Insider threats

Integration is preferable to separate layers
Identifying the risks presented by insider threats (notably disaffected employees) is one of the biggest responsibilities of physical security professionals. Best practice has now developed beyond a simple succession of linear protections to integrated overview measures that provide defence in depth.

Development of physical security equipment has seen many components become IP-based devices. This encourages enterprise-wide distribution of data and mitigates against single points of failure. But people and procedures remain paramount; they can alert on atypical behaviour that may indicate internal fraud and industrial sabotage by people who already understand the property and processes.

Even in an atmosphere of data-sharing for the overall good of an enterprise, access control should have tight granularity, and personnel should observe atypical staff movement and audit trails with suspicion at all times. Privileges should be on a ‘need to be there’ and ‘need to know’ basis.

The ease with which even high-grade proximity devices can be cloned has prompted increasing use of fingerprint and retina-activated access control but false economies, even at mission-critical establishments, continues to pose theats.

Changing threat horizons
Managing disciplines such as video surveillance, access control, biometric verification and perimeter protection in concert rather than isolation constitutes defence in depth. Innovative installers and designers such as SCS think beyond traditional functional boundaries to create robust solutions that develop as the nature of threats evolve.