Monthly Archives: January 2022

News

Tesco Selects Alcumus to Maintain High Standards of Health and Safety, Accelerating Efficiencies by Centralising Global Risk Mapping

Reducing and eliminating workplace risks and hazards is an integral part of health and safety management. For companies with a global footprint this process of managing and collecting business critical data is particularly onerous and time-consuming given the breadth and scale of their business operations. As managing and connecting data becomes an increasing priority for multinational organisations, Alcumus is delighted to welcome the leading global retailer, Tesco, to its growing list of clients.

To streamline its risk management processes across Environmental, Health, Safety and Quality Management (EHSQ), the organisation needed an integrated safety risk mapping system. Alcumus will provide Tesco with a fully integrated, digital technology platform that will bring together operational and risk management information, processes and workflows, allowing the growing multinational business to take an increasingly proactive approach to analysing risk trends globally. Beyond addressing immediate business requirements, Alcumus’ software will help bolster Tesco’s operational efficiency and strengthen the accuracy of data collection across all its departments worldwide.

Helen Jones, Chief Operating Officer, Enterprise, Alcumus: “We are thrilled to start a new and exciting journey with one of the world’s leading multinational retailers, providing the company with the service and technology that will help keep its colleagues and customers safe, now and in the future. For over 20 years, our award-winning technology, and expertise, has been helping our clients create better and safer workplaces, and we are delighted to be extending our connections further in the retail sector and expanding our client portfolio in what is already a major sector of operation for us.”

Alcumus has been recognised as a leader in EHS software by research and advisory firm Verdantix in its 2021 EHS Software Green Quadrant, an independent review of global EHS software vendors, for its market-leading capabilities, demand for technology and expertise.

The team now works with 46% of the FTSE 100 and 45,000 clients globally.

Construction, News, Sport

Rugby player sponsored by Stonewood Group gets England squad call

CONSTRUCTION group Stonewood is congratulating Bath Rugby star Orlando Bailey, who it sponsors, on his call-up to England’s Home Nations squad.

The 20-year-old fly-half, who was a key part of England Under-20s’ title-winning Six Nations campaign last season, will join the 36-strong national squad in Brighton today for the tournament which kicks off against Scotland at Murrayfield on February 5.

Castle Combe-based Stonewood Group Chief Operating Officer Ben Lang said: “We are so pleased to see this recognition of one of Bath’s promising players, particularly because we’ve chosen to sponsor him this season.

“A major part of our ethos as a company is teamwork, supporting one another and supporting talent so that it can flourish and Orlando has personified that in the hard work he has put in to get this chance. We’ll be following his progress closely. We all send him our congratulations.”

The youngster, known to teammates as Landy, has been part of Bath’s academy since the age of 14 after cutting his teeth at Dorchester RFC.

Bath Academy coach Craig Lilley said of the University of Bath scholar’s selection: “Orlando is someone that has been in the pathway since the age of 13, so to see him get this opportunity is simply outstanding. He is one of the most diligent and hardworking players to have come through our pathway and is an excellent role model for our young players within the region.

“He has played consistently this season for the senior team and these experiences have no doubt accelerated his development.”

Orlando told the club earlier this season that he is constantly challenging himself to improve. “A huge goal of mine is to win the Premiership with Bath and become one of the best players in the Premiership,” he said. “It will be a long old journey but I’m lucky to have a good support network around me to be able to express myself, follow that path and give everything to it.”

Stonewood Group comprises Stonewood Builders (stonewoodbuilders.co.uk); Stonewood Partnerships (stonewoodpartnerships.co.uk); Stonewood Homes (stonewoodhomes.co.uk); Earthstone Construction (@EarthstoneLltd) and Stonewood Design (stonewooddesign.co.uk).

 

Cyber Attack, News

90% of UK businesses risk cyber-attacks and fines due to IT weaknesses

New data illustrates just how vulnerable Britain’s SMEs are – as IT and compliance weaknesses are rampant and cyberattacks are more common than ever before.

