SSR Personnel and Executive Profiles the leading recruiters for the security practitioner and engineering sectors, asked several senior practitioners in corporate security how they foresee the future world of enterprise risk and how that might be changed by technology and other factors.
Firstly MD Peter French commented “the future of security will be dominated by the need to have physical security capabilities both integrated with, and protected by, cyber/information security capabilities, not only to ensure the security of any component that touches a corporate network (and some that don’t), but also to capitalise on the power of the networked world that facilitates automation, frictionless business activity, demonstrating compliance to policy and regulations, and driving efficiency”.
“In parallel with the business desire for secure and efficient security environments, there will be further innovation in delivery methodologies, particularly though biometric technologies and the adoption of cloud computing (including the challenges that go with this). While increasingly accepting facial recognition (and other biometric technologies), national restrictions on identity related data transfer will however create barriers to further innovation “.
We asked Werner Cooreman who is the Group Security Director Solvay, based Belgium
“Technology evolution over the past decade has brought significant change to business, but also to the security risks businesses encounter. Expansion of Cloud technologies, in combination with Artificial Intelligence (unleashed on all that cloud data) and creation of the Internet of Things (once 5G is fully deployed), will multiply the vulnerabilities. And security threats are already taking big advantage of the expanded attack surface of companies as a result…
Taking a holistic enterprise security risk management approach has become the only way to stand a chance of increasing a company’s security resilience. Focusing on mitigation of priority security risks (be them cyber, physical or other in nature), whilst enhancing the capacity to rebound from inevitable incidents, will be essential. And so the successful security professional will be he/she that is able to drive a true security culture in which every employee plays a vital part in the security program “.
We asked Sir Rob Wainwright former Executive Director Europol, a Partner at Deloitte NW Europe
“In rapidly changing markets, innovation-driven growth is a key factor in business success, and reputation is essential in maintaining it. Effective cyber risk management gives companies the confidence to take full advantage of technological opportunities, while evolving securely. It is important that organisations consider partnering in a world of change and increasing sophistication, hence my being part of Deloitte Cyber Strategy who offer a managed services approach to drive progress in a dynamic, digital world. It is important to have an agile approach to cyber threats whilst understanding that it is the future of commerce”.
Michael Barley Master Worshipful Company of Security Professionals 2019-2020
“The security practitioners approach internally, now and going forward, needs to be as a business partner rather than a provider of services. Greater integration in the day to day business is key. Security should be embedded in the business so it works to take the risks out in order to help protect the bottom line.
Greater integration of intelligence from open and closed sources is vital so that a ‘connected intelligence’ network is established. This is fundamental to helping protect the brand and reputation of the business. Identifying where the next threats come from; is it in the growth of economies from the Far East? By 2050 China and India’s economies will be bigger than all the G7 countries. The shift of global power away from the Atlantic to the Pacific? How much of a security issue is climate change now compared with ten years ago? Countries and companies that can adapt will survive, those that can’t will suffer”.
Eduardo Jany – Bloomberg Inc- Global Protective Services
“The security field is one that is constantly evolving at a rapid pace. Whether you are seeking to engage in physical security, investigations, cyber security or protective services; each of these areas relies heavily on technology. Today’s security practitioners must have a solid understanding of their organization’s needs, their environment and an ability to look at things holistically, to determine what is available, what can be most reasonable and most practical.
AI and automation combined with the IoT can mean improved efficiency and savings. The future of security operations, however, will not be one where machines or robots will be in total control. Machines will never deliver empathy or be capable of making decisions with flexibility based on the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law. Security professionals; real persons, capable of exceptional communications will be in high demand. While many organizations favour prior service military or law enforcement members for their internal security roles there is something of an emerging market for bright individuals who are adaptable, culturally attuned, forward thinking and technically adept, especially if they embrace diversity, possess foreign language skills and demonstrate respect, integrity, compassion and ethics”.
Niall MacGinnis Chief Security Officer at Sky Broadcasting
“The future of security can be summed up in one word: technology. Technology will be the biggest asset to securing businesses and organisations and also pose the biggest threats. The CSO of today, and certainly of the future, needs to be able to understand technologies as they develop and keep and open and flexible mind set on how they are used.
They don’t need to be coding experts or have PhDs in robotics but they do need to grasp the key opportunities and the key risks of emerging technologies both hardware and software based, covering all aspects of security from remotely monitoring sites at virtual control room to understanding how artificial intelligence can enrich the picture we see and help to identify the real nuggets in a mass of data.
At the same time CSOs must have a firm grasp on the risks that technologies pose by people wanting to cause damage to the business. It is almost impossible to isolate businesses and systems from the outside world and the key skill that will be in demand is the judgement to focus on issues that really matter and calmly navigate executives through inevitable incidents and crises without drama”.
In summary the world and pace of innovation in the technical space include the speed with which security manufacturers upgrade/change their systems, creating cost and integration challenges for business.
About the Writer Peter French MBE Member of the British Empire 2010 , ASIS Certified Protection Professional and Fellow of The Security Institute: Principal Founding Member, former Trustee and Past Master of The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals; Volunteer Chair of the European Advisory Council for ASIS International in Europe 2008 – 15; Trustee of The Security Benevolent Fund 2007- 2012; Business – CEO of SSR® Personnel provider of security , Fire engineering , health and safety staffing since 1986 with a number of non-executive appointments.
Contact Details Chief Executive SSR® Personnel +44(0)20 8626 3100
Peter.French@ssr-personnel.com
www.ssr-personnel.com
