American Security Today’s Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards, the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program, now in its Eighth Year, recognizes industry leaders of Physical and Border Security, Cybersecurity, Emergency Preparedness – Management and Response, Law Enforcement, First Responders, as well as federal, state and municipal government agencies in the acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to Keep our Nation Secure.

An exclusive sold-out event featured at ISC East, well over two hundred representatives of law enforcement, public safety, and industry leaders came together to honor the selfless service of those who stand on the front lines – and those who stand beside them – providing the capabilities and technologies to create a safer world for future generations.

Comprehensive collaborations between these private and public sectors have led to the development of innovative intelligence and technologies that serve to protect our Nation.

Steven M. Dettelbach, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), delivered the keynote address in the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon.

Hear directly from Director Dettelbach in this exclusive interview from the Awards Ceremony, facilitated by Dr. Kathleen Kiernan, President of NEC National Security Systems (NSS), our 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program Platinum Sponsor, who has been recognized for its Sixth Consecutive Year in the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program.

(ATF Director Stephen Dettelbach in an exclusive interview facilitated by Dr. Kathleen Kiernan, President of NEC National Security Systems, at the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Ceremony in NYC. Courtesy of AST, My Pristine Images, and Vimeo.)

The prestigious Annual ‘ASTORS Homeland Security Awards Program highlights the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.

The program is specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit, and intelligence to end-users in a variety of government, homeland security, enterprise, and public safety vertical markets.

“‘ASTORS’ nominations are evaluated on their technical innovation, interoperability, specific impact within the category, overall impact to the industry, relatability to other industry technologies, and application feasibility outside of the industry,” explained AST’s Editorial Director Tammy Waitt.

“‘ASTORS’ Awards Winners are selected by our American Security Today Expert Blind Panel of Judges, and the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards are presented at the Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels,” at the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon in NYC.

 

Introducing the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award Recipients

 

NEC National Security Solutions (NSS)

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award

NEC NSS for Biometrics, AI, and Computer Vision that Supports Critical Government Missions

• NEC National Security Systems (NSS), a Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI)-mitigated subsidiary under a Special Security Agreement (SSA) with the U.S. Government, provides full-service solutions for large agencies using the intellectual property and resources of the global NEC brand. 

• NEC has partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), and the Department of State (DoS) Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Digitus project in Mexico, to deploy their two most prominent matching engines, AIM XM and AIM-ES, to the AWS cloud environment.

• NEC National Security Systems (NSS) deploys groundbreaking solutions for government use, including end-to-end systems for access control and security, Next Gen identity verification, scene processing, advanced analytics, and intrusion detection, by leveraging NEC’s rich history of innovation and service to the U.S. government with scientific curiosity, robust R&D budget, and flexibility to rapidly prototype custom solutions.

• NEC NSS provides integrated hardware and software solutions to support critical national security, intelligence, homeland defense, immigration, and law enforcement missions across the federal landscape.

(Learn More about NEC National Security Solutions (NSS). Courtesy of AST, My Pristine Images, and Vimeo.)

• NEC NSS primary customers include the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. State Department (DOS0, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ), and the U.S. intelligence community.

• NEC NSS tools also host a variety of applications in access control, advanced analytics, and border and transportation security, which are in high demand in light of the increasingly touchless, post-COVID-19 world.

• The industry leaders at NEC NSS focus on enhancing the customer and employee experience, cost savings, and efficiency.

To Learn More, please visit www.necnss.com.

 

Acoustic Technology Inc. (ATI Systems)

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award

• ATI Systems continues to demonstrate an unfaltering commitment to the design, manufacture, integration, and installation of the industry’s most innovative, reliable, cost-effective, and compact emergency warning and natural and man-made disaster notification systems to colleges and universities, communities, ports, refineries, power plants, military bases all over the world.

• Incorporated in Massachusetts in 1981 as an acoustic consulting firm, ATI Systems developed a cutting-edge wireless system that provided audible and visual warnings via a reliable, compact hardware design, user-friendly software, and redundant communication methods, including radiofrequency, Ethernet, and satellite technology.

• Advanced encryption and the latest security features, along with the newly released ATI Next Generation Product Line, enable users to initiate advanced Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) coverage, ensuring ease of communication in the most critical moments. 

