Strong physical security requires that many disparate factors all work together—from landscape design to security guard training to programming and maintenance of biometric access controls. Rather than overseeing all of these details in-house, many organizations choose to outsource. In this section, you will examine the benefits and potential risks of outsourcing physical security.
Outsourcing physical security can be beneficial, especially to small and mid-sized organizations that do not have the personnel or expertise to handle physical security in-house. A dedicated security firm will have the experience and expertise to prevent many types of security breaches and may be able to point out areas in your organization that are not as well protected as you thought.
A third-party security firm will also be able to be more impartial about security than an in-house team might. For example, security guards from a dedicated security firm are more likely to question every individual who enters a secured area, while a guard employed by the organization may be tempted to make exceptions for friends, coworkers, or upper executives. An external security auditor will also be able to see the organization’s security situation with fresh eyes, while an internal security audit may overlook some areas simply because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
The major risk associated with outsourcing physical security is lack of control. Your organization has final responsibility for the security of facilities and resources, but the implementation details are handed off to a third party. If the outsourced security firm cuts corners or does not perform adequate background checks, your organization could be held liable for any damages caused by a security breach. To mitigate these risks, any organization considering outsourcing physical security should perform due diligence:
Outsourcing physical security can be beneficial, especially for small and mid-sized businesses, but there are risks associated with outsourcing. Conducting due diligence can mitigate many of those risks.
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