solution is comprised of the following scalable suite of products:

- NetSwitcher virtual matrix and monitoring system
- NetDVMS multi-site/multi-server network video recorder and camera management platform
- NetDVR NVR and camera management system
- NetGuard-EVS graphical user interface (GUI) with map-driven navigation
- NetGuard monitoring and control interface for up to 16 cameras using a standard internet browser
- NetPDA and NetCell portable client for remote camera access, monitoring and control
- Content Analytics Modules for automated detection and policy-driven analysis of events and/or the motion patterns of people, vehicles and objects

“These powerful software applications can be combined in any configuration for any size application with advanced analytics so users can best manage the functionality of their physical security systems while enforcing security policies,” said Mulli Diamant, Vice President of Sales, OnSSI.

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The two casinos, which are located approximately one mile apart, will be connected via a fiber link that allows monitoring of both casinos from one location. However, each casino will have its own security control room, where operators will use ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s video and alarm management software to view live and recorded video from any of the cameras in the system. The ageing VCR system will be replaced with IndigoVision’s Network Video Recorders (NVRs) which provide fast access to recorded footage – vitally important to resolve gaming disputes quickly.

“IndigoVision’s technology was chosen following extensive trials of competing systems and visits to existing casino installations,” said Mateo Flores, Director of Surveillance for the Pascua Yaqui Gaming Enterprise Division. “We were particularly impressed with the video quality, the functionality of the ‘Control Center’ software and the efficient use of NVR storage.”

This project, which is IndigoVision’s largest US order to date, demonstrates that IP Video technology is a mature platform for the demanding CCTV requirements of casino operations, which need high resolution video images and fast analysis of recorded footage. IP Video provides significant benefits compared with traditional analog CCTV systems, such as scalability, real-time camera-based analytics and fault tolerant configurations.

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A completely new surveillance system has been installed in the passenger terminal together with an upgrade to the existing analog CCTV system in the cargo complex. The airport has a good IT network infrastructure and wanted a CCTV system that would be easily expanded in the future, and IP Video was the obvious choice. The system was designed and installed by IndigoVision’s local partner ICSS Electronics Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

Commenting on the project, Mr Kennedy Ayu, Airport General Manager said, “Following an extensive in-house technical and user evaluation of competing systems, the Airport chose IndigoVision’s IP Video technology. The video quality is better than the other systems which we had reviewed, and the flexibility, ease of use and functions of the ‘Control Center’ software impressed the evaluation team.”

‘Control Center’ is IndigoVision’s video and alarm management software and is at the heart of their complete end-to-end IP Video solution. The software allows operators to view live and recorded video from any camera at any point on the network. This flexibility was exploited at Senai International Airport with the positioning of several ‘Control Center’ workstations around the airport and was one of the factors for the airport choosing the IndigoVision solution. The ‘Control Center’ software coupled with IndigoVision Networked Video Recorders (NVRs) provide Senai International Airport up to 30 days of video recording and a suite of tools for fast search and analysis of recorded footage.

Over 40 new cameras including 13 Pelco Spectra PTZ domes were added to the original analog system in the cargo complex. Each camera is connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter module which converts the analog camera feed to MPEG-4 DVD quality digital video for transmission over the network. The existing cargo CCTV system was interfaced to the IP Video system via IndigoVision 8000 10-way rack-mounted transmitters connected to the network. This allowed the original investment in the cameras and local control room equipment to be maintained and at the same time allowed full control and monitoring at the passenger terminal security control room. The resulting hybrid system demonstrates that IP Video can be an ideal solution for upgrading existing analog CCTV systems with the benefits of networked video.

IndigoVision’s advanced compression technology ensures high-quality video can be streamed over the network with minimal bandwidth requirements. The existing IT network could therefore accommodate the IP Video system alongside the existing IT infrastructure without increasing network capacity. In addition ICSS installed an IP-based access control system on the same network, demonstrating that IP networks are increasingly becoming the future-proof platform for security systems.

