How to protect your physical workplace security
Physical security can pose a huge risk to your organisation whether your employees work from home or in the office.
This blog will tackle the complexities of physical security to help you enhance your organisation’s security culture outside of the online environment.
The components of physical security in the office
Simply put, physical security characterises the security measures designed to deny unauthorised access to facilities, people, and assets.
Physical security typically consists of three main components.
1. Access control
Access control, as the term implies, regulates who can gain access to certain areas or resources such as: buildings, rooms, storage systems, files, and data.
2. Permanent active surveillance
Having protection in place to detect suspicious activity is imperative in any working environment. This can entail burglar alarms, guards, CCTV or biometric surveillance.
3. Physical security testing
Regular tests and monitoring should be carried out to test the effectiveness of the surveillance measures implemented to protect against unauthorised access.
Your approach to implementing, improving, and maintaining these variables heavily impacts your organisation’s overall physical security.
Guidelines for improving physical security
1. Implement a clear desk policy
Establishing a clear desk policy in the workplace encourages employees to utilise digital documents instead of physical documents, promoting physical security and sustainable practices.
Having a no-clutter workspace increases productivity and decreases the risk of employees leaving sensitive data and information unprotected.
2. Storing passwords
Refrain from writing sensitive information in an area where it could be exposed. For example, though often overlooked, the process of writing passwords on post-it notes and sticking them on your desk poses a huge security risk to your organisation.
Also, writing wifi passwords on whiteboards or in the public office space should be advised against to prevent unauthorised system access. Instead, use a safe password management tool to manage passwords securely.
3. Placement in the office
The environment you opt to work in requires deliberation, whether at home, in the office or otherwise. Consider strategically mapping out seat charting for employees within your office space, particularly for offices in buildings where employees who frequently access sensitive information could unknowingly expose their screens to outsiders.
4. Encourage a lock screen policy
To aid in compliance, urge your employees to follow best practice and lock their screens when moving away from their desks. Leaving your screen open could lead to insider threats initiated by a disgruntled employee or staff member.
Speaking up against tailgating
Tailgating is a social engineering attack where an unauthorised personnel follows an authorised person to gain physical access to a secure area.
Organisations susceptible to these attacks often have numerous employees moving in and out of an office space.
To protect against tailgating, physical limits should be implemented to secure office locations. This can involve requiring an employee pass or a biometrics check to access office buildings and restricted areas.
Where this is not an option, opt for a security system requiring a code to access your office space. Even then, the code should only be provided to employees who need access to the premises. Policies should be implemented to change the code as often as an employee leaves the organisation.
Creating a cyber first company culture
Each member within your organisation is susceptible to falling victim to a cyber attack. As such, implementing policies and raising awareness of cyber security and its important is a vital aspect or your organisations growth strategy.
Our cyber security services identifies the areas for improvement within your organisation. We help you create and implement cyber security policies and provide training to enhance your company’s resilience against cyber threats.