Hi-Tech-Consulting

The TV show Mythbusters does it again. On Episode 59: Crimes and Myth-Demeanors 2- Round 2 they attempt to defeat a PIR motion detector, an ultrasonic motion detector and a fingerprint reader / door lock. You can see how difficult it was to finally defeat the Infrared (PIR) by placing a glass frame over it which blocks the temperature sensing.

The ultrasonic was easy- but in reality almost no one uses ultrasonic anymore for that very reason and the fact they are so prone to false alarms.

Also it wasn’t much of a surprise they defeated the fingerprint reader (after 3 days). What they didn’t explain was that most fingerprint / biometric readers require or use a PIN. The PIN is used to “narrow down” the fingerprint choices the processor has to compare when you place your fingerprint on it. Also- all fingerprint biometric readers have a programmable threshold of accuracy. You can set it to require 99% accuracy or anything lower. Since we don’t know how the Mythbusters unit was set, we can’t be certain how easy it was to defeat it.

A final word, commercial fingerprint readers are not state of the art due to the low cost required by the marketplace. They “read” the fingerprint by either an infrared optical scan (of fairly low resolution) and compare it to a stored template; -or- by a galvanic (resistance) reading of your finger.

In the case of the Mythbusters unit it appeared to the optical type. Again the defeat may not have occurred had they had to guess a PIN and/or the accuracy was set to maximum.

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html

Burglar Alarms
The intrusion market is very competitive so there is no need to spend a lot of money to get a good system. Beware of being talked into buying too much protection however. Typically, the alarm company will lease the system to you and roll the equipment cost into the monitoring fee. They will usually require you pay the installation fee up front and then the monitoring fee annually. Full service during business hours should be included in this cost! The fee should cover all maintenance including labor and equipment replacement.

The only exception to this would be emergency after hours service calls and damage to equipment caused by negligence or unforeseen circumstances like lightning or water leaks. Always get it in writing however, and make sure you’re clear on what is covered and what isn’t.

Alarm contracts generally are for FIVE years so make sure you understand what you’re signing. The long contract length is required so that the alarm company can recover their equipment investment. You can try to negotiate a shorter length but expect the price to go up considerably. An alternative is to pay the entire cost of installation labor and equipment cost up front and then simply contract for the monitoring only which should be considerably less- often as little as $10 per month.

So what should you get in a simple intrusion system? A typical system consists of a control panel, a keypad for arming and disarming and detection devices. The system communicates to the central monitoring station by phone lines. Most of the time you can use a phone line you already have but many alarm companies prefer you install a dedicated phone line just for the alarm. This is not bad advice. Although it increases your total monthly cost, a dedicated line reduces the chance the alarm control won’t be able to get through to the central station. Obviously, if the intrusion system can’t dial out and deliver the alarm message, the central station won’t be aware you have an alarm condition. 

Newer systems (and more advanced monitoring companies) now offer “internet” monitoring. Instead of the traditional phone line they use broadband internet access such as DSL or cable. Some systems continuously monitor the condition of the line and can warn if the connection is lost. These are highly recommended because of their speed and security. The cost is usually very much in line with dedicated voice phone lines. Plus if you already have internet access, the alarm transmission is essentially free.

The alarm company will probably throw some technical jargon at you so let’s cover a few of those right here:
SPD- single pedestrian door
DPD- double pedestrian door
PIR – passive infrared (motion detector)
PEC – photoelectric cell (another form of motion detector)
HUB – hold up button

Glass break detectors use audio to detect glass breakage. They actually contain a microphone which listens for the frequency of breaking glass. Some of the cons are: failure to detect glass breakage, false alarms from other sources (keys, janitors,etc.) and limited range.

Recent designs such as the Sentrol 5885 have attempted to overcome the false alarm issue by adding an infrared detector- if the IR senses motion- the glass break is disabled. While these do work, they also reduce the chances of detecting an actual breakin if the IR portion is prone to false activations.

http://www.geindustrial.com/ge-interlogix/support/technical/application/glassbreakdetection/gb_cleaningcrew.html

Sticking with active infrared beam system can give better results. These do not work well in “integrated” systems but are effective for all others.

The latest technology in access control is a built in web browser instead of the traditional client-server system. These systems allow card access administrators to remotely manage their systems via the web. Add, delete or change a card from anywhere in the world- or sitting at the airport with your wi-fi laptop. Web based systems allow you to check transaction history- lock or unlock a door- even view video if the access system has integrated video.

http://www.s2securitycorp.com/overview.html

 

The latest craze in access control is logical access. This is the process of using a card reader or biometric (usually fingerprint) to log onto your computer or network. The great advantage of this system is that you don’t have to remember any passwords PLUS the password the system actually uses can be “strong” like 16 digits or 64 bits- making it almost impossible to hack.

 For an added benefit, some physical access control software can be linked to the logical access software enabling one time enrollment. You only need to eneter a person once in the physical access and they are automatically in the logical access or vice versa. Also the physical access system can inform the logical system if you in the building before allowing sign on for an additional level of security.

http://www.bioscrypt.com/products/veri_access_manager.shtml