As security technologies advance, continued integration and automation will enhance safety by seamlessly connecting functions, Mark Zayek, Chief Operating Officer at Astrophysics says.

No single technology

As malicious actors and criminal elements work tirelessly at developing new methods of circumventing countermeasures, the security industry must collaborate with integration in lockstep to close detection gaps and mitigate vulnerabilities as they develop or become apparent.

The evolving nature of threats demands that security systems continuously adapt to counteract these efforts.

This requires concerted, continual effort from all sectors of the security industry.

No single technology is perfect and it’s important to acknowledge that each has its strengths and weaknesses.

For example, radiation portal monitors (RPMs) are well-suited for detecting and identifying fissile materials, as well as other radioactive threats, which are significant security concerns.

However, RPMs are ineffective when it comes to detecting smuggled explosives or narcotics, which presents a clear gap in deterrence.

On the other hand, X-ray scanners have the ability to provide detailed images of bags or containers and their contents, allowing security personnel to identify potential threats with respectable levels of material discrimination.

Yet, while X-ray scanners are excellent for spotting weapons or material contraband, they are not as effective at identifying specific types of threats like explosives or chemical agents when compared to explosive trace detectors (ETDs) or chemical identifiers offering a greater degree of certainty and precision.

While each of these technologies serves its purpose, they all have limitations that hinder their ability to provide a comprehensive and foolproof solution to the ever-growing list of potential threats.

Complementary technologies

Physical inspection, while often considered a reliable approach to verifying and interdicting threats, also has its drawbacks.

It’s an important last step following the deployment of other detection methods, but its capacity to meet the sheer volume of demands placed on customs officials, security officers and other personnel involved in maintaining security at high-traffic areas like airports, borders and ports is limited.

Inspecting every item manually is simply not feasible when there are countless bags, containers and shipments that require immediate attention.

Thus, security experts have long understood the importance of multi-pronged approaches that leverage complementary technologies to deliver the best results in the most efficient manner possible.

By combining different tools, each with its unique advantages and limitations, security professionals can maximize the strengths of each system while minimizing their weaknesses.

While RPMs, X-ray scanners, ETDs and other detection technologies all have intrinsic limitations, when combined effectively, they can help cover each other’s blind spots.

This collaborative use of security technologies leads to a more resilient and robust defense system, capable of addressing a diverse range of threat vectors and making it harder for bad-faith actors to slip through unnoticed.

We are all familiar with how airports deploy a combination of X-ray scans, metal detector screenings and drug-sniffing dogs to protect passengers and staff from potential threats.

These technologies work because they are effective at addressing different facets of the overall security challenge.

For instance, X-ray scanners are highly efficient at inspecting bags and containers, while metal detectors are excellent at identifying concealed weapons.

Drug-sniffing dogs add another layer of detection for narcotics.

By using these diverse technologies together, airports can ensure a higher level of safety.

However, despite their effectiveness, simply adding more detection tools is not a panacea.

The fact remains that time constraints and information gaps are persistent challenges which cannot be ignored.

Security personnel need to process items quickly to prevent bottlenecks, which means that every second counts.

Ultimately, there comes a point where the extra seconds needed to deploy a new type of scan simply can’t exist.

Additionally, security analysts may receive data that they cannot fully process in the available time, which can lead to missed opportunities for more comprehensive scrutiny.

This is where the integration of various security systems becomes an invaluable asset.

Enhanced security

Cross-systems integration has the potential to significantly mitigate constraints on time and attention.

For example, an RPM typically requires a certain distance from an X-ray scanner to avoid interference caused by the scattered radiation from each scan.

Without sufficient distance between the two, the RPM might produce false positives due to the overlapping signals, which can compromise the reliability of the system.

However, this increased distance also means more travel time, which in turn slows down the overall scanning throughput.

The integration of these two systems to exchange operational data, makes it possible to eliminate this interference through simple coordination, allowing the RPM and X-ray scanner to be installed in closer proximity to each other.

This closer integration improves both the speed and accuracy of the screening process.

Moreover, interconnectivity and compatibility between security systems can also benefit other aspects of the screening process.

By integrating systems through a centralized database and server system, where each security technology stores collected data in shared data sets unique to each scanned item, all relevant information can be presented to security analysts on a single display.

This unified approach allows analysts to review all available data in one place, providing a clearer picture of potential threats and facilitating more informed decision-making.

Furthermore, implementing a secure network enables remote screening capabilities, allowing security personnel to focus on higher-priority items in quieter environments.

It also allows for better sharing of intelligence with government agencies, trade partners and other stakeholders, in alignment with international standards like the The World Customs Organization (WCO) SAFE framework.

The importance of automation

Automation is another area where significant improvements can be made to streamline security processes.

Emerging AI-driven software, when integrated with X-ray scanners, is proving increasingly effective at automatically detecting various types of threats in the resulting images.

The AI can identify guns, knives, drugs, batteries and other dangerous objects with remarkable accuracy and speed.

This has the potential to dramatically reduce inspection times, as AI systems are able to process images far faster than human analysts can.

This allows human analysts to focus their attention on more complex images or those with items that the AI has not yet been trained to recognize.

In this way, the AI acts as an effective first line of defense, automatically flagging obvious threats and allowing security personnel to dedicate more time to analyzing ambiguous or anomalous cases.

Other aspects of automation, such as conveyor systems, analysis queues and real-time diagnostics and status monitoring, all contribute to increased operational efficiency and productivity.

By automating routine tasks and allowing AI to handle the initial stages of threat detection, the overall speed and effectiveness of security systems can be enhanced, while freeing up human resources to focus on higher-level tasks that require expert judgment and decision-making.

Conclusion

The world’s premier security authorities are keenly aware of the immense value that integration and automation bring to the table.

The WCO has launched the Unified File Format (UFF) technical specification explicitly to facilitate interoperability between X-ray scanner manufacturers, which directly aids efforts to develop systems integration that allow for shared data to be processed through centralized infrastructure.

In the US, agencies such as the TSA and CBP routinely design and implement checkpoints that deploy diverse technologies from independent, and sometimes directly competing, vendors.

These various systems are all interfaced through common government-controlled platforms, ensuring that they work together seamlessly.

In fact, international requisitions for new security equipment almost universally include clauses that require AI detection capabilities or other forms of automatic aids.

These expert bodies invest heavily in these efforts, not merely to follow trends or fads, but because the integration and automation of security systems deliver immediate, measurable results that address long standing challenges.

As individual security technologies continue to make performance advancements year after year, the integration and automation of these systems help smooth over the seams between their contributions to overall safety, creating a more cohesive and efficient security framework that is better equipped to handle the growing complexity of global threats.

This article was originally published in the special ISC West 2025 March edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.