Gallagher named first manufacturer to achieve CAPSS 2021 standard

Security technology developer Gallagher has become “the first manufacturer to achieve the Cyber Assurance for Physical Security Systems (CAPSS) 2021 standard” with its Command Centre software and High Security Controller 6000 product. Gallagher is delivering high-security solutions for Governments in the Five Eyes alliance, along with providing confidence for the management teams at Critical National Infrastructure sites that its software and hardware meets the toughest of cyber security-focused requirements.

Richard Huison, regional general manager for the UK and Europe at Gallagher, informed Security Matters: “Meeting this standard proves to ourselves, our channel partners, our customers and Her Majesty’s Government that we are at the top of our game.”

Gallagher has been focusing on the CAPSS 2021 standard

Huison continued: “Along with other manufacturers, Gallagher was part of the market research conducted by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) to establish how new technology would influence the latest 2021 standard. Obsolescence occurs fairly quickly based on an ever-changing environment. On that basis, the standards must evolve.”

National security

The CPNI focuses on national security in the UK by helping to reduce vulnerability to terrorism and other threats posed to the national infrastructure. 

Gallagher’s Command Centre and High Security Controller 6000 had already passed the CAPSS 2015 standard testing procedure and was included in the CPNI’s Catalogue of Security Equipment (CSE). The CSE is designed to help organisations choose appropriate physical security equipment to protect the assets for which they are directly responsible.

“To be listed in the CSE provides assurance for all customers, not just our high-security and critical infrastructure customers,” stated Huison. “Gallagher is the only manufacturer that sits across multiple categories in the CSE, providing assurance across the various components that make up the Gallagher system,”

Within the CSE, Gallagher sits across the Access Control Equipment, CAPSS Approved and Detection and Tracking Systems categories. Gallagher’s Z10 Tension Sensor was added for the first time last year, while its Command Centre and High Security Controller 6000 were tested to the CAPSS 2021 v1.1 standard and added this month.

Cyber protection

“As we’ve seen in the news recently, with cyber threats growing in sophistication, it follows that cyber protection has never been more important,” explained Daniel McVeagh, value stream lead at Gallagher. “Cyber security is an essential part of Gallagher’s physical security solutions. Achieving the CAPSS 2021 standard provides our customers in the UK with confidence that their Gallagher system will not be the weakest link in protecting against a cyber attack.”

Gallagher has a proven track record and reputation when it comes to the delivery of high security solutions around the globe, meeting some of the world’s most stringent physical and cyber security-related Government standards.

McVeagh concluded: “We’re committed to delivering solutions that meet Government compliance standards, not just in the UK, but around the world, and particularly so across the Five Eyes nations.”

Gallagher introduces voice-operated risk assessment app

Insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting firm Gallagher has introduced RiskTalk: a user-friendly, voice-operated risk assessment app designed to help UK businesses cut down on the time and expense of undertaking workplace safety assessments and benefit from increased reporting reliability.

The Health and Safety app helps businesses to perform fast and efficient risk assessments and manage the risks posed on site to the health, safety and welfare of their employees and visitors to their premises.

The app allows end users to record observations and report hazards by simply speaking into their phone or a tablet device, thereby removing the need for completing lengthy paperwork. Through a set of prescribed questions, RiskTalk guides users through the process of assessing and identifying risks present in the work environment and detailing how they will control them.

RiskTalk has been introduced by Gallagher for workplace Health and Safety assessments

RiskTalk also makes the process much easier for managers to review risk assessments. Users can take photos in-app and send recorded voice memos straight to a cloud storage system, with managers able to approve assessments by using a voice sign-off feature. 

Reports can be generated via the app, thereby avoiding the need for a lengthy data entry process which can then be converted to PDF files if hard copies are required. In-built speech recognition technology can understand and process recordings in 220 languages, ensuring accessibility for a wide range of users.

All entries are time, date and author stamped – making it easy (in the case of a Health and Safety-related incident) to locate risk assessments and prove that they were completed in full prior to the event occurring.

The app works offline, allowing users to conduct risk assessments and store data while working in areas with limited or no network coverage.

Time commitment

Undertaking risk assessments is a significant time commitment for businesses. Research commissioned by Gallagher and conducted last month among 200 UK firms found that one-in-two companies (ie 49%) are concerned they’re not carrying out risk assessments thoroughly enough to protect their organisation, employees and clients, which potentially leaves them without a strong defence in the event of legal actions, insurance claims and Health and Safety Executive enforcement action.

