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Video Analytics in Security Planning

admin_atriade — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 17:49:11 +0000

Video Analytics in Security Planning

Traditional surveillance methods have long been a part of a detailed security plan. With the continued advancement of surveillance technology, camera and server-based analytics and now artificial intelligence (“AI”) can provide a whole new level of protection. In this article, we’ll explore the world of video analytics, its various applications, its benefits, and how AI can enhance a comprehensive security plan.

However, analytics also has a mixed track record in the security industry. It has been over-promised beyond its capabilities or overused in incompatible use cases. This has legitimately led security stakeholders to have a certain mistrust of the technology. A deeper understanding of the technology, best practices, and use cases will help any organization determine the best fit for their needs.

Why Invest in Video Analytics?

Analytics can supplement video monitoring by providing proactive alerts using properly configured thresholds so the security staff can respond effectively.

This area of technology continues to evolve. For example, some of the new AI-assisted technology in video and camera analytics can be set up for parameters to monitor (or watch for) and catch information that human security staff would likely miss. Often in today’s video surveillance platforms, a security officer or officers have more cameras than an individual can actively monitor, leaving some areas of interest vulnerable.

When used properly, camera analytics are a powerful tool for businesses and organizations of all types and sizes. Some of the key benefits include:

Enhancing security through proactive measures. When security is primarily reactive, it will always be limited. Video analytics expands your proactive capability, saving time and money and reducing overall threats.
Reducing manual monitoring. People are an essential security asset. Using them for repetitive manual monitoring limits their ability to focus on response, implementation, and improvement. Instead, use technology to do the monitoring. This will improve the effectiveness of incident response and management.
Providing actionable data for continuous security improvement. Increased data can be utilized for ongoing improvement in every area of security. When creating your security plan, you should establish who is responsible for what tasks and how reporting will be managed and held accountable.

As a measure to provide a more intelligent and efficient approach to your security posture, using analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning as surveillance tools enables us to analyze real-time video footage to track, alert, and respond to specific events, persons or objects within a camera’s field-of-view. Additionally, and in tandem, these tools can be used to forensically examine historical or archived data to identify, track, and support or validate a response action, providing a more intelligent and efficient approach to security.

Best Practices for Planning Video Analytics

Video analytics can be used in a wide variety of applications. To make a good choice, think about what exactly you want to watch over. Do you need it for indoor or outdoor places? Are you looking for clear images to recognize people, or is a basic system okay? Also, consider the lighting where you’ll use it. Some cameras work better in low light. Are you looking for analytics on the edge (embedded in the camera) or at the server level? The budget is relevant as well. Think about how much you can spend.

Some common areas covered include:

Privacy and Protection
Proactive Intelligence
Forensic Analysis

All your camera analytics tools should be integrated into your overall security plan. Leverage internal and external resources who can help ensure you are not missing opportunities and are investing in the correct equipment for your needs based on their extensive past implementation experience. Keep in mind these best practices:

Understand the technology

Security personnel must be trained to understand how camera analytics work and how they fit into the overall security plan. They should know the analytics types, capabilities, and limitations.

Implement proper utilization and response

Training ensures that security personnel know how to use camera analytics effectively. They should be able to configure the system, set up alerts, and interpret the data provided by the analytics. This knowledge enables them to monitor and respond to security threats proactively. It is vital to develop the skills and personnel to assess the situation accurately and take appropriate actions, such as contacting law enforcement or issuing warnings.

Integrate with other systems

In an integrated security plan, the video surveillance platforms often work with other security systems, such as access control or alarm systems. Security personnel must understand how these systems interact and how to coordinate their responses effectively.

Consider privacy and ethics

Training should also cover the privacy and ethical considerations of analytics, business intelligence, and AI. Security personnel must know how to balance security with individuals’ privacy rights and adhere to ethical guidelines when using this technology.

Continuously improve

Every system needs ongoing review, evaluation, and improvement. Analytics is no exception. As video analytics and security technology evolve, the plan must stay updated with new opportunities and best practices. These steps should be built into the plan from the beginning.

