Corporate India is not prepared to cope with a security incidence in case they are caught in a terrorist attacks or are faced with an unconventional threat. Organisations can no longer treat organisational security as a mere administrative issue.
A latest KPMG survey report has pointed out to the fact that gaps exists in the current security measures of most companies indicating a need to improve the current security framework.
Corporates should assume a more proactive role in ensuring that at organisational level they are accountable for the security of their premises and personnel and do not become victim of such attacks on account of negligence, mentioned the KPMG survey, conducted with select companies in India from various sectors, majority of them with an annual turnover of over $150 million.
The survey further reveals that more than half of the respondents (53%) did not conduct such threat analysis. Only 1/5th of the respondents had conducted such a threat analysis. The preparedness to threats was also found to be drastically low. Only about a quarter (24%) of the respondents had a comprehensive response plan. A vast majority of the respondents said that these plans are just documented and neither employees are aware about it nor do they conduct regular trainings.
No consideration is given to terrorist attacks even in the business continuity management (BCM) plans of over 58% of the respondents in the survey. BCM is a critical process for organisations since it helps them recover expeditiously post an occurrence of a disaster or an extended business interruption. Almost 60% of the organizations think that they can reduce the risk of such threats by taking appropriate measures. Another 34% were of the opinion that measures would have limited impact, while a meager 7% of the respondents said nothing could be done at the organisational level to avoid such risks.
Speaking on the release of the report Deepanker Sanwalka, Head “ Forensic Services, KPMG India said, Organisations across the globe are obliged to provide for a safe working place, therefore, it is imperative that corporates draw effective emergency plans to ensure proper safeguards for their employees, assets and business.
When asked to rate security related aspects background verification of employees was deemed the most important aspect followed by IT and perimeter security. Due diligence of vendors/ service providers followed by training and perimeter security were identified as the weakest area within the organisational security. Only 14% of those surveyed said that they did not conduct background verification on their employees while 35% said that no background checks for vendors are undertaken.
The KPMG report also delves into anti money laundering (AML) and the allied issue of terrorist financing. One of the important features of terrorist financing is concealing the source and usage of funds. In order to successfully tackle money laundering, it is critical that there exists a joint approach between the private and public sector. What is needed within the banks is clear understanding of the typologies used by money launderers, the risk factors they should consider while identifying these, as well as intelligence in relation to individuals and entities.