(Learn about current trends in Alerting and Mass Notification in this American Security Today Exclusive Interview with Robert McLaughlin, Sales Manager at ATI Systems, a world-class leader in alerting solutions within the military, industry, education, and community sectors, which provides innovative and cutting-edge technologies for outdoor and indoor speaker systems for mass notification. Courtesy of AST, My Pristine Images, and Vimeo.)

• ATI Systems offers the most reliable, cost-effective, and compact system designs available on the market today.

• With a dynamic team of skilled designers, engineers, and technicians, ATI Systems creates and installs systems customized to their customer’s requirements, and offer redundant communication and power options for all their system components to ensure optimal performance, even in the most challenging environments.

• To Learn More, please visit www.atisystems.com.

 

Automatic Systems America

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award

• Founded in 1969, the company has developed a unique know-how in designing high-end pedestrian and vehicle barriers, one-person detection, and throughput management, making it a high-quality brand and recognized for its products in terms of performance and reliability.

• For more than 50 years, Automatic Systems has enabled innovative, secure access management, for the fluidity of movement, security of people, and infrastructure through the design and manufacture of automated pedestrian, vehicle, and passenger access systems.

• Automatic Systems America continues to evolve its award-winning obstacle swing door speed gates to offer customized solutions that meet customer requirements for even the most unique installations.

• 

  The FirstLane obstacle swing door speed gate provides a modern design combining glass, various materials and finishes, and interactive lighting for a more intuitive user experience.

• The newest model to the Automatic Systems America features an attractive minimalist design, which allows them to fit perfectly in environments where a medium level of security is required.

• With this expansion, the FirstLane speed gates are now available in an outdoor model called the FirstLane PLUS.

• The FirstLane series provides high bi-directional throughput without compromising the user’s safety.

(Learn why AUTOMATIC SYSTEMS America is a world leader in the automation of secure entrance control from David Enderle, President of Automatic Systems America in this Exclusive AST Interview at the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Luncheon at ISC East. Courtesy of AST, My Pristine Images, and Vimeo.)

• To Learn More, please visit www.automatic-systems.com.

 

Fortior Solutions

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award

• Fortior Solutions is a leader in world-class identity and access control solutions, specializing in National Crime Information Center Interstate Identification Index (NCIC III) checks and third-party commercial background screenings.

• The company is a nationally recognized leader in high-assurance identity management solutions, that helps organizations reduce risk by quickly identifying who they can trust.

• Fortior Solutions, through their RAPIDGate®  and RAPID-RCx® programs, provide unparalleled perimeter control at some of the most security-conscious organizations in the world, including, the U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and NASA among others, and is the largest commercial provider of recognized vendor credentials to the U.S. Department of Defense.

• The RAPIDGate program is a complete vendor management solution that includes verification of company sponsorship, company enrollment, multi-language kiosk-based registration, individual biographic and biometric collection, equipment, commercial background screenings, DOJ/FBI NCIC/III checks (subject to the approval of the relevant government authorities).

(Find out how Forior Solutions’ Access Control Solutions help keep people safe and improve the Customer Experience in this American Security Today exclusive interview with President & CEO Jim Robell. Fortior Solutions is a nationally recognized leader in high-assurance identity management solutions, helping security-conscious organizations reduce risk by quickly identifying who they can trust. Courtesy of AST, My Digital Images, and Vimeo.)

• Fortior Solutions is the market leader in high-assurance identity solutions used by the government and critical infrastructure.

• The company creates end-to-end trusted identity programs offering full credential lifecycle management through the combination of registration, identity proofing, verification, background screening, credentialing, and identity authentication for government, critical infrastructure, and individuals, including contractors, vendors, and other authorized personnel.

• Fortior Solutions’ RAPIDGate® program provides an enterprise-wide, single-credential high-assurance identity for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, and critical infrastructure sectors nationwide.

• Fortior Solutions is headquartered in Hillsboro, OR, and has been delivering trusted identity solutions to customers since November 2001.

• To Learn More, please visit www.fortiorsolutions.com.

 

guardDog AI

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award

• guardDog.AI is a new solution for cyber security threats in “edge territory” – the locations outside the network’s perimeter or on attached devices that other solutions can’t see – including the many IoT devices that now occupy homes, businesses, and government networks, and it can stop cyberattacks in under two milliseconds.

