The recent death of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, has brought attention to the value of corporate security and why it’s crucial for most organizations. Companies are working rapidly to catch up and understand how to effectively approach corporate security to best protect every part of their business. 

‍What is corporate security exactly? 

Corporate security encompasses the various sets of strategies, practices, and systems set in place to protect a company’s assets, employees, information, and operations from any potential threats, both internal and external. It’s a multidisciplinary area that addresses both physical and digital threats that commonly come in the form of cyberattacks, fraud, theft, and physical attacks.

The most relevant components of corporate security include: 

1. Physical security: Protecting company property and facilities with the use of various tools and security personnel‍

2. Access control: Controlling access to specific areas of a facility through the use of implemented security protocols ‍

3. Network security: Guarding confidential/ sensitive data and systems from any unauthorized access and cyberattacks like phishing ‍

4. Executive/ high-risk employee safety: Ensuring the safety of certain high-profile employees‍

5. Asset protection: Keeping all company assets safe and confidential, including physical equipment, financial information, and more ‍

6.Employee awareness: Educating all employees about various security policies, common potential threats, and who to report threats to   

 A holistic approach to corporate security

When building guidelines for your corporate security plan, it’s essential to acknowledge and include every aspect of corporate security within your processes. If not, you can leave yourself vulnerable to unsuspected attacks with major repercussions. The following steps serve to inform you on how to best prepare for the most common threats faced by businesses. 

‍Step 1: Secure your company’s premises 

Safeguarding your premises is the first step in ensuring potential threats are addressed before any harm is done. Methods for facility protection include the use of components that typically include: 

1. Employee security policies

Company policies regarding corporate security should instill and acknowledge protocols as they relate to employee training and who has access to particularly sensitive/ confidential information.  

2. Security technology  

Technology serves security teams by helping them monitor the premise, identify potential threats, and proactively respond to threats before they have the opportunity to act. 

To learn more, download our recent guide “A Complete Guide to Layered Security Technology for Commercial Businesses” 

3. Law enforcement partnership

How should your employees and/ or security personnel approach interacting with local law enforcement? Which situations entail contacting law enforcement? Answers to these questions should be clearly outlined within your corporate security protocols.   

A particularly effective method includes the use of Flock Safety LPR cameras that can create a virtual security perimeter that’s able to immediately alert security personnel of any known threats entering your premises. This empowers your security personnel to take appropriate measures to intercept and deter potential violence before it takes place. 

‍How does it work? 

People typically use cars to arrive at their destinations, this gives Flock Safety cameras the opportunity to read license plates immediately as they enter your premises. After Flock Safety’s cameras are installed, your security team will excel at capturing details such as vehicle make, alterations, covered plates, paper plates, and even no plates. 

You’ll also have the option to share the camera data with law enforcement so they can quickly respond and/or leverage the data to quickly link the vehicle to any open investigations.

And if you’re constantly dealing with repeat offenders your security team will have the option to add known offenders to custom hot lists that automatically notifies security whenever the repeat offenders return.  

For more information, check out how a hospital used Flock Cameras to cut down on property crime by 55%. 

‍Step 2: Effectively address executive protection 

Keeping your C-suite executives safe should be top of mind, considering they’re often the employees with the most visibility within your company. Effective executive protection extends far beyond the office building and entails ensuring safety during transportation, major events/ conferences, and at home as well. 

When evaluating security options for executive protection, make sure you’re thoroughly assessing the following areas: 

- Transportation/ logistics planning 

Ask questions that reveal the security team’s experience/ comfort regarding securing routes to and from various destinations. Executives typically travel a lot, so you’ll want to understand how that security team plans on building safe transportation pathways. 

- Securing a specific location

If an executive plans on speaking at a major conference, how would the security

team approach securing that location to ensure the executive’s safety? 

- Assessing threats

 You must also dive into the specifics of how that security firm assesses potential threats in day-to-day operations. They should understand how potential threats present themselves and how to determine the severity of specific risks.  

