How Has Security Tech Advanced in Recent Years?

On Sunday the 15th of September, Donald Trump, former president of the United States of America and current Republican presidential candidate, was the target of a second apparent assassination attempt. The threat was identified while he was playing golf at his West Palm Beach Club in Florida, and Trump managed to get away unscathed.

Sunday’s events mark the second serious attempt on Trump’s life this year after a shooter fired a gunshot that narrowly missed him during a campaign event in Pennsylvania, knicking his ear as it whizzed by. Sadly, there were other casualties in the surrounding crowd.

In the wake of the first incident, the US Secret Service and other related security officers were criticised for having allowed the armed perpetrator to get as close to Trump as he did.

However, this time, the Secret Service has been praised for their swift action, as they were able to locate the gunman before he had fired any shots. Trump was bundled into a golf cart and escorted to safety as security personnel pursued the target, avoiding a major incident.

While having two very public assassination attempts on a former president in the space of a few months is undeniably frightening regardless of your political agenda, it’s also not the first time in American history that this kind of threat has emerged in the lead-up to elections, during contentious wars and in retaliation to political figures with controversial opinions.

There have been 10 major assassination attempts of US presidents over the last century in the so-called “Land of the Free“. Some of these attempts have been completely unsuccessful, causing no physical harm, while others have resulted in injured bystanders and in some cases, multiple deaths.

Four US presidents have been killed during assassination attempts dating all the way back to the mid-20th century. They include Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901) and John F. Kennedy (1963).

Nearly 150 years have passed since Lincoln became the first US president to be assassinated, and while the world may not have changed a great deal in terms of the prevalence of political contention and egregious violence, one thing that has changed is how we’re able to mitigate these risks.

Over the past few decades, there have been plenty of innovations in security technology and security strategies that allow agencies like the US Secret Service to more effectively protect political targets.

Modern Innovations in Security Tech

There are plenty of different ways in which technology can be used to enhance security measures, and over the years, advanced forms of tech, from biometric systems to advanced behavioural analytic technology, have changed the industry completely.

Ultimately, the goal of security teams is to prevent security breaches altogether rather than having to deal with real, live threats. Thus, the purpose of most modern security tech is to identify problems ahead of time and mitigate the risks they impose.

Here are some of the most advanced and most useful innovations in security tech that are helping keep people safe.

Smart AI and Machine Learning Integrations

Machine learning and smart AI are being integrated into existing forms of technology including so-called “ordinary” security cameras. AI-powered data analytics programmes are launched in conjunction with footage that’s recorded with the intention of detecting unusual events and notifying the user.

The idea behind this is that only will it save humans a massive amount of time and be able to conduct security checks far more quickly in urgent situations, but it also has the potential to detect anomalies that you may otherwise have missed.

For instance, the software may pick up behaviour that is out of the ordinary for staff who regularly operate in the area in question, or it could send out an alert because it’s detected a crowd starting to form on a high street.

Touchless Access Control

Access control to restricted areas is always an important factor for security teams to consider, and with touchless access control technology and the use of mobile credential checking and more, maintaining security can be made far easier.

By moving credential management from physical cards to mobile applications and such, the risk of stolen or lost credentials is reduced dramatically and it also allows for extended applications of access control too, especially in terms of scheduling, last-minute changes and more.

There are also several ways in which this tech can be integrated with cloud-based management platforms and other devices, including security cameras in more. Indeed, by linking access control data to something like security cameras, security teams will be able to programme cameras to pick up anomalies linked to access control data, alerting staff or recording footage.

License Plate Recognition (LPR) Tech 

License Plate Recognition technology is incredibly useful in managing access control and detecting the presence of specific individuals. Advancements in LPR tech allow for it to be properly integrated with other types of technology, including alarm systems and video cameras.

LPR tech is widely used by government security agencies and more, and progress in the technology as well as increased usage of it across the board has made it significantly more useful over recent years.

Advanced Biometric Systems

Biometric scanning used to be something we only ever really saw in spy movies, but these days, the technology is widespread and used to confirm identities and for the purposes of access control.

With advancements in cyber criminals’ ability to get past passwords, biometric security systems have become the preferred method to protect important data. Furthermore, the technology is becoming used more often, not only in super important secure settings like government buildings or even airports but also to gain entry to commercial offices and more.

Widespread Use of Behavioural Analytics

Since the technology for recording and detecting activity as well as abnormal behaviour has advanced significantly recently, there’s been a growing need for behavioural analytics to be introduced.

Behavioural analytics, both implemented by human experts and AI technology, is being used to identify when people are acting out of the ordinary. In the most simple sense, this is done by means of basic AI software that picks up things that seem odd and alerts staff. From there, the staff reviews the footage and makes a judgement call.

More advanced versions of this technology, however, are able to train the AI software to be more capable in this regard, providing it with more information to work from and allowing it to pick up more complex issues. This may include the presence of specific people, objects and behaviour that seems erratic, aggressive or threatening.

Advanced Sensor Technology

Sensor technology has come a long way, and in most ordinary aspects of life, it’s used for things like smoke and noise detectors, both of which are incredibly useful.

But in a specific security context, advanced sensor technology is and can be used to identify things that may be a little more sinister, especially in specific settings or scenarios. This may include constant monitoring of air quality, picking up things like pollutants, unusual temperature changes or other anomalies.

This can be particularly useful in situations in which security teams are protecting an important individual who may be under threat of intentional harm.

Occupancy Management Informed By Data

These days, video cameras can do a lot more than just record activities. One of the most important features they offer these days in terms of security is occupancy management. They’re able to detect how many people are in a specific space, and depending on the parameters set by the user, the software will send out an alert if occupancy increases over a specific limit.

This can be incredibly useful for situations in which teams like the Secret Service are trying to move an important politician through a crowd or if a peaceful protest is expected to become large and violent.