Dataminr - Experts & Thought Leaders

The Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO), the renowned organisation for security professionals working in Higher and Further Education around the world, is to host its first European Region Winter Conference at Leiden University in the Netherlands.  The Conference, which takes place from Wednesday, 27 November 2024 until Friday, 29 November 2024, is free to all AUCSO members. European Winter Conference Benny Vandenberghe, Chair of the European Region for AUCSO will open the Conference followed by a welcome from Professor Mr. Dr. E.R. Muller, Vice-Rector and Professor in Safety, Security and Law, and Leo Harskamp from Leiden University. Day One will begin with a session on ‘How UCare and Mental crisis intervention supports mental well-being at Ghent University’ followed by ‘Mental support after shocking events and crisis interventions: what can or should be done? Both these sessions will be led by Gunther Groenwals and Sarah Vermeersch from Ghent University in Belgium. Afternoon session Eric Lanxner from Université Libre de Bruxelles and Leo Harskamp from Leiden University will also lead a session The afternoon will see a session on ‘Horizon scanning and foresight – the added value of tools’ led by Leo Harskamp from Leiden University followed by ‘First Alert and ways to utilise it’ with Gus Hodson from Dataminr. Eric Lanxner from Université Libre de Bruxelles and Leo Harskamp from Leiden University will also lead a session on ‘Physical security – counter criminal and counter-terrorism’. Day Two session Day Two will see sessions on ‘Protests as a daily business’ with Jaap Weijermans from Universiteit van Amsterdam and long-term partner of AUCSO, Critical Arc, will be presenting its emergency management planning tool, Safezone, which is rapidly becoming the most widely-used and trusted technology of its kind. There will also be an interactive session on ‘What should AUCSO Europe focus on’ and announcements of what’s coming up in 2025. The Conference will be closed by Benny Vandenberghe, Chair of the European Region for AUCSO. Topical and interactive sessions Julie Barker, Chief Operating Officer, of AUCSO, said, "We are excited to be hosting our first European Region Winter Conference at Leiden University in the Netherlands and we are looking forward to welcoming many of our AUCSO members and colleagues from Higher Education in Poland, Switzerland, Finland, Belgium, and the Netherlands." Julie Barker adds, "It’s going to be a jam-packed agenda of topical and interactive sessions together with lots of opportunities for networking and having some fun too."

Dataminr, one of the world’s pioneering AI companies, is launching ReGenAI (Regenerative AI), a new form of generative AI that automatically regenerates textual descriptions as events unfold. Using predictive AI to analyse and synthesise key developments detected in more than one million public data sources, ReGenAI distils multidimensional events into concise event briefs that dynamically update.  Regenerating event Customers can gain a rapid understanding of an evolving event through a constantly updated Customers can gain a rapid understanding of an evolving event through a constantly updated, AI-powered live event brief, enabling corporations and governments to determine the impacts on their organisation and respond more effectively. “ReGenAI moves generative AI beyond the ‘prompt’ paradigm, with automatically regenerating event briefs that dynamically update in real-time as an event evolves,” said Ted Bailey, Dataminr’s Founder and CEO. Future of real-time information Bailey added: “With ReGenAI, Dataminr is transforming the future of real-time information, shifting away from static event reports and creating the first ever ‘live’ information. Governments and corporations can rely on ReGenAI to rapidly understand the scope and impacts of unfolding events, enabling them to act faster and keep their people and assets safe in an increasingly unpredictable world.” “Dataminr, with its new ReGenAI, is an exceptional solution. By detecting incidents in real-time and empowering the ReGenAI to synthesise this information, Dataminr not only speeds up our identification of security risks but also enhances our ability to respond swiftly and effectively,” said Chief Risk and Threat Analyst at Danske Bank. Regenerative capabilities “ReGenAI comes in as a living document, and it updates itself. So we don’t have to hunt for new information to learn that the status of something relevant to us has changed." "We can adjust quickly based on the regenerative capabilities that (Dataminr’s) AI provides,” said Corporate Vice President of Operations, Public Safety, Engineering & Maintenance at Six Flags. Predictive AI and generative AI capabilities ReGenAI is the latest breakthrough from Dataminr, a longtime trailblazer in the field of AI ReGenAI is the latest breakthrough from Dataminr, a longtime trailblazer in the field of AI. The company first pioneered multi-modal fusion AI for discovering events, risks and threats with unparalleled speed, scope and accuracy. In recent years, Dataminr deployed generative AI at scale, integrating real-time event descriptions that make public data signals actionable. Most recently, the company created more than 50 Dataminr-unique large language models (LLMs) and foundational models (FMs), turbocharging its predictive AI and generative AI capabilities and enabling Dataminr to pioneer Regenerative AI. The company’s LLMs and FMs are trained on its one-of-a-kind 12+ year historical event archive. Integrates ReGenAI ReGenAI is available in its initial release on April 30th for Dataminr Pulse customers. This first release integrates ReGenAI for events of global significance and broad global scope.  Future releases will deploy ReGenAI on a wider scale, integrating richer event context, customer-tailored impact assessments, and recommended customer actions. ReGenAI also unlocks the potential for generative AI to dynamically describe what might happen next as an event unfolds.

The Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO), the pioneering organisation for security professionals working in Higher and Further Education around the world, has announced a compelling and exciting lineup of speakers for this year’s 40th Annual Conference, alongside the theme of ‘Unveiling the Added Value of Security Services’. The 40th AUCSO Annual Conference will be held at the University of Liverpool from Monday 8 April to Wednesday 10 April 2024. The conference is open to all AUCSO members and will be hosted by Andrew Molloy, AUCSO member and Head of Campus Support Services at the University of Liverpool. Contributions of security services AUCSO Chair, Oliver Curran, said: “At this year’s Conference we will explore the dynamic landscape of security services and embrace the opportunity to unveil not just the shield that our university and college security teams provide, but the intrinsic added value they bring."  “Security is not merely a safeguard; it is a catalyst for confidence and an embodiment of trust. Together, we will illuminate the often unseen contributions of security services, recognising their role in shaping a resilient and prosperous future for us all." Break-out sessions The Conference will be opened by Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor University of Liverpool and the keynote speech will be from Tim Collins, OBE on Global Conflicts: Navigating the Impact on the Campuses. There will also be engaging and thought-provoking break-out sessions as follows: Heather Baily, QPM and Paul Fullwood, Chair & Director for Inspections and Enforcement, Security Industry Authority (SIA) - How recent changes within the SIA can add value to the Higher Education Security Sector. Gus Hodson, Key Account Director, Dataminr - How Campus Security Pioneers can embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. Christine Clark, Mental Health, First Aid England and Richard Yates, Chair, AUCSO Mental Health SIG - Mental Health on Campus: Security First Responders or Only Responders? Kenny MacLeod, Risk Management Resources Ltd - Dealing with campus protests and preparing Campus Security for the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. Dave Wilson, Regional Modern Slavery & Organised Immigration, Crime Coordinator, Regional Organised Crime Unit, West Midlands Police - Chinese Student vulnerability to organised crime influence. Alan Cain, Head of Security and Emergency Management University of Salford - Proactive Measures and Preparedness for Emerging Risks on Campuses. Darren Chalmers, Stevens Group, COO & MD, EMEA/APAC Critical Arc - Bridging the Gap between Cyber and Physical Security on Campus. Daniel Frith, Sales Director, DTS Solutions - Enhancing Campus Security through Technology Integration. Number of panel discussions Furthermore, there will be a number of panel discussions that offer immense value to members covering: AUCSO’s Benchmarking launched recently in partnership with ISARR with Julie Barker and Adrian Dennehy, AUCSO and Nick Beale and Russ Huxtable, ISARR. Martyn’s Law – ‘What are we waiting for’ with Figen Murray, moderated by Nathan Emmerich. The Value of Transformation for Campus Security, Empowering Campus Security  VAWG Challenges and Solutions. Incredible achievements across 2023 All envoys will be able to visit the show in between workshops and talks to network, share, and learn New suppliers and AUSCO partners will be supporting the Conference with an exciting exhibition of products and services. All delegates will be able to visit the exhibition in between workshops and talks to network, share, and learn. There will be a Welcome Reception and Exhibitors Fayre on a Monday evening in the Conference Centre and a Networking Evening is planned for Tuesday evening to be held at Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club.  Celebrating some incredible achievements across 2023, a glittering Black Tie Gala Dinner and Awards Evening will take place on Wednesday evening when the winners of the AUCSO Awards will be announced. Opportunities for networking Commenting on the Conference, AUCSO Chief Operating Officer, Julie Barker, said: “We are very much looking forward to our 40th Annual Conference, and we are committed to an excellent lineup of thought-provoking, topical speakers, and the opportunities for networking. There will also be some exciting additions to our 40th anniversary conference. We are looking forward to seeing corporate partners and our members from across the globe as we discuss the ‘value’ that our security services add to our campus communities on a day-to-day basis." “Last year we had a record attendance, and this year we are determined to beat that. If you would like to attend, do register as soon as possible as places are filling up quickly.” Conference open to AUCSO members The Conference is open to AUCSO members. Registration includes: Attendance at all Conference sessions, refreshments, and lunches. Attendance at all social events including: Monday 8 April: Welcome Reception, dinner with refreshments at the conference centre. Tuesday 9 April: Networking Evening, dinner with refreshments which will take place at Anfield – the home of Liverpool Football Club. Wednesday 10 April: Gala Dinner and Awards Evening which will take place at The Lutyens Crypt and Treasury at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Accommodation at the Conference hotel (Check-in on Monday 8 April and check-out on Thursday 11 April). Registration for this year’s Conference closes on Friday 11 March 2024.

