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Today’s terrorist landscape is more fluid and complex than ever influenced by economic and social conditions that breed extremism and the threat landscape is less predictable. The Countries face an increasingly complex terrorist landscape, populated by a diverse array of actors employing new technologies and tactics across physical and cyber space to advance their agendas.
The terrorist threat to the United States is growing more dynamic and diffuse as an increasing number of groups, networks, and individuals exploit global trends, including the emergence of more secure modes of communications, the expansion of social and mass media, and persistent instability across several regions. It is fair to say that we face more threats originating in more places and involving more individuals than we have at any time in the last fourteen years, said Nick Rasmussen, Director Counterterrorism Center .
Modern-day threats feature a dizzying muster of groups comprising deep technological and financial resources. Jihadists are recruiting & training new members using the internet. Organized criminals are defrauding institutions and victims with ever-increasing sophistication. Global supply chains related to information technology equipment are being compromised with counterfeit knock-offs carrying time bombs, malware, Trojan horses, and trap doors set to activate even within the most trusted private and public networks. Sovereign states are wielding energy resources casually, while covertly funding subtle criminal activities.
Seemingly identical to versions of various brand names, counterfeit electronics are being slipped periodically into technology orders made by the federal government. In addition, blueprints of various equipment ranging from IEDs – improvised explosive devices, to nuclear weapons are easily found online. All the aforementioned facts illustrate the nuanced & complex threats faced by the global environment currently, which has necessitated developments in technologies for detecting and preventing them.
Technology used by nations for safeguarding their public and preventing any terror attacks is referred to as counter terror & public safety technology. These technologies help in detecting, tracking, and tackling any threat that could harm a nation’s economy and its people. Various counter terror & public safety technology have been developed across the globe, which include cyber security, electronic fencing, biometrics, intelligence services, video analytics, video surveillance, weapon detection systems, intrusion detection, and counter IED technologies.
The current world’s threat environment has led toward demand for increased collaboration, along with the essentiality of shared situational awareness among all levels of government authorities. Technology holds potential in transforming data gathered regarding these threats into actionable intelligence by proper sorting and analysis. It is imperative for governments to employ a counter-intelligence-driven mindset for integrating analysis, investigations, and technology into a holistic & coherent system that will enable resolving challenges related to public and nation’s threats. Leading technology giants across the globe are focusing on making developments in technology for counter terror & public safety, in a bid to provide the global population with a safe environment to thrive.
Technology trends such as automation, artificial intelligence, and data analytics are aiding the development of robust solutions on public safety. System integration technologies will also play an instrumental role in development of advanced public safety solutions. These technologies will be responsible in bringing considerable efficiency in information sharing, value assessment and redundancy lowering operations of a national counterterrorism system.
Market
The Public safety and security market is projected to grow from USD 365.0 billion in 2020 to USD 516.5 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.2% during the forecast period. The rising number of terror attacks and increasing investment in public safety measures for smart cities to drive the market growth.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every segment of society including individuals and businesses. The internet ecosystem has been playing a pivotal role all over the globe. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the dependency on homeland security and law enforcement agencies has increased significantly. Critical infrastructure security, emergency services, and others are leveraging public safety and security solutions to provide necessary services to consumers.
Various government bodies and law enforcement agencies world over are working together to maintain public order to curb the community transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US and other agencies across the world have made many recommendations for law enforcement agencies to protect the public. Governments in various countries have responded to the global pandemic by restricting public in high-traffic areas, launching community outreach initiatives, implementing nationwide lockdowns, limiting access to government facilities, and other preventive measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed law enforcement agencies to difficulties related to communication, infrastructure management, enforcement of public health restrictions, and changes to crime and service patterns. Public safety and security solution providers are coming up with state-of-the-art solutions and services to ease the operations of security personnel and ensure the safety of police officers and the communities they serve. Based on initial responses and obstacles, they are working on different strategies to cope with future pandemics. Many technology companies are supporting the first responders on the frontlines with innovative products and technical expertise to safeguard them and their families. The following are some of the new products launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restraint: High installation and maintenance costs for public safety and security systems
Ensuring public safety and security is a priority for governments around the world. Public safety and security systems feature a huge set of hardware components along with software solutions. Governments spend considerable resources on the installation of critical communication networks, biometric security and authentication systems, surveillance systems, scanning and screening systems, and emergency and disaster management systems.