• guardDog.ai is rapidly gaining ground in the U.S. and worldwide thanks to its Autonomous Incident Response (AiR) technology, which uses artificial intelligence to detect cyber threats and instantly shut attacks down.

• In wired and Wi-Fi networks, guardDog.ai protects against threats in edge territory – the software service uses its Autonomous Incident Response (AIR) technology to automatically detect and respond to threats and recognize vulnerabilities that can be addressed before they can be exploited.

• GuardDog AI’s simplified detection, analytics, and containment solution combines a simple-to-deploy Fido or vFido (virtual) device, deployable on any network in minutes, immediately delivering intelligence to the Protective Cloud Service (PCS).

• The Fido, or vFido device, additionally offers automated containment of attempted exploits using the network in microseconds, stopping them from being successful. GuardDog’s Protective Cloud Service collaborates with a companion Fido unit to simplify cybersecurity risk scoring and attack response for network security and the incident response process.

(Learn More about guardDog Solutions from Founder & CEO Peter Bookman, in this exclusive American Security Today Interview at the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Ceremony and Luncheon in NYC. Courtesy of AST, My Digital Images, and Vimeo.)

• The solution exposes vulnerabilities on networks in ‘edge territory’ and the I.O.T. and Wi-Fi devices attached to them, using patented technology to address and contain attempted exploits before they compromise network environments and organizations.

• guardDog.ai accomplishes its work through a continuous cloud-based service that stays current on all the latest threats, such as ransomware, man-in-the-middle attacks, denial of service, and emerging novel threats, to protect networks and the devices attached to them.

• To Learn More, please visit www.guarddog.ai.

 

IPVideo Corporation

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award

• IPVideo Corporation harnesses the power of the Internet of Things (IoT), incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to deliver a range of open platform physical security, sensor, and audio/visual solutions that provide maximum flexibility, performance, ease-of-use, and value.

• IPVideo Corporation’s newest product offering, the Sentry ERS Lockdown & Emergency Response System, joins a growing list of Award Winning new technologies, such as the HALO IOT Smart Sensor, the ViewScan Concealed Weapons Detection and Loss Prevention System, and their remote monitoring Virtual Guarding solution. 

• Sentry ERS is a revolutionary lockdown and emergency response system purposely built with schools and campus environments in mind.

• With a single button push, Sentry ERS initiates lockdown protocols and sends immediate alerts to police for superior incident awareness with live video, voice, text, and GPS location data from areas where traditional video cameras cannot be deployed.

• Gunshot detection, panic buttons, aggression detection, and spoken keywords can also trigger emergency alerts.

• Sentry ERS offers complete privacy without video, audio, or text transmission until activated and includes a drill mode for practice use.

• IPVideo Corporation systems are trusted by Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and municipalities, utilities, healthcare facilities, school districts, and leading universities to mitigate risk while protecting people and properties.

(See why SentryERS was selected as a 2023 ASTORS New Product of the Year Award. AST endorses it as an effective way to protect children, staff, and first responders from death and injury during active shooter and other incidents. Courtesy of IPVideo Corporation and YouTube.)

• IPVideo Corporation, which is based in Bay Shore, New York, maintains a commitment to an open-standards philosophy and delivering best-in-class performance and value underlies all offerings – from physical security solutions that bridge the Internet of Things (IoT), to purpose-built HD audio/video recording solutions for education, law enforcement, healthcare, and beyond.

• To Learn More, please visit www.ipvideocorp.com.

 

Rajant Corporation

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award

• Rajant Corporation, the pioneer of Kinetic Mesh® wireless networks, is the broadband communications technology company that also invented BreadCrumb® wireless nodes and Self-Managing, Self-Optimizing InstaMesh® networking software.

• Organizations worldwide are highly dynamic operating environments that rely on an ever-growing number of sophisticated applications to support increasing personnel, vehicles, and equipment operating in remote, geographically dispersed locations.

• As a result, mobility has become a major driver shaping networking requirements. Through Rajant’s unparalleled ability and continuing efforts to turn mobile assets into network infrastructure, organizations can take private network applications and data everywhere.

