According to the latest complaint, multiple vulnerabilities in the ADT Pulse application allowed any one of its technicians to grant themselves access to a customer’s ADT Pulse application and control every aspect of the customer’s home security system, including opening locks, disarming their system and viewing and downloading security camera footage.

“ADT failed to provide the security services its customers paid for by leaving large vulnerabilities in the ADT Pulse application and, as a result, compromised the safety and security of its customers’ homes and family members,” the complaint reads.

The complaint also says ADT’s marketing efforts “brag” that the company was leading the industry in establishing best practices for protection consumer privacy and limiting access to their data.

“While ADT boasts that it has been protecting people for over 145 years and holds itself out as the 'No. 1 in smart home security’ it failed to even secure its own systems from massive and ongoing intrusions into its customers’ private lives,” the complaint reads.

Although unable to provide comment on this specific lawsuit, previous comment from ADT said it is reviewing all customer accounts until they are sure no one else’s privacy is at risk. In addition, the company has implemented technical and procedural solutions in an effort to prevent this from happening again.

The company contacted each of the 220 customers to resolve their concerns, which the complaint calls a “frantic effort to mitigate and hide the fact that the vulnerability in its supposedly industry leading smart home security systems permitted an employee to spy on people in their homes.”

“Our customers trust ADT with their safety and protection,” the previous statement from ADT read. “We understand that this incident jeopardizes that trust and is entirely unacceptable. We will make extraordinary efforts to earn back that trust.”

The plaintiff, Randy Doty, is seeking class and sub-class certification; declaratory and injunctive relief; an award for damages, costs and fees; pre and post judgment interest; and other further relief. — By Amanda Reed, SDM Staff Editor //

TMA’s Monitoring Center Excellence Awards are co‐sponsored by SDM, which will publish a feature story on the winners in its August issue. Entries were judged by a volunteer judging panel appointed by TMA.

The winners are:

TMA Monitoring Center of the Year, Enterprise Level

Vivint Smart Home

TMA Monitoring Center of the Year, SMB Level

Universal Atlantic Systems

TMA Monitoring Center Manager of the Year

Jonathan Rainbow, Rapid Response Monitoring Services Inc.

TMA Monitoring Center Operator of the Year

Diandra Dean, Affiliated Monitoring Inc.

TMA Monitoring Center Support Person of the Year (Tie)

Michelle Quattrini, Rapid Response Monitoring Services Inc.

Deepak Bysani, Affiliated Monitoring

For past winners and more information, visit www.tma.us. //

8.6

BILLION

Axis worked with developers to create ACAP version 4, which will include support for running container-based applications on the device; adoption of known open, de-facto software frameworks and industry-standard APIs; support for high-level programing languages; and a deep learning toolchain and API.

According to Axis, ACAP 4 will bridge the gap between edge and server or cloud by allowing developers to use the edge for building faster, more scalable and more efficient solutions that utilize Axis devices.

The new Axis Camera Station Secure Entry provides video-verified access control, combining live video monitoring with access control management. Designed to work with the AXIS A1601 Network Door Controller and Axis card readers, this scalable solution can manage up to 128 doors per server and up to 10,000 cardholders with support for multiple credentials.

According to Nilsson, this foray into access control was created after a lot of feedback requesting access control capabilities. However, Nilsson asserted that Axis Communications is still a video-first company.

“We took that feedback to heart, but we don’t have any ambition to be a pure access control player,” he said.

Post-COVID-19 was also a focus of the presentation, with examples of how Axis is helping with the reopening, and the company’s own plans to return to tradeshows.

According to Nilsson, the company is committed to coming back to tradeshows once it’s safe to do so, since collaboration can be difficult in the virtual space.

“We have to be out there, live, with existing customers and partners,” he said.

Scott Dunn, senior director of business development, discussed how Axis technology can be used in outdoor settings to combine safety, security and privacy. Some of these solutions include smart audio that can perform live announcements and connect to video surveillance, along with the Axis Live Privacy Shield, which records video but blurs the individual.

It’s a development that Gren notes could help the industry catch up to Europe, which has stricter privacy guidelines than the United States.

“This is actually one point where the U.S. lacks a little bit,” Gren said.

At the end of the presentation, during the question and answer portion, Nilsson and Gren noted the resilience of the industry.

“I think in general, we’re seeing how resilient the security industry is,” Nilsson said, commenting that the security industry has fared better financially compared to other industries.

According to Gren, Axis Communications had a slight growth in revenue.

“So far, we’ve had a pretty good start, and I hope that continues throughout the year,” Gren said.

Nilsson and Gren also mentioned Axis Communications’ focus on diversity, equity and sustainability. In fact, Nilsson says he was attracted to the company because of its focus on sustainability. Gren pointed to specific initiatives, like signing the United Nations Global Compact to align its strategies with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.

“We want to be a good citizen of the world, considering how large we are,” Gren said. “That means we have a lot of things to think about.” —By Amanda Reed, SDM Staff Editor //

As CEO at Alcatraz AI, D’Agostin will focus on accelerating the team and creating growth to continue the momentum of Alcatraz’s market strategy and global expansion. D’Agostin comes from Johnson Controls, where she was the general manager of building technology and solutions, based in Northern California. In her tenure with Johnson Controls, D’Agostin grew revenues and market share through new customer acquisition and expansion with Silicon Valley and global companies.