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Never heard of the Cinema Rex fire? You’re not alone. But the tragedy is more than an obscure, grisly memory from the run-up to the 1979 Iranian Revolution. It’s also the second-deadliest terrorist attack in modern history — deadlier even than airline bombings such as Pan Am Flight 103 — and one that offers many lessons about the changing threat of terrorism today. Since Sept. 11, 2001, most Americans have worried about what terrorism experts call “spectaculars”: massive, ingenious and above all theatrical extravaganzas such as al-Qaida’s attack on the twin towers, its simultaneous 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and its brazen 2000 suicide-boat assault on the USS Cole in Yemen. But perhaps we should be more worried about the Cinema Rex attack.

Although Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants still dream of spectaculars, a quick glance at the terrorist acts committed since 9/11 suggests that perpetrators are going low-tech, too. As the survivors of attacks in London, Madrid and the Russian town of Beslan will confirm, such tried-and-true terrorism methods as low-tech bombs, hostage-taking and arson have tremendous appeal to jihadists. Indeed, the State Department’s annual survey on terrorism, released last week, notes that “in 2006 most attacks were perpetrated by terrorists applying conventional fighting methods that included using bombs and weapons, such as small arms.” While the United States and other countries have devoted lots of attention to bracing themselves for the big one, we’ve spent far too little time considering what we can learn from more mundane — and more repeatable — terrorist attacks that can inflict mass casualties.

A look at the various suspects arrested in recent years for crimes linked to radical Islamic terrorism in the United States suggests that the immediate threat we face is angry amateurs, not poised, professional killers such as Mohamed Atta, the leader of al-Qaida’s 9/11 team. Most of those arrested do appear to have meant Americans harm, whether by conducting attacks on their own or by raising money for other would-be killers. But these plots were rarely well-developed, and the operators were at best enthusiastic novices.

Consider the case of one of the few Americans actually convicted of terrorism since 9/11: Iyman Faris, an Ohio truck driver and naturalized U.S. citizen born in Kashmir who pleaded guilty in 2003, plotted to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge by severing its cables with blowtorches. Scary, sure — but a completely absurd way to destroy the bridge, whose many cables are more than a foot in diameter.

These homegrown terrorists don’t necessarily share the zeal and anonymity of a seasoned professional such as Atta. Many of those arrested on terrorism charges have a prison record and thus are known to law enforcement officials.

One of the most advanced post-9/11 plots, against the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles and U.S. military facilities in the area, involved four former inmates who began their plotting while behind bars. Former prisoners rarely make ideal comrades; many would sell their own mother for a small reward.

But it’s a mistake to write off the angry amateurs. They’re not terribly skilled, but it doesn’t take that much skill to kill dozens of people — as the shootings at Virginia Tech so tragically demonstrate. Attacks such as the Cinema Rex fire are easily repeated, and they don’t take the years of onerous training and planning that spectaculars demand.

So how can we stop low-tech terrorism? Unfortunately, better defenses can solve only part of the problem. We should defend the White House, nuclear plants and other high-profile targets that would tempt terrorists to stage a spectacular. But we can’t defend every movie theater, synagogue, local government building or shopping mall without spending hundreds of billions of dollars and turning the United States into an armed camp.

That leaves offense — at home as well as abroad. The FBI has tried to penetrate cells of would-be terrorists, often opening itself to criticism for spending enormous resources on disrupting what seems to be a bunch of bungling blowhards. The bureau should keep at it. Of course, sometimes a ballyhooed terrorism arrest will look foolish when the media reveal the plotters’ amateurish plans and backgrounds. But aggressive law enforcement can help prevent these amateurs from becoming something more deadly.

Perhaps the best way to fight low-tech terrorists is through community support. For instance, the FBI began to focus on the “Lackawanna Six,” who pleaded guilty in 2003 to providing material support to al-Qaida, after receiving an anonymous letter from a member of the Yemeni community in Lackawanna, N.Y., near Buffalo. But to get these sorts of tips, Arab Americans and Muslim Americans need to see the police as protectors, not persecutors.