- Conspicuous security tactics  

 Executive/ high-risk employees may prefer to have lower profile security to avoid bringing attention to themselves in various scenarios and locations. Get a better understanding of whether or not that security team has experience conducting inconspicuous security measures. 

‍Step 3: Enforce employee training programs for cyberattacks

 Your employees need the correct type of training to understand security best practices so they aren’t at constant risk of giving out confidential company information. That said, phishing is one of the most common ways that employees come under attack. For reference, phishing is when a hacker tries to trick someone into believing they’re a legitimate source so the employee will share sensitive/ confidential information with the hacker. 

Tips for training employees for phishing attacks include: 

- Alerting them of the risk 

 Everyone may not be aware of what phishing is and what it entails, so be sure to         go over these threats with existing and new employees. This includes partnering with your IT team or designated security provider to understand current trends in phishing so you can add them to your training protocols. 

- Adopt a culture of awareness 

 Once a year training may not be enough, work to consistently remind employees, customers, and even vendors to look out for emails, texts, and other phishing attempts that may seem legitimate but aren’t. Everyone associated with your company should know exactly who to contact to report suspicious emails or phishing attempts.

- Consider using fake phishing tests 

 One of the most effective ways to assess your organization’s readiness against phishing involves using phishing tests that send fake phishing emails to employees to understand their ability to identify and accurately respond to phishing attempts. 

Step 4: Create a business continuity plan

Aside from cyberattacks, your company should also be proactive in protecting itself against unplanned events and possible natural disasters that can interrupt supply chains and other important areas of the business. 

The best way to protect your organization is by compiling a business continuity plan that clearly documents all critical information that a business may need to continue operating during a crisis. An effective continuity plan typically includes the following areas: 

• A clear, tangible purpose statement that addresses the overall scope of the plan and every area of the business that’ll be affected 
• The contact information for every key stakeholder mentioned in the continuity plan
• Specific information identifying the scenarios of when the plan should be used, along with how it should be initiated  
• A short glossary of terms used throughout the plan to ensure there’s no misunderstandings down the line
• A step-by-step plan that clearly goes through all the procedures

Step 5: Build an insider threat mitigation program

With so much focus on external threats, we can sometimes forget the dangers that internal threats can bring. In recent years, 76% of companies reported an increase in insider threat activity. Your corporate security plan needs to detail exactly how to notice and address the different ways these threats present themselves. 

But what exactly constitutes an insider threat? 

An insider threat is the potential for an insider to use authorized access or specific understanding of a company to inflict harm in various ways. 

An effective insider threat mitigation program will include the following areas: 

- Identify the company’s assets and prioritize the risks 

Clearly identify what the organization values the most and what could possibly damage or disrupt those assets is an essential first step of any insider threat mitigation program. This entails understanding where the important assets are located and who has access to them.  

- Closely vet your employees 

The best way to defend against insider threats is by avoiding them in the first place, and this is done by making sure you’re only hiring trustworthy people. Get ahead of insider threats by incorporating background checks within your hiring processes.  

- Continuously engage employees with awareness and training 

Similar to cyberattacks, employees should be hyper-aware of insider threats and the common ways it can present itself in your particular industry. Many insider threats tend to be unintentional, so reviewing the most frequent avenues can heavily decrease these occurrences. 

Modernize your corporate security protocols and initiatives  

Corporate security is an ever-growing area that’ll need your constant attention in order to stay up-to-date. These rules and guidelines will get you acclimated on how to most effectively respond to the most common threats, and how these threats typically present themselves. 

To get a headstart on modernizing your corporate security protocols and initiatives, schedule a demo with Flock Safety to see how our cameras can help secure your perimeters and empower your security teams.

And to learn more strategies on how to best protect your company’s assets and employees, download our guide 7 Strategies to Better Protect Your Assets and Employees   

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