If you own or rent an office, keeping it secure should be a priority. If equipment or information is stolen/damaged, it could have costly repercussions.
Most people know the basics of office security, but some threats can be overlooked. Below are a few questions you may want to ask yourself to determine just how secure your office really is.
How secure are the windows and doors?
Burglars are likely to enter your property through a window or a door. You should make sure that all windows and doors are impenetrable when you’re not in the building. This could include investing in decent locks or using robust materials (there are various anti-shatter techniques that you can use for windows).
Installing a burglar alarm can be a useful added form of protection. It’s possible to activate alarms on windows and on doors. Modern alarms can even be triggered to alert your phone when they go off, so you know exactly when someone is breaking into your office.
Adding blinds or using window tinting can meanwhile stop people from being able to peer in. This could put off would-be burglars looking for loot, as well as stopping people from seeing potentially sensitive information on screens.
Do you track and monitor visitors?
You don’t just need to worry about thieves out of office hours. Some burglars may be brazen enough to target you during working hours. Others may simply use a visit into your premises in order to plan a future break-in.
Keeping an eye on visitors can be important for this reason. You may want to schedule appointments and check visitors’ ID on entry. Alternatively, you could keep areas off-limits to visitors (if technicians need to access these areas, you could make it policy to have someone in the room to monitor them). Make sure that sensitive information (such as a password list) isn’t displayed publicly. Security cameras as available from Watchmen Security Services could also be used to monitor visitors. As much as visitors should be made to feel welcome, you don’t want to be exploited by criminals.
What information do you trust with your employees?
Many companies overlook the fact that their employees could be a security risk. In industries that handle sensitive information, some applicants may try to get hired to access this information and sell it onto others. In other cases, employee incompetence could lead to information being leaked.
Consider always screening new applicants to check that they haven’t got a criminal background and that they are who they say they are. You may want to limit certain information like log-ins to company bank accounts to only your most loyal and trusted employees.
How secure is your network?
Your company wi-fi needs to be secure. If you allow both visitors and employees to use the same internet connection, it could be a recipe for disaster - your internet connection should be kept private to employees or there should be a separate public internet connection. Passwords should be regularly changed and kept strong. It’s worth also putting your router in a safe location where it cannot be accessed by anyone.
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