Weston in Space

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Viakoo has been awarded a patent for its method of remotely updating and managing a multitude of IP connected devices regardless of whether they reside on isolated networks, local networks or wide area networks. Unmanaged and IoT devices increase the risk of cyber vulnerabilities and other operational challenges when they are using outdated firmware or lack certificate management. Viakoo claims that its solution specifically addresses a critical growing cyber-physical system security challenge for organizations that have large numbers of both managed and unmanaged IoT devices across their enterprise infrastructure. “Modern IP networks have enabled valuable improvements in the capabilities, management and operational controls across almost every industry, and every size of organization,” states Viakoo CEO Bud Broomhead. “Viakoo offers solutions that allow every organization to dramatically mitigate risks while maintaining complex enterprise installations em...

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Nortek Control announces that Ryan Kosterow has been promoted to business development manager for the Linear brand in its Western region. Kosterow originally joined the company as a Linear Pro Channel regional sales manager in 2018 representing the brand’s Perimeter products. His demonstrated expertise of access control products and market trends enabled Kosterow to enrich relationships with dealers and distribution partners by helping them realize additional business opportunities and grow their businesses, according to the company. Prior to joining Nortek Control, Kosterow held the national sales account manager position at Accounting Principals responsible for business development in North America. His experience also includes an international sales director position at Nexus 21 Concealment Systems where he is said to have implemented a sales plan to drastically increase non-U.S. sales. Kosterow holds an M.A. degree in business from Clark College. Related:...

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — SSI sister publication Campus Safety has announced the cancelation of its 2021 Campus Safety Conferences: Campus Safety West, which was scheduled for June 14-16 in Las Vegas, and Campus Safety East, which was to take place July 11-13 in Bethesda, Md. The decision was made “after closely monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and speaking at length with its community of campus safety professionals at schools, colleges and universities,” according to the announcement. Campus Safety Conference Texas will be held July 21-23 at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio. The announcement continues: Current state travel restrictions across the country, as well as those imposed by individual schools and universities, have made it impossible to effectively execute in-person Campus Safety Conferences in mid-June and early July. This is due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including local government restrictions of 50% capacity or less for in-person ev...

Though “smart cities” can serve many benefits, like everything connected to the Internet, they are also vulnerable to cyberattacks. In fact, emergency alert systems and video surveillance are among the types of technology that pose the greatest cybersecurity  risks to local governments pursuing smart city programs, according to findings from a recent survey. The  survey , conducted by a team of researchers from the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity at the University of California, Berkeley, asked 76 cybersecurity experts working in the tech industry, academia, government and the nonprofit field to rank nine common smart city technologies based on underlying technical vulnerabilities, their attractiveness to hackers, and the potential impact of a successful cyberattack. Emergency alert systems that give guidance to the public during times of distress ranked first in all three categories, followed by street  video surveillance  and traffic signals. Severa...

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Allied Universal has tasked recently appointed Global CFO Tim Brandt to lead the financial operations of the company. He will focus on the upcoming acquisition and integration of G4S , and the eventual initial public offering (IPO) of the newly consolidated company, according to an announcement. Prior to joining Allied Universal , Brandt worked for 30 years with Deloitte and was the managing partner of the Orange County (Calif.) practice for the last four years of his career. He specialized in mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and public debt offerings. Additionally, Brandt has international experience having worked in Deloitte’s Osaka, Japan office. Related: Allied Universal Finally Seals $5.3B Deal for G4S “Tim brings more than 30 years of leadership with a proven track record in corporate and operational finance,” says Steve Jones, chairman and CEO of Allied Universal. “He complements our strong performance-oriented culture, and we believe his impressive r...

NEW YORK — Securitech, a manufacturer of special locking solutions, announces the launch of Ayzre, a hands-free solution for operating door levers. Ayzre was developed in response to the global call for infection control and the prevention of community spread of COVID-19 and will allow for hygienic operation of doors with latches, according to the announcement. While arm and foot pulls may be added to push/pull doors and automatic opening features can be added to create powered door openings, there was no simple, hands-free solution to open doors with levers and latches, which are quite common because they are required for fire-code compliance, the announcement states. Understanding this, as well as the need to reduce the community spread of germs, Securitech says it rose to the challenge of creating a cost-effective way to allow hands-free operation of these doors. Said to be easily retrofitted and quick to install onto existing door levers, Ayzre provides an affordable, compliant...

TORRANCE, Calif. — TRENDnet announces the debut of what it says is one of the world’s first 2.5G unmanaged network switches. Expanding its existing portfolio of multi-gigabit networking solutions, TRENDnet’s budget-friendly 2.5G unmanaged switches launch with two models. The 8-port unmanaged 2.5G switch ( TEG-S380 ) and the 5-port unmanaged 2.5G switch ( TEG-S350 ) are the latest additions to TRENDnet’s multi-gigabit networking solutions family. Both switches include 2.5GBASE-T RJ-45 ports, which allow users to achieve up to 2.5Gbps over existing Cat5e (or better) cabling. TRENDnet says the new 2.5G switches are cost-effective means of increasing a network’s throughput, and helping to reduce or eliminate network bottlenecks. “The world continues to evolve into a more and more digital place every day, and we’re finally seeing networking speeds that can manage the sheer volume of data that we have collected and need to share on a daily basis,” says Evan Davis, senior manager of solu...