According to the F5 State of Application Delivery survey 2020, small security budgets (38%) are one of the top five security challenges for ensuring public safety globally. Effective and regular maintenance of public safety and security solutions are essential to ensure that they remain reliable always. The maintenance costs of public safety solutions account for around 40% of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). While government authorities and law enforcement bodies strive to promote the safety, health, and welfare of the public., high-level public safety facilities are not economical. With the rise in population, the cost of providing public safety and security systems is also increasing. The economic downturn in the past several years has devastated local and state governments and their law enforcement agencies. With law enforcement agencies confronting severe budget cuts and low funding, such high installation costs for safety systems may restrain the growth of the public safety and security market.
Challenge: Lack of efficient storage and data management capacities
Public safety and law enforcement agencies are incorporating various digital solutions, such as high-quality video surveillance, body-worn cameras, and in-car cameras to provide reliable evidence against criminals. However, while body-worn cameras provide various public safety benefits, they also create public safety challenges, such as data security. For instance, the US-based law enforcement agency, Seattle Police Department, generates more than 360 terabytes of data from dashboard cameras alone. The police department in Duluth (a city in Minnesota, US) was able to spend USD 5,000 on cameras but struggled to come up with USD 78,000 toward data storage fees for two years. As per the Motorola 2018 Law Enforcement Survey Report, around 85% of respondents wanted more multimedia capabilities to investigate criminal activities.
Opportunity: Emergence of big data analytics in public safety and security
The pace of technological innovation is accelerating year over year. Connected devices are generating huge amounts of information that can provide actionable insights to protect critical infrastructure from attacks. Data analytics is the process of analyzing historical data to gain valuable insights. Big data analytics involves analyzing huge amounts of structured or unstructured data. Such data generated from various security devices is first cleaned and managed in such a way that it supports pattern recognition and anomaly identification; this can help public safety organizations and security officers to understand the suspect in a crime and easily prevent further crimes. Advanced big data analytics capabilities are now integrated with various CCTV surveillance systems to improve the response times to crimes
Geographical outlook
Projected to expand at the highest CAGR through 2022, North America will continue to be the most attractive market for counter terror & public safety, followed by Europe. In terms of development, the advanced technological infrastructure in the US, coupled with its expansive military and homeland security forces, will contribute to the growth of North America’s counter terror and public safety technology market. Through 2022, North America will dominate the global market and bring in close to US$ 60 Bn revenues.
Europe and Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) are also observed to be leading regions in the global counter-terror and public safety technology market. During the forecast period, the counter-terror and public safety technology market in these regions is anticipated to showcase expansion at more than 13% CAGR.
Asia Pacific (APAC) has witnessed an advanced and dynamic adoption of new technologies and is expected to record the highest CAGR in the global Public safety and security market during the forecast period. APAC constitutes major economies, such as China, Japan, Singapore, and Australia and New Zealand, which are expected to register high growth rates in the Public safety and security market. In recent years, the APAC region has undergone tremendous economic growth, political transformations, and social changes. India, Japan, and Singapore have updated or launched new national security policies to deal with the increasingly sophisticated threats. Companies operating in APAC would benefit from the flexible economic conditions, industrialization-motivated policies of the governments, as well as from the growing digitalization, which is expected to have a significant impact on the business community.
The market in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) has been projected to register a comparatively faster expansion than in Europe through 2022. However, revenues from APEJ’s market will remain lower than those from
The European Counter Terror & Public Safety Market is boosted by the following drivers:
The ISIS-inspired terror attacks across Europe and the migration crisis shook the European governments and their security agencies. The Western European security forces are ill-equipped and ill-trained to encounter 21st century ISIS-inspired and trained terrorists.
