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Insider threat programmes started with counter-espionage cases in the government. Today, insider threat programmes have become a more common practice in all industries, as companies understand the risks associated with not having one. To build a programme, you must first understand what an insider threat is. An insider threat is an employee, contractor, visitor or other insider who have been granted physical or logical access to a company that can cause extensive damage. Damage ranges from emotional or physical injury, to personnel, financial and reputational loss to data loss/manipulation or destruction of assets. Financial and confidential information While malicious insiders only make up 22% of the threats, they have the most impact on an organisation Most threats are derived from the accidental insider. For example, it’s the person who is working on a competitive sales pitch on an airplane and is plugging in financial and confidential information. They are working hard, yet their company’s information is exposed to everyone around them. Another type of insider, the compromised insider, is the person who accidentally downloaded malware when clicking on a fake, urgent email, exposing their information. Malicious insiders cause the greatest concerns. These are the rogue employees who may feel threatened. They may turn violent or take action to damage the company. Or you have the criminal actor employees who are truly malicious and have been hired or bribed by another company to gather intel. Their goal is to gather data and assets to cause damage for a specific purpose. While malicious insiders only make up 22% of the threats, they have the most impact on an organisation. They can cause brand and financial damage, along with physical and mental damage. Insider threat programme Once you determine you need an insider threat programme, you need to build a business case and support it with requirements. Depending on your industry, you can start with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, NERC CIP, PCI, etc. Talk to your regulator and get their input. Everyone needs to be onboard, understand the intricacies of enacting a programme Next, get a top to bottom risk assessment to learn your organisation’s risks. A risk assessment will help you prioritise your risks and provide recommendations about what you need to include in your programme. Begin by meeting with senior leadership, including your CEO to discuss expectations. Creating an insider threat programme will change the company culture, and the CEO must understand the gravity of his/her decision before moving forward. Everyone needs to be onboard, understand the intricacies of enacting a programme and support it before its implemented. Determining the level of monitoring The size and complexity of your company will determine the type of programme needed. One size does not fit all. It will determine what technologies are required and how much personnel is needed to execute the programme. The company must determine what level of monitoring is needed to meet their goals. After the leadership team decides, form a steering committee that includes someone from legal, HR and IT. Other departments can join as necessary. This team sets up the structure, lays out the plan, determines the budget and what type of technologies are needed. For small companies, the best value is education. Educate your employees about the programme, build the culture and promote awareness. Teach employees about the behaviours you are looking for and how to report them. Behavioural analysis software Every company is different and you need to determine what will gain employee support The steering committee will need to decide what is out of scope. Every company is different and you need to determine what will gain employee support. The tools put in place cannot monitor employee productivity (web surfing). That is out of scope and will disrupt the company culture. What technology does your organisation need to detect insider threats? Organisations need software solutions that monitor, aggregate and analyse data to identify potential threats. Behavioural analysis software looks at patterns of behaviour and identifies anomalies. Use business intelligence/data analytics solutions to solve this challenge. This solution learns the normal behaviour of people and notifies security staff when behaviour changes. This is done by setting a set risk score. Once the score crosses a determined threshold, an alert is triggered. Case and incident management tools Predictive analytics technology reviews behaviours and identifies sensitive areas of companies (pharmacies, server rooms) or files (HR, finance, development). If it sees anomalous behaviour, it can predict behaviours. It can determine if someone is going to take data. It helps companies take steps to get ahead of bad behaviour. If an employee sends hostile emails, they are picked up and an alert is triggered User sentiment detection software can work in real time. If an employee sends hostile emails, they are picked up and an alert is triggered. The SOC and HR are notified and security dispatched. Depending on how a company has this process set-up, it could potentially save lives. Now that your organisation has all this data, how do you pull it together? Case and incident management tools can pool data points and create threat dashboards. Cyber detection system with access control An integrated security system is recommended to be successful. It will eliminate bubbles and share data to see real-time patterns. If HR, security and compliance departments are doing investigations, they can consolidate systems into the same tool to have better data aggregation. Companies can link their IT/cyber detection system with access control. Deploying a true, integrated, open system provides a better insider threat programme. Big companies should invest in trained counterintelligence investigators to operate the programme. They can help identify the sensitive areas, identify who the people are that have the most access to them, or are in a position to do the greatest amount of harm to the company and who to put mitigation plans around to protect them. They also run the investigations. Potential risky behaviour Using the right technology along with thorough processes will result in a successful programme You need to detect which individuals are interacting with information systems that pose the greatest potential risk. You need to rapidly and thoroughly understand the user’s potential risky behaviour and the context around it. Context is important. You need to decide what to investigate and make it clear to employees. Otherwise you will create a negative culture at your company. Develop a security-aware culture. Involve the crowd. Get an app so if someone sees something they can say something. IT should not run the insider threat programme. IT is the most privileged department in an organisation. If something goes wrong with an IT person, they have the most ability to do harm and cover their tracks. They need to be an important partner, but don’t let them have ownership and don’t let their administrators have access. Educating your employees and creating a positive culture around an insider threat programme takes time and patience. Using the right technology along with thorough processes will result in a successful programme. It’s okay to start small and build.

