International. Genetec conducted and released a study in which it identified how cybersecurity continues to be one of the main concerns for physical security professionals, looking ahead to 2023.
Based on data obtained from more than 3,700 physical security leaders around the world, the report revealed that nearly half (49%) of organizations surveyed had activated an enhanced cybersecurity strategy this year, and more than a third of all respondents (36%) are looking to invest in cybersecurity-related tools to improve their physical security environment in the next 12 months.
When asked about the challenges they face when managing employee and visitor security, more than half of organizations selected cybersecurity as their top challenge. This was particularly evident for organizations with more than 100,000 employees, with 62.3% of them indicating that cybersecurity was their main challenge, compared to 52.1% of companies with fewer than 100,000 employees.
Of the many cybersecurity and data protection-related capabilities implemented by physical security teams in the past year, cyber hardening of physical security hardware and access control management were the most popular, with 40% of respondents implementing new measures targeting those capabilities.
"It's reassuring to see physical security professionals prioritizing cybersecurity in their organizations," said Mathieu Chevalier, Principal Security Architect at Genetec. "As the threat landscape continues to evolve, leading with a deep defense strategy remains the best plan an organization can have. Companies will need to implement cybersecurity best practices and choose technology partners that offer the highest levels of automation to stay on top of potential threats. They will also need to examine their entire supply chain and demand continuous verification, rather than just strengthening networks and systems."
To help its customers become more cyber-resilient, Genetec has developed features that are integrated into its security platform, Genetec™ Security Center:
Security Center Firmware Vault keeps cameras secure and up-to-date by alerting customers when updates are available, automatically validating firmware compatibility, and allowing customers to send it directly to the camera from the platform. This helps reduce the likelihood of falling victim to known vulnerabilities.
StreamvaultTM solutions are cybernetically hardened right out of the box. More than 200 security configurations are preconfigured to ensure that every part of a customer's infrastructure is protected.
The Certificate Management feature in Security Center 5.11 simplifies the task of managing the certificate lifecycle, allowing users to effortlessly keep their devices connected and running smoothly.
Genetec's update service, Genetec Update Service (GUS), alerts users to new product updates, allowing them to automatically download or install on their own schedule, reducing the effort required to manage updates and be protected from attacks.
Finally, widget Security Score is a dynamic hardening tool that verifies system security in real time. Set guidelines and then monitor whether different elements of the system meet them.
Survey methodology
Genetec Inc. surveyed physical security professionals from August 25 to September 21, 2022. After a review of the surveys, 3,711 respondents were included in the sample for analysis. A full report on the state of physical security will be issued in December 2022.
