Evolv Technology Rejects IPVM’s Deceptive and Dangerous Articles
11 March 2024 - 11:00PM
Business Wire
Evolv Technology (NASDAQ: EVLV), the leading security technology
company pioneering AI-based weapons detection to create safer
experiences, today published this open letter to publication IPVM
addressing concerns that IPVM’s continuous stream of articles on
the Company is not only deceptive, but could pose a danger to the
public.
Since 2021, IPVM has published approximately 100 articles
featuring or referencing Evolv, which are almost uniformly negative
in tone. During that same timeframe, Evolv has noted that IPVM
seems to have focused less on other companies in the weapons
detection industry. Evolv has concerns about IPVM’s inaccurate and
misleading coverage. Evolv is also concerned about the public
safety implications of IPVM’s distorted coverage and release of
sensitive security information (SSI), which can potentially provide
a roadmap to bad actors on how to circumvent a security system.
Evolv’s position is that IPVM is not only biased towards the
selective use of misinformation, but also does not reflect subject
matter expertise in the physical security industry or advance
public safety priorities.
The Evolv standard of excellence is consistently tested through
its broad client base and expectations of its Security Advisory
Board. The Board includes senior leaders who have served at the
highest levels of their profession in national security, law
enforcement and the United States military. The Security Advisory
Board has carefully examined IPVM statements regarding Evolv
Technology systems and concludes that IPVM has consistently
misrepresented product effectiveness and is irresponsible in their
reporting. Their statement is here.
As the following example demonstrates, history is filled with
examples of how bad actors seek out and exploit sensitive
information about security systems they must confront.
“We saw this in the real world on Christmas day 2009, when
Al-Qaeda sent Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from Brussels to Detroit
with a hidden non-metallic IED. They knew that there was no
detection for non-metallic bombs in most airport security
protocols, and discovered this vulnerability through online
research,” said John Pistole, former United States deputy director
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
IPVM motives in targeting Evolv are unknown, but clearly not
designed to serve public safety. IPVM operates an unregulated
fee-based subscription service. The initial focus of the firm was
on the well-established video surveillance market. The founder of
the firm has publicly stated that he has little concern for
certifications as a qualification to opining on the products and
markets reviewed by IPVM. More recently, IPVM has partnered with a
subscription-based news service (with a documented history of
covering short targets) to discuss Evolv.
Evolv has identified instances of IPVM false or misleading
reporting:
- On March 5, 2024, IPVM reported that Evolv “supports missing
guns” in apparent reference to the security settings of the Evolv
Express®. This is objectively false. Nearly all mainstream physical
security technology operates within a scale of sensitivity
settings, including traditional walkthrough metal detectors.
Missing weapons is not the same as selecting a sensitivity setting
that is designed to alert on certain weapons (per a venue’s
operational standards and security protocols).
- On January 11, 2022, IPVM indicated that Evolv is just a metal
detector. This is objectively false. As a general matter,
traditional metal detectors are only capable of detecting metal
and, unlike the Evolv Express, lack the ability to distinguish
personal items that contain metal from a wide variety of weapons,
nor can they visually pinpoint on the body where there is a
potential threat.
- IPVM has chosen not to report on numerous cases where weapons
have passed through security systems manufactured by other
companies. However, IPVM has deceptively associated Evolv’s system
with weapon violations that law enforcement and customers have said
publicly did not pass through Evolv’s system.
- IPVM has publicly called into question the credibility and
expertise of industry-acknowledged security experts to advance its
own misguided theories, which are at odds with recognized industry
best practices.
Key Facts:
- Evolv’s more than 700 customers have access to the details of
our systems’ performance capabilities, including what they can and
cannot do and their ability to tailor sensitivity settings based on
their environment’s unique needs.
- This information is critical for security professionals to make
informed operational decisions and is not for public consumption
for the reasons stated above.
- Security screening systems, including traditional metal
detectors, have sensitivity settings and security professionals,
whether responsible for a stadium, airport, courthouse, school or
hospital, typically determine how to utilize those settings to
achieve the balance of visitor experience with enhanced safety
specific to the venue. Sensitivity settings are not unique to Evolv
Express.
- Evolv’s customers, which include the world’s leading theme
parks, stadiums, arenas and performing arts centers, rely on
real-world performance metrics and/or their own testing of Evolv
Express, testimonials and research on the system’s effectiveness
obtained from other users in their respective industries guide
their decisions to buy, deploy and utilize the system as part of
their overall security plan.
- Evolv Express is an award-winning technology, most recently
honored as the “Best in Sports Technology” and “Best in Fan
Experience Technology” by Sports Business Journal.
- Evolv’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures customer
loyalty by looking at their likelihood of recommending a given
business, has been consistently on average 60+ on a scale of -100
to +100 since the Fall of 2021.
We are pleased that it is our customers who have been and will
remain the final arbiters of Evolv’s performance. Those interested
in learning more about advanced weapons detection technology are
best served by speaking with venue operators who have vetted and
used the systems, as well as security professionals who have spent
their careers protecting the public, rather than relying on
unregulated fee-based subscription service publications with
unbalanced reporting, questionable motives, and little
qualifications to conduct product reviews.
Evolv has declined to speak with IPVM “reporters” until such
time as IPVM begins to practice fair and objective journalism with
the same transparency and ethics they demand of their targets.
Without this, IPVM will continue to be no better than a tabloid
publication.
About Evolv Technology
Evolv Technology (NASDAQ: EVLV) is transforming human security
to make a safer, faster, and better experience for the world’s most
iconic venues and companies as well as schools, hospitals, and
public spaces, using industry leading artificial intelligence
(AI)-powered weapons detection and analytics. Its mission is to
transform security to create a safer world to work, learn, and
play. Evolv has digitally transformed the gateways in places where
people gather by enabling seamless integration combined with
powerful analytics and insights. Evolv’s advanced systems have
scanned more than a billion people since 2019. Evolv has been
awarded the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) SAFETY Act
Designation as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology (QATT) as well
as the Security Industry Association (SIA) New Products and
Solutions (NPS) Award in the Law Enforcement/Public Safety/Guarding
Systems category, as well as Sport Business Journal’s (SBJ) awards
for “Best In Fan Experience Technology” and “Best In Sports
Technology”. Evolv Technology®, Evolv Express®, Evolv Insights®,
Evolv Cortex AI®, and Evolv Visual Gun Detection™ are registered
trademarks or trademarks of Evolv Technologies, Inc. in the United
States and other jurisdictions. For more information, visit
https://evolvtechnology.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute
“forward-looking” statements and information, within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the safe harbor provisions of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that
relate to our current expectations and views of future events. In
some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by
words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,”
“continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and
assumptions, some of which are beyond our control. In addition,
these forward-looking statements reflect our current views with
respect to future events or our Company’s performance and are not a
guarantee of future performance. Actual outcomes may differ
materially from the information contained in the forward-looking
statements as a result of a number of factors, including, without
limitation, the risk factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended on December 31, 2023, that was filed with
the SEC on February 29, 2024, as may be updated in other filings we
make with the SEC, from time to time. These statements reflect
management’s current expectations regarding future events and
operating performance and speak only as of the date of this press
release. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in
the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee
that future results, levels of activity, performance and events and
circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be
achieved or will occur. Except as required by law, we undertake no
obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240311937862/en/
Media: Alexandra Smith Ozerkis
aozerkis@evolvtechnology.com
Investor: Brian Norris bnorris@evolvtechnology.com
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