Tag: House of Worship

Why I Started Evolv: A Q+A with Co-Founder and CEO, Mike Ellenbogen

Posted on by admin

I recently sat down with Mike Ellenbogen, our CEO and co-founder. We discussed his career path, what’s to come in the security industry in 2019 and Mike’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. See what Mike had to say.

Melissa Cohen: Mike, you have a lot of experience launching new companies and building something from the ground up based on a new idea. You did this with both Evolv and your previous company. Can you tell us about an accomplishment that shaped your career?

Mike Ellenbogen: Absolutely. I love building things and always have. I had a eureka moment that triggered the inception of my first company, Reveal Imaging. After new legislative requirements for airport security screening were put in place following September 11, I realized it made sense to employ smaller, less expensive systems and connect them together via a network of PCs. We rethought the way checked baggage was screened in the U.S., considering the total cost of the systems as opposed to just the cost of the technology. Ultimately, Reveal Imaging was acquired by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in August 2010. I’m immensely proud of the work that team did and grateful for the experience – it’s really helped shape who I am today and is what motivated me to keep going and start Evolv.

MC: Based on your extensive experience in the security business, what do you think makes a good CEO in the industry?

ME: There needs to be an inclination to push beyond the conservative approach that is so common in the security industry. There are plenty of businesses out there with the “same old” security technology that’s been around for decades. I like to push the envelop and ensure that my company is offering something that solves a problem while also surprising and delighting. I think it’s important that a security industry CEO sees the world that can be rather than replicating what’s already out there or being happy with the status quo.

MC: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in building either of these businesses and how did you overcome it?

ME: The core technology at both companies was/is really complicated – millimeter wave imaging is a challenging field, so is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Of course, you have to have technology that works in order to have repeatable and reliable customers that you can pursue. Leading an emerging technology company and inventing fundamentally new technology, there’s inherently a lot of pieces you have to glue together. It’s daunting and the success of the company is reliant on a deep understanding of the physics of the real world and how to appropriately push the boundaries of electronics and processing.

With any new technology or applications, there is also a steep learning curve among your teams. An engineer may be familiar with the technology, but not with the application. On that note, another challenge is finding the kind of people that can help move the physical security technology industry forward. We look for people with credibility, who have energy and creativity, and can also help move the needle.

MC: What are some of the biggest trends and themes you’ll be watching for in the security industry in 2019?

ME: We’ll definitely see further integration of AI and facial recognition into more security technologies and applications. Disparate AI capabilities will need to be packaged in a way that is more useful for customers in 2019. We’ll also see an increase in compute power at the edge, for example, more compute power within security cameras rather than via a central/integrated service. And, I know people have been saying this outside of the security industry for years, but we’re going to see expanded use of the cloud and Software as a Service (SaaS) within security technologies. While this has already started, some major shifts in this space are coming.

MC: Let’s do some rapid-fire, fun questions. How would you describe your leadership style?

ME: I like to think I present a vision of what could be to get people behind that vision – you need people to believe in the vision to engage them in getting there. Considering I’m focused on solving problems in a new way, I also recognize that it’s important for me to surround myself with people who are optimistic but real.

MC: What is your top productivity hack?

ME: I live my life multi-threaded, which I think is just another way of saying that I’m always trying to be efficient. I do a lot of different things in parallel. For example, I turn the coffee pot on before I get ready for work so that it’s ready when I leave. I take pride in maximizing my time like this.

MC: What piece of advice would you give your younger self?

ME: I always wanted to run a company and invent something – this desire was within me from a very young age. I would tell myself you need time to see the opportunities in the market, so find an industry you really love, make it your own, and word incredibly hard at it.

MC: What motivates you?

ME: Every day I’m motivated by the vision that the technology we’re working on is important and helping to save lives. As I mentioned before, I also love building new things and, in doing so, helping to bring success to the people around me.

MC: What best practices can you share for future leaders who are looking to start a business?

ME: It’s all about the people. Whatever your path, you’ll be spending a lot of time in the trenches with them, so you better like them. And of course, expect the unexpected!

International Security Expo 2018: The Changing Demographics of the Security Industry

Posted on by admin

For years, going to the United Kingdom Security Expo in London has felt like going to a get-together with members of a fairly tight-knit club. Everyone was involved in the business of selling, buying and deploying high-powered security screening gear for airports, government buildings and other hardened locations.

This year, the vibe was noticeably different, with many new faces, from different industries, and with different priorities—emphasis on the word “many.” With the awful increase in mass casualty attacks on soft-targets such as schools, corporate offices and houses of worship, registrations for the show rose 38 percent from the previous year. This includes corporate security managers, hoteliers, government regulators and municipal law enforcement officials from around the world.

The show organizers clearly saw this change coming. Besides renaming the show—as of this year, it’s the International Security Expo–they set off a sizeable part of the show floor for the dozens of drone (and counter-drone!) security products on the market. The centerpiece exhibit was the football field-sized “Protecting Urban Spaces Demonstrator,” where visitors could get a sense of the user experience of various futuristic products in a simulated city, right down to a smart man-hole cover that looks out for wanted criminals while it also monitors the water and gas levels around it.