Available Technology and Use Cases

Unfortunately, some people buy into using these advanced systems, and it doesn’t work to accomplish their goals. There are some common reasons that this happens – and if you know that ahead of time, you can avoid these pitfalls to get the most value from your systems. Here are some practical examples of the types of technology available and their uses.

Enhancing real-time monitoring
Automating threat detection and response
Reducing the workload on security personnel
Facial recognition
License plate recognition
Object left behind/detected
Heat mapping

Case Study: University Campus Security

Video analytic technology allows continuous monitoring of an area and promptly can create alerts when it detects anomalies based on various parameters we’ve configured for each video stream. This can be effective for perimeter protection, wrong-way traffic (people or vehicles), and monitoring access to critical or highly secure rooms or doors.

One of the most appreciated advantages of camera analytics is its potential to reduce the data mining and analysis workload on security personnel. By automating routine tasks like continuous monitoring, camera analytics allows security personnel to focus on more critical tasks.

A practical, real-life scenario that utilizes both elements is a higher education university with large grounds to cover. One institution used camera edge analytics on terraces to identify people getting too close to the edge of the terrace. They also used a smart application with an audio warning message, guiding individuals to step back from the edge and preventing accidents while enhancing safety. The same technology was used in stairwells to detect leaning over or tripping in their stairwells.

The analytics’ goal was to provide a proactive means of alert and response to the security staff so they did not have to continuously monitor the terraces and stairs in a live control room environment.

Case Study: Utility Protection and Monitoring

One of the potential benefits of analytics is its ability to automate the detection of threats and responses. It detects potential issues, like intruders or unauthorized access, and quickly sends alerts or notifications. This ensures that security personnel and relevant authorities are promptly informed and can take appropriate action.

For example, many utility companies use analytics to monitor the camera streams on their perimeters to alert command center operators when a person climbs or crosses fencing around their substations.

When there are too many camera feeds to actively monitor from the human perspective, detecting this threat and capturing the information is the first step. The data can then be utilized for real-time response and in developing complementary security response plans.

Case Study: Airport Security

Many people are familiar with facial recognition as a security measure for identifying and verifying individuals. This does not only have to happen on an individual level. It can also identify the number of people in a room at any given time. This is more accurate and specific than simple heat mapping or perimeter tracking. Both aspects are useful tools for airport security, especially in highly sensitive areas.

Camera analytics can also be used for reading and recognizing vehicle license plates. This can be used both in security review, and before allowing vehicular access to secure areas. One way this is used is in security review, but it can also be used to verify vehicular access before allowing entrance.

Finally, airports can utilize object left-behind technology to vigilantly watch for unattended items or potential theft, enhancing security in public and restricted spaces. Like many other applications, it can be used strictly for monitoring or be connected to alarms or notifications.

Determining which technologies make sense for your specific use case depends on your goals, company structure, and existing systems. Utilizing specialists to help with your security planning process who are up-to-date on all the existing options will help you maximize your success.

These are only a few examples of how these systems can be integrated, and the possibilities will continue to grow.

Where Camera Analytics is Heading in an AI-Enabled Future

The future of analytics in security planning holds exciting possibilities. Beyond traditional security, there are many potential applications. For example, in healthcare facilities, camera analytics could ensure patient safety and reduce falls. Smart cities will be able to utilize camera analytics to enhance traffic flow, detect environmental concerns, and improve overall planning. These innovations will bolster security and improve the quality of life in various settings.

Integrating AI and camera analytics will play an increasing role in security planning. As AI algorithms become more sophisticated, they will provide predictive analytics that anticipate security threats. This proactive approach will enable security personnel to prevent incidents before they occur. AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data will yield actionable insights for continuous security improvement. This convergence of AI and camera analytics will enhance real-time monitoring and forensic analysis, offering a more comprehensive and efficient security solution.

Conclusion

Video analytics are effective tools when used correctly. Businesses should consider the opportunities compared to their business goals and resources as compared to their specific risks. Evaluate carefully which pain points each element of your plan addresses so that you can activate the best options in your case.

