In light of how intertwined physical and cyber security is today, ensuring the safety of one affects the other. In a new piece for IFSEC Insider, Paul Dodds, Country Manager for the UK and Ireland at Genetec, offers his clear-eyed recommendations for how companies can protect their physical security systems from hackers.
Dodds begins by highlighting the fact that not enough people in the physical security industry acknowledge that their “systems are a potential platform for cyber-attacks.” While “Internet of things” — or IoT — devices have greatly streamlined the ability to monitor all aspects of a company’s physical space by way of cloud technology, new security risks have emerged in recent years.
He points to the fact that “video surveillance cameras, access control readers, and alarm panels can provide an entry point to gain access to networks” for both large and small companies.
The security executive spotlights three key recommendations to protect these physical security assets from cyber hackers:
Form a partnership with cyber-attuned physical security providers
First and foremost, Dodds suggests that a company find a physical security provider that is well versed in cyber threats. An executive or security official at a firm should consider whether the provider is certified by a third party, have certifications like SOC2 and SO 27001, and adopt the most up-to-date IT practices.
“Consider selecting a physical security provider who makes cyber security a priority as a top-down approach in all that they do,” he writes. “This will include dedicated cyber security teams or departments and partnerships with vendors who share the same level of commitment toward cyber security.”
Look for built-in cyber protocols
Dodds also said that business leaders should ensure cyber security protocols are fundamentally build into the physical security systems from the beginning.
“When a product is designed, built, coded, and tested with security by default, essential features such as authentication, authorization, encryption, and privacy are built into the system,” Dodds writes. “These measures ensure only those with set privileges will be able to access specified assets, data, and applications.”
Adopt the cloud
Dodds concludes his recommendations with the one that is key for a modern approach to security — embrace the cloud.
He stressed how crucial it is that all companies move physical security assets to the cloud.
“Modern cloud systems include many layers of cyber security designed not only to protect against malicious actors but also human error,’ he adds.