Cost was highlighted as another frustration among businesses regarding the completion of risk assessments. Over two-fifths of firms (ie 45%) feel that completing risk assessments is an expensive process, costing their business an average of £1,500 per annum. This could be due to paying wages for employees undertaking assessments or for contractors who need to be paid to conduct them.

Neil Hodgson, managing director of risk management at Gallagher, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing this innovative risk assessment tool to UK businesses. It’s easy to use, makes the process of undertaking risk assessments quicker and more reliable and businesses will benefit from increased peace of mind that, in the event of an incident, they’re more likely to have a robust defence. This is particularly important when you take into account the fact that 50% of UK firms are unsure as to whether they’re completing the risk assessment process correctly.”

Hodgson added: “Evidence of risk assessments carried out and the steps taken to mitigate any identified risks can be crucial in the defence of an insurance claim for personal injury or illness, or intervention by the Health and Safety Executive or another regulatory authority. Penalties can be significant. Over £250 million worth of fines have been paid by businesses across all industries to the Health and Safety Executive over the last five years alone for non-compliance with regulations, with the average fine costing £135,000.”

*For further information visit https://www.ajg.com/uk/risktalk/

Gallagher’s perimeter security technology achieves latest CPNI standards

Gallagher’s Electronic Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (E-PIDS) now boasts an extra seal of approval having achieving the latest Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) standards, with the Z10 Tension Sensor added to the Catalogue for Security Equipment (CSE) for the first time.

Meeting these latest standards further demonstrates Gallagher’s commitment to delivering high-security solutions for Governments in the ‘Five Eyes’ alliance.

The CPNI is the UK Government’s National Technical Authority for physical and personnel protective security. To gain approval, systems must go through rigorous testing to ensure they meet the required standards outlined by the CPNI and provide the protection needed for the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure.

Gallagher’s latest range of perimeter technology solutions has once again successfully achieved the latest standards and remains in the CPNI’s CSE, with the addition of the Z10 Tension Sensor. The CSE is designed to help organisations choose appropriate physical security equipment that will then protect the assets for which they’re responsible.

Assurance for customers

“To be listed in the CSE provides assurance for all customers, not just those in the high-security and critical infrastructure space,” explained Richard Huison, regional general manager for the UK and Europe at Gallagher. “Businesses of all sizes and industries are adopting the attitude that: ‘If it’s good enough for the Government to use, then it’s good enough for my business as well’.”

Two variations of Gallagher’s Monitored Pulse Fence were tested. Both passed the CPNI’s stringent alarm threshold and full attack testing in an external environment over an eight-month period.

Huison has explained that the results of the false alarm testing over this period demonstrated the reliability of Gallagher’s Monitored Pulse Fence.

“We received a report every month,” affirmed Huison, “and there were no alarm activations that couldn’t be accounted for (ie adverse weather or wildlife interfering with the fence). For the majority of PIDS, these kinds of results are pretty much unheard of and validate precisely why our Monitored Pulse Fence is the ultimate in both deterrence and detection, providing outstanding performance levels for our customers.”

Huison continued: “Gallagher protects more than 800 UK sites with its perimeter technology. A large number of these sites are critical infrastructure or military-focused. Across the UK and Europe, we’re helping to keep the lights on, water flowing and the gas lit. Having a robust and resilient system in place with minimal false alarms is key to a successful solution for these customers.”

Richard Huison

Z10 Tension Sensor

Gallagher’s Z10 Tension Sensor was included in the latest round of CPNI testing and proved to be pivotal in achieving the latest standards. The Z10 Tension Sensor measures the mechanical disturbance of a tensioned fence wire to raise an alarm whenever a wire’s deflected during an attack. It continuously measures and reports wire tension in real-time to identify when maintenance is required, or if the security fencing has been damaged in some way.

“Our Z10 Tension Sensor is an absolute game-changer for perimeter detection,” observed Huison. “It adds an extra layer of security to the system that increases the probability of detection over and above the high probability of detection our Monitored Pulse Fence solution already provides.”

Also, the Z10 Tension Sensor takes cyber resilience to the fence line with the HBUS communication protocol, which itself protects against attacks, including sophisticated cyber attacks, between edge devices and control hardware, duly raising alarms if communications are tampered with in any way.

“If an attacker touches a Gallagher Monitored Pulse Fence, it gives them a compelling reason not to touch it again,” noted Huison. “While safe, people are inherently afraid of an electric shock. Over the years, monitored pulse fencing has proven to be the best and most effective intrusion detection and deterrent an organisation can choose at the procurement stage.”