As with all other technology adoptions, the best practice is always to test and validate new concepts and technologies in your own environment for specific use cases and risks that you are trying to mitigate. Analytics, AI, or machine learning can be very effective tools to reduce your organization’s safety, financial, and administrative risks.

About Atriade

Atriade is a physical security consulting and management firm that offers a range of customized security solutions to a diverse commercial and industrial market portfolio. Our services include risk assessments, security system designs, professional and managed services, and project management.

We’ve provided security solutions on over 500+ projects in 60+ industries in 30+ countries. If you are seeking assistance with your comprehensive security plans, including camera analytics integration, to distinguish yourself in the competitive market, we’re here to support you. Our management team brings a wealth of experience in all facets of Physical and Electronic Security, ready to be deployed for the unique needs of your business and team.

Visit us online at Atriade.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn

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Proactive Steps to Safeguard Your Digital Infrastructure

admin_atriade — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 17:45:43 +0000

Proactive Steps to Safeguard Your Digital Infrastructure

Administration and Device Mitigation

This article focuses on administration and device remediation, highlighting security’s role in digital transformation.

The Need to Be Up to Date

It’s no secret that technology evolves at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, hackers do, too. What this means for organizations intent on protecting their facilities, people and data is that they must regularly update to the latest versions of whatever software they are using to keep their network-attached devices from intrusion.

Mitigation is defining proactive steps to defending network-attached physical security applications and platforms from malicious attacks. Devices may include:

Surveillance cameras
Access control panels
Application and database servers
Application workstations
Other network-attached devices that support physical security

The Process

It is important to engage all affected manufacturers that have products deployed to obtain their best practices as part of the overall effort. Many vulnerabilities may be the result of inconsistent operating system (OS) patching, expired SSL certificates, and dated firmware; most security networks do not have direct access to the internet, so an operational gap may exist that leaves devices and applications without current software and firmware.

How can organizations make sure that does not happen them? It is critical for IT to come up with an updating process, perhaps deploying an update server solely for this issue. When best practices are used, meaning the most current software versions are running, this provides the greatest level of protection against hacks—and if an intrusion does occur, the liability shifts to the software/firmware manufacturer.

The Nuts and Bolts

To ensure there are no vulnerabilities in an organization’s ability to protect itself from cyberattacks, project teams must address each item of the following issues:

Implementation of new SSL certificates
OS patched based on manufacturer recommendations
Migrate OS to a currently supported product
Firmware upgraded to a currently supported version
Default passwords updated and removed
Simplified Network Management Protocol (SNMP) disabled
Device flagged as the end of life (EOL)

Once the correct firmware and software are updated, new processes should be developed to ensure existing and new hardware/software follow a consistent patching schedule. The only way to have a fighting chance against hackers is to try to stay one step ahead of them; once they determine an organization’s security system is difficult to penetrate, they will likely move on to find one that is easier to pierce.

The Takeaways

To effectively integrate security into digital transformation, organizations need a comprehensive approach that transcends mere technological upgrades and encompasses organizational change. Key strategies include:

Digital transformation is more than a technological change, but is an organizational one.
Physical security and IT must work together, rather than be siloed, to address threats as a team.
A robust IoT strategy should include device support, lifecycle management, work order/ticketing, and centralized reporting to streamline security infrastructure maintenance.
Current IT tools must be leveraged to help organizations achieve better compliance.
All security software and firmware must be up to date since it will be more challenging for hackers to penetrate current versions.

Delve into the strategic management of IoT in the realm of digital transformation, exploring how it enhances overall safety and security also Uncover the integral role of physical security in the digital transformation landscape and process of Departmental Collaboration,

About Atriade

Atriade Atriade has worked on over 500+ projects, in 60+ industries, in 30+ countries. If you are ready to get expert assistance in creating your governance plan that will set you apart from your competitors, we are here to help. Our management team carries a lifetime of experience in all areas of Physical Security and Electronic Security that we are ready to put to work for your unique business and team.

Our expert team at Atriade has helped countless organizations address security’s role in digital transformation at their facilities. Contact Us if you would like to discuss your situation.

