Human and Assets Security Practices
Aradau, C. (2010). Security that matters: Critical infrastructure and objects of protection. Security Dialogue, 41(5), 491-514.
In this article, Aradau (2010) discusses various elements, practices, procedures, and critical infrastructure that determines optimal security for both assets and human. In the contemporary world, asset and human security practices are fundamental to businesses and organizations’ sustainability. This article defines human security as the protection of humans while safeguarding their confidentiality, privacy, and freedoms. Human security requires protecting people from pervasive and critical threats while empowering them to take control of their lives. On the other hand, asset security concerns the protection of assets against unauthorized access, vandalism, or misuse. Various threats to human security include persistent poverty, human trafficking, terrorism, ethnic violence or discrimination, joblessness, health pandemics, and financial or economic downturns. Human and include employment, reasonable pays, availability, and accessibility to healthcare, equality, and suitable housing. Asset security practices include locking of rooms, user identification, and protection against theft and natural occurrence, including fire, floods.
Ellis, J., Hertig, C. A., & Metscher, R. (2020). Concepts and Evolution of Asset Protection and Security. The Professional Protection Officer (pp. 3-18). Butterworth-Heinemann.
This article establishes the concepts and practices of asset security and protection. Primarily, asset security is the protection of assets using physical security measures. Physical security concerns hardware, personnel, software, data, and network protection against physical events and actions capable of causing damage or critical loss to an organization. Therefore, physical security involves protection against flood, fire, theft, burglary, terrorism, vandalism, and other natural disasters. Accordingly, some of the most ordinary human and asset security practices include the deployment of robust access controls, improved employee training, securing buildings and networks from unauthorized access, regular security assessments, and development of emergency plans. While locks and deployment of fire extinguishers enhance physical security, robust firewall systems, passwords, and other authentication procedures increase data, information, and network security to eradicate unauthorized access to various assets. The table below highlights some of the advantages and disadvantages of these practices
| Security practice | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Robust access controls | – Provides a secure tracking mechanism for the users of the assets – Reduces misuse or abuse of assets – Enhances efficiency at work | – Increases access time to the asset – |
| Regular security assessments | – Increases efficiency at work by establishing and addressing security threats in advance – Improves workforce motivation by ensuring proper working conditions of equipment. – Reduces the damage of assets | – Increases operational costs due to the increased activities and additional workforce for the assessments |
| Creation of emergency plans | – Permits continuity of business in case of disaster – Enhances good relations between the organization and the customers by ensuring the availability of products and services at all times.
| – Increases cost of running the business or organization |
| Improved employee training | – Ensures that the organization has the right persons for particular tasks. – Improves organizational management and operationalization – Permits growth and development – Increases creativity and innovation – Right human resources permit diversity for improved service and product delivery – Minimizes unemployment, poverty and economic security threats | – The cost of hiring professionals and skilled personnel is often high – Selection or the right workforce is time-consuming |
| Firewall | – Promotes asset security by reducing unauthorized access to the assets | – Is complex and costly |
| Passwords and other authentication controls | – Enhances usability and maintenance of assets – Reduces unauthorized access while providing asset tracking | – Increases time to access certain services |