LockedUp: Combining advanced security software with custom made hardware

Security continues to be a major challenge for businesses in every sector, especially when valuable equipment out in the field is at risk of theft or vandalism. No security measure is 100% reliable, and electronic solutions present some risk of being vulnerable to hacking. Many towercos are striving to eliminate the need for physical keys that can be copied, and to combine advanced electronic security measures with sturdy doors, gates and locks. We recently spoke to David Coode, CEO of LockedUp, an exciting new security solution provider that traces its roots back to Blackberry.

TowerXchange: Please introduce your company and tell us about your background.

We’re a three year-old Canadian company providing secure distributed access solutions, born out of the ashes of Blackberry. The founder of the company is also our CTO, and he worked on Blackberry’s wireless technical team. The security technology that Blackberry is famous for is the same that we use to manage remote locks which can be accessed using smart phones.

Towercos have been among our first clients, and we have been operating with telecoms companies in LatAm which is helping us learn the niche and local needs of the companies there and the value that the solution brings. Our clients had towers that were being vandalised and robbed quite frequently, and they were happy with the ROI of our solution as it is a fraction of the cost of vandalized tower equipment.

My background is in medical electronics. I spent over a decade at ON Semiconductor, the tenth largest semi company in the world, focussing on electronic solutions at board and system level. The medical electronics industry is highly regulated and requires very high reliability and security. The skills learned there translate well into industrial electronics. I understand how different it is to work in high-reliability industrial electronics; the entire approach to business is different from consumer electronics.

TowerXchange: Tell us about your solution and some applications in the field.

The solution has three components; we provide a cloud-based Network Operations Center (NOC), electronic controllers and smartphone apps that provide access. Keys are provisioned to end-user smart phones via the NOC, then used via a secure Bluetooth protocol encrypted security certificates unlock the mechanism in the lock. The keys can be programmed at the NOC to expire, and the locks keep a log of every use, letting clients know who has entered and at what time. This makes it much more difficult for contractors to pull off inside jobs as all movements are tracked and linked with a smartphone. We also integrated some electronic and hardware features on the locks to keep people from getting locked out.

The main feature is the security software behind the mechanism, which is so important in this era. There was a competition at this year’s DEF CON conference in which hackers were given fifteen minutes to open sixteen smart locks. When the time was up, twelve out of the sixteen locks had been compromised. We did an analysis of the methods that were used to hack the locks, and we’re happy to say that ours would have been invulnerable to any of the attacks used. To date none of our locks have been hacked successfully, but that’s not to say that it hasn’t been attempted.

TowerXchange: What differentiates your product from others on the market?

Most of our competitors in LatAm are selling a complete locking cylinder or a specific type of hardware. They’re basically lock companies selling hardware with an added electronic component. We’re selling an electronic solution based on many layers of abstraction, that provides data capture and is usable out of mobile coverage. We then work with integrators and installers to create different mechanisms tailored to a client’s physical needs from a security perspective and based on the size and layout of their facility. It works with cabinets, doors, and gates, which can all be connected to the same system. We sell a powerful security technology that can be integrated with any physical lock.

We work with partners to do custom ironwork; as an example for a cabinet they would install a three foot angle bar which would take ten minutes with a grinder to get through. We work to integrate our technology into existing small locking mechanisms like drop bolts and swing locks. Our premium solution for towercos is a small black box with sis 72 volt high-power lock actuators and sensors built-in to detect unauthorised access.

TowerXchange: What is the typical capital outlay per site to install your solution?

This varies a lot because our solutions are often customised and we often sell through integrators who do the ironwork. We charge per site and per installation, and there is usually no fee up front. Again, our clients are happy since the cost of the solution is a fraction of the cost of a site, or potential theft of copper, batteries, electronic equipment and damage that can be done to a site. We can provide security for access to whole site or it can be on specific specific cabinets with equipment. Towers are often a shared access space so customers often use our solution on just their cabinet or rack and it can sit inside other locking systems.

TowerXchange: How can data from access control systems be integrated with maintenance workflows and job ticketing to reduce O&M costs?

A big strength of smart locks is the simplicity of contractors not having to go pick up a physical key, and in addition it’s risky when multiple people hold keys to the site; there’s always a risk associated with this. On our system the keys sent out to the end users’ mobile phones are typically active for a couple of hours, and data logs are maintained to see who’s been in, and for how long. Our clients have access to this data through the NOC and can use it as they need to to improve efficiency. It also gives updates on the location of the lock and sends alerts if a door or lock are open when they shouldn’t be and someone has gained unauthorised access. Sometimes a door isn’t closed properly or something makes it jam, but the clients and the NOC staff will be alerted.

TowerXchange: What else can you tell us about your NOC?

We operate a NOC that supports all of our clients, with back-end technology and servers running for our global customer base. NOC support is optional with our solution and clients can manage site security in-house, but most of our clients prefer having security experts like LockedUp managing and maintaining the service. The portal that they access the NOC through can be customised and branded or re-skinned. The NOC is a cloud management service and clients that access it always have the most up-to-date version.

TowerXchange: Please sum up how you would differentiate your solution from your competitors’?

Our company is about technical leadership and our goal is bringing industrial apps up to date and bringing the latest technology to bear on the challenges being faced by our clients. We deliver the best in security, features and ease-of-use to any lock. We are not a lock company who is adding electronics to extend a traditional product line. Over the next six to twelve months we will push the edge even further and will stay ahead of the curve based on this technology, which is the core of our business.