Blogs

I’ve decided that the theme of this week’s blog will meander a bit more than usual, since there’s a couple of topics to check off the list. First off, I wish you all the best health as it feels like it’s finally transitioning to fall here in Arizona. That’s normally the time of year when bugs start going around. This might be the first year on record that the virus you have to watch out for is a computer virus. I want to say the past two months have been host...

I hope you will be both refreshed and comfortable as you read this week’s blog, safe in the knowledge that you will have achieved more restful sleep than I have, dear readers. That’s right, I’m burning the midnight oil lately as I have spent this week chasing the last of my GSX content out the door. Well, there’s bound to be some leftovers, but come next week I’ll be back into the normal flow as I gear up to tackle October (it’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month,...

I survived my trip back from GSX mostly unscathed, but unfortunately, now I will be neck deep in transcription with all the wonderful interviews I conducted while there. One pleasant surprise I had waiting for me when I returned was probably the best response to our news poll we’ve had since I started here at Security Systems News (SSN). It may be that it was just a topic ripe for discussion or a controversial enough decision by ADT, but reader response and comments were phenomenal and that...

For me, there’s a few more meetings to go yet at GSX this year, but odds are by the time you’re reading this we’ll be wrapped and headed home. It’s been a good show this year, although I think a lot of attendees made the comment that the first day felt slow. That momentum certainly picked up on the second day, so I was thankful for all the exhibitors that were good enough to leave coffee stations all over the show floor. There were several large pieces of news, and product...

This week the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the Secure by Design pledge for K-12 education technology providers in order to shore up cyber defenses in the classroom. This caught my attention for a couple of reasons. One is that this is just another of several similar proposals I’ve seen issued lately, I think this is the second one from the CISA? I know that I’ve talked to a few CEO’s who take these pledge’s seriously, or at the very...

I’ve always been in awe of any athletic achievements that force you to push yourself to your absolute physical and mental limits. Why am I saying this in a security industry blog? Well, two industry pros reached new heights, literally, on Aug. 23 as Karl Radke, Midwest business area director at Axis, and Jason Johnston, OKR (objectives and key results) practice lead at Genetec, successfully braved the challenging 14,505-foot climb to the summit of Mount Whitney in California at approximately...

Onomatopoeia? More like I-don’t-want-to-pay-ya. That’s right, this week I want to talk about the out-of-control rise of ransomware. There were some other hot topics this week, like NAPCO’s sudden misfortune, but I’d like to hear from their earnings call next week for full context. Besides, all weekend I have heard about nothing but more and more ransomware incidents hitting some notable names. I shouldn’t be surprised to hear about it either. According to the NCC...

After the absolute nonsense of odd schedules and canceled flights, I think I’m finally prepared for my journey to GSX next month. This is pertinent to me right now because the past two weeks I’ve been watching my dance card fill up with visits to some of industry’s biggest movers and shakers, as well as some lesser known and up-and-coming names on the security scene. Several have promised some juicy news ready to drop at this show so I’m looking forward to what I’ll...

I woke up to some awfully big news today in the security world as ADT announced the divestiture of its commercial business. If one of you, dear readers, had an inkling about this occurring before it did, I’d like to know your sources, or at least have you pick some lottery numbers for me. When I read about divestiture it normally tracks pretty easily for me. For example, when Securitas dropped its Argentinean holdings, I wasn’t shocked. They had been facing a tough economic situation...

It’s been a minute for me as I stepped aside last week for Editor Cory to blog about the ongoing existential crisis of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, but I’ve had this week’s topic in my mind at least that long. First some housekeeping items! I was both out of the blog spot and physically out of it last week, COVID strikes again. I’m mostly better but I’m not loving the thought of dodging this malady every year now. Secondly it hit me during...