Physical Threats Businesses Should Watch Out For

Many Canadian businesses are now returning to face-to-face work, so physical threats could increase again. These could make their way back into various establishments, including yours. Protect your business and employees by knowing what these threats are and how to avoid them.

Here are some of them and ways to prevent them from happening.

Tailgating

Tailgating is when an unauthorized individual follows your employees inside the building, potentially through restricted areas. You might think it’s cool and slick in the movies until the bad guys make their way into your facility and harm your business.

You can invest in anti-tailgating doors to prevent these people from entering. These intelligent gates close immediately every time an authorized person goes through, preventing malicious individuals from following them.

Another thing you can do is to educate your employees to look over their shoulders before entering restricted areas constantly. You can also place security personnel at every entry point and ask for ID badges to stop unauthorized people from going through.

Stolen Identity

Many underestimate the importance of ID badges and how they increase security with the right features and proper protocol. A person could easily replicate your design and go through your premises with no problem. They might not even need to present identification if you’re not taking ID badges seriously.

Educate your employees about the importance of their ID cards. A careless employee might lose theirs without thinking of the repercussions, like replicated badges.

In addition, you also need to incorporate security features that are unique only to your business. Fortunately, most trusted suppliers of ID badges and custom lanyards in Canada provide security features, like barcodes, holograms, and fingerprints, among others, that are hard to replicate.

Document Theft or Leaks

Malicious individuals who pose as visitors could snoop in and steal restricted documents around the workplace. Visitors or employees within the premises could accidentally see confidential information they’re not supposed to see. Both incidents could lead to leaks, which could severely harm your business.

One way to address such issues is to implement a clear-desk policy in the workplace. It’s a concept where employees must ensure they clear out their desks before leaving the office for the day. That includes locking essential documents in their drawers to prevent prying eyes from seeing.

Some companies elevate this initiative further by penalizing employees who don’t follow. They even confiscate or destroy any item left on desks.

There’s also the clear-screen policy wherein employees must lock their computers every time they leave for an extended period. This could be for something like taking a break or going to a meeting. Like the clear-desk policy, this helps prevent malicious individuals from accessing vital company information through unattended or unlocked computers.

Clear desk and clear screen policies go hand-in-hand to add a stronger layer of security in the office.

Protect Your Business From Physical Threats

When preparing for face-to-face work, watch out for the same physical threats that used to cause problems before the global pandemic. Unlike cyberattacks, these threats may not need advanced technology but can significantly damage your business. So, you have to prepare for them. Protect your business and employees with helpful knowledge, tools, and practices against these physical threats.