Visit us online at Atriade.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk

The post Proactive Steps to Safeguard Your Digital Infrastructure appeared first on Atriade.

Strategic IoT Management for Enhanced Safety

admin_atriade — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:44:28 +0000

Digital Transformation and Security: Strategic IoT Management for Enhanced Safety

The Management of the Internet of Things (IoT)

This article focuses on the management of IoT, highlighting security’s role in digital transformation.

An IoT Primer

At the core of a robust IoT strategy is providing the ability to install and manage devices on a large scale, but device management is just one of five functions organizations typically are seeking to achieve. The others are lifecycle management, work orders and ticketing, reporting, and lowering security infrastructure.

Device Management

Determining how to manage the myriad of devices in a security system is a critical decision because when you begin to network things like cameras, your vulnerability increases. You can use middleware to facilitate systemwide communication or make your devices IoT aware.

The device management process includes five important components:

Device Authentication—the act of securely establishing the identity of a device to ensure it can be trusted.
Provisioning—the process when a device is first plugged in and connected to the local network; it “calls home,” and based on the credentials or other information such as model and serial number, it might receive further configuration data .
Configuration and Control Support—the act of delivering attributes such as its name, location, and application-specific settings such as the amount of time between sending position messages and the ability to remotely reset a device to achieve a known-good state, recover from errors, and implement new configuration changes.
Monitoring and Diagnostics—the ability to minimize the impact of any device downtime due to software bugs or other unforeseen operational problems, which includes downloading program logs to troubleshoot and solve issues.
Software Maintenance and Updates—essential to securely update and maintain remote devices, fix application bugs, add simple feature enhancements, or update the main running application software without touching the platform firmware.

Lifecycle Management

Determining the lifecycle of security system components is critical to ensure there is no lag time when they need to be replaced. This includes keeping track of data such as where they were procured when they were deployed, what kind of warranty they have, their repair history, and their replacement cost.

Lifecycle management also focuses on the importance of being aware of design and development challenges that can arise from IoT. For instance, more flexible development methods that enable an efficiently deployed environment on a global scale must consider ease of integration. In addition, security is a paramount concern in IoT development. A robust security strategy must be factored in across the application lifecycle at the design stage.

Testing and debugging, deployment, and decommissioning also need to be taken into consideration under the lifecycle management umbrella. Perhaps the most critical value proposition of an IoT system is the ability to unlock and extract data from devices, aggregate, analyze, and make business decisions based on insights realized.

Work Orders and Ticketing

IoT can be invaluable when dealing with changes to a device state, as having an integrated work order solution and knowledge base with FAQs can result in streamlining the work order generation process. This may facilitate the ability to move tickets between categories, assign tickets to specific staff members, link or split requests based on their subject, and do a mass reply to multiple requests. Integrating alarm response with work order ticketing is rare today, but we consider it to be a solid strategy with next-generation solutions.

Reporting

Integrated reporting in the IoT enterprise is extremely important. When something happens, you need to know why. Plus, having reporting technology that is ubiquitous and accessible anywhere makes it easier to justify expenditures and will help make a case for future spending. The real-time data ingest process should feed right into the same reporting engine.

Lower Security Infrastructure

Embracing the power of IoT has the potential to eliminate expensive infrastructure while enhancing functionality. For instance, access control can be implemented by leveraging cognitive services like facial recognition, biometrics, or other next–generation modalities to eliminate the plastic credential and card reader, and maybe even the presence of guards. In addition, relying on the power of cloud platform services may eliminate a middle application and break the traditional model.

Better Compliance and IT Security Tools

One of the biggest challenges facing organizations today is that most security systems devices are not IoT-compliant. Many of the legacy IT-based protocols like SNMP are not robust enough to support a more contemporary IoT strategy.

Forward-thinking organizations should be asking themselves how they can achieve better compliance by leveraging current IT tools to help with the following concerns:

Log retention, management, and analysis—all in one platform .
Analyzing logs automatically to detect malicious behavior directed at in-scope devices .
Active and passive asset discovery and monitoring .
Network and host IDs .
Flexible reporting and dashboard .
Auditor-ready report templates.
Role-based access control for customized views.
Custom report queries and fast searches .