Two years of economic turbulence and supercharged adoption of new digital solutions and technologies have put the UK’s Small to Medium Sized Businesses (SMEs) in a continuously precarious position – and new data shows just how vulnerable they are.

Data from Konica Minolta has revealed that around 90% of SMEs are risking significant fines and reputational damage due to potentially fatal weaknesses in their IT and data management and compliance.

The data security vulnerabilities varied from data protection issues (such as insecure storage of financial details) to unsecured personal data, covered by lock tight GDPR laws and therefore can cause massive fines. Many were also found to lack essential software updates and patches, not only for endpoint hardware but also on servers containing all core data systems – and therefore the ability to avoid downtime and keep operations functioning.

This paints a bleak picture in any context. However, the cyber landscape, with its ever-growing rate of crime, as well as the fact that SMEs are now seen as far more of a valuable and worthy target than they once were, combines to ensure a constant and growing supply of cyber risks for Britain’s businesses.

Data from Check Point shows that there has been a 50% increase in global cyberattacks per week on corporate networks in 2021 compared to 2020. The results highlight the industries with the highest number of cyberattacks: the education and research sectors increased the most, with a jump of 75%. Government sector attacks saw a 47% increase, while attacks on healthcare organisations increased by 71% in 2021. Communications (51%) and ISP/MSP (67%) were also in the top five most-targeted sectors. Europe was the most targeted global region, with attacks increasing by 68%. North America followed with 61% and Latin America with 38%.

Erik Sönnerskog, Head Engineer at zsah, a leading managed-IT company, discussed what these vulnerabilities mean for Britain’s SMEs:

“Everyone knows or should know that cybersecurity is a hot-button issue right now, and for a good reason – however, the sheer number of threats and vulnerabilities out there is astonishing.

What is particularly surprising is that it is not just the cybersecurity practices of IT teams and those working from home that need to be reinforced and prioritised, but also data compliance. How and where organisations store data is often as or more important than the walls of security we put this data behind – as failure to do so risks not criminal damage, but certified monetary and reputational loss.”

Erik continued: “Of course – this is easier said than done. The rush to digitise to support workers who could only work from home and the fact that smaller and smaller businesses, with fewer resources, are having to devote time and resources to digital transformation, has increased the number of operations and data held online – potentially without the right protections.

Businesses that may struggle to manage their own IT resources should consider outsourcing to experts who can manage their digital transformation and fully commit to ensuring cybersecurity and data compliance. For many, this may be the best way to stay protected and avoid criminal or regulatory damage.”

News

Five pointers for choosing a Threat Intelligence Platform: what to look for in a TIP

Written by Anthony Perridge, VP International, ThreatQuotient

As 2022 gets under way and the new financial year looms, many companies are starting to identify the key strategic focus areas for the year ahead and the technology investments needed to deliver them. Given the aggressive cyber threat environment experienced over the past 18 months, cybersecurity investment is high on the list for many. Increasingly, organisations are building out their own Security Operations Centre (SOC), incident response capabilities and threat intelligence teams, as they aim to meet risk management and compliance demands and proactively defend the business. However, building a SOC unleashes a deluge of data from disparate sources which often overwhelms in-house teams and prevents the SOC from functioning effectively. The solution – one which is on many 2022 shopping lists right now – is a Threat Intelligence Platform.

A Threat Intelligence Platform, or TIP, serves as a central repository for all threat data and intelligence from internal and internal sources. Correctly configured, the TIP should be able to deliver essential context around threats that helps the team understand the who, what, when, how and why of a threat. Crucially, it should also help prioritise threats, based on the parameters set by the organisation, filtering out the noise so the resulting actions are clear. A good TIP benefits a range of stakeholders, from the board aiming to understand strategic risk to CISOs focusing on improving defence while staying on budget, and from security analysts collaborating more effectively to incident response teams benefiting from automated prioritisation of incidents.

