What Do Continuous Monitoring and Protective Intelligence Have in Common?

From corporate security to executive protection, the practice of continuous monitoring is relied upon by physical security teams to detect, assess, and mitigate threats. Seasoned and new practitioners alike can all agree that the stress of manually and retroactively sorting through historical data is not a practice they pride themselves on. Continuous monitoring addresses this issue head on.

Continuous monitoring is the always-on engine of the security intelligence gathering workflow that uses technology to monitor for potential threats by focusing on specific anomalies and activities of interest for the security team.

However, what many don’t realize is that continuous monitoring is nearly synonymous with protective intelligence in terms of concept, workflow, and communication structures. Having the ability to be proactive by identifying factors that indicate an escalation of threat or risk is game changer for physical security teams. It allows them to uncover vulnerabilities earlier by continuously monitoring data for anomalies and patterns.

Given my experience working in the security intelligence world, here are four scenarios that typically benefit from the use of continuous monitoring:

• • Insider Threat: Teams have access to business financial accounts, intellectual property, and other confidential business information. It’s critical to be able to proactively identify events in an individual’s life that might influence malicious behavior toward your organization or unusual activity in the workplace.
    A 2020 report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners showed that internal threats detected through active monitoring resulted in the lowest median dollar loss per event out of all possible detection sources
    

• • Brand and Reputation Protection: It often takes a crisis or inflection point to help organizations see the value in monitoring for threats to the brand via online media, and continuous monitoring allows teams to stay ahead of adverse news headlines

• • Executive Protection: When you are managing a handful of active threat cases, being aware of arrest and incarceration data is pivotal for protecting your business leaders. This type of data can inform us about activities that are indicative of potential violent behavior, as well as the physical location of the POI.
  • Contractor and Vendor Management: Vendor management for an enterprise that is built upon contracted service providers is a prime example, as each individual and provider is an extension of the brand.

If you want to learn more about the practice of continuous monitoring and tips on how to implement or enhance a program at your organization, check out my whitepaper on Continuous Monitoring in the Intelligence Cycle.