(Learn more about Rajant Corporation from Vice President of Global Marketing Alice DiSanto and their solutions for being fully mobile and mobility-enabled so first responders can continue operating reliably in even the most demanding environments. Courtesy of AST, My Digital Images, and Vimeo.)

• With Rajant, customers can rapidly deploy a highly adaptable and scalable network that leverages the power of real-time data to deliver on-demand, mission-critical business intelligence. A low-latency, high-throughput, and secure solution for a variety of data, voice, video, and autonomous applications.

• Rajant was established in October 2001 after founders Robert Schena and Paul Hellhake recognized the significant shortcomings in traditional wireless mesh technology, particularly regarding first responders’ mobile voice and data networks.

• The Rajant team envisioned a new, more robust mesh technology that would allow these networks to be fully mobile and mobility-enabled and operate reliably in even the most demanding environments. Enter the Rajant Kinetic Mesh® network.

• Rajant Corporation solutions have successfully deployed in over 75 countries for customers in militaries, mining, ports, rail, oil & gas, petrochemical plants, municipalities, and agriculture infrastructure projects.

• To Learn More, please visit www.rajant.com.

 

SIMS Software

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Award

• SIMS Software is the leading industrial security information management software provider to the government and defense industries.

• The company’s flagship product, the Security Information Management System (SIMS), has protected classified and high-value information for security stakeholders since 1983 and has been assessed and certified as meeting the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 for providing development, support, and training for software used in auditing critical assets of the US government, defense contractors, and emergency responders.

• SIMS Dashboards is the newest and most powerful tool to maximize your investment in SIMS, providing real-time visibility, analysis, and reporting of your security domain 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• For more than 40 years, SIMS (Security Information Management System) has been the most trusted industrial security information management solution on the market.

• Some of the world’s most renowned government agencies, defense contractors, high technology giants, academic institutions, and research facilities rely on SIMS to protect classified and high-value information. 

• By equipping security stakeholders with the tools to protect the lifeblood of their organizations, SIMS Software is proud to play a vital role in advancing the interests of our nation and its allies at home and abroad.

• To Learn More, please visit www.simssoftware.com.

 

Keechant Sewell, the 45th Police Commissioner for the City of New York

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Legends in Leadership Award

• American Security Today is proud to announce our Inaugural 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Legends in Leadership Award Recognized Keechant Sewell, the 45th Police Commissioner of New York’s Finest and the first woman to oversee the nation’s largest police department, the New York City Police Department (NYPD). 

• As commissioner, Sewell executed multiple strategies, reducing crime in most major crime categories.

• She also collaborated with federal agencies to enhance counterterrorism workstreams and implemented the use of technology to assist investigations and ensure public safety.

• Commissioner Sewell came out to address ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon attendees, sharing her thoughts following her almost three decades of service.

• Commissioner Sewell spoke to changes she’s seen in governing and law enforcement and the impacts of violence on social order.

• She also spoke about maintaining and encouraging future generations to embrace social order with accountability, responsibility, self-discipline, and respect for one another in our lives and communities.

• Commissioner Sewell challenged the First Responder Community to continue excelling in their chosen professions and to ensure their social contracts about service, peer support, and mental, physical, and moral fitness are inviolable.

• Commissioner Sewell thanked American Security Today for the opportunity and applauded AST’s efforts to support our nation’s first responders and government agencies, who ‘show up and do the work each day’ to safeguard our nation and citizens.

 

William Bratton, Legendary Police Commissioner

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Lifetime Achievement Award

• American Security Today had the Distinct Pleasure and Honor of Recognizing Commissioner Bill Bratton, Executive Chairman of TENEO Risk Advisory, with the Inaugural 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

• This award was envisioned specifically for Commissioner Bratton in Recognition and Deep Gratitude and Respect for his almost 50-year Public Safety and Homeland Security Career – to which he has dedicated his life.

• Commissioner Bratton continues to drive thought leadership and innovation as the author of his most recent work: ‘The Profession: A Memoir of Community, Race, and the Arc of Policing in America,’ as well as on numerous Public Safety Advisory Boards and also currently serves as the Chair for the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council.

 

David Antar, President of IPVideo Corporation, and A+ Technology & Security Solutions, Inc., CEO of ACG (Advance Convergence Group)

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Industry Leadership & Innovation Person of the Year

• A nationally recognized leader in developing unique, innovative solutions that harness the power of IP video technology, President David Antar was Honored as the Person of the Year in the 2023‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Industry Leadership & Innovation.

