What Is A Physical Security Plan?

There are some common sense things to keep in mind whether or not a facility already has a physical security plan in place.

Managers of single or multiple buildings can benefit from a commonsense approach to physical security in all phases of the project.

The "purpose" of each component of the system must be determined first.

This appears to be straight-forward. When implementing any type of physical security measure, whether it be surveillance cameras, keypads, or even force, the team must first determine the system's overarching goal.

Once the big picture is clear, a more in-depth analysis can determine which parts of the system are involved, helping to guarantee that each piece of hardware deployed serves a clear function.

A machine is not likely to be useful in the grand scheme of things if its intended purpose is not clear.

Operators, who will have direct daily contact with the system, must also be taken into account.

Today, the security industry offers a wide variety of highly effective technologies; the trick is matching those technologies with an organization's specific requirements.

Even if a piece of technology is the "latest and greatest," that doesn't mean it will work for your needs. It is important for facility decision-makers to do their homework and thoroughly investigate available technologies before making any purchases.

Systems that are too difficult to use will eventually be abandoned by their operators. There are facets of these systems' functionality that must be uncovered: Are they part of your organisation or are they a contracted service?

For what percentage of each day does a system receive attention? What method(s) are used, and when/who makes up reports? These are merely a few examples of the sorts of things you might wonder.

Next, think about who has a vested interest in the outcome. Stakeholders include, at the very least, anyone who might have any kind of interaction with a physical security programme.

Participants in a physical security programme may include: owners, architects, engineers, security consultants, system operators, guard personnel, construction managers, and other tradespeople (e.g., electrical and HVAC contractors).

Whether it's a government office, a school or hospital campus, a shopping mall or a government building, a physical security programme affects nearly every facet of an organisation.

Some other factors should be considered after the needs to be addressed with the security programme have been evaluated. To accomplish this, you must have thorough familiarity with the inner workings of the company.

When considering the site's future, it's important to know if it will be enlarged or remodelled anytime soon. Will there be future preparation for a secondary location? Is it the only building of its kind nearby, or does it form part of a larger complex (like a hospital or school campus)?

In many cases, the products and systems already in place at other facilities are used to determine the physical security plan and the programmes to implement it.

Concerns have been raised about whether or not the methods being used to integrate the new systems into the preexisting infrastructure and software are adequate. Furthermore, are there any special requirements for the planned facility?

Protecting Property

A company's property consists of all of its tangible assets. Depending on the nature of your business, your property may be important in a variety of ways.

You Sell It

In the business world, having stock that is both manufactured and retail ready is essential. Your company's profits could be jeopardised if this stock were lost or stolen.

Products may not be complete, but raw materials are still important and can't be replaced if they get damaged. There are wholesalers sitting in warehouses full of inventory, and there are Etsy vendors sitting on piles of raw materials like yarn, wood, fabric, and metal.

• Goods in stock
• Products ready for distribution to shops and consumers
• All the metal, ink, paper, fabric, etc. that goes into making your product.

You Rely On It To Do Your Work.

Organizations of all sizes have access to the tools and resources they require to function. Consider the myriad of everyday physical items found in the average office:

• Supplies for sending mail, such as boxes, envelopes, stamps, and postal weights Pencils, pens, staplers, Post-It notes, and paper
• Devices such as scanners, computers, and mobile phones
• Printer ink and other materials

It Keeps You Comfortable.

The physical items that contribute to your well-being and security are also considered personal property.

• The structure, which has a roof, walls, and windows to protect its occupants from the weather and provide illumination.
• Climate control, ventilation, air conditioning, and plumbing
• Office furniture such as desks, chairs, and filing cabinets are provided.
• Rooms for taking breaks and using the restroom, possibly equipped with refrigerators, microwaves, and other appliances.
• Garages and parking lots that are conveniently located near the place of employment.

Picture your office now without any of these aids. The hassle of filing an insurance claim (assuming you have insurance) and reordering/recreating your list (possibly at a loss) is compounded if your stock is completely wiped out.

Perhaps you've arrived at work only to discover that the printers and copiers are out of commision. Another possibility is that your computer is broken. Companies lose an average of $1.5 million per year due to computer downtime. It's time wasted as you wait for it to be fixed. You would be in quite a pickle if something happened to your furniture or electronics. Imagine someone pulled a practical joke by taking all the paper products and office supplies. It would be extremely frustrating to lose the ability to earn an income as well as the time and resources required to replace everything.

There will be costs associated with fixing the building's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system if someone sabotages it, causing the interior to become unbearably hot.

Even if the building you're in isn't yours and the equipment you use every day wasn't purchased by you, you'd still want it safeguarded because it's essential to your operations. If your workers are uneasy or impeded in their work, you will see a drop in output.