The Takeaway

What are the first steps towards an IoT strategy for your organization’s security system ecosystem?

Start with an assessment of where you are today and follow that up with a feasibility study. Remember, your ROI has two components—monetary and efficiency. If you’ve uncovered a device vulnerability that requires 10,000 widgets to be updated, imagine the difference between having to do each one individually or having the ability to do a bulk update.

Uncover the integral role of physical security in the digital transformation landscape and process of Departmental Collaboration, also Take proactive measures to secure your digital infrastructure with insights on administration and effective device mitigation.

About Atriade

Our expert team at Atriade has helped countless organizations address security’s role in digital transformation at their facilities. Contact Us if you would like to discuss your situation.

Visit us online at Atriade.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk

The post Strategic IoT Management for Enhanced Safety appeared first on Atriade.

Why Regular Security Assessments Are Essential for Maximizing Safety

admin_atriade — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:01:09 +0000

Why Regular Security Assessments Are Essential for Maximizing Safety

The Value of a Security Assessment

Security assessments are an important line of defense in organizations’ ever-evolving landscape of threats. At their core, a high-quality security assessment allows an organization to be proactive in doing business. This creates a safe work environment for employees, protects the business’s most valuable assets, and helps the organization reach its goals.

Different types of assessments—be it physical, digital, or procedural—will involve different elements, but all security assessments will utilize the same best practices in their development.

Throughout this article, we will explore these essential elements and how they can be used in security planning.

When is a Security Assessment Needed?

Sometimes, a security assessment is triggered by an external or internal incident that exposes gaps in the existing security plan. This incident could happen to the organization itself or within the wider industry.

In other cases, leadership may determine a security assessment is needed because of identified inefficiencies, a need for new technology, or to achieve industry compliance.

Whenever the organizational needs and goals do not align with the current security plans, it is time to assess or reassess.

Preliminary Guidance for Effective Security Assessments

Engaging in the assessment process before you even begin properly is important. What does this look like in practice?

Leadership alignment – does leadership understand the need and is committed to success?
Identifying objectives – are you beginning with the end in mind? Are there clear objectives?
Strong project governance – is there a process in place for effective execution? Have you identified the stakeholders and scope? Who are the decision-makers at each phase?

This framework is important to have in place before even starting the security assessment. If you are working with a professional team, they can help you with this preliminary process.

3-Phases of a Security Assessment

There are three phases of a security assessment; current state discovery, gap analysis, and future state recommendations. Each of these parts is important to creating a final plan. The final security assessment will provide a roadmap for leaders to implement in a strategic and proactive way.

Current State Discovery

When diving into a current state assessment, it’s vital to thoroughly explore the existing environment. The review should include the people, processes, and technology involved at each step. Engage with stakeholders at every level of the organization. Include time for individual conversations to gain diverse perspectives, including those from the day-to-day workers all the way up to leadership.

Collect and document the data meticulously. Whenever you can, evaluate the physical spaces and technology in action—there’s no substitute for observing firsthand the realities of the environment you’re evaluating. Also, review existing documentation and the organization’s history, as they can shed light on the how and why behind the current state, helping guide your assessment toward actionable insights.

Gap Analysis

Begin the gap analysis once your current state analysis is complete. Measure the current state against:

Industry/market standards
Best practices
Existing organizational concerns
End goals

Additionally, evaluate the risks associated with each of the discovered gaps. Are these gaps resulting in higher overhead, added risk, inefficiency, additional cost, or something else?

In some cases, the policies and procedures exist, but there is no governance structure for implementation.

Future State Recommendations

Using the current state and gap assessment, the final phase of the security assessment is creating future state recommendations. These recommendations will work to close the gaps, so the organization can achieve its goals. It should identify the technology, policies and procedures, governance changes, and organizational measures to help the organization reduce its overall risk. It will also include a summary of the current state and gap analysis and a detailed roadmap for implementation. An organization may prioritize according to the highest risk level, easiest to implement, quickest gains, or another metric. When completed, it will show a cost analysis and connect to the long-term strategic vision.

