Physical security is crucial to any business, no matter how big or small. However, most companies focus their prevention efforts on cybersecurity and hacking, leaving physical threats often forgotten.
In a technologically advanced era with digital technologies, such as cloud service providers, physical security is just as important as online security. For their businesses to be truly secure, business owners must implement the necessary safeguards to protect their physical infrastructure.
Deciding how to protect your business and its assets can be challenging. However, with the right knowledge, business owners can implement effective physical security measures to protect their assets and data better.
What is Physical Security?
Physical security measures help protect a business’s staff, equipment, and data from physical damage. They keep unwanted guests out and restrict access to certain areas within their premises, to prevent serious loss to a business.
Without physical security measures in place, your office or building is left open to physical security threats such as intruders, internal threats, cyberattacks, accidents and natural disasters.
Because of this, you must develop a physical security strategy to protect your equipment, resources, and other assets within a building or office space.
Read More: Backup and Disaster Recovery, how they work hand-in-hand
6 Physical Security Measures All Organisations Should Take
1. Secure The Server Room
The server room is the core of your physical network. When someone with ill intentions has physical access to your servers, they can do significant damage to your business.
Ensure your server room has good locks in place and establish rules and procedures for access to the server room. These physical security measures will help keep your data safe.
2. Set Up Surveillance
Video surveillance is an effective method of establishing a more secure perimeter. They give your guards visibility into the areas you need to protect and mitigate criminal activity onsite.
Surveillance cameras can also monitor continuously or use motion detection technology to start recording when they detect movement. They can even send out an e-mail or cell phone notification if they detect motion after hours.
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3. Protect Portable Devices
Laptops and handheld computers are physical security risks as well. A thief can easily steal an entire computer, including the data stored on it, including network passwords.
Your physical security strategy should include rules for device management. For example, employees should take their laptops when they leave their desks or secure them with a cable lock.
4. Store Backup Data Offsite
Backing up data is essential for disaster recovery, but outsiders can steal the information stored on backup tapes or discs. Ideally, backups should be kept in a secured, off-site location with end-to-end encryption and ISO-certified data centres.
This is because local backups are vulnerable to online and physical threats. With an off-site backup solution, businesses can quickly restore data from the backup, thus minimising the impact on business productivity.
Moreover, some employees may back up their work on USB keys or external hard disks. If this practice is allowed in your business, enforce policies requiring that the backups be locked up at all times.
5. Protect Wi-Fi Networks
Public Wi-Fi networks can put your data at risk. They become entry points for cybercriminals to enter business networks to steal private information and sabotage critical files.
That is why it is essential for business owners to establish a password-protected, encrypted guest Wi-Fi network completely isolated from your business’s Wi-Fi network.
Ensure that you also change the default credentials for connected appliances like coffee machines and refrigerators.
6. Keep An Eye On Employee Workstations
Hackers with access to an unsecured computer connected to your network can delete information important to your business.
Unoccupied desks, empty offices, and devices in locations accessible to outsiders, such as the front receptionist’s desk, are particularly vulnerable.
Disconnect and remove computers that are not being used or lock the doors of empty offices.
Additionally, you should also, equip computers that must remain in open areas with biometric readers. This physical security measure makes it more difficult for unauthorised persons to log on to your business’s computers.
Read More: Are You Exposed to Workplace Security Risk?
How Can Aegis Help?
Physical security is a critical business practice to prevent unauthorised individuals from tampering with your business and causing harm to your intellectual property and staff members.
Business owners today must consider physical security as a primary pillar of cybersecurity. If you do not take measures to protect your physical infrastructures – or work with an IT professional that can do so for you – then your business is not secure.
Aegis is a leading cloud service provider in Malaysia, dedicated to providing our clients with affordable data backup, and disaster recovery services.
Businesses can drive efficiency and manageability, with our Cloud Endpoint Backup (CEB) service. It automatically backups endpoint devices such as desktops and laptops and the data that resides in them.
With more businesses practising remote working, protecting your data from human error, malware and theft are especially crucial. However, with our services, we can make your business safer, more efficient, and secure.