Knowing what you need to invest in is the first step. The next is to understand the key features you need and why. There is a lot to consider, but in my view the following are five key areas that should be on your checklist as you evaluate TIPs:

  1. Ability to consume structured and unstructured data

A TIP must be able to import data from every possible source – internal and external, proprietary and open source – and in every format, whether structured or unstructured. This includes data from the full ecosystem of modern security tools such as endpoint detection and response (EDR), Network Detection and Response (NDR) and Cloud detection and response (CDR). Where unstructured data, such as blogs and social media posts is concerned, the platform must be able to parse and extract “de-fanged” or “neutered” data such as neutralising potentially risky URLs while leaving them readable by analysts.

The threat environment changes constantly, so the facility to create new custom connectors to ingest intelligence around new threats as they emerge is also key. So, too, is the ability to define additional objects to fit specific use cases, allowing teams to tailor the platform to their preferred workflows.

  1. Context is king!

Context is the crucial piece of the jigsaw allowing teams to make sense of what the mass of indicators are telling them and respond appropriately. Due to the importance of the supporting context, it is important to determine if the TIP vendor imports all the data and/or if they modify any of the data.

Modification can be helpful as a layer of normalisation is critical to de-duplication efforts. However, normalisation and unification of data must be done while preserving context. For instance, if Feed X publishes https://www.badguy.com, Feed Y publishes http://www.badguy.com and Feed Z publishes www.badguy.com, all three should be reconciled into a single IOC entry. Those are all “technically” different indicators, however the goal is to efficiently maximise detection strategies with minimal duplication. Data feed normalisation helps to consolidate analyst comments, better organise associated intelligence and effectively export one IOC in lieu of three IOCs, which makes for greater efficiency.

  1. Scoring and prioritisation

The sheer volume of indicators published today means it is impossible – and indeed undesirable – to monitor them all. This makes scoring and prioritisation a key feature of an effective TIP. Teams need a mechanism to prioritise which indicators should be detected to investigate, blocked or disregarded as a non-threat.

Scoring is highly specific to the organisation and the mission of the team and should not simply reflect vendor or community opinion. A progressive TIP will let you set your own scoring algorithm based on any piece of data in the system, making it a more tailored and accurate threat management solution.

  1. Multiple integration options

Integration with the full ecosystem of security tools is central to the value proposition of a TIP. The tighter the integration, the less manual work is required of analysts and the greater the efficiency of operations teams.

Uni-direction integration – from the TIP into an endpoint solution for example – is a given. This is a purely defensive strategy and is the most common integration, moving the automatically scored highest threats from the intelligence platform into the trenches of the organisation’s sensor grid for detection and/or blocking.

The next wave of TIP integration is bi-directional, with data pushed out from and pulled back into the tool. Key use cases for bi-directional integration are SIEM or log repository, ticketing systems, vulnerability management solutions and SOAR solutions. These combine to drive efficiency, improve prioritisation and reduce incident response times and vendors should offer software development kits (SDKs) and open APIs to facilitate powerful integrations.

  1. Data-driven automation and investigations

For under-pressure security teams, the ability to automate repetitive, time-consuming, low-level tasks is essential. If a tool can combine this automation with the real-time data and context needed to empower analysts to investigate high impact, time-sensitive incidents, even better! Effectively, teams need a balance between automation and manual investigation and the threat intelligence platform should deliver that using a native, data-driven approach.

Business considerations when choosing a TIP

Beyond the technical considerations – of which the above provide a snapshot and are not exhaustive – organisations also need to evaluate business factors.

Pricing is usually on a subscription and per user licence basis, which is a straightforward initial calculation based on the number of tactical users you have. However, a successful implementation should see a broader set of stakeholders realising the value of having access to the platform, so it is worth forecasting for access by teams such as risk management.

As discussed above, integration is central to the TIP value proposition, and vendors should provide an SDK and open APIs to facilitate this, but some charge a fee per integration. This can significantly increase the budget when you consider the number of different tools you want to integrate, so it is vital to know this upfront. Similarly, should the business undertake mergers or acquisitions, this will entail integrating the acquired company’s tools into the TIP, which will have a financial implication if a fee is payable each time.

