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What Role Does Cybersecurity Play In Your Physical Security?

Today, very few organizations depend solely on one kind of security measure to secure their organization and cover their assets. Most companies employ security systems that feature physical security protocols as well as cybersecurity protocols. However, to correctly implement physical security measures and cybersecurity measures side by side, you need to understand the role that cybersecurity plays in physical security for businesses.

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A basic understanding of the relationship between these elements allows your security measures to seamlessly coexist, while also mitigating any dangers that your business security might face along the way.

Let’s explore the intricate and essential role that cybersecurity plays in a businesses’ physical security:

  1. Cybersecurity Helps Build a Physical Security Framework

Cybersecurity helps modern businesses and commercial spaces build a framework for any physical security measures that they decide to implement. In many ways, the type of cybersecurity measures that a company aspires to implement will dictate which kind of physical security barriers and deterrents should be utilized. Cybersecurity, in and of itself, is usually dictated by the type of services, amenities, and security needs that commercial space requires.

For instance, a company that thrives on the use of IoT operated devices may have a different cybersecurity framework than that of a company who uses a handful of stand-alone surveillance systems. Companies will have to take into account the number of employees and clients they have, and whether or not each individual will be given the same level of access to both physical and cyber facets of the company.

Regardless of the scope of cybersecurity solutions a company has in place, you will have to build a physical security system that is capable of rounding it out and dealing with any vulnerabilities that crop up. This will include the addition of monitoring solutions like surveillance cameras, physical access points that deter access, etc.

Cybersecurity systems have their limitations, which is why physical security should still exist to pick up the slack and further fortify business security. Once a company has successfully identified their security needs, and flaws, they can successfully begin to build a physical security framework that works well in conjunction with their cybersecurity measures.

  1. Cybersecurity Allows for Streamlined Alerts and Incident Response

Most people would be quick to overlook the role that cybersecurity plays in physical security. In many ways, cybersecurity measures help elicit an appropriate physical security response to any threats that might be detected. Although this action might sound simple and straightforward, it leads to expedient incident response. In a commercial setting, responding to a threat quickly can be the difference between jeopardizing your business and continuing to provide your clients with stellar service.

Streamlined alerts and effective incident response are only obtainable once your physical security measures and your cybersecurity measures are fully in sync. Most companies make use of physical security measures that range from access control systems to high-security door locks and surveillance systems.

The great thing about these kinds of physical security measures is that they can be integrated to work with one another to increase the scope of security that each individual security solution provides. This even applies to small businesses who might prefer to use keypad door locks, as a more cost-effective option than access control systems or commercial grade locks.

Businesses can also take advantage of incident response templates that serve to bridge the gap between physical security and cybersecurity. Coupling a robust incident response plan with active physical security solutions that are already in place will make it rather difficult for a company’s security to be thwarted.

  1. Cybersecurity Helps Mitigate Physical Risk

In addition to the roles listed above, cybersecurity also helps mitigate the risks that are involved with implementing some physical security measures. As mentioned earlier, cybersecurity has its own limitations, but so does physical security, especially physical security that is employed in the wake of the IoT.

One of the top cybersecurity predictions of 2018 is that the IoT will continue to expand, and the current state of modern physical security only bolsters this notion. Companies that implement a host of security measures, such as the use of smart locks, RFID controlled access points, surveillance cameras, etc. might be leaving themselves more open than protected.

These devices are targets that cybercriminals and hackers love to exploit, and without the presence of a detailed cybersecurity policy, your physical measures will crumble from the inside out.

DDoS attacks can be used to target commercial smart locks, employee smartphones, and other interconnected devices. These devices can be used by criminals to gain further access to your company because it gives them an easy way to circumvent your physical security.

If a company is unsure about how to identify the flaws in their security plans, they can always reach out to organizations that specialize in vulnerability assessment. This will be the first step to mitigating your risk, and it will give companies a clear outline of just how they can blend their cybersecurity protocols with physical security measures. 

Guest blog post written by Ralph Goodman at United Locksmith



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