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Market Trends Continue to Drive IT and Physical Access Convergence

I’ve had the fortune of participating in events where the discussion turned towards the convergence between physical and IT security.  This isn’t a new topic by any means, but it seems like market forces and technology trends might be working to pull these groups together.

I was recently on a panel discussion hosted by Genetec, a global provider of IP video surveillanceaccess control and license plate recognition solutions, to discuss the Security of Security. There were both physical and IT security experts in the room, and the panel discussion garnered a lot of audience participation from both sides as topics ranged from cybersecurity, personnel safety, and organizing for today’s threat landscape.  The timing of the event, which followed a large denial of service attack powered by hacked security cameras, spurned a lively conversation.  Security cameras fall under the domain of the physical security team, but now the Internet of Things is connecting these with other devices.  Having devices like cameras connected to other systems and networks can deliver great value by turning data into actionable information, but with that you open yourselves to broader public exposure and risk.

With the growing cyber-threat landscape, I feel strongly that everyone benefits from the physical and IT security teams working more closely together.  As more and more devices are designed to connect and share information, the physical security team needs to incorporate the IT team in their proposal, design, and implementation discussions and decisions.  Many of the experts in the room at the Genetec event had developed Security Councils to serve as a recurring forum for these types of topics.

But collaboration isn’t a one-way street.  If the IT team hasn’t included the physical security team into their cyber-assessments and incident response processes, the business suffers.  Every member of the physical security team should know what and where the critical technology resources are, and should have been deeply involved in the planning to protect those assets.

So where is your company in this journey? 

  • Do the physical and IT security teams ultimately report in to the same organization or Chief Security Officer?
  • Has your IT team implemented more advanced security policies that incorporate location attributes, or information often available from physical access systems?
  • Do you have a regular, recurring forum to discuss and approve projects that cross the line between the teams?
  • Are members of your team participating in any cross-functional projects with members from the IT or physical security team?
  • Have you been surprised in the last year about a project your team should have been involved in?
  • Do you work together on corporate compliance training or do you have separate curriculum/content?

I think it’s important to get ahead of the inevitable convergence between IT and physical access as cyber-security concerns escalate.  The first step is establishing a communications channel, and building the relationships and processes to make it work.  Not only will your company benefit, but so will your career.   

I plan to continue exploring these topics and more in the coming months, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, visit our web site to learn more.  

 

Watch Genetec VP of Marketing and Product Management, Andrew Elvish, discuss decade-long partnership with HID Global.

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