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Beyond the fence

Johan van Wyk.

The days when a sturdy wall and an energised fence constituted ‘total security’ are long gone. In a threat landscape characterised by sophisticated syndicates, harsh environmental conditions, and unstable power grids, a static barrier is no longer a defence; it is merely a brief delay.

Today’s most effective perimeter strategies have shifted focus from simple exclusion to intelligent situational awareness, aiming to buy the one commodity that cannot be replaced during a breach: time.

However, the rush to adopt advanced technologies, such as AI analytics, LiDAR, and radar, introduces its own complexities. High-tech systems that cannot filter out environmental noise create endless alarms, leading to operator fatigue and the potential for ignored alarms. Furthermore, as physical security devices join the IT network, they become new vectors for cyberattacks, requiring rigorous hardening alongside traditional weatherproofing and power resilience.

The modern challenge is not just detecting intrusion, but making sense of it. It is about integrating vast streams of data into a single pane of glass that empowers operators to launch an appropriate response.

In this article, SMART Security Solutions asks Johan van Wyk, sales and marketing director of Fang Fences & Guards and Astrosec, what it takes to establish a resilient, intelligent perimeter in the real world.

Perimeter trends

While there are many options for perimeter security today, very few organisations can opt for the full monty when it comes to the many technologies available. At the same time, proactive security is vital, leading buyers to look for solutions that stop breaches rather than reacting when someone is already breaking past the fence line.

According to Van Wyk, “full and true turnkey electronic security solutions are without a doubt the way forward and have been for several years now. However, advances in hardware and related artificial intelligence have significantly changed the way we mitigate the identified risk.”

He also offers a clear, unambiguous ‘yes’ to being proactive as the best course of action, saying it is not worth trying to keep up with yesterday’s events.

When considering the video analytics market, we have seen an evolution from poor identification of people, cars and animals, to today’s AI analytics that are far better at differentiating between animals and humans, as well as determining the level of threat in order to dispatch a response that meets the threat risks (for example, do not send a guy with a baton to intercept five guys with AK47s; and do not send a tactical team to intercept a teenager trying to be clever).

Van Wyk notes that AI is (not so) slowly, but surely, levelling the playing field. “AI is still not the silver bullet, not yet, but we are moving fast. Advances are off the charts in object versus human recognition/identification; however, human intervention is still very needed in the proactive surveillance arena.”

Integration has advanced, but is still vital

The security market is still beset by silos, and integrating old and new technologies into a control room is essential. However, in a high-pressure, multi-alarm scenario, integrated platforms are not simply technologies, but must actively reduce the ‘cognitive load’ on fatigued control room operators.

“AI makes a huge difference in alarm filtering,” Van Wyk says, “but so does control room design and the quality of training of control room operators.” The alarm ‘stack’ is a buzzword in the off-site monitoring world, but a very real scenario that can potentially congest a control room to a point of chaos.

On that note, he adds that cybersecurity threats are also real, and anyone or any company can become a target and/or a victim. “It is crucial to partner with well-known and trusted brands that continuously improve their own systems and related software. Partnership is the keyword. There are also global cybersecurity certifications and accreditations, so questions must be asked before purchase and implementation.”

Technology as risk mitigation

While many believe Africa’s infrastructure can be described as ‘varying in reliability’, in Van Wyk’s opinion, “South Africa, and most of Africa, are very much ahead of the curve compared to the rest of the world when it comes to mitigating risk with technology.

“Crime is a global problem, but Africa is a very diverse continent, with unique challenges. For example, when dealing with load shedding on the power grid, we adapted quickly by sourcing the best available technologies, designing the solution, and implementing and maintaining it. We go at it until the job is done, and it delivers world-class protection to clients.”

A fan of technology and the potential of AI, Van Wyk concludes by saying, “Today we are at the fastest pace the world has ever seen in the advancement of technology and AI, but at the end of this same day, we are also at our slowest”.

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