The Hot List by Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur.com, the business magazine, publishs " The Hot List " December 2005 By the staff of Entrepreneur magazine .

Hot List on security business:

ID-Theft Prevention and Recovery

Identity theft has become a clear and present danger to consumers, and now they're looking for ways to fight back. A June survey by Privacy & American Business and Deloitte & Touche estimates that 44 million American adults have been victims of identity fraud or theft, up from 33 million victims in 2003.

One of the first companies to take a proactive approach to identity theft is Identity Cops Inc. in Westbrook, Maine. The startup offers automated recovery services as well as proprietary web-based software that alerts subscribers to any suspicious activity. "This is not only a market that is ripe, but there are [also] a lot of people that need our help," says co-founder and vice president of technology Justin Page, 38. The company just launched its initial offering, a subscription service starting at $10 per month.

This market is still very young, but the demand is there, so expect it to grow quickly. Rebecca Weinstein, 38, president and co-founder of Identity Cops, says of the company's reception, "People are anxious to get their hands on a subscription because there has been so much publicity around the issue." Now's the time to get in on this untapped market.--Amanda C. Kooser

Surveillance Cameras

With recent events like 9/11 and the London bombings fueling terrorism fears nationwide, we're seeing an increased interest in security and surveillance products. Video surveillance cameras are a huge part of that trend: Consulting firm Frost & Sullivan estimates surveillance cameras will be a $4.09 billion market by 2010.

Simon Harris, senior analyst at IMS Research in Wellingborough, England, believes much of the opportunity lies in software, particularly video content analysis software, a projected $839 million market by 2009. The applications, while widespread, include the ability to analyze live or recorded video streams to detect suspicious activities, events or behavior patterns. One market leader is ObjectVideo in Reston, Virginia. The multimillion-dollar firm creates security software products currently in use by several airports, the Marine Corps in Fallujah, and at U.S./Canada and U.S./Mexico border checkpoints.

IMS Research predicts that residential users, too, will be a huge market. Paul Brewer, co-founder of ObjectVideo, concurs, adding that installation and maintenance of the systems will be a hot opportunity. "As the technology gets out into the mass market, the opportunity is there for somebody to act as a channel for [manufacturers]," says Brewer, 38. Learn more by visiting the Securities Industry Association website.--April Y. Pennington