BANKING ON TECHNOLOGY
Security Middle East looks at some of the ways that the region's banks are applying the latest security technology available to them
Banks need to provide convenient services every day to large numbers of people in different locations while maintaining secure environments. To achieve this they are deploying the latest security technology – CCTV, access and alarm monitoring – not only to protect their widespread estates but to improve management control. In this article we look at some recent installations in these key technology areas.
Surveillance priorities
Indigo Vision has recently completed a major bank project in the region and the company highlights a number of key concerns for planners in the sector. Firstly, forwards-compatibility is important. With larger banks, given the scale of their video security infrastructure, any upgrade from one platform to another typically takes years. The longer the migration is expected to take, the more important forwards compatibility of the system becomes. “A bank’s CCTV system may incorporate multiple generations of IndigoVision hardware but to the end-user it must appear seamless and with a constant level of performance and features,” says Ali Zarrabi, IndigoVision Middle East regional sales manager “It’s likely that over the course of a three to five year migration a bank would be required to introduce new product into its system. The interoperability of our 8000, 9000 and 10000 lines of transmitters and IP-cameras is a key benefit.”
Zarrabi says distributed architecture is also important. “IndigoVision has been selected by banks in part due to the ability to distribute recording hardware and at times place it off-site and apart from their associated cameras while still making retrieval of the archived video simple. Remote ATMs can be monitored by a single IP-camera while its video is streamed to an NVR located at a larger bank branch or a data centre. Less video hardware in the field helps lower the operational costs of emergency service calls and scheduled preventative maintenance.” Motion detection and advanced analytics are also used in banks to detect irregular activity and potential threats. For example, automated detection of vagrants and left objects in bank public spaces can alert the bank’s security provider to dispatch assistance. With detection initiated at the remote site there’s no need to stream high-quality video to a central server for analysis. This in turn reduces the demand for network bandwidth that the bank branch may not have available.
Image quality
Image quality is a key requirement for the banking sector and that is one of the reasons that CBC’s cameras, DVRs and monitors are continuing to be specified by the banking sector in the region says Hassan Ahmed, CBC’s head of sales for the region. Following recent projects for HSBC/Societe General in Egypt, the company has now secured three branches for the Bank of Tanzania in Arusha, (previously CRDB bank in Dar-es-Salam Tanzania installed a CCTV system). They have also done installations across 40 branches for Barclays in Ghana, a number of branches for the Co-operative bank in Kenya and over 7 branches for Standard Chartered in Botswana. More projects are on the way as demand in the banking sector remains strong, Hassan Ahmed reports. “The main factor for bank security planners is the high image quality delivered by our systems – that’s what they are really looking for.” For example, he says the Barclays projects incorporate Ganz 4000 Series fixed dome cameras, the New Digi Master DVR’s as well as CMP Series MPEG 4 DVRs and the ZML-H range of monitors – all of which, combined, provide super high (540TVL) resolution. “The 4000 Series domes capture very high resolution images in a wide range of lighting conditions and if you use cameras of this quality its obviously important to be able to view and record footage in high resolution too.”
Left Tejarat Bank in Iran chose Hikvision's DS-8000HCI-S series
Meanwhile, Hikvision has supplied a digital surveillance solution for one of the biggest banks in Iran, Tejarat Bank which has over 2000 branches. A centralised surveillance platform supporting high quality video recording and high definition playback was required, to allow security staff to easily check on the security status in real-time, as well as to prevent both external and internal theft.
Tejarat Bank chose to use Hikvision’s DS-8000HCI-S series Network DVRs – a thousand have been installed in all branches in major cities, such as Masha, Rasht, Esfehan and Shiraz. The DS-8000HCI-S series is the company’s latest digital surveillance solution. It features 16- channel video and audio input, with options for 12-channel, 8-channel and 4-channel inputs. Using the advanced video compression the product offers high-definition video quality and can deliver real-time video with enhanced efficiency in data processing.One of the highlights of the product is its stable and reliable operation particularly over a long period of time, which reduces maintenance costs.
Access control
In the area of access control SALTO Systems has supplied solutions to a number of banks and financial institutions, says marketing manager Keith Carey. “Of course not many banks still use mechanical locks and keys, because of the expense of key control over a lot of doors. Pin-code locks are also insecure so we’ve been replacing those types of locks with a smart card which doubles up as a staff ID card. At the back of the bank these allow access levels to certain areas to be controlled, for example ‘the computer suite between 10 and 4 o’clock’ and this is a typical application.”
In the staff area lockers can also be secured with the same technology. “Our system is data-on-card, so all the ‘black list’ data is stored on the card not in the locks. If a card is lost or stolen it’s easy to lock it out of the system.”Senior managers can access a full audit trail if necessary, for any lock in the building – although Carey says in practice this is a useful back-up rather than something to be used all the time. Looking to the future, Near Field Communications (NFC) is widely tipped as the next big development – it will enable mobile phones to be used instead of cards. “This is some way off and will probably start in sectors such as the hotel industry – although banks like to be ahead of the curve. All our locks are NFC ready, so when it is adopted it will be easy to switch.”
In the area of alarm communications technology-literate users such as banks are already looking towards the next step, keen to take advantage of the opportunities offered by IP, says Lodewijk van Ommeren of Chiron Security Communications. His company is the European market leader in IP-alarms technology and it has provided solutions for a number of major banks. “They want detailed reporting so they can analyse exactly what’s happening in individual premises or parts of their estate; they want to keep the total cost of ownership low and expect remote diagnostics and maintenance.”
Most of all, he argues, they want to work with service providers who are “as keen to be efficient and forward looking as they are”. 
|