Throughout 2021, we had to contend with new challenges. This was especially true for security professionals, who have to constantly update their security procedures to keep up with advancing technologies and evolving threats.
Physical security has evolved over recent years to encompass modern trends such as digital security. New technology, including the cloud, CCTV, and AI, have become entwined with older security styles to protect sites and venues from threats such as vandalism, burglary, and natural threats.
So, we’ve listed the top physical security trends that we expect to see in 2024 so that you and your organization can prepare for them.
Top physical security trends of 2024
2024 is yet another year in which we will see a growing reliance on smart technology, as well as other physical security trends, such as increased security within venues and cybersecurity defense strategies.
Below, we list our predictions for physical security trends for 2024 and how physical security teams will be expected to adapt and change to accommodate them.
Venue security
With the increased restrictions that have been implemented within venues and organizations in recent years, it comes with little surprise that this has led to increased security.
One of the simplest ways to monitor the comings and goings within a venue is through physical security checks, including identification cards. These are often more reliable than smart software as they aren’t vulnerable to glitches or cyber criminals. You can provide each person entering the building with a card that allows you to monitor their reason for being in the building and which people they will be with.
Venue security will see an increased use of gate security and crowd control, whilst security professionals will also need to establish baseline security standards for venue capacity levels and crowd behavior.
Other examples of venue security include barriers and restricted access points that limit the areas that certain people on-site can go to. Security lighting and vehicle height restriction barriers can also help to control who enters and leaves establishments by shedding light on the surrounding area and limiting the types of vehicles that can enter.
Moving online and onto the cloud
Security footage is essential for many organizations to protect their physical assets. It provides a serious deterrent but it can also be used as evidence of criminal acts. Cameras can also aid employees by showing cases of abuse or disagreements between colleagues or customers.
CCTV footage is often used as evidence in police investigations, which is why there needs to be a structured procedure for the authentication and protection of footage. Live footage can be monitored remotely through mobile devices, which can help you to monitor the footage on the move and in different locations. Cameras can also be used to track employee office attendance and keep an eye on staff behavior.
As more and more employees work from home, there has been an increased requirement for remote CCTV monitoring. This means that cloud storage is in higher demand, with many organizations considering a full transition to the cloud. Storing CCTV on a cloud allows uploaded documents and data to be accessed anywhere, which gives more freedom to the whole team.
However, many security experts are concerned about cybercriminals accessing CCTV footage from a cloud, especially if they have sensitive content uploaded. This means that there is also a need for increased cyber security at the same rate as security systems that were traditionally not networked move online.
New technology advancements mean that images can be manipulated in security footage. This means that it’s now more important than ever before to authenticate security footage to ensure CCTV hasn’t been tampered with. It’s extremely important to have procedures in place that prevent security footage from getting altered, as well as processes to authenticate the footage.
Cybersecurity defense strategies
Documents and data that have been uploaded to the cloud are at risk from cybercriminals, which is especially dangerous if they contain sensitive information. Interconnected smart devices are vulnerable because the whole network is at risk. If one device gets hacked, it means that all other connected devices are compromised.
Some devices can be used to access your organization’s entire security system, which is both helpful and a hindrance. You need to make sure that your devices have an effective firewall that monitors the ongoing and outgoing traffic on the network. Firewalls are barriers that act as another line of defense against untrustworthy networks and users on the internet.
Other important safety features for your security network include in-built encryption, user authentication requirements, and password management.
Sensitive and confidential files should be encrypted to deter and prevent cybercriminals from accessing them. You should also implement recovery plans for cyberattacks. You should develop strategies that mean you will be able to swiftly deal with an attack by isolating the problem, checking backup systems, and rebooting the system.
Increased use of AI in land and property monitoring
In the last quarter of 2021, there were a record-breaking 1.2 million job vacancies in the UK. The security industry has seen its fair share of job vacancies that aren’t being filled, which is why many organizations are turning to alternative methods. One of these options is smart technology.
Smart technology can monitor properties and land 24/7, which has its benefits, as well as its problems. There are lots of things that can set off sensors, such as animals, rain, or wind. It can be challenging to filter out such false alarms from genuine threats.
However, artificial intelligence can be employed effectively to determine between genuine threats and false alarms. Security professionals can then focus on more important things, such as manually verifying IDs and contacting authorities as they won’t have as many false alarms to investigate and document.
AI technology can help to prevent crime before it has even taken place. Systems such as preventative analysis can help provide data to increase monitoring productivity.
This can include face recognition software, which will be able to keep track of personnel that are barred from a venue and analyzes the facial features of everyone entering to see if they are an identity match. The system can then alert the security team to notify them if there has been a breach.
Increased use of mobile-friendly security
Along with physical identification, mobile phones are a popular use of authentication tokens within the security industry. They can be used to update the online security network and adjust the access permissions for people entering the site.
Mobile phones can make life easier for security personnel as they limit the need for physical paper reports. You can also access control solutions and download applications to the mobile device that connects to the main desktop computer, which means that security personnel can use the software on the go and at the same time as multiple other users.
Smartphones also make video and data sharing between physical security professionals much easier, which can help when trying to notify each other of an ongoing security risk.