The role of the security professional has changed considerably over the past decade, with more focus on both mitigating threats and attacks as well as on the business needs of the organization. An added wrinkle to this expanded role is the threat from inside the organization from rogue/former employees, unscrupulous contractors who have authorized access and even unintentional security breaches by well-meaning or careless staff. These threats from within are often the most costly and dangerous.

According to Cisco, 39 percent of IT professionals report encountering an employee accessing unauthorized areas of a company network or facility. These and other disturbing statistics regarding physical and logical security are having an impact on how organizations are protecting valuable data.

Key control and management systems have proven to be an invaluable component in a comprehensive physical security operation. Following are a few fast facts that help show how.

High security, high-risk events such as this summer’s political conventions in the US require special planning that involves risk assessment, crowd management, staffing, communication, emergency response procedures and so on. To maintain the highest levels of on-site security, among other measures, guard services are equipped with mobile technology for faster evaluations and response; K-9 units patrol the grounds sniffing for bombs; and integrated security and surveillance operations are controlled from a centralized platform for better situational awareness.

The most recent run of physical security industry trade shows, both domestic and international, certainly impressed with the overwhelming number of advanced technology solutions that were displayed. One of the most interesting and exciting developments though is the expansion of product/technology training from classroom or web-based learning to include learning experiences through features that are embedded in the product. Studies indicate this type of learning can improve retention and help ensure product satisfaction.