Protecting People

The people who work for you are your greatest resource. Without them, production would halt completely. Because of their unique set of experiences and insights, they are not always replaceable. It goes without saying, but we'll say it anyway: they're human beings. They're people, after all. It's crucial that they stay safe at all costs.

There is a higher risk of workplace violence for some groups of employees. Among them are people like

• Solo effort
• Put in dark mornings or late evenings at work.
• Work with currency, either by exchanging it with customers (in a bank or a store) or by transporting it to a financial institution for deposit.
• Take jobs in potentially dangerous industries like healthcare and social work.

Although it is the most common first thought, people's concerns about workplace security extend beyond acts of violence.

To feel safe and secure, one must have both. Some businesses may keep hazardous materials on the premises, which should only be handled by trained personnel. Others may be using dangerous machinery that could cause serious harm to a person.

It's likely that even office workers are exposed to some level of danger from things like cleaning supplies, air conditioning units, and other machinery.

Snow blowers, lawn mowers, and hedge shears could all be stored in onsite tool sheds. Risking injury by attempting to use a piece of machinery they are unfamiliar with is not worth it.

Protecting workers includes preventing theft and vandalism at the workplace. Injury to workers is a real possibility in the event of vandalism or a full-scale theft from the workplace.

Even if nobody is in the office at the time of the disaster, imagine the mess that will be left for the workers to clean up when they return. Injuries to employees may occur due to debris on the floor, overturned furniture, and wet surfaces.

Data And Intellectual Property

Data and intellectual property are often misunderstood because of the common misconception that they cannot be physically accessed or stolen.

The focus on internet and network security is in part due to the fact that these assets can be stolen or destroyed via remote access.

Data can still be stolen in the old fashioned way by physically stealing it, even if that means dumpster diving. This can happen in a variety of ways.

• There is a risk of theft or photographing sensitive documents if they are left lying around on desks or in open file cabinets.
• Flash drives are external hard drives because they are small, discreet, and portable. Thieves right there can easily steal them.
• Employee-owned laptops, tablets, and smartphones may not be as safe as company-issued devices when it comes to storing sensitive company data.
• Devices owned by the company: If not properly encrypted, even company-owned devices could be taken off-site and their data harvested.
• There may be a prototype for the new physical product your company is developing. Any documentation of this confidential material could be used by rivals in the form of leaked or sold photographs.
• It's important to keep an open ear, because information isn't always presented visually. Communication must be included in the definition of authorised data transfer.

Physical Security Planning

The evaluation of the project is recommended by all physical security planning consultants, frameworks, and advisory documents.

There's logic behind this. You can't build a strong defence for your team unless you know the lay of the land.

To begin with, there are a few things to think about:

• What kind of property is this, exactly? Do we need to use blatant deterrents?
• Where exactly is the site? Could there be civil unrest there?
• How much money do we need? What kind of budget should we set?
• What kinds of things are kept there, or assets? How valuable is the property itself?
• Consider the internal stakeholders: who might be present during an attack and why would they be there? There may be a chance of fatalities.
• Who else besides internal staff might be visiting the premises? What sort of permissions are needed, if any?
• Is the owner or operator of the establishment aware of any potential dangers that exist on the premises?
• What kind of controls will be in place for entry and exit? When it comes to operation, who will emerge as the frontrunner?

The specifics of the building may necessitate further analysis.

A Data Center is a good illustration.

Data centre security operators and facility managers need to account for every possible risk in developing the facility's initial physical security strategy in this case.

Unreliable workers who leave the building unlocked on purpose, unauthorised workers who use master keys to gain entry, and angle grinder attacks at night are all potential threats to a business.

If we give equal weight to cyber and physical threats, we can develop new practises to lessen the impact of many of them.

The dishonest workers caused people to start wondering about the thoroughness of the hiring process. Unauthorized entry points to a weakness in access control.

The more remote possibility of an attack with an angle grinder calls for a more robust physical defence, such as an Obexion MD SR4 Shutter.

Vulnerabilities in the project are revealed at this stage, making it essential.

Again, in this data centre scenario, physical security measures are viewed as a precaution against highly trained attackers.

In reality, this is just one part of a much larger security procedure.

How To Protect Your Organisation

There's a wide variety of things that can be done to ensure the safety of everyone on the premises. Although useful, not all of them will apply to every business.

There is often little difference between the methods used to safeguard property and individuals.

