By gaining a comprehensive understanding of the threat and risk landscape, organisations can prioritise their security efforts and allocate resources effectively and can tailor their physical and cyber security measures to mitigate specific vulnerabilities.
Developing an
effective I
n today's interconnected and digitalised world, the importance of a robust security strategy cannot be overstated. In this article, we will explore the key components of an effective security strategy and provide guidance on how organisations can develop and implement one.
The evolving threat landscape
As technology continues to advance, so do the threats that organisations face.
From cyber-attacks and data breaches, to insider threats, alongside the physical threat from protest, anti-social behaviour, crime and terrorism, the landscape is constantly evolving.
Developing a comprehensive security strategy is crucial for protecting assets, people, reputation, and sensitive information while maintaining customer trust, and ensuring business continuity. It is paramount to an organisation’s overall resilience.
An approach for success
At the outset, to ensure the best chance of success for your security strategy:
• Get buy-in from all levels of your organisation. Security is everyone's responsibility.
• Communicate your security strategy clearly and concisely.
• Regularly review your security strategy – including your risk assessments, security and response plans.
• Make security an ongoing process, not a one-time project.
Remember that we are in a customer-facing industry and therefore need to allow normal business to continue.
15 © CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – SPRING 2024 Security Strategy What do you need to protect?
The foundation of an effective physical or cyber security strategy lies in understanding the unique threat and risks and vulnerabilities that an organisation faces. Therefore, the first element in the development of a security strategy is to understand your environment:
• Identify what you need to protect this could be your data, systems, infrastructure, physical assets, or even people.
• Assess the threats you face: consider internal and external threats, such as cyber-attacks, natural disasters, human error, terrorism, and criminal activity.
• Evaluate your vulnerabilities: Identify weaknesses in your systems, processes, and controls that could be exploited by attackers.
This threat modelling phase will:
• Identify assets and define the security objectives.
• Identify threats and define agreed priorities. • Analyse vulnerabilities.
• Create mitigation or safeguards to protect identified risks.
A threat modelling report will create a priority of actions, and define an appetite towards physical, cyber, and reputational risk.
It is strongly recommended that this element of the processes is recorded and agreed.
A thorough risk assessment
Conducting a thorough risk assessment is the next step in identifying and mitigating potential risks and their potential impact on the business. This process involves evaluating the organisation's assets, assessing potential vulnerabilities, and estimating the likelihood and severity of various risks.
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The assessment and recording of the likelihood and potential impact of various risks, such as theft, vandalism, natural disasters, unauthorised access, protests, terrorism or cyber- attack, is imperative.
Developing a security strategy
The combination of the threat modelling and risk assessment will provide the foundation for the security strategy, as at this point the budget available could become a defining factor.
It is not always the decisions we make that we later have to justify, it is those decisions or actions we choose to ignore or fail to consider that have a greater propensity to cause liability at a later stage.
Establishing clear security objectives and policies is essential for guiding the development and implementation of a physical and cyber security strategy.
These security objectives should align with the organisation’s overall aims and objectives and address the identified risks.
In defining your security goals:
• Decide what you want to achieve with your security strategy.
• Set realistic and measurable goals that align with your overall risk tolerance.
Once set they should be communicated effectively to all stakeholders within the organisation.
The establishment of a well-defined security policy will then serve as the cornerstone of an organisation's security strategy.
A policy outlines the rules, procedures, and guidelines that employees and stakeholders must follow to ensure the protection of information and physical security expectations.
The security policy should cover various aspects, including data protection, access controls, incident response, and acceptable use of technology. It is imperative that we regularly update the security policy to adapt to emerging threats and changes in the business environment.
A security framework
At this stage of the process, you may consider choosing a security framework. Security frameworks provide best practices and guidelines for managing security risks.
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