Businesses have many other priorities that frequently seem more pressing, but crime is a problem that can put a stop to all business activity, says Jeff Francis, MD of biometrics firm Littlebrother.
An understanding of the threat and a determination to make time and money available for crime prevention are essential elements of a safe, secure business environment.
Virtually every business suffers from crime to some degree and all are at risk from crime, yet the conflicting priorities of modern business leave many companies ill prepared and dangerously exposed.
Most businesses possess some form of security hardware but it is common practice to put cost above effectiveness. Where more effective security measures do exist, they have often been installed only after a crime has taken place. A strategy of choosing security based on cost fails every time because it ignores the potential cost of the risk. Successful security comes from a realistic assessment of risk, followed by the selection of appropriate countermeasures.
The right security balance also demands an awareness of the available options. Police crime prevention officers, insurers and reputable security firms will provide such information free of charge in most cases. The British Security Industry Association also operates a telephone helpline for information about security equipment and services and their suppliers.
Sound physical security is the minimum requirement for any business premises, regardless of whether other categories of security are also in use.
Physical equipment includes locks, safes, shutters, grilles and fences and a host of specialised items such as armoured glass. In the main, physical security measures work to physically harden a building against unlawful entry or attack, making an intruder’s task difficult, time-consuming and noisy. Its efficiency is, therefore, related to the intruder’s skill and determination, which will generally increase in line with the possible benefits of crime. Broadly speaking, the more valuable, transportable or readily disposable a building’s contents, the more effort will be made by criminals and the more extensive its physical protection needs to be.
Electronic security provides a variety of comprehensive security systems to suit every business. Electronic security includes intruder alarms, access control systems and digital closed-circuit television (CCTV). These systems support physical protection by impeding unauthorised movement and enabling the detection of intruders.
With the advent of dial-up Internet access and more recently broadband more and more businesses are highly dependent on their ‘Information highway’. For a great number of companies this important communications access point is also an open door to intruders. Protection of business data is therefore paramount and it is never too late to set-up an IT security strategy coupled with a disaster recovery contingency plan. British standard BS7799 offers a very good ten-point solution. The standard will help organisations become much more secure in all areas involving the protection of their business communications.
Education and training of current and emerging business technology is especially important and often overlooked. Most people are familiar with viruses and worms and many companies have some kind of anti-viral software solution. However, anti-virus solutions are often installed on a one-off basis but not maintained. The weakest link will always be the latest virus and it is important to receive a ‘virus fix’ before the virus gets your system.
A more recent buzz word has been the ‘Firewall’. Still people are not aware what a firewall actually does but feel that they might indeed deed one. Firewalls can (if correctly set-up) be effective ways of limiting unauthorised access to a network and many offer VPN (Virtual Private Networking) facilities which means secure, encrypted access where ever you are; in or out of the office.
The latest trend and perhaps the future of secure business is a move to biometric technology. Using an individual’s unique characteristics it is possible to maintain a very high level of user access and traceability. Facial, fingerprint, iris and speech recognition solutions for perimeter access and computer access are now much more affordable and formidable solutions. The technology is available in the form of locking systems, notebooks, safes, mice, etc. Biometric access can also be integrated into current solutions. One example is the use of facial recognition on CCTV systems in retail stores to identify known offenders and alert security of their presence. The latest facial recognition technology uses 3D methods of identification which is a great improvement over 2D and allows a match of a face (or partial face) from many angles.
It is important, however, that an appropriate system is chosen for the business environment. It is always better to deal with the whole security issue before the event. New businesses are surprisingly more prone to malicious attacks than any other. Of course there are costs associated with the technology needed to protect your business. However, unbeknown to many companies there often is financial help available (especially in Wales) from your local authority. Some have specific ‘security’ grants while others have ICT type grants which can be used to help purchase of equipment and other resources. In addition, there are grants available that can help with the costs of security related training.