• Systems for controlling entry to a building or restricted area that check a user's credentials before allowing entry. Certain areas are restricted to those who possess the proper identification. The doors lock themselves and only allow entry to those with the proper access.
• Sometimes, businesses need to have guards on hand who are able to spot danger and deal with it immediately. In others, such as when firing an employee with a history of anger issues, it may be more prudent to have a security firm on call that can despatch personnel in the event of an anticipated threat.
• Visitors must sign in at the front desk and may be given a badge to wear as identification as part of a visitor management system. This can help stop them from entering restricted areas. As a security measure, it alerts personnel to the arrival of a potentially dangerous visitor.
• Employees and visitors alike may be asked to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to safeguard sensitive information. While it won't stop someone with malicious intent from disclosing company secrets, it may deter careless data sharing and provide a legal avenue for compensation if damages are sustained.
• The most crucial aspect of any security plan is establishing clear rules of conduct and making sure that all employees are aware of them. There will probably be a plethora of instructions to follow in your security handbook. Just a few instances:
• When making bank deposits, employees should always go in pairs or be accompanied by a security guard. This protects both the workers and the company's resources. Employee devices are being screened before being allowed on company networks, and the transfer of company data to employee devices is being prohibited. (There will be less temptation for the employee to steal from the money bag if there is another set of eyes.)
• Visitor registration is mandatory, as is the taking of a photo of each guest, and staff members are strongly encouraged to do so ahead of time.
• We are training our staff on emergency procedures and conducting regular safety drills.
• Alarms and surveillance equipment:
• Just like door locks, security cameras and alarms help ensure that only trustworthy people enter a building. In the event of an incident, they also alert authorities and emergency crews immediately. In the event of an emergency, like a fire or robbery, the appropriate personnel can arrive on the scene quickly to put a stop to the situation. Cameras create a record that can be used for investigation and prosecution, even if a crime is only discovered after the fact.

What Should Be In A Successful Plan?

Planning for physical safety that works:

• takes into account the fact that there will always be more dangers where there are large amounts of people or valuable resources gathered together
• systems of controls and barriers to help your organisation deter, detect, delay, and respond to any threat, external or internal, in a manner that takes into
• account the unique requirements of each of your company's locations
• security precautions for working away from the office, as well as the risks associated with using shared facilities, are discussed.

Conclusion

Building managers, whether they oversee a single structure or an entire portfolio, can benefit from taking a commonsense approach to physical security. One must first determine the "function" of each part of the system. Don't forget to think about who has a stake in the outcome and how invested they are in it. Everything that can be physically held is considered part of a company's property. There are a variety of ways in which your property could be crucial to your company's success.

Think about the commonplace objects you might encounter in a workplace. Materials for use with computers, printers, and the postal service. Computer failure costs businesses an average of $1.5 million annually. If anything were to happen to your furniture or electronics, you would be in quite a bind. Reduced productivity is a sure sign that your employees are unhappy.

Cleaning chemicals, air conditioners, and other office equipment all pose risks to employees. It is not worth the potential for harm to try to operate machinery with which they are unfamiliar. Because they cannot be seen, touched, or grabbed, data and intellectual property are often misunderstood. When planning the initial implementation of physical security for a data centre, operators and facility managers must take into account all potential threats. Possible dangers include nighttime attacks using angle grinders and angle grinders, as well as unreliable employees who leave the building unlocked on purpose.

The point of installing a security system is to allow only vetted individuals access to a protected area. Employee education on the company's network and data security policies is the single most important factor in any security plan's success. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) could be required of both employees and guests.

Content Summary

• There are some common sense things to keep in mind whether or not a facility already has a physical security plan in place.
• The "purpose" of each component of the system must be determined first.
• Next, think about who has a vested interest in the outcome.
• When considering the site's future, it's important to know if it will be enlarged or remodelled anytime soon.
• Depending on the nature of your business, your property may be important in a variety of ways.
• The physical items that contribute to your well-being and security are also considered personal property.
• Picture your office now without any of these aids.
• You would be in quite a pickle if something happened to your furniture or electronics.
• The people who work for you are your greatest resource.
• Take jobs in potentially dangerous industries like healthcare and social work.
• Protecting workers includes preventing theft and vandalism at the workplace.
• Data and intellectual property are often misunderstood because of the common misconception that they cannot be physically accessed or stolen.
• Data centre security operators and facility managers need to account for every possible risk in developing the facility's initial physical security strategy in this case.
• Systems for controlling entry to a building or restricted area that check a user's credentials before allowing entry.
• The most crucial aspect of any security plan is establishing clear rules of conduct and making sure that all employees are aware of them.
• There will probably be a plethora of instructions to follow in your security handbook.
• Alarms and surveillance equipment: Just like door locks, security cameras and alarms help ensure that only trustworthy people enter a building.