Today, the world is connected like never before. Your watch is connected to your phone, which is connected to your tablet and so on. As we’ve begun to embrace this ‘smart’ lifestyle, what we’re really embracing is the integration of systems. Why do we connect our devices? The simplest answer is that it makes life easier. But, if that’s the case, why stop at our own personal devices? Connection, when applied to a business’ operations, is no different: it lowers effort and expedites decision making. Integrating security systems Systems integration takes the idea of connected devices and applies it to an enterprise Systems integration takes the idea of connected devices and applies it to an enterprise, bringing disparate subcomponents into a single ecosystem. This could mean adding a new, overarching system to pull and collect data from existing subsystems, or adapting an existing system to serve as a data collection hub. Regardless of the method, the purpose is to create a single, unified view. Ultimately, it’s about simplifying processes, gaining actionable insights into operations and facilitating efficient decision-making. Although integration is becoming the new norm in other areas of life, businesses often opt out of integrating security systems because of misconceptions about the time and resources required to successfully make the change. So, instead of a streamlined operation, the various security systems and devices are siloed, not communicating with each other and typically being run by different teams within an organisation. Time-intensive process When systems are not integrated, companies face a wide range of risks driven by a lack of transparency and information sharing, including actual loss of property or assets. For example, a team in charge of access control is alerted to a door being opened in the middle of the night but can’t see what exactly is taking place through video surveillance. Without integrated systems they have no way of knowing if it was a burglar, an equipment malfunction or a gust of wind. Without integration between systems and teams, the ability to quickly put the right pieces in front of decision makers is missing. Instead, the team would have to go back and manually look for footage that corresponds with the time a door was open to figure out which door it was, who opened it and what happened after, which can be a time-intensive process. Integrating access control and surveillance systems Theft and vandalism occur quickly, meaning systems and users must work faster in order to prevent it This slowed response time adds risk to the system. Theft and vandalism occur quickly, meaning systems and users must work faster in order to prevent it. Security systems can do more than communicate that theft or vandalism occurred. Properly integrated, these systems alert users of pre-incident indicators before an event happens or deter events altogether. This gives teams and decision makers more time to make effective decisions. Integrating access control and surveillance systems allows for a more proactive approach. If a door is opened when it’s not supposed to be, an integrated system enables users to quickly see what door was opened, who opened it and make a quick decision. Integrated solutions are more effective, more efficient and help drive cost-saving decisions. Ideally, companies should establish integrated solutions from the start of operations. This allows companies to anticipate problems and adjust accordingly instead of reacting after an incident has occurred. Security camera system Although starting from the beginning is the best way to ensure comprehensive security, many companies have existing security systems, requiring integration and implementation to bring them together. Typically, companies with established security systems worry about the impact to infrastructure requirements. Is additional infrastructure necessary? How and where should it be added? What financial or human resources are required? These concerns drive a mentality that the benefits gained from an integrated solution aren’t worth the costs of implementation. Thankfully, this is becoming less of a problem as security providers, like Twenty20™ Solutions, work to offer adaptable solutions. With flexible options, operators don’t worry about adding or replacing infrastructure to align with a provider’s model. This allows users to monitor camera footage and gate traffic from one system If a company has an existing security camera system, but identifies a need for access control, a modern integrated solution provider can supply the gates for access points and equip the gates and cameras with the technology to connect the two. This allows users to monitor camera footage and gate traffic from one system. This model also spares operators additional costs by using a sole vendor for supplemental needs. Overall management of security While a single, unified system is beneficial for cost saving, it can also help the overall management of security. The ability to view all operating systems in one dashboard allows security personnel to manage a site from any location, reducing the expense and effort required to manage a system. The mobile world today means security directors no longer need to be in a centralised