Finally, understand the cost implications of hosting the TIP on-premise or in the cloud. If you are evaluating a cloud-based service but know you will need to deploy a private cloud instance for compliance or privacy requirements, be sure to understand if there are any additional costs and trade-offs in functionality/features. A TIP designed to run in the cloud often cannot offer full functionality on premises.

The right Threat Intelligence Platform has the potential to dramatically boost the performance of the SOC and selecting one should be a carefully researched and rigorous decision. As organisations aim to improve proactivity and embark on activities such as threat hunting, while effectively prioritising response to incoming threats, a powerful TIP will allow them to get the most out of existing resources and maximise the return on historical investment in security tools.

Commercial Property, Construction News, News

Topping out ceremony celebrates successful milestone in regional regeneration project

On Friday, Jansons Property celebrated an important milestone in the construction of the Dragon Court development in Petersfield, Hampshire with the unveiling of a stone plaque by Town Mayor, Councillor Phil Shaw.1

The ceremony, designed to mark the topping out of the building, was attended by Janson’s Managing Director, Andy Jansons, and members of the project team including local project manager, Boulter Mossman and Portsmouth-based contractor, PMC Construction.

Andy Jansons, Managing Director of Jansons Property, commented; “We’re delighted to celebrate this milestone today with the unveiling of the plaque. It’s the result of three years of planning, development and construction plus careful consideration of local requirements which is vital when regenerating a brownfield site.  As well as thanking our builders, contractors, and project managers today we would also like to thank and recognise the contribution and co-operation of the local planning authorities, namely East Hampshire District Council and South Downs National Park. We wanted to ensure the site was developed in keeping with the local area, and the local authorities have been particularly helpful in ensuring the selection of quality materials for the traditional brick and tile construction.”

The traditional topping-out ceremony paid tribute to the construction process and celebrates the completion of the structure and the roof trusses, representing a major milestone in the overall construction of Dragon Court.

When completed, the development, which is on the site of a former car park, will provide 13 new homes, retail space and areas for the public to enjoy. The target completion date for the development is the end of April 2022, and the regenerated area will make an important contribution to the vitality of Petersfield’s town centre.

Jansons Property worked solely with local firms to complete the development and acknowledge the excellent contribution from local project manager, Boulter Mossman and Portsmouth-based contractors, PMC. The end of April 2022 is the target completion date for the development.

Importantly, Jansons Property has ensured they are creating a public space within the development that will incorporate the well-loved town fishpond, which is viewed as part of the fabric of Petersfield. In addition, the Jansons Property team met with the original artist of the Dragon’s Street mosaic to deconstruct, remove and re-construct the mosaic on the external wall of Dragon Street to ensure it remains intact. It was expressed that the fishpond and artwork were of great importance to the town in the early stages of planning application.

Petersfield Town Mayor, Councillor Phil Shaw, said; “I was pleased to be invited to play a part in this topping out ceremony. Regeneration projects such as this are an important part of Petersfield’s future. I was particularly glad to hear about the restoration of the fishpond and Dragon Street mosaic.”

Cloud Migration, News

Nutanix Research Highlights Hybrid Multicloud as the Optimal Operating Model for Business

Nutanix has announced the UK-specific findings of its fourth global Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey and research report, which measures enterprise progress with cloud adoption. The research showed that more than half of UK respondents (53%) said that multicloud was their most commonly used IT environment, substantially more than the rest of the EMEA region and globally. Continuing this trend, 82% of UK respondents said they intend to be using multiple clouds in the next one to three years, with 21% already using three or more public clouds and 80% naming hybrid multicloud as the ideal operating model for their business.

Survey respondents were asked about their current cloud challenges, how they’re running business applications now and where they plan to run them in the future. Respondents were also asked about the impact of the pandemic on recent, current and future IT infrastructure decisions and how IT strategy and priorities may change because of it.

Commenting on the findings, Alan Campbell, General Manager and Senior Sales Director, UK & Ireland at Nutanix said: “UK companies are leading the global pack in deploying multicloud environments that span a mix of private and public clouds, while acknowledging the potential hurdles with multicloud management, security and application mobility as they ramp up adoption.” He continued: “These concerns represent an urgency for cloud-agnostic tools that provide unified visibility, security and control of an entire hybrid multicloud infrastructure as the vast majority of UK businesses now cite this as the optimal operating model for their businesses.”

