Closing the gap between physical and cybersecurity

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With an increase in in-person work, security leaders have looked into improving their physical security solutions. This could include updating their access control measures, video surveillance or hiring additional security staff.

According to the Genetec State of Physical Security Report, 33% of respondents stated that their physical security systems were on-premises and 67% were cloud or hybrid-cloud. Fifty-five percent of respondents stated that their information technology (IT) department has access to physical security data.

The report found that project delays due to supply chain issues are a bigger problem in the United States and Canada, with 55% of end-users concerned. Globally, 42% faced these delays.

Security leaders are also aware of the connection between physical and cybersecurity. Protecting security systems from cyberattacks and threat actors helps ensure that they’re working properly to protect buildings and employees.

According to the report, cybersecurity issues were prioritized in the responses of “information technology” respondents. The survey data also indicates that they have higher budgets compared to other departments, which could make it easier to focus on cybersecurity measures.

Thirty-one percent of end-users indicated that their organization was targeted by cybercriminals in 2023. In response to cyber threats, 42% of organizations increased deployments of cybersecurity-related tools in their physical security environments in 2023, up from 29% in 2022.

Staffing shortages and supply chain issues were also a concern, according to the report. Thirty-eight percent of respondents are having issues attracting talent and another 38% stated they are also experiencing labor shortages. Half of respondents believe supply chain issues will greatly increase or somewhat increase, while the remainder believe they will stay the same (28%) or somewhat decrease or greatly decrease (22%). This could lead to a number of issues in 2024, as projects may be paused or shut down.

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Taelor Sutherland is the Associate Editor at Security magazine. Sutherland covers news affecting enterprise security leaders, from industry events to physical & cybersecurity threats and mitigation tactics. She is also responsible for coordinating and publishing web exclusives, multimedia content, social media posts, and a number of eMagazine departments. Sutherland graduated in 2022 with a BA in English Literature from Agnes Scott College.