The well-attended event brought together managers from across the sector, and some of the country’s leading authorities on combating ‘The Threat Within’ were on hand to offer them advice.
“Staff are our most valuable asset, but also they can be our greatest threat,” said Sharon Kerr, commander of the Met’s Serious Crime Directorate, who was a keynote speaker at the event.
She was joined by a string of other security experts including John Scott, head of security at Post Office Ltd; Guy Mathias, associate director of UK security at Huntingdon Life Sciences; and Nick van der Bijl, Trust security manager at North Bristol NHS Trust.
Speeches gave delegates the chance to learn how to mitigate crime within their business, tackling issues like vetting, whistle-blowing strategies, the infiltration threat and internal fraud.
Lively question and answer sessions followed each speech, prompting stimulating debate and offering real-life examples of best practice in action.
Outside the conference room delegates were able to network with new acquaintances – and in some cases old friends – over coffee.
The word ‘standards’ was bounced around throughout the day, and there was a general consensus that security managers must be at the top of their game to fight the omnipresent threat from insiders.
Don Randall MBE, the senior vice president and international security manager at JP Morgan, offered delegates a salient tip during his speech on compliance and effective controls.
“My advice is to go for the highest regulatory standard, because the rest will then fall into line,” he said.
Following the success of The Threat Within, SMT will be launching a series of exclusive conferences in 2008 dedicated to the industry’s most pressing issues. To receive updates on SMT conferences, sign up to our news services.
