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erations and monitoring, and as a result, are forced to assign some airport employees dual jobs function. For example, the person who was doing badging during the day might also be the one conducting investigations at night, or airports may subcontract out these posi- tions entirely to a third party.
As far as addressing funding needs for the airport end user, there are more initiatives forming that help create more capital for secu- rity. More money is being generated through Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) resources, and nonprofits like National Safe Skies Alliance help airports identify their security risks, needs, possible solutions and additional fiscal sources.
While airport security directors have to contend with small bud- gets, security integrators must grapple with designing complex, inte- grated perimeter solutions in a short timeframe. When a request for proposal is announced, system designers sometimes have as little as two weeks to bid on a project that has been in discussion for years. This quick turnaround makes it difficult for integrators to conduct in- depth evaluations of new technologies or the risks of reusing existing wiring infrastructure, electronic devices and other equipment. Hard pressed to complete installation within the hours of being contracted, and faced with unfamiliar products, contractors can make equipment substitutions without full knowledge of how it will affect the system as a whole. This can cause project delays and even project losses.
Fortunately, resources are becoming available to help solve these pain points for system integrators. Manufacturers across the security industry are increasingly developing assets to aid integrators in their product research and analysis. Security suppliers are publishing more camera selection guides and vendors are introducing online site plan- ning tools that simulate camera mounting height, range and image detection to optimize placement and performance for the actual site. Security companies are also heavily investing in their support and application integration centers so that systems designers can access immediate help and product information at any time.
By leveraging technology assessment tools and financial oppor- tunities, integrators and end users are better positioned to not only overcome the challenges associated with adopting greater secu- rity measures, but also with implementing strategies that safeguard against new risks.
Rethinking Security
In the past, each airport has handled security individually. Often, system upgrades were implemented as a response to a major security breach, with the most notable example being the 9/11 attacks.
This month marks the 16th anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The incident devastated our country and led our nation’s leaders to reconsider strategies to se- cure airports. The result was a security task force and technological revolution. In the wake of the attacks, airport security became the government’s jurisdiction. The Department of Homeland Security was created and as well as the Transportation Security Administra- tion, in which the initial rollout required the hiring and training of 60,000 employees in the span of a year. Preventing in-flight threats and hijackings were the immediate security priority and planes were soon fitted with fortified, impregnable cockpit doors. No fly lists were continually monitored and updated. Friends could no longer greet families at the airport gates. Passenger screening intensified, and trav- elers went through full body scanners.
There has been tremendous growth in detecting and quelling inte- rior airport and airplane risks. However, times are changing. Threats have shifted from in-flight offensives to people entering airports and launching assaults on citizens in the exterior areas of the airport. In January 2017, a man opened fired in the baggage claim at Fort Lau- derdale Airport. Last year, suicide bombers entered Zaventem Air- port in Brussels and detonated two explosives in the check in area and a third at a nearby metro station. Just a few months after the
Brussels attack, three men walked into Istanbul Ataturk Airport, opened fire in the terminal and discharged two bombs.
The need for airports to protect their borders is clear, and it is time for security directors to proactively embrace technologies that are on the forefront of recognizing threats from the outside in.
Perimeter Detection through Radar, Thermal
One of the security technologies redefining situational awareness for airport perimeter security is radio detection and ranging, or radar. Providing 360-degree coverage, radars quickly identify and track persons and vehicles at long distances, ranging from a few hundred feet to several miles. The immediate detection enables security per- sonnel to recognize, assess and respond to a threat long before it reaches the fence line.
However, targets on the ground are not the only long-range threats airport security directors need to address. Today, security executives need to be aware of aerial objects that cross the skies. Terror groups are increasingly using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, to conduct surveillance and carry out attacks. Earlier this year, ISIS fighters launched two drones, one carrying a bomb and one with a camera, over Mosul in Iraq. As the weaponized drone flew over the city, it detonated the explosive while the other drone recorded the incident. To protect against something like this happening at an air- port, security manufacturers are developing and releasing radars with new drone and UAV detection analytics. This is certainly one of the new technologies airport directors would do well to adopt, adding another layer to their perimeter security solution.
Thermal imaging cameras are another essential component to an airport’s perimeter system. One huge advantage of thermal cameras is their ability to make invisible, visible. Thermal cameras produce images based on heat signatures and can see in complete darkness, or through rain and light fog. As airports operate around the clock, thermal cameras address the need to monitor people and vehicles at night as they enter and exit the premises or restricted areas. Since these cameras do not require light, no additional infrastructure is needed for light poles, creating a cost-savings for the airport.
Deploying thermal cameras embedded with high performance pe- rimeter edge analytics also enhances intrusion detection for airports. “Thermal imaging sensors with embedded analytics can be con-
figured with ‘masking’ to monitor very specific areas for movement,” Wheaton said. “When properly calibrated, they can detect a specific size and shape of target with a high degree of resolution and accu- racy. They also can provide latitude and longitude coordinates that
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