In an increasingly digitised world, corporate security is having to move on from the simple locking of office filing cabinets, a guard on the gate or implementing a basic intranet system. With technological advances comes an increase in cybercrime and as such, a higher security risk, meaning that businesses are having to continually adapt to help protect their company, employees, and assets from data breaches and against the improved tactics of criminals that inevitably run parallel with better available technology.
As businesses and organisations build on the growing opportunities and benefits provided by an expanding global economy, the larger and more complex corporate security and risk management becomes. This is not only due to the inherent reputational risks associated with being connected to a vendor or employee that can cause damage to your business or brand, but there are also elements of financial, operational and security risks to assess and monitor. With a heavy reliance on third parties and to successfully manage and mitigate the increased risk of chasing profits and value whilst protecting your company from cyber criminals, there needs to be a robust, agile framework in place for the increase in corporate governance and management of the security risk presented by an external enterprise.
To successfully manage your corporate security to sustain a safe, working environment for your employees and to protect the reputation of your business, as well as keeping all data and assets secure, then there are steps you can take to ensure you have a solid, efficient corporate security framework in place that can effectively manage and mitigate any threat to your business. Protect your business with our useful best practices outlined below.
Use the technology available
Sustaining business success whilst managing competitive risk has always been a complex task for businesses, however, under global market pressure to provide value-based products and services and increasing regulatory requirements, many organisations are now looking to digitally transform their processes to improve their management of corporate security.
With stringent industry regulations in most sectors and an increasing crackdown on data privacy and use, ensuring your business, employees and any third parties you may be in contract with, stay compliant with rules and policies should be a high priority for businesses.
Manual corporate security management on the scale needed by large businesses is hugely time-consuming, especially if they have a considerable number of third parties, employees, and assets. This can often cause issues with compliance due to poor or non-existent audit and security controls. This increased risk from compliance issues can cause both reputational and financial damage and in a crowded market with organisations searching for any competitive advantage, any failure to meet current standard and regulations, will have negative repercussions.
Automated software programmes can help businesses digitise, create, manage, and monitor an entire security framework, covering possible threats from all angles. Due to the modern advancement of current technology, there really is no reason not to consider using a digital platform to improve the efficiency of your corporate security. Having anti-virus software is simply no longer enough to deter criminals, you need to always be one step ahead. This means using software to implement a vigorous security system, including a robust firewall and having file backups stored at a single, off-site, secure location.
You can also use software security features such as access control, so you know exactly who has permission to be where within your computer system. You can also use device authentication so you know the identity and credentials of anyone accessing your corporate network. Proxy servers can be a significant tool for added identity security and helps protect any sensitive or personal information. By using the added security features offered by technology, you gain a higher standard of cyber security and reduce the risk to your business.
Monitor and review comprehensive policies and procedures
If you want to manage your corporate security successfully, you need to have a set of strict policies and procedures in place. You need to have identified key areas where your policy management is lacking, particularly if you believe your employees do not have a definitive understanding of what security policies and procedures exist within your business structure, or who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing them. If you feel there is a large lack of standards then it may be time for you to take back control of your corporate security and protect your business from the risks and fines associated with poor compliance.
To do this, make sure your security policies include acceptable use of company information, data management, passwords and information shared with third parties.
You then need to have monitoring and regular reviews of your policies and whether there is sufficient employee comprehension. This can allow you to provide training where it is needed and improve risk awareness and good security behaviours throughout your business.
It is also important to note, that in the event of a security breach or crisis, the ability to change and swiftly review company policies to reflect new circumstances is vital, especially to satisfy legal obligations and GDPR regulations, and should be considered part of your corporate security management.
Corporate Security at Events
When you think about corporate security, your immediate response is most likely to do with cyber security. However, what if you needed comprehensive security at a corporate event? What if you needed a risk-free visit for a VIP or asset? Corporate security does not stop at business risk or cybercrime.
In these cases, managing your corporate security may mean outside help from close protection security services, or the use of highly trained and experienced risk management security services such as those provided by OpSec Solutions. You want to be sure that any corporate event security team is experienced and fully licensed and insured to stay compliant with the regulations surrounding private security. You should also consider what services you need to match your requirements for the event, such as:
- Close protection security
- Valuable escort & protection
- Residential security team (RST)
- Event security planning and implementation
- Corporate event risk management
- Security surveys and reports
Property Safety
Corporate security should also extend to your location. This helps protect your property, your employees, any assets, or information being held on-site, and prevent damage or theft. Creating a safe working environment has been proven to have a beneficial effect on the productivity of your staff and so security systems located within your premises should form an integral part of your overall corporate security management.
This may include use of surveillance services, which can not only help prevent issues from occurring in the first place, but if you have instances of wrongdoing, surveillance can provide the evidence needed to support any action.
Install security systems and alerts for round the clock protection as standard and make sure there is a good understanding and culture created around the seriousness of security and the responsibility that is involved.
How Opsec Solutions can help
As businesses adopt digitized and automated security solutions to protect their assets and manage the increasing risk of the economic global market, and with technology at the forefront of many business initiatives, it is important that your corporate security matches the ambitions and strategy of your business. As your business moves forward digitally, security services such as the ones provided by OpSec solutions, can identify areas of vulnerability, and provide the framework to help protect businesses and manage, mitigate, and eliminate any threats.
OpSec Solutions balances a team of highly trained personnel from corporate backgrounds, with years of experience in corporate security, with state-of-the art equipment and technology, to help identify potential risks to your business and eliminate the threat. This proactive approach and the strategies created by OpSec Solutions to protect your organisation, information, and assets, can anticipate weaknesses, and prevent cybercrime and data breaches before they happen.
Although business will never be risk-free, with a good strategy and the framework in place to support it, businesses can make the most of high-growth strategies and business expansion, without having to deal with a negative outcome. Therefore, to support your business and effectively manage your corporate security, we would highly recommend OpSec Solutions. They are fully accredited, professional, security service that can conduct corporate investigations to help protect key areas of your business and to provide risk management solutions and the framework needed for a secure environment and smooth running of your operations.
We can also support your business in cases of corporate theft or fraud. Using our technology to monitor a range of media and with legal access to video and audio recordings, corporate phone call records and computer activity, we can help assess any security breaches and provide the evidence you need. We can also use vehicle tracking devices to electronically track the location of one or more vehicles.
- Protect your property by examining on-site movements
- Monitor employees’ activity if you suspect theft or absence
- Check whether someone is emailing or calling people they shouldn’t
- See how (and where) company cars or vans are being used
If you feel our services could provide your business with the protection you need, please contact Opsec Solutions today to discuss how to effectively manage your corporate security, with packages tailored to suit your corporate requirements. We have offices in London, Manchester, and Cheshire, but can provide innovative technology and corporate security both in the UK and abroad.