Proactive security via Secured: what is it and how does it work?
Organizations that want to protect themselves usually focus on electronic and structural measures, such as access control, CCTV and burglary detection, possibly with barriers and heavier hinges and locks. These measures alone sometimes come off poorly. That is a shame, because using the “human” factor, for example in the form of proactive security, can certainly offer added value. elektronische en bouwkundige maatregelen, zoals toegangscontrole, CCTV en inbraakdetectie, eventueel met slagbomen en zwaarder hang – en sluitwerk. Deze maatregelen alleen komen er soms bekaaid vanaf. Dat is jammer, want gebruik maken van het “menselijke” factor, bijvoorbeeld in de vorm van proactief beveiligen, kan zeker toegevoegde waarde bieden.
Security via Secured is by definition aimed at preventing incidents. This is done by taking preventive measures. Taking preventive measures alone is not enough, because an opponent is constantly looking for new possibilities and vulnerabilities within the security. This means that Secured is just as (pro) active as this opponent from a security point of view to stay one step ahead. This is possible with proactive security.
Threat assessment
Proactive security consists of a number of components. One of these is the performance of a threat assessment, which means: observing and determining whether someone is a threat. waarnemen en vaststellen of van iemand een dreiging uit gaat.
Proactive security is the continuous assessment of whether there is a threat to the organization at any time from persons, objects or situations that arise. This threat is determined by Secured on the basis of deviations that can be related to the method of the opponent. It is therefore a form of alertness that we offer to every professional within an organization.
The core elements of proactive security within Secured are:
- Knowledge of criminal planning cycle,
- Knowing what suspicious signals can be *,
- Knowing how to approach someone who shows deviant behavior and which questions to ask him (the security interview)
- Knowing how to conclude that there is or is not a threat and being able to act quickly if necessary, so that follow-up can take place.
The goal of proactive security is to force the adversary to make the decision not to execute his intention.
By learning to look at the preparatory actions of the adversary and act upon them, it is possible to frustrate the preparation and to force the adversary not to execute. Proactively securing via Secured thus adds something to the security measures already taken.
Three basic questions
Proactive security consists of three basic questions:
- What are the "crown jewels" of the organization?
- Who is interested in them? So who is the adversary?
- How does the adversary go about achieving their goal?
If there is an idea of who the adversaries are and how they may operate, Secured can then counteract them with the appropriate measures. Learning to think from the adversary's perspective is an important prerequisite for effective security. Hence the saying: "With thieves you catch thieves".
Proactive security in practice by Secured
Proactive security consists of a number of components. One of these is the performance of a threat assessment by a (security) employee of Secured.
The first thing he / she does after an observation is to answer the following question: can the deviation be linked to an opponent's method? If the answer is positive, the next step is to contact the person in question to get an explanation for the observed norm deviation.
Based on the outcome of this interview, Secured will assess whether there is a threat. If that is the case, it means: acting (= ensuring follow-up). Is there no threat? Then the reaction is to let go.
Working on a different mindset
Can employees learn how to recognize preparatory actions so that they can respond to them? The answer is yes: by nature, this is already in our DNA and we already do this regularly. This often happens unconsciously and is limited to private situations.
In a business setting, however, this is different: if something is not yours, you recognize the threat, but the necessary action is often not taken.
It is therefore important to work on a different mindset, so that people working in a business environment are inclined to recognize threats and act accordingly. Within Secured, our security guards receive extra training for this.
Three conditions for proactive security
Three conditions apply to a smoothly running proactive security process via Secured.
- First, ownership. It is important that the employee feels responsible for what he / she must protect.
- A second condition is that there must be an answer to the three basic questions. Most important is the “how” question: how does the opponent work to achieve his goal?
- The last condition is clarity about how to act in the event of a threat. An action against a threat can affect the primary process of the organization. It is therefore important to record the course of action in one or more so-called action protocols that have been agreed with the management.
* The blog article Prodictive profiling will elaborate on the aspect of recognizing signals.