‘Five Eyes’ nations

Gallagher has delivered systems to meet Government compliance standards, particularly so across the ‘Five Eyes’ nations, for more than 20 years now.

“As a responsible manufacturer, we’re committed to attaining the correct approvals and standards across all the markets in which we operate,” explained Kevin Godfrey, strategic business development manager for the UK and Europe at Gallagher. “It’s one of the things we do extremely well.”

Godfrey went on to state: “Achieving CPNI approvals and meeting national standards is recognised and valued by our customers and provides critical infrastructure and Government agencies alike with the assurance they need. It’s Gallagher’s investment in meeting these standards that has given us the longevity and continuity of business here in the UK for more than 25 years.”

Richard Huison concluded by observing that Gallagher is the only manufacturer that sits across multiple categories in the CSE, providing CPNI assurance across the various components that make up the Gallagher system.

“No other manufacturer sits across Access Control Equipment, CAPSS Approved and Detection and Tracking Systems which benefits customers with one robust, assured system from the perimeter to the core. This, along with the fact that Gallagher was invited to work with the Cabinet Office in the development and testing of GovPass, a new functional standard developed to provide one access credential for all Government buildings in the UK, is what sets us apart.”

Gallagher moves into new European headquarters in Warwick

Security technology manufacturer Gallagher has now moved into its new European headquarters in Warwick. The completion of the headquarters signifies Gallagher’s increasing customer base across Europe and, indeed, its continued growth in the northern hemisphere.

“We’re so excited to officially be in our new building,” enthused Richard Huison, regional general manager for the UK and Europe. “We’ve grown at an impressive rate in recent years and fast outgrew our old premises. Our new building enables us to be better positioned from an operational perspective and provide a superior customer experience.”

Gallagher now operates offices and warehouses in ten countries across the globe, with more than 1,300 Gallagher employees based throughout the world. Mark Junge, global general manager for security, has suggested that an important part of Gallagher’s strategic growth includes scaling the company’s global distribution network and in-market presence.

“It was necessary to increase our office, conference and warehouse facilities so that our team can continue to grow and our customers can see, first-hand, how Gallagher protects what matters most,” said Junge. “This new building provides even greater scope for us to showcase our world-class technology, host events and also support our channel, consultant and customer network right across the UK and Europe.”

Junge continued: “Discussions are now well underway with several UK Government agencies. Added to some significant recent successes with high security customers in the UK, this new facility provides the ideal base to support our continued investment in the development of solutions that support the UK and European markets.”

The 1,500 m² headquarters also includes a 670 m² warehouse to streamline UK and European operations and deliver greater efficiencies to support a heightened demand for Gallagher’s solutions, with land available for future expansions.

Gallagher wins 2021 Fortress Cyber Security Award

Global security manufacturer Gallagher has been recognised in the 2021 Fortress Cyber Security Awards as a winner in the Authentication and Identity category for its MIFARE DESFire key migration enhancement. The US award recognises the world’s leading companies and products that are working to keep data and assets safe amid increasing threats from hackers.

Designed in response to the growing sophistication of cyber attacks upon credential security, Gallagher’s MIFARE DESFire key migration enhancement helps organisations to mitigate the risk of card cloning or tampering through the improved management of key encoding used to read card credentials. This intelligent enhancement allows for cardholder credentials to be silently updated with newly defined site-specific keys for a secure and seamless cardholder experience.

• 

Steve Bell

“There’s no doubt that cyber crime is evolving rapidly and that this is a growing concern for many organisations around the world,” said Steve Bell (pictured), Chief Technology Officer at Gallagher. “What was produced a decade ago may present weaknesses today. This was the basis for developing the DESFire key migration enhancement so that we could give our customers an easy way in which to securely migrate site access control keys.”

As part of its commitment to cyber security, Gallagher’s security solutions are fully authenticated and encrypted to meet global standards, including the FIPS-201 standards in the US, Type 1A in Australia and also the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure’s Cyber Assurance of Physical Security Systems standard here in the UK.

Gallagher’s high security solution achieves UK cyber security standards

Security solutions manufacturer Gallagher is releasing its latest certified high security solution to market. The Gallagher UK CPNI CAPSS High Security System complies with the Cyber Assurance for Physical Security Systems (CAPSS) standard and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) Readers and Tokens standards.

The news demonstrates Gallagher’s significant investment in delivering high security solutions for Governments operational in the Five Eyes alliance.

Passing the CAPSS evaluation provides the management teams at UK Critical National Infrastructure sites with confidence that Gallagher’s software and hardware meets the toughest cyber security requirements. The CPNI Readers and Tokens standards ensure physical access control readers and credentials are robust against both cyber and physical attacks.

