staying ahead of the times

Cyber Security for the Security Integrator

Cracking the code

​When you hear the term “cyber security” what comes to mind? Most often it conjures up thoughts of very technical software, hackers, and the unknown. IT companies have been offering cyber security solutions for decades to protect businesses from external threats, while electronic security companies have been offering physical security technology to protect businesses from external threats. See what I am getting at here?
Some IT organizations have adopted offering physical security components such as video surveillance, access control, and burglar alarms to meet the needs of their customers. To a lesser extent, security integrators are offering IT services such as cyber security software and implementation. IT security and physical electronic security are slowly becoming the same need from customers and those who refute it or don’t adapt, will go away as the dinosaurs they have become.

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If you are going to protect a business, it needs to encompass both physical and digital asset protection. Today, a server going down for a business could mean loss of substantial revenue for days or weeks until a recovery. Its not only about protecting from external threats, its also about protecting from internal threats due to malicious (or ignorant) intent from employees.

Cyber security protection will also become an expectation from companies looking into implementing security solutions. If you aren’t safeguarding your subnetwork or protecting them from outside intrusion, then your competition will take the business from you.
Security integrators will need to provide these software solutions alongside their current offerings in order to meet demand and provide full protection. Gone are the days of the non-technical alarm company that thinks they can just pop up an alarm system and be done. With the new digital age upon us, the technicians AND the salespeople need to both be up to snuff on cyber security and how its implemented. Technical software training and education will need to be apart of every onboarding of new employees, where they will need to get certified.

With automation and machine learning being our future, we can automate cyber security the same way we’ve automated security systems with analytics. Security integrators and automation companies will need to forge relationships with software companies alongside their manufacturer partners to provide a full suite of security solutions for their customers.
If you work for an electronic security organization and they don’t have the current resources for this to happen, at least quickly, then build a relationship with a local IT company who offers these services. What I have found is that IT companies have better, longstanding relationships with their customers due to managed services and being their go-to technology provider. Security integrators need to become that go-to security provider and technology partner.

With everything being IOT and connected via cloud or otherwise, that communication needs to be encrypted end-to-end. The future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here, and that technology can both help and hurt us. It needs to work for us in safeguarding whats most important to business owners. Companies can’t afford to miss a beat, and the software provided needs to meet certain standards set forth by various certification organizations. Enterprise commercial customers will begin to expect you to be certified in order to protect their digital assets and be considered a viable vendor.

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Of course this does not only apply to businesses, this also applies to residential customers. If you have seen, there has been a drastic increase in the affordability of home-based IOT automation systems such as Nest, ADT, and Amazon Echo. For a few hundred bucks you’ve got yourself a full blown automated system to control your lights, heating/cooling, alarm system, cameras, door locks, garage door, and even your outdoor irrigation! Applying those same cyber security principles to home-based systems will also need to occur due to the vulnerability that home networks traditionally have. Building in packages that encompass both security software and security hardware, be able to explain the benefits, how it works, and then having one company able to install/service/manage will make all the difference in this new digital world.
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The future is now, be prepared, or be left behind.
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If you need cyber security certification for your employees, please contact us via our partner page.