Europol estimates that up to 5,000 European jihadists have returned to the EU after obtaining combat experience on the battlefields of the Middle East. West European governments understand that they are caught between a rock and a hard place. It is for them to decide how to transform the national counter terror infrastructure, intelligence services, and improve interagency cooperation, strategy and surge in funding.
Market Segments
Emergency and disaster management solutions are used by government and private organizations to rescue the public from man-made or natural disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, cyclones, or tsunamis. Such systems are web-based, easier to manage, and offer quick responses, disaster recovery solutions, and simulation. systems such as traffic simulation, hazard propagation, and incident evaluation. Pre-emergency and post-emergency measures are a part of emergency and disaster management solutions. These solutions provide access to the information that is required during an emergency, such as safety manuals, protocols, information, and emergency contacts. Therefore, emergency and disaster management solution register the highest growth rate during the forecast period.
Intelligence services will continue to be dominant among technologies available in the market, followed by video surveillance. Intelligence services and video surveillance are also projected to be the fastest expanding technologies in the market. Electronic fencing and intrusion detection are also anticipated to remain lucrative technologies in the market. However, weapon detection will account for the lowest revenue share of the market during the forecast period.
On the basis of end-users, CBRN safety & security, and smart & secure border are expected to lead the global counter terror & public safety technology market, in terms of revenues. However, counter terror & public safety technology will witness the fastest sales expansion in critical infrastructure and public event security through 2022.
Competitive Landscape
Tech giants such as International Business Machines Corp., popularly known as IBM, are also actively participating in the global counter terror and public safety technologies market.
Key and innovative vendors in the Public safety and security market AGT International (Switzerland), AT&T Inc., Accenture PLC, ABB Ltd., 3xLOGIC, Inc., AeroVironment, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (France), Atos (France), BAE Systems (UK), Cisco Systems (US), Elbit Systems (Israel), Ericsson (Sweden), Esri (US), General Dynamics (US), Harris (US), Haystax Technology (US), Hexagon (Sweden), Honeywell (France), Huawei (China), IBM (US), IDEMIA (France), Motorola Solutions (US), NEC (Japan), NICE (Israel), Rave Mobile Safety (US), Siemens (Germany), Teltronic (Spain), Thales Group (France), Tyco (Johnson Controls) (Ireland), and Verint Systems (US).
In July 2020, Cisco acquired Fluidmesh Networks, a provider of resilient wireless backhaul solutions. With this acquisition, Cisco will leverage Fluidmesh’s products to support the growing demand for wireless mission critical applications and on-the-move assets. Fluidmesh’s technology provides zero loss of data transfer within high-speed assets including rail, public transit, subways, mining and ports.
In July 2020, Motorola Solutions released two new products: Avigilon Cloud Services (ACS) 3.8 and the L5Q License Plate Recognition Camera. These solutions help Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to ensure safety and security, and provide real-time information to law enforcement agencies.
In June 2020, Cisco added new capabilities across its intent-based networking portfolio. Cisco’s intent-based security solutions include new capabilities such as Cisco DNA Spaces for Return to Business and Indoor IoT Services to maintain safety of physical spaces.
In June 2020, Cisco announced the availability of Cisco SecureX, an integrated cloud-native security platform. SecureX manages security challenges and accelerated digital transformations (resulting from the unprecedented rise in remote workers post the pandemic) with network, endpoints, cloud, and application security.
In June 2020, Honeywell announced the launch of Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity Suite. The Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity Suite offers improved industrial-grade remote access, increased asset discovery capabilities with active and passive functionality, and better cybersecurity risk monitoring to help industrial organizations embrace remote operations.
In May 2020, Honeywell launched an AI-driven temperature monitoring solution. The Honeywell ThermoRebellion temperature measure elevated the facial temperature monitoring solution with its high-resolution, thermal imaging camera, and can be deployed at the entrance of a factory, airport, distribution center, or commercial buildings. The solutions integrate with the Honeywell Forge platform and Honeywell’s Healthy Building Solutions to analyze air quality, social distancing, occupant flow, sanitation, and governance adherence.
