by Héctor Torres PHD, MBA, CPP, CFE, CHS
A fraternal greeting from Puerto Rico to all colleagues and readers of this column! It is a pleasure to share again with you.
A very special greeting to another distinguished security colleague, Carlos Armando Mejía, with whom I had the honor of working in Colombia many years ago. In addition to being a great friend, Carlos was a great teacher from whom I learned a lot.
In this column we will talk about security management and the important role that technology plays in this managerial function.
At the beginning of this new century, the use of technology and the speed with which we can process information has revolutionized not only how we do business but how we protect an organization's assets. In order to appreciate the role that technology plays in security management, we must first define several concepts.
The word "security" comes from the term securitas in Latin. Securitas was the name of a goddess from Roman mythology who personified the security and stability of the Empire. Security is defined as efforts to protect assets from loss, damage or reduction in value, it is also interpreted as the use of traditional methods to control crime while providing a calm and uninterrupted environment for an individual or organization in achieving objectives.
Modern security management can be defined as that managerial function that plans, organizes, and conducts effective operations to prevent losses, protect assets, reduce risk, and support an organization's strategic objectives. This managerial function is based on three important components: physical security measures, loss prevention measures and the use of technology.
Physical security measures
Traditional physical security measures include the use of perimeter gates, access control, closed-circuit cameras, vaults, safes, lighting, guards, and alarm systems. These are known as traditional security measures. When these measures are applied in an organization, their fundamental purpose is to provide a safe and uninterrupted environment for its operations. However, physical security measures have a major operational failure, as they are not enough to ensure the organization of all the threats it may face. These have to be combined with other safety components, specifically with loss prevention measures and technology.
Loss prevention measures
Loss prevention measures originally came from the field of insurance. They are defined as the measures used for the prevention and control of an organization's asset losses as a result of countless adverse occurrences. These measures are based on proactively preventing incidents that may create a true or potential loss and to reduce or eliminate the costs associated with such loss, as well as the cost of preventing future incidents of this type. Some measures include investigations, audits, occupational safety inspections, and the use of insurance policies. Loss prevention measures used alone also cannot adequately protect an organization.
Technology
Technology in terms of safety management is defined as the integrated application of equipment and tools to exercise risk control and provide a safe environment within an organization through processes, methods and technical knowledge. Security technology in the twenty-first century is the foundation of modern security. Although it can be costly in its initial investment, it becomes a cost-effective solution as well as multiplying the value and scope of an organization's physical security and loss prevention measures.
When physical security and loss prevention measures are combined with technology, a comprehensive new security methodology emerges that is used to protect all types of organizational assets.
Different types of assets require different protection measures due to different types of threats. The optimal thing in security management is the combination of physical security measures, loss prevention measures with a technology that integrates them effectively. Figure 1 illustrates the three components of security management for the twenty-first century.
It should be emphasized that the combination of these three components arises from the need to protect an organization's assets from a set of different threats ranging from internal theft and natural disasters to cyber and terrorist attacks. The importance of technology as a third component is that it not only facilitates security processes in an organization but also enhances security as a managerial function.
I invite you to continue to share your ideas and concerns from the world and security management.
A hug and see you next time!
*If you wish you can write to the author at the email: [email protected]
