Traditional to Advanced: How CCOM Enhanced Cruise Ship Security with Secure Redact
Daniel Ginat, Director of Technology at CCOM Global Technologies
“I love the tracking in Secure Redact. The ability to control tracks with the video player, and that I can easily draw and adjust them is very useful.
It’s just a good system, that’s the bottom line.”
Feeling overwhelmed by your first CCTV access request?
Learn from Daniel Ginat - Director of Technology at CCOM Global Technologies - who tells his story of Secure Redact’s superior user interface, automation capabilities and responsive support.
Background and challenge
With a wide range of facilities and large passenger numbers, cruise ships present numerous potential safety issues. Security incidents can range from accidents and disputes to criminal activities and missing persons. To address these incidents, video footage is often the first point of reference for investigators.
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) mandates specific security and safety measures for cruise ships, including the requirement for extensive video surveillance to monitor various crew and guest areas. Additionally, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes provisions that will impact maritime operations and the use of certain equipment and technology from specific manufacturers.
"Even small-size ships will have hundreds of cameras, and larger ones can have over a thousand. This is due to the scale of operations and upcoming regulations like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)."
Various parties - including security personnel, legal teams, insurance companies, and regulatory authorities in visited ports - frequently request access to CCTV and other video footage. This video must comply with data regulation requirements to protect third parties' privacy.
For CCOM, the challenge lay in the complexity of maritime security. As a systems integrator for cruise lines, CCOM provides comprehensive security solutions, including helping legal teams handle, store, and redact video evidence. However, traditional redaction methods were time-consuming and inefficient.
Transforming maritime video security with automated video redaction software
CCOM evaluated several video redaction solutions and chose Secure Redact for its superior user interface, automation capabilities, and responsive support.
“We loved the entire UI, tools and features that Secure Redact offers."
Its advanced automation capabilities, including accurate face-detection and object-tracking, which significantly reduced the need for manual intervention. Daniel Ginat, Director of Technology at CCOM, also praised Secure Redact's zoning and tracking features, which allow for precise control and efficient redaction, even for complex footage.
“Prior to Secure Redact, redaction could take weeks."
The redaction time was drastically reduced from weeks to mere hours, allowing for a much faster turnaround. Secure Redact proved capable of handling large volumes of footage, quickly completing up to 50 hours of redaction for single cases.
“Secure Redact saves so much time… if we needed to do it manually, it would take our team much longer."
Daniel also found the customer service exceptional, appreciating how responsive Secure Redact’s team was to feedback.
“Everybody that we talked to in the company was highly responsive and it felt like they really want to make us happy with the product."
The value of the Secure Redact platform
"Secure Redact leaves a very positive impression with our customers and with its proficiency - we can submit a very attractive proposal for our services."
For CCOM, Secure Redact gave them a crucial competitive edge; a client project that took another company three months was finished by CCOM in just two weeks.
“We gave a very low number, and they [a potential client] didn't believe that we could actually do the redaction so fast.”
Daniel anticipates a growing need for video redaction services due to the increasing number of cameras and heightened awareness of privacy concerns.
“Five or ten years ago, a vessel would have 500 cameras; now, we have 1,500—the amount of data being recorded is immense, which is driving the demand for advanced redaction solutions. Secure Redact is definitely piquing the interest of different customers because of the number of cameras, incidents, and the growing awareness of privacy. It's a major topic now, and people want to protect their privacy."
This collaborative partnership is a significant factor in CCOM's success with the platform.