We definitely saw the broadening demographics of the security business at the Evolv booth. We had visits from multiple soccer clubs and other professional sports teams, all looking for ways to lower the odds of an attack in their stadium without taking any fun out of a night at the game. We spoke with police departments, who wanted to boost security at police stations and potentially at crime scenes. Large event planning companies kicked the tires, as well.

As a rule, these people had little interest in speeds and feeds, and most probably couldn’t tell you the meaning of the acronym AVSec (Answer: Aviation Security). They wanted to talk more about use cases, and how to create fluid, non-aggravating screening processes that wouldn’t feel like lining up in an airport security queue. Rather than create impenetrable perimeters to find every last pen-knife, many wanted the ability to quickly stand-up a “pop-up” checkpoint—say, for the night when a dignitary comes to a restaurant or if a municipal alert goes out about a violent criminal on the loose.

I suppose it’s no surprise that many of these newcomers to the show found their way to our booth. Evolv set out in 2013 to create solutions for the growing soft-target threat. More than 200 of our Evolv Edge® systems are already deployed, in everything from corporate headquarters to concert halls. We’re not the only company targeting these applications, but I’d have no problem betting that we have the most experience helping customers in real-world applications.

In terms of the amount of real business that got done at the show, it no doubt took place at the booths and suites of those aviation security companies. With the European Commission mandating a shift from traditional X-ray-based technology to systems based on CT-scanners, there’s a lot of money to be made or lost in that huge market.

But I took the stream of new faces at our booth and the show as a solid leading indicator of expanding demand for a new generation of security screening equipment. It’s an unfortunate statement on the level of violence in our society today that schools, businesses and sports teams need to think about the safety of their visitors. But it’s also a positive sign that these companies and institutions are thinking about responding rather than accepting it as the new normal.

Check out Six Ways to Prevent Soft Targets from Terrorist Attacks to learn more about options to combating today’s security threats.

Five Factors to Improve Today’s Physical Security Screening Experience

Posted on by admin

Security screening technology is often measured by three factors – detection, alarm rates and throughput. At the macro level, these three metrics give a broad sense of whether or not a device will improve an overall security process. However, these three pieces don’t tell the whole story. Two other factors, closely tied to throughput, flesh out the overall security trade space. They are “touch rate” and “divestiture.”

  • The traditional factors – detection, alarm rates and throughput.
  • The five “must consider” factors – detection, alarm rates and throughput, along with touch rate and divestiture.

Only when the entire set of factors is considered as a whole, can the effectiveness and efficiency of the device be evaluated. In today’s world where physical security screening has become the “norm” in more and more of the places we gather, the latter two factors become increasingly important — to find a purpose-built device and the right process.

The age-old adage “there are two sides to every coin” speaks volumes. While “throughput” is important to security operators, it’s the combination of throughput, touch rate, and divestiture that matters to your customer.

With this is mind, when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) created the TSA Precheck Program, the focus was specifically on two things beyond detection: 1) touching people less and 2) letting them leave everyday items on or in their pockets and in bags. While “throughput” wasn’t the central tenant of the program, it was believed that doing the first two things for a growing population of travelers would ultimately speed up throughput for all travelers.

When the program was created its authors wondered whether these two things would be material enough to make a difference in the physical screening experience. More than half a decade later, there is a clear differentiation between the highly customer-focused TSA Precheck practice and “regular” screening, underscoring the point that customers place high value on an improved experience.

Customer experience matters.

Not all customer environments will be the same; each will have slightly different objectives. Some will be in high threat locations; others will not. Regardless of the customer or their venue, the following things will always ring true. First, your physical screening system must detect threats at a high level and with limited alarms. Second, your physical screening system must do this in a way that keeps people moving, minimizes physical touching and allows them to walk at their pace without losing control of their belongings. Finally, in a world of limited or shrinking budgets, your system must be able to deliver efficiencies – either in terms of hard budget savings or repurposed security resources.

If you’re reading this blog, it’s possible that you’re implementing a comprehensive security screening solution for the first time. Or, perhaps, you’ve already implemented something in response to growing threats over the past decade. In either case, I encourage you not to start at square one. Why not learn from the organization that has been the face of post 9-11 security for almost two decades? Certainly, the TSA has made mistakes. And, thankfully, they have also made significant advances. You can learn from both, and you don’t have to spend a decade to do it.

Consider the five factors discussed above and evaluate your overall security process through a customer lens. Is the technology in your current process, or the one you are considering, purpose built to meet today’s security concerns while also preserving the culture, look, and feel of your venue? If it isn’t, you have options. There will always be two sides to this coin, but there are ways to ensure that both shine for decades to come. Contact us to find out how.

Note: To underscore the importance of the customer experience, I highlighted the tangible changes to TSA Precheck screening. It’s important to acknowledge the foundation of the program is built on the concepts of trust and access, and the public’s willingness to share personal information for the benefit of this streamlined screening experience.

