Risk and resilience: Why preparation matters
Earlier this year, we launched our risk and resilience event series in Glasgow. Attendees included customers and supply chain stakeholders, including installers we work with throughout the country, as well as organisations aiming to better understand their security resilience.
At Scottish Engineering’s Glasgow HQ, the session provided a platform for discussing what vulnerabilities modern businesses face and the strategies needed to counter them. Neil Millar, Security Solutions Manager, opened the session, before Neil Shanks, Director of Corps Consult, took centre stage.
Neil advised businesses on how they can strengthen their defences. His approach focused on two critical capabilities: early threat detection and establishing robust response procedures.
Between 40 to 60 per cent of businesses fail to recover after experiencing a natural or man-made disaster. That statistic carries weight. Neil closed his session with one main warning:
“A business is only as strong as its weakest point. 99% of a business continuity plan can be great, but if 1% isn’t, that’s where you will fail.”
Complexity breeds vulnerability
Modern technological systems offer incredible capability, but this sophistication creates vulnerabilities. Consider that roughly 18 billion Internet of Things devices exist globally, each representing a potential security concern. An outdated device or inadequately protected endpoint can provide threat actors with a gateway into broader networks.
The devices your businesses might not consider a priority, like printers or smart vending machines, could operate on the same infrastructure as your access control systems and surveillance equipment. This interconnection means a weakness in one area can impact your entire security architecture.
This is just one element of complexity. Now that AI is easily accessible, it can provide individuals with access to knowledge and skills that would have previously taken years, in seconds. When this is paired with the quick spreading of misinformation and disinformation online via social media, threat actors can use these tools to rapidly gather information on your organisation and are empowered to create confusion to disrupt operations and damage reputations.
Above all else, safeguarding your intellectual property needs to be your priority. Your innovations, ideas, processes, and methodologies all form the base of your competitive advantage. They are the heart and soul of your business. So, if exposed CCTV wires can be cut, or your colleagues could fall victim to phishing attempts, you are vulnerable.
Round-the-clock CCTV services might offer a crucial line of defence when threats materialise, but advanced equipment and procedures are only as strong as the individuals that make up your organisation. Ensuring that they are educated and aware of these risks bolsters your business.
Embed preparedness strategies
Resilience develops through continuous effort rather than single initiatives. You need to determine which assets matter the most: identify your intellectual property, IT infrastructure, and any other critical systems.
Maintain physical copies of your continuity plans. If only accessed digitally, you could fail to access your plan when you need it most. Develop backup systems, and train teams cross-functionally so knowledge isn’t siloed.
Effective preparation requires both physical and remote security measures. Strong security infrastructure provides the foundation for implementing protective cycles successfully – including the Preparedness Cycle:
- Develop your plan
- Train your people
- Evaluate what works and what doesn’t
- Revise and repeat
Risks do not exist in isolation. The question is not if you will face a threat, it is when. This cycle embeds resilience into your daily operations, helping unify people, departments and technological systems.
Your next steps
An ever-evolving threat landscape requires an ever-evolving preparedness plan. If your business doesn’t know where to start, contact , Security Solutions Manager, to find out more:
Email: nmillar@corpssecurity.co.uk
Mobile: 07980 769180
Our next risk and resilience event will be held in Edinburgh, in early 2026.
Corps Monitoring operates CCTV operations, alarm monitoring, intruder monitoring, lone worker protections and drone services throughout the UK. Review our services, or contact our team.