Roles and responsibilities must be identified to connect it to the existing infrastructure and determine where additional support needs to be hired – either through internal employees or outside consultants.

Connecting all of this to the organization’s long-term strategy vision is an important part of a high-quality plan, and understanding the leadership goals and objectives from the beginning is so important.

Conclusion

Security assessments are an important proactive step for every organization. High-quality security assessments empower organizations to be proactive, ensuring a safe working environment, safeguarding business interests, and facilitating the achievement of organizational goals.

Whether physical, digital, or procedural, each type of assessment taps into the same pool of best practices, adapting them to fit specific contexts. By following best practices and the 3-phases process of current state analysis, gap analysis, and future state planning, organizations can be more ready to adjust to a changing future.

About Atriade

Atriade has worked on over 500+ projects in 60+ industries in 30+ countries. If you are looking for support in crafting your full spectrum security plans that will set you apart in a competitive marketplace, we are here to help. Our management team carries a lifetime of experience in all areas of Physical Security and Electronic Security that we are ready to put to work for your unique business and team.

Our client portfolio includes Fortune 50 companies, Ivy League universities, and leading technology firms in Silicon Valley.

Visit us online at Atriade.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk

The post Why Regular Security Assessments Are Essential for Maximizing Safety appeared first on Atriade.

Streamlining Physical Security Projects: The Crucial Role of Documentation

admin_atriade — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 13:06:30 +0000

Streamlining Physical Security Projects: The Crucial Role of Documentation

The complexity of technology projects is requiring businesses in the Security industry to adopt focused initiatives around program and project management. Companies, therefore, need to establish a core set of practices and standards for all types of projects to ensure the sustainability of the expected pace while delivering quality performance.

Documentation is an important part of project management as it fulfills the two most crucial components of a project management system:

Ensuring that project requirements are met
Establishing traceability

The project documentation benefits the project – beyond well-governed workflow development. We have compiled a comprehensive list of documents and the role they play in project management activities, providing essential deliverables.

Essential Project Documents

Project Charter

The project charter officially authorizes the project while also delegating planning, execution, and management to the project manager. The project charter must include:

Project purpose
Project requirements
Project budget
Scope of the work
Key deliverables
Resources
Proposed schedule
Potential risks
Feasibility study

Moreover, the project charter encourages communication, making stakeholder engagement easier – a good project charter template provides a comprehensive summary of the essence of the project.

Work Breakdown Structure

A work breakdown structure (WBS) is the foundation of project planning, and resource management, and aids in the prevention of project scope creep. The WBS organizes the work into manageable chunks, which are usually measured in time.

The WBS ensures that no aspect of the project is ignored during the planning phase. Once the WBS is created, plan the relevant information:

Start with the outcome of the project
Break each milestone down
Estimate timings
Assign task owners
Map your WBS in the desired format

Project Plan

The project management plan integrates the strategic management of the project and all the processes that are related to the venture including cost, timeline, and the scope of the project. This document serves primarily as a reference index as it includes all planning and project materials.

The project management plan must include:

A summary of the project
Budget
Expected milestones
The roles of team members
Tools to be used for management of the project
Scheduled baseline along with work breakdowns

Issue Tracker

The Issue Tracker is a project document that records and tracks all issues.

Project managers can use the issue tracker to track and manage issues, ensuring that they are investigated and well handled. Throughout the project, the project manager will encounter unexpected gaps and inconsistencies that must be addressed so they do not impact the project’s triple constraints or performance.

Risk Tracker

A risk is an unforeseen event that has a positive or negative influence on the project’s triple constraints i.e., scope, time, and cost.

Risk can exist on two levels:

At the level of individual constraints
At the level of the overall project

The Risk Tracker keeps track of both the high-level and low-level risks. Moreover, the tracker is updated with results from quantitative analysis after risks are identified – later response plans are also updated on the same tracker. Furthermore, risk analysis helps in identifying risks that one could face during PM.

Action Item Tracker

An Action Item Tracker facilitates the project team to manage the follow-on activities.

