Physical Security

Why physical security is increasingly more important today than ever

Here at eDrivium, we not only care about your cyber security but also the physical security of your entire business and all it’s assets. We frequently see server closets used as storage, with open doors leading to your most precious assets including: Intellectual Property and critical customer and employee information.

Many of the issues we observe in the field not only go against basic compliance and insurance requirements but also against common sense. In many cases business executives do not even realize the potential impact of the flaws in their business security systems. Many business executives believe a firewall and basic anti-virus software is a magic bullet providing for all their security. The reality is different.  While a firewall is critical and difficult to hack through, it is relatively easy to install a small USB key in a server, or steal a laptop with an unencrypted hard drive.  All it takes is some physical access from an employee, cleaner/contractor or breaking a window.

Free and uncontrolled access of employees to different areas of your business may have unintended consequences. An employee could end up in the area they should not access due to health hazards, or they could leave a dock door or back door unlocked exposing your business to unauthorized access.

The parking lot may be used as a staging ground for criminal activity and as such should be monitored at all times. We frequently see camera-monitored parking lots without cameras strong enough to identify the license plate numbers of incoming and outgoing vehicles.

Looking at low-quality images it is often impossible to tell who entered the building and if the person was carrying anything coming in or going out.

In such cases, there are no alerts issued when these intrusions happen. Most of the systems we see are reactive and are used only to collect evidence post factum rather than provide active monitoring and let business know immediately as the unwanted activity unfolds. Getting an instant email or an SMS message when the back door was left open, or when there is any sort of movement in the office or in the parking lot after business hours may make a great difference.

We offer a variety of intelligent access systems and video surveillance solutions. We are uniquely positioned to offer a cloud-based, artificial intelligence equipped system which offers you access to alerts and videos from any place in the world with the ability to easily share captured video footage with the authorities and insurance companies.

We offer many cameras and devices designed to operate in harsh Canadian conditions and can be used to protect not only the parking lots but also, open area storages, construction sites, and remote facilities of any kind.

We offer solutions to protect and monitor your feet of trucks or buses, with the ability to install cameras inside and/or outside of the vehicle.

For those businesses in the hospitality and retail industries we offer cameras capable of monitoring; tables, cash registers and counting incoming customers protecting your business from over capacity fines.

For health care offices and facilities, we offer cameras with the ability to remotely measure the temperature of an individual at the door and grant/deny access based on the readout.

We can also offer a variety of keypads and access cards allowing you to control the traffic to your place of business.

Please feel free to reach out to eDrivium for more information.

Hospitality and Retail Challenges:

Grocery shoplifting on the rise in Canada amid inflation according to the article by Sharif Hassan of The Canadian Press posted on December 17, 2022

“Shoplifting has surged to an alarming level across Canada, industry insiders say, with inflation and labour shortages cited as major factors behind the increase.

The uptick has triggered concern among Canadian grocers even as the rise in food prices helps pad their bottom lines. Grocery prices were up 11 per cent year-over-year in October and they’re not expected to ease any time soon. The total cost of groceries for a family of four is expected to be $1,065 more than it was this year, according to the most recent edition of Canada’s Food Price Report.”

The article continues:

“Felicia Fefer, corporate affairs manager at Walmart Canada, said the retail giant has seen a historic uptick in theft.

“Retail crime, including theft and arson, is sadly higher than it historically has been at Walmart Canada and across the entire retail industry,” she said.

“This is very concerning for our business, our associates, our customers and the industry.”

Fefer said the company is implementing measures to prevent and reduce theft in order to keep prices low and keep its employees and customers safe.

Metro and Loblaw both declined to comment on the matter, referring The Canadian Press to the Retail Council of Canada. Sobeys did not respond to a request for comment.

Labour shortages are also contributing to the surge in shoplifting, said Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

“There is great concern among Canadian businesses right now about crime, and crime in Canadian workplaces,” he said. “Shoplifting is definitely being felt more, especially as we’ve come out of lockdown and restrictions.”

Kelly said some grocers are struggling to recruit new staff, and when businesses don’t have enough employees to perform physical monitoring, they could be in a vulnerable position.

“If you have fewer people on the storefront, if you know if you have one person deep in the business at the back cash desk,” he said, “it does lead to the business being a bit of a robbery target.

“Fewer people on the floor … makes shoplifters feel a little less intimidated to go in and take something,” he said, adding that employees and customers alike feel more “intimidated and nervous” walking into the stores.

As a result, more retail stores, even smaller ones, are hiring security guards including off-duty police officers. They are also taking other steps such as retrofitting to make sure they have clearer sightlines within the business, using more electronic monitoring technology, and limiting the number of people in the store so they can provide one-to-one service.

The entire article is available here:

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/12/17/grocery-shoplifting-on-the-rise-in-canada-amid-inflation/