Arecont Vision Costar, a provider of network-based video surveillance solutions, announced the addition of Apex Technology Sales Inc. to its Authorized Manufacturer’s Representative Program. Apex will provide expert pre-sales assistance for Arecont Vision Costar’s Total Video Solution offerings across the U.S. North Central Region, including Minnesota, both North and South Dakota and Western Wisconsin.

More than one in five (22 percent) of Americans say they have cancelled plans or considered cancelling plans to attend large scale public events due to concerns about physical attacks and the safety of their data, according to the new 2019 Unisys Security Index. 

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named Wayne Esser, director of the National Capital Region Security Forum (NCRSF), and Dhira Gregory, director of marketing and communications for NCRSF, as the 2019 recipients of the SIA Statesman Award. The awardees will be honored at the upcoming SIA GovSummit, taking place June 26-27 in Washington D.C.

Cisco has announced its intention to acquire Sentryo, providing automated device visibility and protection for OT assets. 

Vector Security — a provider of residential and commercial security and automation solutions — announced today that, effective June 3, it has entered into a $450 million credit agreement.

PSA announced the call for presentations for PSA TEC 2020 is open. Sessions will be selected that serve a variety of disciplines and focus on emerging technologies, critical issues in the industry and tool development to augment attendees’ knowledge base needed to drive the industry forward. Submit proposals at www.psatec.com/cfp until July 12, 2019.

The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced the addition of three new PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) to its ASAP-to-PSAP service, bringing the total number of participating jurisdictions up to 52. Bradley County, Tenn.; Virginia Beach, Va.; and, Burleson, Texas are the three latest municipalities to go live.

ONVIF, the global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, announced that its Export File Format, the ONVIF specification for the export of video from security surveillance recording platforms, is the new standard recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the exporting and playback of video surveillance recordings.

 

Comcast released new survey results and a product feature that responds to Americans’ increasing obsession with watching their pets on their security cameras while away from home. According to the nationwide study of pet owners, nearly half (44 percent) of those surveyed check in on their pets more than four times a day, more than a third take a peek at their pet(s) during work, and 94 percent say checking in on their pet is one of the best parts of their day.

Theft, fraud and losses from other retail “shrink” totaled $50.6 billion in 2018, up from $46.8 billion the year before as industry security executives said there is a growing overlap between loss prevention and cybersecurity efforts.