“Tina has a proven track record and acumen to bring together teams across the organization to achieve market growth, making her the perfect fit to steer Alcatraz to be the leading facial authentication platform globally,” said Vince Gaydarzhiev, founder and chief product officer of Alcatraz AI. “I'm excited to partner with Tina to lead Alcatraz to its next level of growth.”

D’Agostin added, “I am honored to take the role of chief executive officer at such an exciting time in the company’s transformation. I look forward to leading the company towards success with our cutting-edge product that is transforming the way in which we view and use access control.”

For more information on Alcatraz AI products, visit www.alcatraz.ai. //

“SIA GovSummit delivers high-quality insights and information on how government uses security technology to meet evolving challenges and succeed across a wide spectrum of missions,” said Jake Parker, senior director of government relations at SIA. “With this new three-part virtual format in 2021, we look forward to offering the program to a wide spectrum of interested attendees and delving even deeper into the most important issues for federal, state and local government security practitioners.”

Part 1 of the 2021 virtual conference was held as a full day program on Wednesday, April 28, kicking off at 10 a.m. with a keynote presentation from U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Katko shared insights on security challenges and how to address them as a nation.

Additional session topics included:

• The American Rescue Plan’s impact on deployment of safety and security technologies.

• What the DOD Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification means for contractors and security suppliers.

• The role of the SAFETY Act under the Biden administration.

• Protecting public buildings against violent civil unrest.

• Lessons learned from the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, Tennessee.

• Facility safety, COVID-19 and identity and facility management technologies.

• Audio security technology’s use in government facility applications.

Speakers for the virtual event include:

• William Braniff, director, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism.

• Daryle Hernandez, chief, Interagency Security Committee, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

• David Kelly, deputy director, Security Management Group, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

• Anna Mansueti, director of diversity and gender equity, Platinum East.

• Gabriel Russell, regional director, Federal Protective Service.

This event is free for all government employees, including U.S. and international, federal, state, county and municipal-level staff, plus all military, law enforcement and public safety personnel.

Learn more and register to attend online. //

Jarman has served Inovonics for over 20 years. Starting in 2000, he joined Inovonics as the director of new business development, and following senior leadership roles of increasing commercial responsibility, he was appointed as Inovonics president in 2006.

He has served on the Utility Management and Conservation Association (UMCA) board for over 10 years, joined the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to guide senior living regulatory activities and has worked with the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) to track governmental changes affecting the evolution of wireless spectrum utilization.

Following his 21-year tenure at Inovonics, Jarman plans to enjoy retirement by staying active in his many outdoor pursuits and traveling the world with his wife.

Chittenden will lead the next chapters of strategy development and the growth of Inovonics wireless sensor network offerings with an eye to the future, offering cloud-based, real-time, indoor solutions.

“Inovonics has a strong track record of innovation and high quality delivery,” Chittenden said. “I am excited to join Inovonics at this time in its history. I’m confident that the continued innovation and customer focus of our team will ensure we will be the market leader in high performance wireless sensor network solutions, today and for years to come.”

Prior to joining Inovonics, Chittenden served in various leadership positions at NCR. //

In his new role, Ha will focus on several key business initiatives designed to strengthen Hanwha Techwin’s position in security and surveillance. These include expanding the company’s solutions offerings for cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cloud technologies. The company will also make continual investments in sales, marketing and operational infrastructures as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance the customer experience.

Since joining Hanwha Techwin America in 2010, Ha has held sales and corporate management positions and contributed to the company’s growth, product development and technology innovation.

“My mission is to build on the solid foundation of success created under the leadership of Mr. Ahn and Mr. Kim,” Ha said. “Our ability to quickly develop and release leading-edge products, technologies and services has allowed us to experience sustained growth even through the extraordinary challenges brought on by the pandemic. Hanwha Techwin will remain committed to supporting our customers with the right tools and resources as we look forward to continued success in 2021 and beyond.”

Ha’s most recent position at HTA was assistant vice president of corporate business planning, based in the company’s Teaneck, N.J. offices. His security industry career began in 2002 as sales manager for the Asian and African regions at Samsung Electronics. Ha also served in the United States Army with the 2nd infantry division stationed in Korea. //

“I myself have witnessed the demand for products and services offered by Surveillance Secure,” Bimber said. “I am thrilled to provide my current and new customers an all-around security service that is unlike any other brand on the market today. Based on the proven business success of Surveillance Secure, I am ready to serve the community of Phoenix.”

Founded in 2006 and franchising since 2019, Surveillance Secure has served commercial clients in six states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado and Washington D.C. The franchise services the electronic security needs of commercial, retail, education and government clients for security cameras, access control systems, alarm and video monitoring solutions and video image analytic software.

“We are excited to open our first Phoenix location with well-experienced and customer-centric focused franchisee Jason Bimber,” said Surveillance Secure CEO and Founder Kim Hartman. “Jason’s previous security and military background will greatly benefit the residents of Phoenix and the entire Surveillance Secure brand.”

Surveillance Secure has partnered with Oakscale for its franchise development efforts.

Visit the Surveillance Secure Phoenix website for more information. //