• This powerhouse provider is also pleased to announce it received Triple Platinum level 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards for its newest product, the Sentry ERS Lockdown & Emergency Response System.

• 

  The prestigious 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Person of the Year Award was presented to Antar at the Annual AST Homeland Security and Government Excellence Awards Ceremony in New York City at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on November 16th, 2023.

• Antar is an entrepreneur who has led the company to develop unique, innovative solutions that harness the power of IP video technology to mitigate risk while protecting people and property.

• “IPVideo has been on fire,” said Tammy Waitt, Editorial Director for American Security Today.

• “IPVideo, a Returning ‘ASTORS’ Awards Champion for products such as the Halo Smart IOT Sensor, the ViewScan Concealed Weapons Detection and Loss Prevention System, and most recently the Sentry ERS Lockdown & Emergency Response System, took Three 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards plus a 2023 ‘Best New IoT Product of the Year,” added Waitt.

• HALO IOT Smart Sensor, the ViewScan Concealed Weapons Detection and Loss Prevention System, and their remote monitoring Virtual Guarding solution. 

• Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, healthcare facilities, school districts, and universities nationwide trust IPVideo products to safeguard staff, visitors, patients, students, and facilities.

• Antar, an expert in educational campus security solutions from K-12 to universities, is a visionary in the security industry who has started several thriving high-tech companies through his keen ability to identify desired safety trends and drive business growth toward that end throughout his 30 years in the industry.

“Congratulations to David on his well-deserved recognition, and we look forward to what innovations he will put forward in 2024,” concluded Waitt.

(The …. Event-Driven AI Security Provider IPVideo Corporation, is an IoT device that captures comprehensive health, safety, and vaping awareness, and it is, in fact, the #1 vape detector worldwide for vaping and vaping with THC detection. Courtesy of HALO Smart Sensor and YouTube.)

• Previous notable ‘ASTORS’ Leadership & Innovation Person of the Year Award winners include U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner (DEAC) Diane Sabatino; TSA Administrator and 26th Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard David P. Pekoske; Founder and CEO of national security, education, risk management, and training firm Kiernan Group Holdings (KGH), Chair Emeritus of InfraGard National Members Alliance, adjunct faculty member at the Naval Postgraduate School, and President of NEC National Security Systems Dr. Kathleen Kiernan; and Legendary New York City Former Police Commissioner William J. Bratton.

 

Steven M. Dettelbach, Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF)

2023 ‘ASTORS’ Government Leadership & Innovation Person of the Year

• Steven Dettelbach, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives, delivered the keynote address at the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security and Excellence in Public Safety Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon.

• Director Dettelbach spoke with passion on the epidemic of Gun Violence by Illegal Guns taking place across the United States, which results in over 125 deaths daily and impacting generations of families – leaving open chairs at holiday events.

• Firearm injuries were the leading case of death for children for the third year in a row, he explained, and have doubled in the U.S. since 2021, levels that are simply intolerable.

• Director Dettelbach spoke about the contagion of active assailant events across the country that happen with such frequency that they have become nearly invisible – which is also intolerable in a civilized society.

• Director Dettelbach was appointed by the President and sworn in as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on July 13, 2022.

• Mr. Dettelbach is responsible for leading an agency of men and women charged with protecting the public by enforcing laws and regulations related to firearms, explosives, arson, and alcohol and tobacco trafficking.

(Hear directly from Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as he discusses his agency’s work to combat the illegal distribution of firearms, gun violence in the United States, and the recent mass shooting at a Nashville school that left six dead. Courtesy of Washington Post Live and YouTube. Posted on Apr 3, 2023.)

 

The 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is Proudly Sponsored by Platinum Event Sponsor: NEC National Security Systems (NSS)

And Our RETURNING Premier Sponsors:

ATI Systems, Automatic Systems of America,

Guard Dog AI, IPVideo Corporation, Rajant Corporation, RX Global, SIMS Software, and American Security Today!

 

View Part 1 Winners A – GL              View Part 2 Winners GU – M 

View Part 3 N – Z                 View Part 4 Government Excellence

 

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