In this respect, Europe provides a cautionary tale. Governments there, particularly France’s, have spent more time trying to shake down their Muslim communities for intelligence than they’ve spent reassuring and integrating them. The result? An angry, unassimilated Muslim minority whose fringes produce terrorists while its mainstream often resists police efforts to find them. The U.S. government has a fine line to walk here, too. But when in doubt, we should jettison intrusive measures in favor of those likely to win sustained support from Muslim Americans. Finally, the government needs to talk coolly and calmly to the American people. Complete protection against arson, shootings and low-level bombings is impossible. Americans will have to accept a certain amount of risk in their daily lives, recognizing that effective government policies can reduce the threat but not eliminate it. Public opinion is the fulcrum of counterterrorism. Terrorists — high-tech and low-tech alike — rely on overreaction from a rattled public and government to do their dirty work. We shouldn’t indulge them.

About the author: Daniel L. Byman is director of Georgetown University’s Center for Peace and Security Studies and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

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Milestone IP video systems are installed in hundreds of educational institutions in many countries.  See some of these case studies in the Customers section of this website.

Eric Fullerton, President of Milestone Systems Inc. is interviewed as part of the news segment.

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“That is state law,” Godlewski said Monday. “The library is merely following what state law says.”

The Wisconsin attorney general’s office said in a Nov. 27 opinion that library surveillance videos fall under the state’s public library records confidentiality law. The law prevents libraries from releasing records that indicate a library user’s identity unless someone’s life or safety is at risk.

A library patron saw the April 2 incident and reported it to a reference librarian, who called police. But the suspect left before he was identified. He was described as 25 to 30 years old, 5 feet, 10 inches tall and about 200 pounds with short blond or brown hair.

Library Director Stephen Proces said he wants the suspect caught. He has shown the surveillance video to library employees and directed them to call police if they see the man enter the library again.

“We think that this guy has been here before doing something similar but not as graphic,” Proces said. “This may be someone who is going from library to library doing this.”

Police Chief Ray Appel said investigators would seek a court order to view the surveillance tapes.

But he also said the offense might amount to an ordinance violation, not a criminal charge handled by the district attorney’s office and heard by a circuit court judge. If that’s the case, it’s not clear whether a municipal court judge would have the authority to order the video released, Appel said.

“This is the first time we have ever run across this,” the chief said.

Alan Lee, the assistant attorney general who wrote the Nov. 27 opinion, said he would recommend the confidentiality law be amended to allow library staff to provide surveillance tapes to police when criminal activity is suspected or witnessed.

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The CCTV system, designed and installed by IndigoVision’s local partner New England Communications Systems, covers an area of 6.5 square miles and uses a wireless IP network based on Motorola’s Canopy system. ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s enterprise video and alarm management software, allows CCTV operators to view live and recorded video from any of the remote cameras. The flexibility of the IP Video technology means that any component in the system can be located at any point on the network – this provides a scalable and redundant solution. The New London system has exploited this flexibility by locating ‘Control Center’ workstations around the town and waterfront, creating three independent control rooms all with the ability to view live or recorded video from any camera. Recording is achieved using IndigoVision’s Network Video Recorders (NVRs) which are again distributed around the network to minimize bandwidth use and provide a fault tolerant recording solution with automatic backup in the event of an NVR failure.

Commenting on the flexibility of the IP Video system, Captain Edwards of New London Police said “Last July we hosted the East Coast’s largest fireworks display with over 200,000 people attending. We set up a temporary command center at the Fire HQ using the ‘Control Center’ software on a laptop, with the video feeds projected onto a large screen. This simple set up worked very well and helped us to monitor the event locally.”

Each camera is connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter/receiver module. The 8000 converts the camera signal to high-quality digital video for transmission over the wireless network. IndigoVision’s advanced compression technology ensures minimum bandwidth usage and helps maximize the available NVR storage.

There are currently plans to extend the system further to cover more of the waterfront and to share the video feeds with other agencies. As the system is based on a wireless IP network adding additional remote cameras and ‘Control Center’ workstations is simple and cost-effective due to the scalability of the overall solution implemented at New London.

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