Deol keeps trucking data secure

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Transport companies need their offices working smoothly to ensure their trucks and drivers can deliver and pick up freight safely and on time.

That means phones, emails, IT systems and security at offices, truck yards, and warehouses must function properly and seamlessly – day and night.

Picture of Parm Deol
Parm Deol’s servers at a secure location in Mississauga, Ont. hold two petabytes of information. (Photo: Leo Barros)

Parm Deol’s companies – eTor Networks and Eagle Vision Security (EVS) – help keep nearly 300 trucking operations rolling.

Deol has 2 petabytes of storage available. That’s 2,000 terabytes. (One terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes). The servers in a Mississauga, Ont. facility have three levels of security – guards, man trap and a pin pad on the server cage.

Private servers ensure that only a particular company will be running on that host. A router is installed at a customer’s site, and it creates a private tunnel that allows them to access their servers via a VPN (virtual private network).

“We don’t open anything up to the internet. Nothing is public. I invite anybody to try and hack this thing, they are not getting in,” Deol said.

Deol also does business with law firms and publicly traded mining companies. All the data must remain in Canada and his company is audited yearly for IT general controls, security, battery backups, air conditioning and diesel generators.

The server building is close to Toronto Pearson airport, so what if an airplane hits the building? Every night, all the data replicates to another site.

Deol, 38, knew from a young age that he wanted to work in the IT sector. He said he was verified by Microsoft as a systems engineer at age 15.

“Certifications don’t matter, education doesn’t matter in this industry at all. All that I have learned is from hands-on experience,” Deol said.

Security cameras monitor a truck yard
Eagle Vision Security’s cameras keep an eye on a truck yard. (Photo: Supplied)

At 16, he was earning $25 an hour. After high school, he went to college because his parents wanted him to, but said he already knew what was being taught and quickly lost interest.

Deol worked as a contractor providing IT services. He also worked at a company where he was exposed to home phone systems. Eight years ago, he started eTor Networks, offering phone systems and IT services.

While most security companies have people watching screens, Deol’s servers run artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms which perform most of the reporting for EVS, his security company.

After watching for a week or two, the AI system knows if a trailer goes beyond a point and hits a fence, it is not normal.

Deol said they developed the AI by watching and learning. “I don’t lease, rent, nothing that involves reselling. I am responsible for the service.”

The security cameras are not on the internet, they also work via VPN. The system also controls gates, two-way communications, and loudspeakers at truck yards.

Last year, Deol started SafeRun, to help drivers complete their pre-trip inspection (PTI). QR or quick response code stickers are placed on components that must be checked. The driver uses a cellphone app and first punches in the tractor and trailer numbers. He or she then has to physically scan all the QR codes. The app also allows drivers to upload pictures of damage and add notes during the PTI.

Deol has reduced costs by learning to perform installation work that was outsourced and buying equipment like a boom lift instead of renting one. He’s also learned to pour concrete and install gates.

“Sometimes I am installing a camera in the morning, a server in the afternoon, maybe installing a phone system after that. Sometimes you gotta try stuff and see what happens, it may work it may not work,” Deol said.

As his business grows, Deol is keen to acquire his market share as he knows eventually it will get saturated. And the learning never stops.

By Leo Barros

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Leo Barros is the associate editor of Today’s Trucking. He has been a journalist for more than two decades, holds a CDL and has worked as a longhaul truck driver. Reach him at leo@newcom.ca