An action item is a work that is completed as a result of a project team meeting where activities, issues, and dependencies are discussed. The action is not necessary to achieve the meeting’s goals; for instance, an issue or activity can have a follow-up activity.

Status Report Tracker

A common project management activity is a “weekly status report.”

A typical Status report includes:

Overall Executive Summary Status
Weekly Highlights and Lowlights
RAG (Red, Amber, Green) assessment
Next Actions

Progress Meeting Minute Template

A well-executed meeting concludes with prompt and perfectly documented Meeting Minutes. Meeting minutes are always generated and disseminated within 24 hours – following a meeting by professionals or project managers. The minutes of a project meeting includes a list of action items as well as a summary of discussed topics during the meeting.

Project Communication Plan

A project communication plan is a framework for your project’s communication operations. The strategy should aid in getting the appropriate information to the right person at the right time in a format that works perfectly for them.

There are a few key steps to follow when preparing a communication plan:

Summarize the objectives – support remote team members and gather input from the project team
Define the target audience – the project team, key stakeholders, and relevant internal departments
Decide the required information – status, work in progress, issues, budget, and deadlines
Measure success and improve – track and analyze your plan at regular intervals

Project Close-Out

Project Close-Out is the process of finalizing all activities for the project.

The Project Manager takes center stage and verifies that all project work is done efficiently, and the project has fulfilled its objectives.

Conclusion

Pivoting to a PMO (Project Management Office) that is business-focused will be an enhanced experience to deliver effective and successful projects. Using the best practices outlined here, organizations of different services as well end users can significantly increase the quality of their project’s overall performance and successful completion.

About Atriade

Atriade is a security consulting firm. We provide security system design services for access control, perimeter protection, video and visitor management, and other physical security technologies. We also provide security master planning, program development, risk assessments, professional services, and project management.

Our client portfolio includes Fortune 50 companies, Ivy League universities, and leading technology firms in Silicon Valley.

Visit us online at Atriade.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk

The post Streamlining Physical Security Projects: The Crucial Role of Documentation appeared first on Atriade.

Physical Key Vulnerabilities in Security Planning

admin_atriade — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:30:59 +0000

Physical Key Vulnerabilities in Security Planning

Security planning affects every area of business management, and building access is no exception.

Transitioning from physical keys to digital keys has many advantages to security that extend beyond the key itself. Likewise, physical keys open up many unique vulnerabilities. Whether you ultimately do or do not incorporate physical keys in your security planning, you should consider each of these vulnerabilities. You can then determine whether to eliminate physical keys or combine them with additional layers of auditable security controls.

While there is a place for physical keys, this should be evaluated against the entire security plan. Some of the best places for physical keys are where ownership costs are lower, in low-vulnerability areas, or when there is little risk if security is breached. Every plan should be risk-based in context.

Physical Key Vulnerabilities

Physical keys have been used for centuries, so why are they often replaced with new technology? This is because physical keys also can create new vulnerabilities in security planning. Here are just a few of the considerations you should include in your planning process.

Insider Threat and Accountability

At any business, the most valuable asset is its employees. This is because of the key role that each individual has in maintaining, growing, and protecting the organization. Physical keys can provide some unique challenges for malicious and accidental actions.

Manual keys, particularly master keys or keys to susceptible spaces, increase the risk of insider threat incidents to a business. Lost, stolen, shared, or misplaced keys are not easily tracked and can be utilized by unauthorized persons to access physical assets and sensitive information. Impacts may include loss of assets and sanctions by regulatory bodies.

If an incident involves a physical key, it is more challenging to investigate and hold an individual accountable, particularly in the case of a duplicated key.

Safety and Chain of Custody

Atriade has conducted several surveys and studies and run focus groups. An overwhelming response from employees has been using a modern access control system, which allows them to use their credentials, which they own, to access the facility. Having a digital, reviewable system, even in smaller retail locations, adds a significant layer to the security of the place. It also decreases the overhead during incident management.

