Almost every company has secrets that have helped it achieve success. Keeping key information about the company a secret is most often a guarantee of maintaining a high position on the market. Therefore, ensuring the security of all conversations, negotiations and meetings is a priority. It is equally important to ensure the safety of people who require special protection, i.e. key employees of the company.
Safety at home and at work
Key employees of a company are usually people who make the most important decisions regarding the company. The higher the position held, the more influence a given person has in the company. Their daily activities create the fate of the company and the decisions made every day affect the actual condition and position of the company on the market. Most often, such an employee has a great deal of knowledge about the most important matters regarding the company and, as we know, such data should be protected from access by unauthorized persons.
Many companies decide to provide professional VIP protection for their most important employees. Personal protection is provided not only during the performance of daily duties, but also during free time. The best security agencies are specialists in this field, which often additionally offer detective services. Thanks to this, the employee is maximally protected against potential threats.
In order to ensure the safety of an employee, it is first necessary to collect all information that affects safety: initial identification of the protected person, technical security measures in places of permanent and temporary stay (home, work), individual security measures, etc.
The next step is to prepare a threat analysis. It is crucial to collect as much information as possible about actual and potential threats directly from the protected person. First of all, it is necessary to analyze what threats may await the employee. Often, the situation requires conducting counter-observation of the surroundings. If the employee is a well-known and recognizable person, media reports about them should also be analyzed.
The most important thing is to ensure the employee’s safety not only during work, but also after the end of their duties, because then they are also exposed to dangers. The protected person should also be safe in their place of residence. Such conditions are most conducive to the agent’s observation of the surroundings and allow the use of additional protection systems, including alarm systems.
VIP personal protection is the first and basic step to ensure the safety of key employees. However, it is important to remember about many additional possibilities, and these are offered by the best security agencies and detective agencies. Detection of stationary observation and protection at the place of residence, as well as protection of facilities where the employee stays every day, are just some of the options that can be used to ensure the protection of life and health.
Employee safety during foreign business trips
Business trips of key employees – especially trips abroad – can be a significant risk for companies. Visits to high-risk countries, especially when the employee carries valuable company data, can be an opportunity for unfair competition, or services acting on behalf of their own companies (services of foreign countries).
It must be remembered that the employee is not “at home”, while the special services of the country to which he goes for business purposes operate on their own territory, are supported by their own offices and have a whole arsenal of powers that allow, for example, for:
- the use of a wide range of state repression,
- surveillance of postal services, telecommunications networks or the Internet,
- discreet search of hotel rooms and luggage,
- manipulation of mobile devices and data carriers,
- arranging compromising situations – for the purpose of blackmail and intimidation,
- and even provoking events due to which the employee will be accused of committing a crime or offense.
The above actions may be aimed at forcing the employee to act contrary to the interests of the company or gaining access to classified information that the employee has at their disposal during the trip. However, certain measures can be taken to thoroughly protect the employee and prepare them for the business trip:
- gather as much information as possible about the country to which we are sending the employee. Applicable visa regulations, travel rules, issues related to exporting and importing luggage (mainly items and money), all information regarding threats and the state of security in the target country – this is the minimum knowledge that you should equip yourself with when going to a foreign place to do business,
- ensure the validity of documents necessary for the trip (visa, passport), collect a list of the most important contact details of Polish diplomatic missions (embassy, consulate),
- find out about any restrictions on the use of the Internet or mobile networks, as different countries have different guidelines for data transmission and information encryption,
- gather information about the credibility of a business partner,
- provide the employee with mobile IT equipment (laptop, mobile phone, USB memory sticks, SD cards, etc.) well secured against data loss and leakage and secure all company data,
- provide a secure communication channel between the employee and the company, enabling data transmission (e.g. VPN tunnel connection).
The above examples are just a part of the recommendations that will help protect the employee before the trip. It is important to remember that there are many additional possibilities to ensure the employee’s safety during the trip and the activities that must be carried out after its completion. An employee traveling abroad is exposed to hostile intelligence activities of other countries and many other threats. It is worth ensuring their physical safety and protecting them from losing valuable company data. The best solution will be to use the services of a good agency that provides comprehensive security services (VIP protection).
It is best to take care of the comprehensive organization of the employee’s travel and the entire stay in a foreign country and provide them with personal protection from an experienced security agent during the entire journey and after their return. It is important to conduct a number of reconnaissance and intelligence activities before and during the trip. Preparation and securing (including technical security) of places of stay, hotels, travel routes and flights may be crucial. It should also be borne in mind that using the services of agencies operating in the target country is not a good solution, because such companies are usually monitored by local secret services or cooperate with them.
In order to effectively protect business secrets, the priority is to ensure the safety of key company employees. Cooperating with a professional security agency, whose services are often combined with the services of experienced detectives, will always be the best solution.