operations center to see alerts and make decisions. This simplifies processes by allowing users to quickly see an alert, pull up a camera, delete a user or check an access log from a phone. Modern networks are secure and accessible to those with permissions, without requiring those users to be physically present. Consolidating security systems is the first step companies can take toward streamlining work, information and costs. The next step is integrating all sites, both remote and on-grid. Energy and communication technology The integration of sites and systems turns mountains of data and information into actionable intelligence Traditional methods demanded two systems: one for on-grid facilities and another for off-grid locations. With advancements in energy and communication technology, the need for multiple systems is gone. Data from remote sites can be safely and securely fed into an existing system. These remote locations may gather, distribute and manage data in a different manner than a connected system due to the cost of transmission via remote connections (i.e., cellular or satellite connection). The end result, however, is a consistent and holistic view of operations for the decision maker. The integration of sites and systems turns mountains of data and information into actionable intelligence. With connected devices monitoring occurrences at individual sites, as well as events across locations, the data tells a story that is unhindered by operational silos or physical space. Identifying patterns and trends Instead of providing 10 hours-worth of footage that may or may not be relevant, system analytics can provide users with the specific set of information they need. Incidents once discarded as ‘one-off’ events can now be analysed and data-mapped to identify patterns and trends, directing future resources to the most critical areas first. Consumers are increasingly expecting everything they need to be right where they need it – and businesses are right behind them. The current generation of security professionals are increasingly expecting the simplicity of their everyday personal tasks to be mirrored in enterprise systems, which means giving them the ability to see what matters in one place. A unified system can provide just that, a single view to help simplify processes, promote cost saving and accelerate decision making.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is improving everyday solutions, driving efficiency in ways we never imagined possible. From self-driving cars to intelligent analytics, the far-reaching impacts of Deep Learning-based technology empower human operators to achieve results more effectively while investing fewer resources and less time. By introducing AI, solutions are not merely powered by data, but they also generate valuable intelligence. Systems which were once leveraged for a narrow, dedicated purpose, can suddenly be engaged broadly across an organisation, because the previously under-utilised data can be harnessed for enhancing productivity and performance. Video analytics software The video intelligence software processes and analyses video to detect all the people and objects that appear When it comes to physical security, for instance, video surveillance is a standard solution. Yet, by introducing AI-driven video analytics software, video data can be leveraged as intelligence in previously inaccessible ways. Here are some examples of how diverse organisations are using AI-based video intelligence solutions to enhance security and performance with searchable, actionable and quantifiable insights. Law enforcement relies on video surveillance infrastructure for extracting investigation evidence and monitoring people and spaces. Instead of manual video review and live surveillance – which is prone to human error and distraction – police can harness video content analysis to accelerate video investigations, enhance situational awareness, streamline real-time response, identify suspicious individuals and recognise patterns and anomalies in video. The video intelligence software processes and analyses video to detect all the people and objects that appear; identify, extract and classify them; and then index them as metadata that can be searched and referenced. Maintaining public safety For law enforcement, the ability to dynamically search video based on granular criteria is critical for filtering out irrelevant details and pinpointing objects of interest, such as suspicious persons or vehicles. Beyond accelerating video evidence review and extraction, police can leverage video analysis to configure sophisticated real-time alerts when people, vehicles or behaviours of interest are detected in video. Instead of actively monitoring video feeds, law enforcement can assess triggered alerts and decide how to respond. In this way, officers can also react faster to emergencies, threats and suspicious activity as it develops. Video analysis empowers cities to harness their video surveillance data as operational intelligence Empowering law enforcement to maintain public safety is important beyond the benefit of increasing security: A city with a reputation for effective, reliable law enforcement and enhanced safety is more likely to attract