Physical keys can only be easily tracked by creating extensive policies, procedures, and documentation that must be enforced and updated. Keys that leave the business location are not considered ‘controlled.’ The overhead administration of key management can be extensive and lead to inefficient controls and gaps in the long term.

Making Changes – Duplication, Role-based Access, and Re-Keying

When keys are lost, personnel changes happen, or other changes, physical keys provide the greatest challenges to making quick updates.

If a key is taken offsite, it can be duplicated without knowledge of the business. A standard physical key can be easily reproduced with a key mold or impression kit, even if kept onsite. These materials are widely available and easy to use.

Access to a facility should be provided based on the employee’s role and business needs. This is more difficult to manage with physical keys vs. electronic access control systems. With physical keys, changes in roles may require changes in keys issued.

A lost key, particularly a master key, would require changing all locks accessible by that key. This is expensive and an operational challenge for most organizations.

Security Planning Implications for Physical Keys

Increased Overhead Cost

Operational and overhead costs invested in managing physical keys properly can be expensive due to all the additional mitigation elements that must be implemented. Implementation of electronic security controls is much more cost-effective.

This includes not only physical costs but also costs in employee time and planning.

Compliance and Financial Risk

The inability to run adequate security and access audits can open the organization to non-compliance concerns.

The increased overhead cost and compliance vulnerabilities can lead to a higher overall financial risk for the organization. This can have a ripple effect through all areas of the business. This risk impacts the day-to-day administrative functions and the long-term compliance and financial controls.

Safety, Loss, and Theft

One of the most important advantages of digital technology is the ability to create access and control measures that can be audited easily. Using reviewable and documented access control measures significantly increases the level of overall safety and security for employees. This provides them with a safer work experience and creates a healthier workplace culture of safety and security.

A person using a physical key may allow them to access confidential or sensitive information or gain access to network resources and physical assets. This is not only a safety risk but a reputational risk.

Relevant Standards for Security Planning

When making the decision to include or eliminate physical keys from your system, it is important to keep in mind the relevant security standards that apply to your organizational needs. Some of the important compliance standards to keep in mind include:

HIPAA – applies to all electronic health information, both digital and physical
PCI DSS – which includes any business that manages cardholder or payment data
NIST – should be considered for any organization that works with federal government contracts
ISO/IEX 27001 – needs to be considered for international contracts or if you have locations in multiple countries

If your company falls under any of these areas, you should strongly consider expert support in compliance, including a review of your digital and physical key use.

Recommendations

Develop a physical security standard that defines security controls based on location type. This standard should define the use cases for physical security technologies. In creating this standard, you can create manageable and auditable controls.

Technology to Replace Physical Keys

Digital keys allow you to leverage more advanced technologies. In many cases, they may be the best response to the liabilities and limitations of using physical keys.

For example, using physical security technologies such as card readers provides frictionless, auditable, and easily manageable forms of access. Using card readers or other similar technology can streamline your security process and allow for easy changes as needed in the normal course of business operations. You can integrate locations with centrally managed access through a control platform.

Planning around access and succession should all be included in your master planning.

Physical Key Use When Needed

If keys must be issued, create a controlled use environment. You can do this in a variety of ways. For example, limit physical keys to management or employees in trusted positions.

You can also maximize the security of the physical keys by utilizing more complex keys and locking mechanisms.

It is also vital to add supportive technology, such as tools that can track when a physical key is used. Add a sensor to a lock that triggers an alarm and/or video analytics.

Accountability mechanisms, including a sign-in/out process and on-site key storage, are recommended. There are numerous key lockers that can be used standalone or integrated with access control systems to help manage keys.

Physical keys can still be used safely in some cases as long as additional protections are implemented.

Conclusion

In most cases, using digital technology for key access will provide a safer and more secure environment. When physical keys are needed, it is important to include additional safety and security mitigation practices.

About Atriade

Atriade has worked on over 500+ projects in 60+ industries in 30+ countries. If you are looking for support in crafting your full spectrum security plans that will set you apart in a competitive marketplace, we are here to help. Our management team carries a lifetime of experience in all areas of Physical Security and Electronic Security that we are ready to put to work for your unique business and team.

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