Risk-Based Security Gets in the Game

Posted on by admin

If you’re coaching a soccer team in the World Cup this summer, you’re going to want to adapt your defensive strategies for each opponent. To stop an aggressive, high-scoring offense, you’ll keep your defenders back and play cautiously. To beat a cagey, clever foe, you’ll apply some pressure to try to force turnovers.

Successful strategists in the security arena face the same kind of tactical issues. The stakes are much higher, of course, but security pros need to deal with their own group of “attackers” who are skillful, resourceful, and motivated to succeed. Soccer coaches can’t deploy a “one-size-fits-all” strategy, and neither can today’s security strategists.

In security, this strategy has a name. It’s called “Risk-Based Security,” RBS for short. If this sounds like a simple, common-sense approach to a serious, complicated issue, it is – sort of. At its core, RBS defines a commitment to flexibility and adaptability to deal with ever-changing threats. It also values the use of “tailored” systems that are designed to mitigate risk, evoke a sense of safety for users, and not present an undue burden on the user population.

The traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to security is cumbersome. It usually involves having security officers physically inspect every person entering a facility, relying heavily on the limited capability of metal detection. This approach provides a service, deflecting obvious traditional threats. But it is costly and slow, and often ineffective without additional capabilities to screen more aggressively.

Security systems that implement a risk-based approach to screening, for example, tend to be more accepted by the public than those that don’t provide any differentiation. A good example of this practice is the TSA PreCheck program. TSA PreCheck leverages a preliminary vetting process that separates “low-risk” passengers from those who are unknown or may require additional screening. By extending the process beyond the airport, TSA has significantly increased the throughput of its PreCheck screening lanes for passengers while mitigating risks and reducing staffing and equipment costs.

A risk-based approach recognizes that while there are no perfect security solutions, those that strategically balance security, access, usability, and cost can ultimately provide the best long- term protection against an evolving adversary.

An effective RBS strategy considers changes in the environment over time, and changes in the risk profile of different groups of people – employees, visitors, and dignitaries – over time. It also puts equal emphasis on technology solutions and more people-focused factors like organizational, managerial, and operational capabilities.

It relies primarily on a short list of components: gauging threats; understanding vulnerabilities; vetting users; identifying users and attaching risk assessments to them and their belongings; routing high-, low- and unknown-risk users through the appropriate security channels; and using equipment to screen personnel and belongings.

A successful risk-based security strategy is reliant on an enterprise approach that not only provides excellent technology to perform physical screening but also ensures that the personnel performing the screening are using the technology appropriately, that people presenting themselves for screening have already been assessed, and those vetted to a higher standard are provided a screening process that is not unduly burdensome.

There is no “silver bullet” or “cookie cutter” enterprise approach. What might work particularly well in office buildings and places of worship, where it is possible to learn more about the regular user, will be different than in public venues where most people presenting themselves may be unknown, and this may present a different threat.

As attackers have expanded their focus, major sporting and public events have become more of a target. The challenge commercial entities have in implementing a risk-based program is two-fold. First, a “known patron” program must be established along with a quick way to validate membership in that program at the entry to the screening system of a facility. Second, a program must tailor the screening process to account for the different risk levels of those entering the venue.

The potential benefits to implementing a risk-based screening program are significant. This approach can create a better experience for known, repeat customers. A risk-based screening program can also improve overall brand perception of a venue by implementing “smart” security solutions. These risk-based solutions help make entering a venue easier while maintaining a level of safety, allowing faster throughput, and thereby mitigating the risk of long queues. Overall security costs can potentially be decreased since people can be screened at a faster rate, requiring less security staff.

Further, while people want the safety that screening systems provide, they do not want to lose the culture, openness, and sense of welcome that make their venue, stadium, or house of worship special. Implementing a risk-based security program provides the best option and allows an organization to tailor a program that fits their culture, so they do not have to sacrifice what they represent for safety.

“One-size-fits-all” security can work in specific, limited situations. But it’s no match for today’s attackers. Successful security strategists, like World Cup contending soccer coaches, make sure they’re prepared. They have their tools, their plans, and their training intact, and they’re ready to defend.

Learn more here about the value of balance, improved security and a better customer experience.

Whitepaper: Balancing Security, Visitor Experience, Operational Efficiency and Cost Considerations

Posted on by admin

Summary

All security systems are designed to keep people safe. The challenge is balance. Does the security present an undue burden, either to the provider or to the customer, does it evoke a sense of safety, and does it operate within the cultural bounds of the venue? And of course, how much does it cost? Security experts generally agree the use of a venue specific risk-based security (RBS) approach is preferable to “one-size fits all” solutions. Flexibility and adaptability are key factors in RBS solutions, allowing “tailored” systems designed to mitigate risk while maximizing customer movement or throughput with minimal disruption.

Evolv Edge was designed and built to aid an organization’s move toward a risk-based security approach and provide balanced detection across a range of threats in a changing environment.

Download this whitepaper to learn how Evolv Technology’s Edge system provides the best RBS solution to detect metallic and non-metallic threats that cause mass casualties.

Download Now

Fill out the form to download this whitepaper to learn about balancing security, visitor experience, operational efficiency, and cost considerations