Twitter has around 350 million active users a month, all eagerly posting 280-character “tweets” about the world around them. It’s a vast amount of data from all over the globe. Security professionals have begun to appreciate the value of mining all that data for insights to help them protect people, assets and operations. One company leveraging the Twitterverse to provide real-time situational awareness to corporate security end users is Dataminr.Dataminr assembles this information flow into a useful timeline that summarises the ongoing sequence of events Algorithms for actionable security signals The New York-based technology company has developed algorithms that comb through the full Twitter dataset to provide actionable signals to security professionals around the world about security-related events as they unfold. For corporate security, early information about an unfolding event enables them to take action faster in order to secure their people, locations and business operations. “OMG! Just heard a loud bang on the quad,” a tweet might declare. Combined with location information gleaned from a mobile phone, such a tweet could be the first indicator of an unfolding security incident. As an event unfolds, hundreds of such tweets are likely to be posted from the surrounding areas, collectively offering a running narrative of developing events. Dataminr assembles this information flow into a useful timeline that summarises the ongoing sequence of events. Many times, tweets are the first information available from an incident even before the arrival of first responders.Dataminr’s information is provided in a variety of platforms, from a web-based dashboard to a mobile app or notification via email “Early notification allows security professionals to be more proactive,” says Dillon Twombly, SVP, Corporate Sales at Dataminr. “We have a broad range of users across Fortune 1000 companies, and also including country security managers, security operations centers, and executive protection. "In retail, we provide information for security operations or loss prevention. Events sometimes have a potential to spin out of control, and we allow security professionals to react faster and get ahead of an event proactively.” Various security platforms Dataminr’s information is provided in a variety of platforms, from a web-based dashboard to a mobile app or notification via email. The system can be integrated with a company’s workflow, and the software interfaces with various security platforms, such as physical security information management (PSIM) systems. Another corporate use for Dataminr is in public relations, where social media could be a source of misinformation or rumors about an issue or event Dataminr addresses all regulatory and legal concerns, and it is GDPR-compliant. However, privacy is generally not a big concern because Twitter data is posted publicly, and Dataminr gleans information related to a specific event, not a specific Twitter user’s individual data. “Over the past couple of years, we have grown the security vertical,” says Twombly. “The market is receptive to the value of social media as a tool for users tasked with responding in a comprehensive way to a range of issues.”The company’s services are useful across the full range of vertical markets in the security industry Public safety and security In addition to security and public safety applications, Dataminr also provides services to financial companies and even media outlets. In fact, the 9-year-old company started in finance, where stock or currency traders were able to leverage breaking news notifications to make decisions faster. In the media vertical, Dataminr provides information to 500 newsrooms globally. Public safety and security uses have evolved, and Twombly currently spearheads the company’s work in corporate security, calling on his experience in the security world. Another corporate use for Dataminr is in public relations, where social media could be a source of misinformation or rumors about an issue or event.Customers can customise the kind of information they want to receive, and Dataminr algorithms use the full publicly available data set of Twitter Tracking Twitter posts enables a company to get ahead of an evolving story and help to shape the narrative. Twombly says Dataminr has “deep and broad relationships” with corporate customers and delivers information that can possibly be used by multiple departments in an organisation. The company’s services are useful across the full range of vertical markets in the security industry, from transportation to major industrials to financial services to energy. In the education vertical, major universities are customers, as are local school districts. Customers can customise the kind of information they want to receive, and Dataminr algorithms use the full publicly available data set of Twitter. Twombly says the company’s software is constantly evolving and being fine-tuned in response to changing needs. Dataminr is a “strategic partner” of the social media giant and works closely with them on product development, he adds.