residents, visitors and new businesses, exponentially driving its economic development. Furthermore, in cities where law enforcement can work productively and quickly, time and human resources can be reallocated to fostering growth and building community. Video surveillance data Video analysis empowers cities to harness their video surveillance data as operational intelligence for optimising city management and infrastructure. When video data is aggregated over time, it can be visualised into dashboards, heatmaps and reports, so operators can identify patterns and more seamlessly detect anomalous behaviour. A city could, for instance, analyse the most accident-prone local intersection and assess the traffic patterns to reveal details such as where cars are dwelling and pedestrians are walking; the directional flows of traffic; and the demographic segmentations of the objects detected: Are cars lingering in no-parking zones? Are pedestrians using designated crosswalks – is there a more logical location for the crosswalk or traffic light? Do vehicles tend to make illegal turns – should police proactively deter this behaviour, or should the city plan new infrastructure that enables vehicles to safely perform these turns? Finally, does the rise in bike traffic warrant implementing dedicated biking lanes? With video intelligence, urban planners can answer these and other questions to facilitate local improvements and high quality of life. By leveraging the video insights about citywide traffic, public transit organisations can make data-driven decisions about scheduling and services Enhancing situational awareness Insight into traffic trends is also critical for transport companies, from public transit services to transportation hubs and airports. By leveraging the video insights about citywide traffic, public transit organisations can make data-driven decisions about scheduling and services. Analysing video surveillance around bus stops, for instance, can help these companies understand the specific hours per day people tend to dwell around bus stops. Correlating this information with transactional data for each bus line, bus schedules can be optimised based on demand for individual bus lines, shortening waiting times for the most popular routes. Similarly, the traffic visualisations and activity heatmaps derived from the video of major transit hubs, such as international airports and central stations, can be beneficial for increasing security, enhancing situational awareness, identifying causes of congestion, improving throughput and efficiency and, ultimately, solving these inefficiencies to provide a streamlined customer experience for travellers. Large education campuses Campus law enforcement can leverage video data to increase situational awareness and public safety Much like a city, large education campuses have internal transportation services, residential facilities, businesses and law enforcement, and video content analysis can support the campus in intelligently managing each of those business units, while also providing video intelligence to these individual groups. Campus law enforcement can leverage video data to increase situational awareness and public safety, driving real-time responses with the ability to make informed assessments and accelerating post-event investigations with access to easily extractable video data. When campuses are expanding or developing additional infrastructure, they can plan new crosswalks, traffic lights, roads, buildings and entrances and exits based on comprehensive video intelligence. By understanding where pedestrians and vehicles dwell, walk, cross or even violate traffic laws, the campus can inform construction projects and traffic optimisation. Countless business operations The campus can leverage video business intelligence to justify leasing pricing for different retailers across campus Finally, the campus can leverage video business intelligence to justify leasing pricing for different retailers across campus, demonstrating property values based on traffic trends that can be correlated with retailer point of sale data. Whether its empowering security, productivity or decision-making, the insights generated by AI-based technology can drive significant optimisation – especially when data is fused and cross-referenced across smart sensors and systems for even deeper intelligence. In the case of AI-backed video analytics, diverse organisations can harness video surveillance impactfully and dynamically. Whereas once video technology investments could be justified for their security value – with the introduction of AI capabilities – procurement teams can evaluate these solutions for countless business operations, because they offer broadly valuable intelligence. And video surveillance and analytics is merely one example of AI-driven solutions’ potential to disrupt business as we know it.

Public spaces provide soft targets and are often the sites of terrorist or active shooter attacks. Public spaces, by definition, require easy accessibility and unrestricted movement. Given that openness, what security technologies can provide real results? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How is technology innovation impacting the security of public spaces?

