Don Deason, Blue Line Technology: “proactive protection improves an organization’s security and compliance reporting”

As attacks get more sophisticated, companies turn to biometric solutions as a way to make sure their employees are really who they say they are.

Even though there are countless tools that help manage identities and passwords these days, experts warn that solely relying on text credentials can leave organizations vulnerable to not only outsider but also insider threats. Our guest today believes that biometric identity verification is the way to go, especially when talking about access management for critical assets like data centers or hospitals.

To discuss the importance of proactive prevention when it comes to securing property, we invited Don Deason, Senior Vice President of Blue Line Technologies – a company protecting providing access management with the help of biometric technology.

Blue Line Technology has been in business for almost a decade. Can you tell us more about your journey?

We have always been extremely passionate and focused on our biometric solutions' potential to provide proactive protection and prevention for people, property, and processes. That passion started with the initial management team composed of experienced and seasoned law enforcement and US Army veterans who understood the benefits of proactive prevention strategies during a time when most security investigations were forensic and “after the fact”. The founding team was rounded out with senior business executives who understood the solution, the required business processes, and the technology partnerships necessary to introduce and successfully bring a new solution to market. The senior team also had first-hand experience with workplace violence. We realized the deterrent potential biometric ID verification and threat alerts possessed in workplace violence situations.

Glance Access software was designed, developed, packaged, and patented 100% by our team. We were recognized by the St. Louis area start-up community in 2014 for the solutions technical features and function achievements and our business vision and go-to-market strategy.

The next step was to focus on education, evangelism, and developing industry and horizontal business cases. The business case emphasis was on return on investment and business process benefit metrics. Our senior team collaborated and educated industry consultants, technology companies, and channel partners to position our solution to enhance and extend existing access control capabilities. During our first client engagements, we established specific KPI and ROI goals. The solution exceeded the customers' KPI and ROI targets and proved that identity verification would improve employee and customer safety.

Can you tell us more about your Glance Access solution? What are its main features?

Glance Access Facial Recognition is a non-intrusive, real-time identity verification process that interfaces with current badging, security, and compliance processes creating proactive single or 2-factor authentication access control environments. Our patented software will accurately identify individuals and instantaneously lockdown, alert, and provide signals for preventive action. We architected Glance Access as an “IOT” open system. The IoT architecture will interface or integrate with an enterprise's existing security environment and protect its current security architecture, assets and investments.

Another benefit of our open architecture is tailored event coordination with other security systems via our API utilities. Our unique real-time alert feature provides a proactive prevention layer not seen in other products.

Our solution is installed in school systems, commercial buildings, city court entrances, energy companies, and other businesses using their current security protocols by interfacing our 2-factor biometric capabilities. We also cover access control to critical assets – data centers, pharmaceutical rooms, and research and development buildings. The solution has been interfaced and installed with turnstiles, metal detectors, and secure doors.

We have gained notoriety for our work in the retail market, including several major convenience store brands and privately owned stores as a deterrent to bad behaviors.

Our deterrence success has been measured by key industry indicators for the elimination of robberies, reduced police service calls, reduction in theft, happy customers spending more per trip, and generating higher profits. Each location provides a unique need for controlling access, eliminating threats, deterring bad behaviors, and providing a “known” feature that enriches the customer experience.

In your opinion, which industries should be especially concerned with implementing biometric identity verification solutions?

Our use case studies show that any business large or small can benefit from using this biometric identity verification solution. Proactive protection significantly improves an organization’s safety, security, and compliance reporting. Companies can better manage their access control environment using identity verification for one, two, or multi-factor authentication. Identity verification assists with federal, state, and local workplace and safety regulations. It has been used in the Cannabis Industry to meet or exceed video surveillance regulations, chain of custody reporting, and cash room security. The solution has delivered great results in the retail convenience store industry.

How do you think the pandemic affected the way criminals operate?

We have not experienced any changes in the way criminals operate at any of our installations. We have read with interest about the organized crash, and grab-and-go robberies that have occurred during the pandemic. Our retail solution is designed to lock the door and deny entry to anyone unwilling to show their face prior to entry.

Since biometric identity verification is becoming a common practice, what methods have threat actors come up with in an attempt to bypass this safety measure?

They are using the methods that are already in use: tailgating, and gatecrashing at turnstiles and doors. We have not had any experience with people attempting to bypass the system in any extraordinary manner. Generally, clients are concerned about the use of photos “to spoof” the system. To date, we have not encountered this situation.

Talking about personal safety, what actions should everyone take to prevent their identity from being stolen?

We recommend following the steps that have been outlined in security magazines, news, and online articles and in implementing security features included in computer and cybersecurity detection software documentation. We think that most software and web applications will begin to use biometric multi-factor authentication for access control and upgrade network and data storage encryption for all client data. These actions would help provide stronger personal ID safeguards.

In your opinion, where can we expect to see facial recognition solutions be used more often in the near future?

We do believe that there will be an increase in the use of biometric identity verification primarily for physical access control in the near future. We also believe that the definition of access control will expand over time for identity verification in the areas of banking, web access applications, and customer secure transaction engagement. We have also seen IT security consultants begin to architect two, three, and multi-factor authentication for data centers, or computer network closets and to gain access to individual computer and storage racks.

What do you think the future of identity and access management is going to be like? Do you think the use of biometrics is going to become commonplace?

The convenience and deterrence capabilities of biometrics lead us to believe it will become commonplace soon. We envision a time when biometrics will become part of an overall corporate identity and access management architecture and an option residing in directory services.

The addition of biometrics has the opportunity to improve an organization’s safety, security, compliance reporting, and customer service and satisfaction. We also see where at some point cyber security software firms will add two or three-factor biometric authentication to their software covering access rights within the organization and deterring unauthorized access to security software, storage, and application programs.

Would you like to share what’s next for Blue Line Technology?

We continue to study new biometric developments, international standard groups, security associations, and industry trends. These trends will have an impact on our product's future roadmap. We are pleased with our current product and with our product future roadmap, which we only share under nondisclosure.

As part of our go-to-market strategy, we continue to add new technology, integration, security consultants, and software partners.

One general trend of note is with security cameras. We anticipate additional memory; flash storage and processing power will be available in the next few years. That trend will enable our IoT edge solution to operate inside the camera and streamline its operation.