As ever the August 2018 print edition of Professional Security magazine has something for everyone to do with private security, whether their interest is on the electronic, physical, cyber or personnel side, or as a security manager, installer or manufacturer of security products and services.
We review IFSEC 2018 and report from some summer events by industry bodies, namely the UK chapter of ASIS’ quarterly seminar at the swish central London offices of Facebook, the Association of Security Consultants (ASC) dinner as guests at the House of Lords; and the Security Institute’s dinner and awards night at London Zoo. We take a particular look at the SABRE accreditation scheme for buildings by the BRE, having heard about it at an all-day seminar at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, and indeed enjoyed a tour of the home of Manchester City FC. On the cyber side, we heard what a Government minister and others had to say at the launch of LORCA (the London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement), on the site of the 2012 Olympics.
But it’s not all dashing about the country, making polite conversation, and listening to speeches. We returned to the offices of the emergency response company Northcott (NGS) to hear about one of their services – female-only workshops about travel safety, for women to feel more comfortable about airing and learning about risks such as harassment when on the road, whether in a taxi or at a hotel or doing business. We feature the veteran corporate security man and consultant David Burrill, now half of Burrill Green, whose talk at IFSEC included some pointed criticisms of corporate security people as a body. It’s too much alike, not showing enough diversity, and (partly but not wholly for those reasons) security managers are unable or even unwilling to go about gaining a ‘seat at the table’ – whereby a head of security has a truly valued place in a company, able to influence board members besides react to crises – when, we also heard recently, by being appreciated the security manager can have an earlier input into an unfolding incident, whether affecting the reputation, share price or assets of the firm.
Plus our regular columnist Una Riley, who visits the University of Cambridge, to interview Lucy Lewis; and magazine MD Roy Cooper’s gossip page. Also four pages of ‘spending the budget’, four pages of new products, and a continuing look at the new data protection law; or more to the point, what managers are meant to do, to avoid having a data breach in the first place, and what they are obliged to do to comply with the law, if they do have a breach, and avoid a far heavier fine than under the previous regime.
To read the magazine and other past issues online, visit https://professionalsecurity.co.uk/online-magazine/27-07-18/28-08/.