Key findings from this year’s report include:

  • Multicloud is the most deployed IT environment. The UK leads the way in terms of multicloud adoption, with more than half of UK respondents (53%) citing multicloud was their most commonly used IT environment. The only other country of the 14 surveyed with greater multicloud penetration was Brazil (54%).

In addition, far more UK respondents (82%) said they intend to be using multiple clouds in the next one to three years than global respondents (64%) and those in other EMEA countries (65%). Just over one in five (21%) UK respondents said they’re already using three or more public clouds, with more than a third (34%) expecting to be using three or more public clouds within the next three years.

  • Application mobility is a cornerstone of multicloud strategies, with cost driving the movement in the UK. Adhering to a “cloud smart” approach of continuous workload optimisation requires enterprises to move apps among infrastructures as costs, IT resource demands, and business goals change. So it’s no surprise that most UK respondents (86%) said they have moved one or more applications to a different IT environment over the last 12 months. They cite cost as the biggest reason (44%), followed by security/compliance (37%) and capacity concerns (33%). Other respondent groups, by contrast, cited security and compliance most often as the impetus in relocating an application.

Despite the criticality of app mobility as a multicloud enabler, nearly all respondents from the UK (93%) agreed that moving a workload to a new cloud environment can be costly and time-consuming; 80% of global and 81% of EMEA respondents agreed. These results indicate growing requirements for hybrid multicloud  tools that unify and, to a degree, automate processes across dissimilar cloud platforms.

  • Among UK multicloud challenges, cost is king. While multicloud adoption is rising, these are early days that give rise to some challenges. Far more UK respondents mentioned managing costs across multiple clouds as a concern (56%) than in other regions, with inter-cloud security and data integration being mentioned most often by other respondents.

As hybrid multicloud tools continue to emerge that automatically discover cloud instances, compare costs, and alert IT with suggestions for changes that help cost-optimise their workloads, managing expenses across environments should become less of a multicloud concern. Accordingly, most respondents named hybrid multicloud as the ideal operating model for their businesses: 80% from the UK agreed, as did 83% globally and 81% across the EMEA region.

For the fourth consecutive year, Vanson Bourne surveyed 1,700 IT decision-makers around the world in August and September 2021. The respondent base spanned multiple industries, business sizes, and the following geographies: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and the Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) region.

To learn more about the report and findings, please download the full fourth Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Index, here.

 

Cybersecurity, Networks, News

Ransomware, Phishing, Zero Trust, and the New Normal of Cyber Security

Written by Adrian Taylor, Vice President, A10 Networks

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, cyber criminals saw their opportunity, and they took it. As everything from corporate offices, government agencies, educational institutions and even healthcare services transitioned to remote work models and online services, the rushed shift left inevitable cybersecurity gaps. Consumer broadband and personal devices undermined the corporate security stack as unsafe user practices and overlooked security patches opened ample vulnerabilities throughout the environment.

Meanwhile, an anxious and often confused public proved easy prey for phishing attacks. The impact was all too predictable: phishing attacks, DDoS attacks, and ransomware attacks all spiked. 80% of firms saw increased incidents in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic was blamed for a 238% rise in cyberattacks on banks. Phishing scams, alone, have seen a 22% rise in the first half of 2021, compared to the same time period in 2020.

 

Why Ransomware Attacks and Costs are Soaring

The pandemic-driven surge in ransomware was immediate and dramatic: attacks rose 148% in March 2020. Before long, the U.S. was reeling from a May 2021 ransomware strike that shut down a critical fuel pipeline. While the rise in ransomware strikes was likely the result of greater opportunities for hackers combined with the increased effectiveness of phishing attacks on news-obsessed users, a change in tactics may also have played a role. While earlier attacks generally focused on the traditional encryption-payment-decryption ransomware model, hackers are now seeking to increase their returns through stealing data and offering it for sale on the black market, known as data exfiltration.

