GSN January 2016 Digital Edition
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Using Video Intelligence to Protect<br />
Critical Public Infrastructure<br />
By Kimbry McClure<br />
Solutions Architect in the<br />
Office of the CTO at Hitachi<br />
Data Systems Federal<br />
Law enforcement and other<br />
entities charged with protecting<br />
national security are<br />
spending more time than<br />
ever planning and implementing<br />
security measures that ensure national<br />
security and improve public<br />
safety. This is for good reason: from<br />
the energy grid to sporting events to<br />
airports, security personnel know<br />
these venues are enticing targets<br />
for terrorist attacks due to the large<br />
amount of people and resources<br />
clustered together in one place.<br />
In a world of heightened extremism,<br />
lone wolf attacks, and general<br />
global instability, it is not beyond<br />
imagination to foresee a scenario<br />
where a small team of terrorists seizes<br />
a U.S. airport. With the prospect<br />
of hostage taking and hijackings<br />
looming large, the response time<br />
for emergency personnel and law<br />
enforcement becomes critical. First<br />
responders must locate the terrorists<br />
and their hostages quickly to coordinate<br />
an effective response. This<br />
requires enhanced<br />
detection capabilities<br />
that can seamlessly<br />
distribute information<br />
to decision makers<br />
and emergency<br />
personnel to identify<br />
and respond to threats<br />
in real time.<br />
To stay a step ahead of attackers,<br />
security and emergency personnel<br />
need a common operational picture<br />
to communicate with civil and federal<br />
agency authorities. This picture<br />
is not only essential in coordinating<br />
a rescue, but also in securing additional<br />
areas of the airport facility<br />
that the terrorists have yet to seize<br />
as well as collect evidence for both<br />
investigative and legal purposes.<br />
With many entities tasked with<br />
restoring airport security, organizations<br />
need the right technology<br />
to assist them. An important tool<br />
emerging in security today is a video<br />
intelligence system that assists<br />
emergency responders and officials<br />
in reaching their security objectives.<br />
Not Your Old-School<br />
CC-TV Cameras<br />
18<br />
Many people imagine video surveillance<br />
cameras to be a single camera<br />
mounted on a wall pointing in a<br />
particular direction and transmitting<br />
video to a single television. In<br />
this scenario, multiple cameras in<br />
different locations within the same<br />
building work in isolation and only<br />
detect motion and images.<br />
Most people do not realize that<br />
video intelligence has evolved tremendously<br />
in recent years. Today’s<br />
video intelligence system consists<br />
of a wide range of disparate sensor<br />
data combined into a single portal.<br />
The integration of sensor data into<br />
one place is a critical development<br />
for law enforcement working in<br />
time sensitive situations.<br />
Back in our besieged airport, authorities<br />
do not have time to monitor<br />
separate video camera, alarm<br />
systems, GPS, and other audio, visual,<br />
and social media monitoring<br />
systems separately. Officials need<br />
data from these sensors to be organized<br />
in such a way that patterns<br />
can be quickly detected to ensure<br />
rapid decision-making.<br />
As law enforcement officials analyze<br />
the data received from multiple<br />
sensors, a video intelligence system<br />
triages the data received. During
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