There is a new latent value found in modern companies and organizations. Beyond the physical building space, office equipment and quality employees that make an organization function, 4 out of 5 organizations today manage over a petabyte of data within their systems, holding trillions of dollars of market value and the legal and ethical capabilities to manage that data effectively. The surging amount of physical and digital assets held by enterprises means modern security ecosystems must utilize all the tools they have as they become a more attractive target for threat actors. Increasingly, artificial intelligence has helped to answer this challenge.
Where physical security was once dominated by manual surveillance, physical access control, and reactive security measures, AI-driven solutions are being developed to prioritize the needs of modern enterprises. AI is delivering the operational efficiency and seamless user experiences that organizations require to effectively counter threats. The arrival and evolution of AI is certainly an exciting time, but it’s vital for organizations to consider the tangible applications of the technology so they can be realistic in how they deliver the next generation of security solutions to protect goods and data globally.
Enhancing Human-Powered Security
AI offers the potential to revolutionize physical security risk assessment and decision-making, collaborating with human teams to reduce the influence of fatigue, distraction or bias when managing and mitigating security incidents. It has the power to analyze vast amounts of security data in real time, identifying potential threats to people, goods and data with higher accuracy than manual monitoring alone. This translates to exponentially more informed decision-making, which can make all the difference in mission critical security.
One application we’re seeing so far is the AI-powered delivery of behavioral analytics. Human security teams are employing AI on the edge within security cameras to flag individuals exhibiting suspicious patterns, such as unauthorized access attempts or loitering in restricted areas. This then allows human security teams to respond proactively rather than having to react to an event after the damage has occurred. For example, behavioral analytics can be integrated with access control systems to reduce tailgating at entry points. By rapidly identifying discrepancies between badge scans or biometric authentication and the behavior that is occurring on the ground, the system can instantly alert security personnel – which in hand leads to optimized operational response times and improved building safety.
In high traffic places such as airports and stadiums, security teams are utilizing AI-supported surveillance to detect unattended bags, unauthorized access to restricted zones, or even agitating behavior. Human oversight remains vital however, to ensure that AI models are not employing biases in their algorithms. With considered usage, teams are already deploying smarter, more accurate security ecosystems than ever before.
Beyond Simple Surveillance
Security is evolving beyond simply monitoring activity and is being wielded to deliver overall operational efficiency across physical and digital spaces within an organization’s infrastructure. By processing vast amounts of data from cameras, sensors, access control, video, fire and life safety systems, AI can generate actionable insights that help security and facility management teams to improve workflow, reduce costs, and enhance individual and organizational safety.
In industries and roles where personal protective equipment (PPE) is mandated – such as healthcare, manufacturing, or construction, AI can be integrated with access control systems to review PPE compliance prior to entry. This approach has the potential to transform workplace safety by automating compliance checks, eliminating the need for manual inspections. As a result, workers can begin their tasks more quickly and safely, while reducing the burden on staff responsible for monitoring adherence.
AI-powered analytics can also optimize building occupancy by monitoring how spaces are used in real time. Whether in offices, warehouses, or parking garages, AI can accurately observe foot or vehicle traffic levels and dynamically manage building systems and security protocols, such as denying access if a space is over capacity. In this way, organizations can automate capacity enforcement and maintain detailed occupancy logs for audit and compliance purposes. This improves working efficiency and, in some cases, the sustainability of their facilities. The “non-security” benefits are continually being discovered, whether being used to change facility lighting levels to align with occupant numbers, adjust air conditioning usage within a parking garage to minimize energy use, or pre-empt building-specific actions such as quickly facilitating elevator dispatch upon arrival of catering vehicles.
The same systems that monitor intrusion by external actors can also be leveraged to increase workplace safety. AI-powered surveillance can be trained to monitor and identify potential safety hazards such as moving vehicles in a warehouse or unsafe environmental conditions, reducing workplace incidents and improving productivity. Predictive maintenance that integrates with AI also enables security devices to detect early signs of equipment failure, helping facilities address issues faster. By equipping cameras to inspect themselves, they can identify obstructions, misalignments, poor resolution or feed losses, and quickly flag these to maintenance teams. With AI, issues in a security system can be dealt with effectively, boosting system reliability and ensuring uninterrupted service.
The Potential Of AI-Powered Compliance
Security compliance has traditionally been a labor-intensive process that has required extensive documentation and regular auditing. AI-driven compliance tools have begun to make this a thing of the past. They streamline these processes by continuously monitoring and enforcing security protocols. Ultimately, it helps organizations stay compliant.
By automating access control audits, organizations can detect breaches in real time and ensure adherence to security policies. AI-driven platforms can also automatically generate incident reports, providing teams with real-time updates on security and policy violations. Furthermore, by encrypting personal data and limiting access based on an individual’s role in the organization, AI ensures compliance with privacy regulations that are being rolled out and updated globally. Integrating AI-driven compliance tools enables security professionals to ensure regulatory adherence while reducing the administrative burden of manual audits and reporting.
Is AI The Be All And End All?
While AI is certainly incredibly useful to the modern security ecosystem, we as security professionals should not treat it as the ultimate deciding factor of security operations. Along with the ethical questions it raises, its application must always be deployed alongside human creativity to solve evolving security threats. Security teams should keep the flexibility to decide when to employ AI, depending on the size and function of their organization.
Looking Forward With An AI Lens
AI will continue to fundamentally transform physical security to meet the physical and digital security needs of modern enterprises. It has taken just a few years to introduce more accurate, efficient and robust protection of enterprise property, workforces and data, and we are excited to be continually developing new use-cases. While ethical considerations must be kept in mind and we should be cognizant of AI not being the complete solution to the security needs of an organization, the benefits of AI-supported security are proven. The future of security is in collaborating with AI and those who embrace it today will be best positioned to navigate the evolving landscape of physical security tomorrow.
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