While a lot of attention might be spent on dealing with digital threats, we should be mindful of the physical ones, too. After all, there’s no need for a cybercriminal to hack into your servers if they can simply walk onto your premises and achieve the same end.
Modern business owners have access to many different ways of keeping their premises secure. You’ll want to choose the options that suit your business, and your premises.
Use access control
Access control has historically been a simple thing. If you have the keys, you can get into the building. This approach has been superseded by digital forms of access control, which are cheaper, easy to monitor, and less difficult to manipulate. With the right access control system in place, you’ll be able to see which employees have entered a given part of the premises at which time.
Install CCTV
Similarly, closed-circuit television has gotten very sophisticated and very affordable. You can install cameras at select locations, and see what’s being recorded from a remote location. Where cameras are visible, they might also deter intruders from trying to enter your premises in the first place.
Install a burglar alarm system
A good burglar alarm will sound when someone gets into the premises when they don’t belong there. Modern burglar alarms work mostly with the help of radar sensors. An emitter will send out high-frequency microwave radiation, while a receiver listens to the reflection. When the reflection changes, it means the environment has changed: therefore, something is moving.
This technology is mature and affordable and should be installed wherever you want to stop burglars from entering.
Use effective lighting
Criminals are looking for low-hanging fruit. They will tend to avoid places where they’re going to be in plain sight, and they’re easily spooked by sudden bright lights. A good system of security lights can often be enough to give intruders second thoughts.
You might install these lights in locations which seem vulnerable, like the parking lot at the rear of the building.
Keep important paper documents locked away
If your premises contain sensitive paper documents, then these documents should be securely stored, in much the same way as other valuables. This might be a particular concern for businesses which still rely heavily on paper documents, like legal firms and public-sector buildings.
Invest in resilient, wall-mounted cabinets, and keep them in a secure room in the centre of the building that can’t be easily accessed. While it’s impossible to completely eliminate the risk of this kind of theft, you can take reasonable steps to do so, and thereby guard yourself against a potentially damaging lawsuit.