Often, ransomware victims, particularly when they are healthcare systems and universities, find that the already-considerable damage of the attack is compounded by this data exfiltration tactic. The implications of violating customer or patient privacy, losing corporate data and facing massive regulatory fines can cost more in legal damages than the ransom itself. Add to this hidden costs such as system downtime, reduced efficiency, incidence response costs, and brand and reputation damage—and the total global costs amount to more than $1 trillion each year.

 

Taking Data Protection Inside the Perimeter with Zero Trust

In the era of public cloud, mobility, and work-from-home, the notion of perimeter security has quickly become outdated. It’s not just that the attack surface has changed; organisations have also gained a new understanding of who can constitute a cyber-threat, even trusted insiders who don’t even realise they are abetting a crime. It’s common to think of an internal threat actor as a disgruntled employee or spy undermining cyber security with ill intent, but it’s even more common for a well-meaning employee to inadvertently open the door to hackers through poor password hygiene, nonsecure practices, or the ever-popular phishing lure.

While awareness and education can reduce the risk of successful phishing and ransomware attacks, a single moment of negligence can be enough to devastate the business. In this environment, it is safer to assume that even your most trusted user can pose a security risk – and design your cyber defence strategy accordingly. Hence the rise of Zero Trust: the notion that we shouldn’t trust anything or anyone, inside or outside the network, with access to our computer systems. In practice, this means measures such as:

 

  • Moving beyond the idea of inside versus outside and redesigning cyber defence in terms of secure micro-parameters, with multiple points of network defence
  • Implementing the ability to control, inspect, and restrict network traffic traveling in any direction—north-south or east-west—within your organisation
  • Subjecting users to checks and balances, each time they cross into a different area of the network or try to access a new set of resources, to verify their needs and privileges
  • Preventing excess privileges from accumulating by periodically revoking and refreshing access and credentials
  • Continuously monitoring who’s accessing what and the level of risk these activities might present

 

Why SSl Inspection is Critical for Zero Trust

As organisations move to implement Zero Trust, they quickly run into the issue of visibility in a world of pervasive TLS/SSL encryption. To enable fast threat detection and response times, it is essential to be able to decrypt, inspect, and re-encrypt network traffic quickly and efficiently at scale, without impairing cost or adding complexity. A centralised, dedicated SSL decryption capability provides visibility into network traffic for each element of the cybersecurity stack without the inefficiencies and performance penalties of device-by-device decryption and re-encryption. Similarly, a centralised approach to management can help organisations ensure consistent and efficient policy enforcement across the security infrastructure.

As a strategy rather than a product category, Zero Trust implementation requires more than simply plugging in a new box. Rather, it represents a new way of thinking about cybersecurity, embodied in evolving approaches to management, automation, auditability, resiliency, and integration. By approaching Zero Trust in this way, organisations can mitigate the security risks endemic in our new normal, and better protect their business from threats of all kinds.

News

Back to the office: Here’s how to make your office feel safe again

With the recent news that Boris Johnson has dropped the work from home guidance with immediate effect, offices across the UK are now back open for business. But many workers may find it daunting to be back in a different territory after a long time remote working, with searches for ‘can I refuse to go back to the office’ up by +767%1.

To help your workers feel safe when returning to the office, The Compensation Experts outline five ways to keep your employees happy and safe in the office.

Top tips for making the office feel safe

1. Create and implement a safety programme

Before your employees return to the office, take the time to have a walk around, and identify anything that’s a potential hazard. Then, you can take steps to remove that hazard and prevent it from happening again. When staff come back, set aside half a day where you can train them on how to keep the office safe and encourage them to report potential hazards when they see them. It would also be beneficial to send some of your employees on a first aid course, just in case anything should happen.

2. Keep your office clean and tidy

As offices are a large communal space and covid still a potential risk, it’s important to offer your employees antibacterial cleaning products. Educate your employees on cleaning down desks and meeting rooms after use, to keep it safe for everyone else.

