Corporate Security identifies and effectively mitigates or manages, at an early stage, any developments that may threaten the resilience and continued survival of a corporation. It is a well organized corporate function that oversees and manages the close coordination of all functions within the company that are concerned with security, continuity and safety, and contributes to the fulfillment of good corporate governance, responsibility, observance or compliance of prevailing legal regulations, as well as the meeting of customers, suppliers, and other business partner’s requirements in accordance with corporate objectives.
Contents
1 Introduction
2 Core Elements
3 Roles
4 Education
5 Associations
6 References and External Links
7 See also
Introduction
Globalisation has changed the structure and pace of corporate life; the saturation of traditional markets is taking companies to more risky places; the shift towards a knowledge economy is eroding the importance of ‘place’ in the business world; new business practices such as offshoring challenge companies to manage at a distance; and new forms of accountability, such as corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, put added pressure on companies to match their words with deeds, wherever they are operating.
At the same time, security risks have become more complex, too. Many of the threats, such as terrorism, organised crime and information security, are asymmetric and networked, making them more difficult to manage. There is also greater appreciation of the interdependence between a company’s risk portfolio and the way it does business: certain types of behaviour can enhance or undermine an organisation’s ‘licence to operate’, and in some cases this can generate risks that would not otherwise exist. As a result, security has a higher profile in the corporate world today than it did five years ago. Companies are looking for new ways to manage these risks and the portfolio of the security department has widened to include shared responsibility for things such as reputation, corporate governance and regulation, corporate social responsibility and information assurance.
The challenge for corporate security is no different from that for any other function – they must keep pace with their company’s changing business environment and ensure that how they work, what they do and how they behave reflect these realities.
Security has risen up the corporate agenda and in some companies it enjoys relative seniority and influence. Learning from the ‘secrets of success’ of the leading companies and the shortcomings of others presents a vision of twenty-firstcentury corporate security that meets the challenges of twenty-firstcentury companies. The function must take its lead from business drivers rather than specific threats and ensure that the way it works, what it does and how it behaves reflect the new realities of doing business in a complex and fast-moving world.
There are six characteristics of alignment between security and the business:
The principle role of the security department is to convince colleagues across the business to deliver security through their everyday actions and decisions – not try to do security to or for the company.
The security department is in the business of change management rather than enforcement and works through trusted social networks of influence.
Security is there to help the company to take risks rather than prevent them and should therefore be at the forefront of new business development.
Security constantly responds to new business concerns and, as such, the portfolio of responsibilities and their relative importance will change over time. Security departments should never stand still or become fixed entities. In many companies today, its role is more concerned with overall corporate resilience than ‘traditional’ security.
Security is both a strategic and operational activity, and departments must distinguish between these two layers.
The power and legitimacy of the security department does not come from its expert knowledge, but from its business acumen, people skills, management ability and communication expertise.
Core Elements
Core elements of Corporate Security are:
Personal Security
Physical Security
Information Security
Corporate Governance
Compliance and Ethics Programs
Crime Prevention and Detection
Fraud deterrence
Investigations
Risk Management
Business continuity planning
Crisis management
Environment, Safety and Health