• 

“With cyber threats growing in sophistication, cyber protection has never been more vital,” explained Richard Huison, regional manager for the UK and Europe at Gallagher. “Cyber security is an integral part of Gallagher’s physical security solutions. We’re pleased with the result from our CAPSS evaluation. It demonstrates our overriding commitment to provide security solutions which offer the highest level of protection.”

The CPNI protects national security in the UK by helping to reduce vulnerability to terrorism and other threats in our national infrastructure. Gallagher’s range of compliant solutions can be found under the CPNI Catalogue of Security Equipment (cpni.gov.uk/cse-categories).

* Visit security.gallagher.com/UK-High-Security for additional information on Gallagher’s UK CPNI CAPSS High Security System

Forum Events organises networking evening for facilities and security professionals

In partnership with ATEC Security, FLIR Systems and Gallagher, Forum Events has organised a special networking event in London for professionals operating within the facilities and security sectors.

Taking place on the evening of Wednesday 13 April at the Grace Bar and Restaurant (42-44 Great Windmill Street, London W1D 7NB), the event is specifically aimed at buyers/end users within the general facilities management and security fields.

Attendees at the gathering will be able to learn all about reducing their operational costs, increasing business performance and risk reduction across the organisation.

*For further information send an e-mail to: fmgroupevents@forumevents.co.uk or telephone: 01992 374100

Media Partnerships with Risk UK

Risk UK is an Official Media Partner of Forum Events across several events in 2016, among them the Total Security Summit, the Security IT Summit and eTailing.

 

Zaun unveils bespoke perimeter security solution for UK Power Networks in East Anglia

The management team at a power substation in East Anglia have upgraded perimeter security for the location thanks to the installation of CCTV in combination with high security mesh and electric fencing. The UK Power Networks substation is part of the network that generates power from the North Sea gas fields.

The client instructed Carillion as main contractor, who then appointed Newall Civil Engineering to upgrade the security. Newall duly approached perimeter security systems specialist Zaun to design, manufacture and install a bespoke solution that would secure the site under a contract valued at £80,000.

In practice, Zaun had to devise three specially-developed, five metre-wide double gates (two of which form a ‘vehicle lock’) for the site, complete with cantilevered outward-opening secure hinges completely hidden from outside the gates.

The perimeter consists of Zaun’s HiSec Super6 security fencing, which uses a popular ‘358’ welded close mesh configuration that makes it difficult to climb or cut with anything other than power tools.

For good measure, Zaun added heavy duty 15 mm-thick base plates throughout with anti-tamper flanges on anchor bolts to secure the fencing to the ground, while the 3.2 m-high fence has been topped with Gallagher’s electric fencing to create a system that stands at a height of 4.4 metres in total.

In addition, the site now benefits from automated CCTV cameras around the perimeter to further discourage would-be intruders and provide early warning to security patrols of any attempted breach.

Alternative temporary security cordon

In addition to this project work, Zaun has just launched its latest rapid-deploy high security fence.

The AssetGuard is an alternative to Zaun’s SecureGuard, which was used at last year’s Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and for the NATO Conference in South Wales.

SecureGuard was developed specifically for the 2013 G8 Summit in Northern Ireland in tandem with crash barrier expert Highway Care. SecureGuard is a mobile high security range of products all tested to PAS 68:2010 to withstand multiple attacks by a 7.5 tonne truck at speeds of 20, 30 and 50 mph without them breaching the security perimeter.

The AssetGuard has been developed with Asset International, a subsidiary of Hill & Smith, which manufactures and supplies specialist safety barrier systems throughout the world (including the FlexBeam, FlexBeam Plus and Hi-Flex barriers for highways, motorways and dual carriageways, all of which are tested to EN1317).

The Varioguard barriers used on AssetGuard are just under 4 metres (compared to 12 metres on SecureGuard), meaning that they can handle ground undulations more easily. The fence posts are secured to the barrier by a new adapter plate bracket, while bolts have been added at right angles to the barrier to brace it and facilitate lifting into place.

The high security ‘cordons’ have been in-house mob tested to ensure they will repel would-be attackers and still maintain a secure perimeter. Both can be rapidly installed and are ideal alongside public access perimeter road networks.

They’re also ideal solutions for applications like utility plants as no below-ground foundations are needed. They can be used on both soft and hard standing surfaces. They give protection up to 3.5 metres in height and can incorporate above-ground foundation pedestrian and vehicle gates, turnstiles and access portals along with CCTV columns and PIDS.