Loose wires and cables are a sure-fire way for your employees to injure themselves by tripping over them. Ensure cables are neatly tucked away, no boxes are left on the floor, and that desks are kept clean. If there are any spilt liquids in the kitchen, make sure you wipe them up, even if you didn’t spill them (and make sure employees have the same mentality!); to prevent potential accidents before they happen.

3. Empower employees with the information they need

Whilst as a general rule, office workers may not be required to do a lot of heavy lifting; there may be an occasion where a heavy parcel gets delivered, or employees are moving desks and need to lift computer monitors and chairs. If you know that something like this is likely to happen, provide them with the knowledge they need to do it safely, and injury-free.

4. Set up all office equipment correctly – and regularly audit it

When you think of a workplace accident, slips, trips, and falls likely spring to mind; but there are other, less-obvious accidents that are waiting to happen. With people coming back to the office, it’s the perfect time to ensure all equipment is set up correctly. Make sure all office chairs are set up to provide the right amount of back support, and that keyboards and monitors are at the right angle.

5. Avoid the temptation of shortcuts

It sounds obvious, but mistakes are most likely to happen when tasks are done quickly. Your employees’ safety should be the most important thing to you, so when implementing safety measures, don’t cut corners. You should also encourage your employees to do the same – completing a task they’ve done before may make them think they don’t need to take adequate safety measures, but it could cause an injury, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Security

3 Ways To Enhance Security Of Your Commercial Properties

Securing your commercial properties is quite essential to safeguard valuable assets and the premise occupants. These buildings are often susceptible to break-ins and theft. Therefore, you must incorporate reliable and efficient measures to ensure sufficient security. 

How To Safeguard Your Commercial Properties

If you’d like to better the security of your commercial properties, you should first identify the weak points that currently exist. Here, you might need the help of those who spend more time on the premises, like tenants or employees. Consider enquiring about what happens around that area and the security gaps they see. Also, let them advise you on the necessary adjustments to make. Alternatively, you could consider hiring professionals like a reputable locksmith or security company to perform an assessment and provide personalised and expert advice. 

Generally, here are some of the measures you may be asked to take to improve the security in your commercial properties:

  • Install CCTV Cameras

Installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras is the first step an expert could advise you to take. CCTVs might provide you peace of mind because they help you monitor your property even at night. The best thing is that today, you can find cameras that you can control and view their footage remotely using a phone or computer. This means you can see what’s going on in your commercial properties at any time, regardless of where you may be. 

If you have a construction site where no buildings have been erected yet, but some materials are in it, it could attract thieves. Therefore, consider installing CCTV towers. These will provide you with an aerial view of everything going on all-around the site. 

If you have an already built property, ensure you install your cameras where you can see your stairs, entries, driveways, corners, and common areas. Also, ensure that they aren’t easily reachable to prevent destruction. This way, you create a visual deterrent to potential burglars from either inside or outside the building. Also, if a criminal incident occurs, you can review footage from all building angles to identify the culprits.  

Surveillance cameras in an already finished building should be safe from rain, extremely high or low temperatures, and other harsh conditions. However, if you have CCTV on construction sites, they might not be safe from such unfavourable weather. In this case, you’ll need to consider weatherproof cameras or housing cases. 

  • Set Up An Alarm System

Besides installing CCTV cameras, setting up an alarm system could also help you enhance security in your commercial properties. These units can detect movement, glass breaking, vibrations, or window and door contact. Advanced systems could also sense smoke, carbon monoxide, and even fire. Once the danger is detected, the unit sends a signal to the monitoring centre, and an audible alarm is triggered, alerting you of the invaders. If you have a monitored alarm subscription, the system will notify the necessary authorities of the break-in. 

Alarm systems can be pretty helpful in deterring potential criminals or helping you catch the intruders in the act. That said, you must first test your unit after installation to ensure it performs effectively. Besides that, you must also regularly inspect it to make sure it’s continually operating well and reliably. 

