Heating Up
Considerations for Maintaining a Successful Security Operations Center in Summer
Summer is quickly approaching. For most industries, that means an uptick in customers, visitors, employees, and overall foot traffic. This increase in familiar and not so familiar faces is certainly a challenge, and one which we’ve presented solutions for in some of our earlier pieces – like this one.
But visitors are just one element of what makes summertime so challenging for many companies and industries. There are also employee variations due to vacations, remote work, system and machine cooling and ventilation concerns, extreme weather, and more. May through August are also the most popular months for violent crime, making summer a critical time to have security technology up to date, and systems in place to keep bad actors deterred.
At SAGE, we’re busy helping many of our clients get prepared for the summer – and as such, wanted to quickly write out a few tips for keeping your Security Operations Center fully functioning and well-strategized for the upcoming warmer months. SAGE looks at physical security in 3 Levels, and we’ll be doing the same here as we look at what considerations your SOC needs to address.
THE RIGHT EYES
The first level of security that SAGE considers when designing, installing, updating, or maintaining a security system or strategy is long lines of sight. The ability to see clearly and assess both security needs and threats from a distance is key to maintaining adequate security, regardless of the time of year.
As it relates to the Security Operations Center, these long lines of sight should be monitored by well-trained personnel, who are familiar with the strategies that your security integrator or Facilities Director has implemented. This may require extra training for those overseeing the SOC, or if and when technology is being installed or updated.
Likewise, making sure the SOC personnel have access to all camera feeds and can monitor them in a streamlined way is also crucial. Again, extra training may be required as summer approaches to make sure all operators can keep up with the rigor of increased visitors, guests, employees, and others who may be on or in the grounds. Consider installing a bank of screens displaying individual camera feeds, as opposed to having operators monitor multiple camera feeds from one screen. The reduced size of the screen may make it difficult to pick out or recognize threats.
Having the right eyes (personnel, cameras, and screens) is crucial to this first level of defense, and should be a priority for any Chief Security Officer or Facilities Manager.
THE RIGHT ACCESS CONTROLS
The next level that a Security Operations Center should help oversee are the access controls and entryways. Too often, we see the oversite of these controls delegated to the security officers operating entryways or checkpoints, or security guards stationed in lobbies or entrances.
While these manned positions are important for maintaining the physical security of your building (especially any larger building, store, venue, or utility) the strategy, hardware, and software for these stations should be coordinated in the Security Operations Center. There should be live data being monitored not only by the security teams stationed at entryways (if necessary) but also being monitored in the control center by the personnel trained to oversee it.
The reason for this is not merely redundancy. While it’s helpful to have a second pair of eyes on those coming into the facility, it’s more important that the systems themselves be calibrated and report to a central location. This allows operators to quickly respond to any threats by locking down the building or conversely opening exits to be used as escape routes in the event of a threat or natural disaster.
More importantly, the records of entry and exit by staff, visitors, customers, and others should be monitored and logged, again, in a central location. Especially in the summer, when the potential for more unknown visitors is high.
This surge in people present is where data optimization and recording also play a roll, and where the need to be able to store all this information in a central location becomes crucial, especially in the event of an attack, theft, or another kind of threat. A Security Operations Center gives you this visibility, tucked away from entryways and access points and heavily guarded within the facility itself.
Summer, in particular, means that entryways will be extra crowded, and sorting out these access control measures (and getting them and their oversight optimized in the Security Operations Center) becomes of paramount importance.
KEEPING THE INSIDE SAFE
The final layer of security that the Security Operations Center should oversee, is the internal security of the facility. Like long lines of sight or the access controls, the internal security should be well organized, strategized, and observed\maintained. To do this, the Security Operations Center and its personnel need constant contact with the security teams operating within the building itself, as well as clear data optimization from the cameras, sensors, scanners, and other security elements within the building itself.
If the first two layers of security have done their job correctly, then the internal systems (again being run by the Security Operations Center) have the responsibility of safeguarding those already inside the facility, or those who are newly entered.
Internal access controls, sprinkler systems, heating and cooling of the building, ventilation of tech-heavy areas (such as in data centers) and more should find their hub as well in the Security Operations Center.
In the summertime, especially in geographic locations that experience lots of heat, these measures need to be centrally located, should the need arise to address any weather or heat-related issues that come up. Also, knowing that part of a system is offline due to heat, and how that might affect other parts of your security system, is better managed when all the information is flowing to one centralized location.
When the SOC personnel or Chief Security Officer needs to make a decision, having all the data in the same place, easily organized and accessible, is essential to the safety and security of your facility and those inside it.
SECURITY OPERATIONS CENTERS IN THE SUMMER
The summer creates unique challenges for any facility and its security staff. But having the right strategy for tackling those challenges, and a Security Operations Center where information can be observed and decisions made greatly increases the likelihood that summer (and other seasons) will pass with your facility well-secured and your visitors and staff feeling safe.
Need more ideas on how to plan or upgrade security features or Security Operations Centers before the summer arrives?
Then we’d love to hear from you so we can help.