{"id":3420,"date":"2020-02-14T07:50:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T12:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/?p=3420"},"modified":"2020-02-13T19:00:23","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T00:00:23","slug":"why-physical-security-solutions-should-be-part-of-your-it-security-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/why-physical-security-solutions-should-be-part-of-your-it-security-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Physical Security Solutions Should Be Part of Your IT Security Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FourWith 2020 well underway, data breach prevention<\/a> remains a pressing concern for all kinds of organizations worldwide. Hackers continue their efforts to infiltrate IT environments and access private data: In 2019, the total number of reported data breaches increased by 17 percent compared to the previous year, according to the 2019 End-of-Year Data Breach Report<\/a> from the Identity Theft Resource Center.<\/p>\n

To lower the risk of malicious actors breaching your IT environment, it\u2019s essential to have various layers of advanced cybersecurity solutions<\/a> and services in place \u2013 such as next-generation firewalls<\/a>, network and endpoint Managed Detection and Response (MDR)<\/a>, anti-malware and anti-virus software, and so on. However, virtual safeguards alone aren\u2019t enough to achieve the best possible security posture. You also need to implement something that a fair number of organizations overlook: Physical security solutions.<\/p>\n

Although many still think of them as separate departments, cyber and physical security intersect and must be integrated to keep your company\u2019s data breach risk level as low as possible. Even if you have everything locked down in cyberspace, you could still suffer a breach if a malicious actor sneaks in through an open door in the \u201creal,\u201d offline world.<\/p>\n

If your IT and physical security strategies aren\u2019t already linked, here\u2019s why you should do so as soon as possible and what specific solutions you might want to consider implementing and maintaining to protect all aspects of your professional environment.<\/p>\n

How Physical Security Affects Cybersecurity<\/h2>\n

While most cybercrimes involve malicious actors looking for virtual ways to sneak in, some incidents involve actual break-ins and theft. Verizon\u2019s 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR)<\/a> states that physical actions (theft or loss) factor into 4 percent of breaches. Additionally, the DBIR notes that the most commonly stolen or lost assets are laptops and paper documents, and these items are most often stolen from a victim\u2019s workspace or an employee\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n

The proliferation of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets in modern workplaces has made it more important than ever for companies to proactively work to thwart theft, sabotage and vandalism, according to research from the SANS Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Device encryption<\/a> can reduce the risk of a breach resulting from a lost or stolen laptop or phone with sensitive data on it. However, it\u2019s ideal to simply stop the crime from occurring in the first place with physical security measures.<\/p>\n

In addition to stolen devices, an improperly protected physical space could also lead to the following kinds of incidents:<\/p>\n