  • Limit Access To Sensitive Areas

If you have sensitive areas on your properties, like your office or rooms with essential equipment, ensure limited access to these places. This means only allowing a few trusted individuals into these areas. To make sure unauthorised persons don’t get into these building sections, install security features like proximity readers, keypads, or biometric finger scanners. You could also fit windows and doors made with sturdy materials to help ensure it’s difficult for someone to break into these rooms.

That said, not all people might be faithful, and you might trust the wrong person. To ensure the valuable items in sensitive areas are also safe from theft by people with authorised access, install CCTV in these places or alarms that can detect tampering. Also, ensure you record the serial numbers of your valuables and store this information securely. This way, if the items are stolen, the police can easily trace and find them for you. 

Conclusion

Enhancing security in your commercial properties is quite essential. This way, you protect the valuable items inside and ensure safety for people using the building. In this article, you’ve learned about some measures you could take to improve security on your commercial properties. 

As provided above, you could fit CCTV cameras or alarm units. Besides that, you could also limit access to sensitive areas using keypads, proximity readers, or biometric systems. However, you must ensure you test any security unit you install. This way, you can be confident that they’ll work efficiently in case of an emergency. Also, make sure that your systems are regularly inspected to identify malfunctioning parts and fix them early. Lastly, ensure proper maintenance of your devices to make sure they serve you longer. 

Awards, Denbighshire, News, North Wales

Rhug Estate announced as finalist in Game Butcher Awards – they need your vote to win!

Rhug Estate has been shortlisted for the Game Butcher of the Year Award in the Eat Game Awards 2022 but it needs everyone to vote online to win.

The Eat Game Awards, now in their fourth year, are a celebration of wild British produce. Eight categories make up the awards, which recognise the achievements of champions of game, including chefs, producers and retailers. The awards aim to raise the profile of game meat and reward the passion, innovation and success of those working with wild game.

The judges of the Game Butcher of the Year Award are looking for the best local butcher selling a range of game meat. For this category, online nominations were collated and the top 10 have gone forward for online public voting. The three nominees with the most votes will go through to a final judging process by a mystery shopper visit, scored against a set criteria.

Steve James, the Manager of Rhug Estate’s Butcher’s Counter in the Farmshop said, “I was delighted when I found out that we had been nominated and shortlisted for this Award. The most rewarding part of the job behind the Butcher’s Counter in Rhug Farm Shop is recommending something to a customer and they come back to tell you how nice it was. It would be a huge honour to win this Award. If customers could take a minute to go online and vote for us it would be appreciated.”

Voting closes on Monday, 21 February 2022, and the Award winners will be announced on 25 March 2022. Please vote for Rhug Estate online here: https://eatgame.co.uk/eat-game-awards/voting/#best_butcher

Chances are if you have visited the Butcher’s Counter in Rhug Estate Farm Shop you have been served by Steve, as he is our expert, award winning, butcher who is always on hand to answer questions about the Rhug organic meat on display.

Steve James has worked at Rhug for almost six years. Previous to working in Rhug Estate’s Farm Shop he worked in Hawarden Estate Farm Shop, Vernon’s Butchers and prior to that he worked with his dad on the Butcher’s counter in Kwik Save in Llay, Wrexham.

Steve was brought up around the butchery business as his dad had five shops and it has always been Steve’s great passion to get great animals and produce the best from them. In his spare time Steve enjoys shooting and fishing. His eldest son is in the RAF and his youngest son enjoys fishing with him.

Lord Newborough, Owner of Rhug Estate said, “Well done to Steve for his hard work which has resulted in our Butcher’s Counter being shortlisted for this Award. We pride ourselves on our customer service in the Farm Shop and the success of Rhug is built on always trying to go that extra mile for our customers. As a dedicated team we are always striving to do better and that is how it should be.”

Rhug Estate is renowned for producing the highest quality game including: grouse, pheasant, partridge, mallard, wild rabbit and venison.

This is the first time Rhug Estate has been shortlisted for the Best Game Butcher Award but in previous years Steve James has won the ‘Best Butcher in Wales’ Award. He also won the ‘Best Pie in Wales’ Award for his homemade steak and ale pies two years running.