Potential Risks of Not Adequately Addressing Security
Poor security practices can lead to disastrous consequences for your business security, your customers and your employees. Your commercial property security is only one part of a good security plan. With more and time spent online, securing digital transactions has become increasingly crucial even for smaller businesses. The best way to address security and safety issues is by paying attention to the items below and by working with a trustworthy security partner. This will help you avoid potential problems that could affect your business, clients, and stakeholders. Emergency preparedness and crime prevention can only enhance your daily operations and add to your property security.
Physical Assault
Some areas are prone to criminal activity like poorly lit stairwells, storage rooms, and remote parking lots that can be ignored with warehouse security. Working with a competent security manager and attorneys can help you decrease risks by identifying these high-risk areas in your business security assessments.
Inventory Theft
Unmonitored entry points and items, a lack of security cameras and a lack of inventory management controls can all potentially cost you a lot of money. This is especially the case when someone steals your possessions without anyone noticing until it’s too late. If you fail to have proper commercial security in your workplace, especially when it comes to monitoring guests or strangers on your property, you are at the risk of being the next victim of a large robbery. Shoplifting is a major concern that can be solved using products, such as ceiling mirrors and security cameras, to make your store visible to your staff.
Corporate Espionage
Identify what information you do not want your competitors to have and either block them from accessing it or consider taking steps to secure it so they can’t get access. Examples of this could be trade secrets, customer lists, recipes, personnel files & other data that help you perform better than other companies so they can’t take advantage of it themselves. Keep a list of people/companies who have access to this information and categorize them as those who do or don’t need unrestricted access. Act accordingly, for instance, by providing restricted access to your trade secrets. This adds another important layer to your business security.
Legal Liability
If customers, clients, vendors and suppliers feel that you did not take reasonable care with their property or data, or to protect them from harm, they can suffer legal damages. This could lead to your company’s shutdown. Even if your dispute is small, the public relations fallout can be significant. Take a moment to review your relationships with stakeholders and see how you can mitigate any damage that could result from bad publicity. Improve your data security and reduce liability by safeguarding the personal safety of people and companies involved. Having a security partner audit your practices and procedures can help you develop better systems for a better work environment.
Unqualified Security Personnel
When it comes to your commercial property security, there are 3 main options: maintain security yourself; hire a third party; or delegate the responsibility. Outsourced security and in-house security are both common choices.
While in-house security is a popular option, it can be a challenge to directly communicate matters of concern or quality assurance if you have unqualified security guards or security managers. To mitigate the risks that come with delegating security to individual tenants, it pays to get an outsourced security company to take care of it. They’ll keep you safe from intruders and ensure the safety of your whole business. Outsourced security teams have the knowledge and expertise so you don’t have to worry about training.
Outsourced security teams must also have a plan in place for when disasters happen. This includes the right process to properly delegate security team members across the site for preventing and tackling any issues that may arise. Tenant safety should be a priority for property security, so it’s wise to have an emergency mass notification system installed. The system can work with reports from tenants about hazards.
Cyberattacks
Cyber risks are a significant problem in commercial property security as it becomes digitized, with sensitive information online. Commercial properties usually have a lot of information. They also often work with third-party vendors or outsource some of their data management to a cloud provider, so there are a lot of ways in.
Privacy is critical for customers to have successful and positive digital experiences with their business. To address these cybersecurity threats, properties should assess them & take measures to better defend themselves, ensure that they get consent before gathering data and that it is kept safe while in their possession. They would also do well to train their team members on these issues so they are aware of what’s at stake. You should enable your employees to report suspected cybersecurity breaches, such as phishing attacks.
Hackers are constantly coming up with new ways to steal passwords, hack files and misappropriate sensitive data. The best way to protect against this is by investing in good anti-virus software or a network firewall. As an experienced security partner, we can help you implement complicated security measures and make all of your IT needs a breeze.
Property Damage and Vandalism
The risk of property damages is the most direct threat faced by commercial property security. These incidents most often take place due to environmental events, climate change, vandalism on vacant properties, and facility failures. Commercial security teams must establish ongoing communication with property owners to resolve any issues. Establishing the proper relations will help with preventing property damage and its effects. Security & tenants can both make reports on property damage which helps prevent escalations and allows managers to address issues before they become serious. This will help protect properties from further damage and make them more resilient to threats.
Terrorism
Commercial properties can also be a target of terrorism such as active shooter incidents, explosive device detonations, biological or chemical attacks, and forced entry attacks. Maintaining terrorism coverage is critical for property security.
Places with large populations, such as busy shops and offices, are quite at risk of terrorist activity. It’s necessary to stay in contact with your employees about safety measures and delegate security tasks effectively to avoid any attacks. It’s crucial to have evacuation protocols in place so you can operate safely in emergencies.
Why You Need a Security Partner
If you don’t take a security risk analysis and if something bad were to happen, the costs can be devastating. Security services can be tailored to your exact needs so you have a comprehensible plan for your commercial security. Risk analysis is a process in which a security professional analyzes the network, applications and other assets to identify and resolve potential vulnerabilities. It can be preventive, by identifying weaknesses before they are exploited, or therapeutic by finding problems that could have been exploited. Business security isn’t something that should be taken for granted.
About OPS
OPS Security Group has over 80 years of combined experience protecting executives, businesses, residents, guests and government officials throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C. and New Jersey. As a regional security alternative with a service-first approach, we offer a level of customer service that international providers are too big to deliver. If you’d like to learn more, you can contact us at https://opssecuritygroup.com/contact/