Globalization and rapid technological development have brought opportunities for corporate growth and the acquisition of new markets. Alongside these opportunities, threats have also emerged, including serious ones such as acts of terrorism and information security breaches. As such, corporate security plays a crucial role, and it is important to understand the best practices in this area.

Every organization should be prepared for unexpected events that may occur both in the business environment, within the organization, and globally. Moreover, it should be well-versed in and apply the principles of corporate social responsibility, as well as maintain good corporate governance in the workplace. Corporate security helps with this by identifying and implementing necessary measures to mitigate or efficiently manage events that could threaten the company’s security.

The dynamic growth has increased the use of new technologies by companies, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and IoT, leading to invaluable technological benefits, but also exposing companies to significant cyber threats.

Fun fact: From 2010 to 2019, investments in privacy and security companies in the United States increased nearly sixfold, from $1.7 billion to almost $10 billion. This was a result of the increased wave of cyberattacks that affected companies like Yahoo, Facebook, Bangladesh Bank, and Adobe.

Importantly, the threats have become more complex and, as a result, more difficult to manage. This has led companies to feel increased pressure and a greater need to prepare for any possible event. It is further complicated by the fact that threats are usually network-based and asymmetric, with examples including organized crime or acts of terrorism. Additional threats such as political unrest and economic breakdowns also add to the complexity. All of this makes the task faced by Corporate Security challenging, and it can be even harder if the corporation lacks a dedicated security team.

Fortunately, the field of security has not fallen behind and is evolving alongside others. This means that companies now have access to many risk management methods and tools that allow them to predict risks while also managing them in a way that preserves corporate governance and the company’s reputation.

Security is a greater need in the corporate world today than it was 10 years ago. When determining the approach, it’s important to consider the protection of both physical and digital assets, including property, data, and people. There are corporate practices that can strengthen security – it is essential to understand them well and incorporate them into operations to ensure that defensive mechanisms become stronger. To achieve this, it is necessary to fully comprehend these practices, as if applied ineffectively or thoughtlessly, they could generate risks that otherwise wouldn’t have emerged.

There are three best practices in corporate security. We discuss them below.

It’s not so much important to know why an organization needs a corporate security program, but rather to continuously analyze security needs. For example, we can analyze compliance rules and monitoring account controls, incident reporting paths, or ways of reporting irregularities. It is essential to clearly define and standardize objectives across different areas (departments) and continually inform the team about them. With control based on clear indicators, we can identify potential flaws and check if we are recognizing new security needs and still meeting the existing ones.

How to assess a corporate security program:

1. Base it on statistics and verifiable data. A detailed review of the business strategy and security-related information (such as employee, brand, or product protection) may reveal potential weaknesses. For instance, a company reception may have surveillance cameras but lack a hidden alarm button. By using statistics and probability principles, we can determine and prove that this gap exposes employees and clients to four times greater risk than having the alarm button in place.

2. Define new areas of risk (quantitatively). New risk metrics will allow us to consider intangible and direct costs of recovery after an incident. For example, regarding the reception, we can consider the potential damages (risks) caused by the absence of an alarm – vandalism, theft, injury, or stress for employees. Then, we analyze the potential costs (in this case, implementing the alarm button) and determine if the risk is significant enough.

3. Present problems and solutions. To maintain the development of a corporate security program, it is not only important to continuously improve it but also to gain management support for the necessary changes. Current risk data (reports) and ways of mitigating it from a business perspective (recommendations) will help in this regard.

A good practice is to analyze incidents experienced by competitors. Industry reports, local news stations, and digital publications can help with this. Let’s use this data to help protect our security and plan ahead.

Corporate security is not an isolated function, but rather the effective operation of the entire team. Before we build a corporate security plan or improve an existing one, we must understand the key elements of security, such as legal issues, previously identified risks, and the level of integration and collaboration. These four areas are interconnected, forming a strong foundation for the security policy. Their integration will help ensure that every part of the company is protected from unnecessary threats.

Full cooperation is necessary because, without it, even a robust corporate security system will fail. Corporate culture is crucial, as the stronger it is, the more likely it is that every good practice in corporate security will be accepted and integrated. This integration should start at the top; therefore, the first step is to train the management team and leaders on corporate security procedures. Then, we expand the training to the rest of the teams. This will ensure that leaders and managers set an example, but also have the knowledge to enforce these practices.

Every organization is unique in its own way, not only in its structure but also in the security measures it employs. Assessing security needs serves not only to identify threats but also to develop protection plans. It is important to focus on the five key risks that have a direct and lasting impact on corporations:

1. Cybercrime: This threat involves hacking into information systems, stealing sensitive business information, and personal data. Attackers may attempt to exploit their gains for personal purposes or sell them on the black market.

2. Internal threats: Potential threats arising from dishonest or poorly informed employees within the company. These include theft of sensitive information and working with confidential materials outside the company.

3. Physical attacks: These involve attacking company buildings or vehicles. They may lead to theft, sabotage, or damage to company property.

4. Non-compliance with regulations: Failure to comply with legal requirements (e.g., data protection laws) may lead to the risk of administrative sanctions, fines, or reputational damage to the company.

5. Vendor management: Only trusted service and material providers should be used, with continuous evaluation as part of the supply chain risk analysis. Specifically, for IT service providers, there should be multi-layered access control to organizational resources.

When preparing response plans, risk assessments (conducted during planning) and incident history should be used. The plan should outline cooperation between departments to ensure that the entire company is effectively protected.

Your company cannot grow if it is forced to spend time and energy countering threats. The best practices in corporate security reduce the number of security incidents. They also translate into savings – fewer risk-related events require fewer resources for incident response. This allows you to allocate funds to more productive goals that will help your company succeed.

Remember: With Corporate Security, a company can move from reactive threat response to proactive planning. It should be treated as preemptive training that helps the business mitigate potential security threats and plan a strong corporate defense in case of an incident or breach.

Corporate security is often discussed in the context of technical safeguards, such as surveillance systems or other security systems that prevent attacks and alert the relevant authorities. However, remember that this term covers more than just physical security; it also includes network and cybersecurity, as Corporate Security spans many areas.

In every case, we are talking about preparing for specific situations, which results in greater situational awareness and a sense of security for employees, clients, partners, etc. Thanks to security policies and training, employees will be more vigilant and, at the same time, able to quickly detect and respond appropriately to threats. This reduces the likelihood of falling victim to one of the hacking techniques used by cybercriminals, including the very common social engineering.

Important: “Forbes” reports that 30% of professionals aged 18 to 24 consciously bypass corporate security measures to make their work easier, inadvertently exposing companies to increased risk (data from December 2021).