It’s hard to believe that we’re in the final quarter of 2019. It’s time to wrap up goals and make new ones that will guide us into another decade. As we look forward, we can’t help but look back at some of the key trends that emerged in the last couple of years, and their continued presence in the product road maps and plans that so many security industry leaders and manufacturers are creating.  Some of these trends have enhanced the efficacy of security systems, whereas others have the potential of having adverse impacts.  Cybersecurity Cyber-attacks of all kinds have become, and will continue to be, a major threat, making this one of the most important initiatives that today’s businesses embrace. From a manufacturer’s perspective, building cybersecurity into the product from its inception is critical, with integrators beginning to demand this level of consideration from the products they sell. As a result of a rise in the convergence of IT applications alongside security investments, end users are now seeking out solutions designed with data security top-of-mind. All network connected devices such as DVRs/NVRs, servers, IP cameras, access controllers, intrusion alarms, smart sensors, are vulnerable, which is why this added step in developing cybersecurity protocols and applying them across the organisation is critical.  Building cybersecurity into the product from its inception is critical More connected devices The Internet of Things (IoT) has been a major trend for the past few years in many industries, and this will continue as we integrate sensors of all kinds into the network. The collection and analysis of the data collected by these sensors is giving rise to a plethora of applications such as industrial applications, intelligent building management, event management, and much more. The physical security industry benefits by having additional intelligence for situational awareness and emergency management, as well as opportunities to provide additional value-added services and business insights. Being deployed in an increasing number of scenarios and with continued improvements in computing capabilities, video has the opportunity to become the eye of IoT. AI-enabled devices Software manufacturers are looking toward artificial intelligence to help propel advanced analytics in an effort to deliver more situational awareness to operators, and an increased ability to proactively assess threats or anomalies. While video and data analytic capabilities have been around for quite some time, some would argue they were rudimentary in comparison to software that uses AI to make existing applications such as facial recognition much more accurate, and to create new ways to detect anomalies. In addition, AI continues to be used to make sense of the large amounts of data that are being generated by intelligent sensors and by analysing the growing amount of video. 5G connectivity It’s safe to say that 5G will revolutionize the way people stay connected to the internet. Extra speed, extra bandwidth are going to make our mobile devices faster, more powerful and hyperconnected, with the same thing happening to IoT connected devices such as cameras. This is going completely change the way we think about smart cities: more powerful IP devices connected to one another, powered by AI, will have a massive impact on the way we move, shop and live in urban areas. more powerful IP devices connected to one another, powered by AI, will have a massive impact on the way we move, shop and live in urban areas Privacy concerns  In most advanced economies around the globe, citizens are increasingly concerned with privacy of their data, and many governments have put – or are in the process of doing so – stringent data protection laws in place. The EU has lead the way in using these concerns to develop privacy regulations that govern the development of data-driven applications. This trend is starting to impact the entire globe, as we shift toward more data autonomy and privacy. Since most physical security applications involve the collection of video and data about people and assets, privacy regulations will continue to have a significant impact on the industry well into the future. Cloud and mobile capabilities Mobility is critical for physical security and is emerging through the development and use of cloud-based services, as well as the ability to access security devices through a smart phone or Web-based browser. That’s why there’s been such an influx of mobile apps created to manage cameras, receive automatic alerts for the most diverse event, and giving users the ability to grant or restrict access to a facility. All of this demonstrates the world’s demand for mobility, connectivity and ease-of-use. More video — everywhere Video is the cornerstone of security, providing both real-time and forensic coverage for emerging threats and incidents, which is why it’s one of the fastest growing segments of the marketplace. The use of video for traditional applications in new markets, as well as for use in newer applications that are not necessary security related is poised to see the most movement. In some industries such as oil and gas, there is a trend towards extending video coverage into extremely harsh and hazardous environments, so manufacturers are challenged to develop appropriately certified equipment to meet a more stringent demand. Manufacturing facilities such as food processing plants are also increasing their use of video for training and compliance purposes to prevent incidents such as food recalls that can be extremely costly for the business. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the security market, as we’re really just beginning to see that, when it comes to technology advancements, the sky is the limit. I would argue at the core of these innovations is the video data being collected, and as we work to build technologies that can harness the power of these applications, we will continue to be at the forefront of this movement toward greater intelligence and business insights. 

Securing large campus environments can be particularly demanding and requires a range of technology solutions. In effect, a campus may represent a dozen or more individual facilities to be secured, in addition to protecting the overall environment. Seeking more insight into the number and variety of needs of securing a campus, we asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the security challenges of protecting large campus environments?