Six Essential Elements of a Security Mindset
Six essential elements that strengthen a security mindset: pre-preparation, layered protection, variation, awareness, communication, and a low profile.
A good security provider understands that they can't anticipate every threat; danger, by its nature, arrives unexpectedly. What a good provider can do, however, is sharpen a Client's security mindset — their instinctual response to risk. Below are six essential elements of any security-attuned mindset, elements that Polaris can promote in your home or workplace.
Pre-Preparation
While there are no "textbook" answers to security concerns, you can always prepare for incidents in more general ways. You can prepare a "grab bag" of useful items, for example, which will improve your incident response time and take some of the stress of the moment off of your shoulders.
Layered Protection
Simply: where are you safest? What is your safest means of getting there? And how do you become even safer? Layered protection is security within security, a challenge to think about your safety in a deeper, more complex way. When planning emergency responses, or reacting to security incidents, can never be secure "enough."
Variation
Change should be the only constant in your routine. Modern life — with social media and its constant visibility — can expose your patterns of life to bad actors, making you an easy target. Try taking different routes or transport types to and from home or work, so as to better obscure your routine.
Awareness
Though situational awareness may be the most obvious element of the security mindset, it is also the hardest to master. There's a lot to keep track of — your location, your exits, the mood of the crowd — it can be overwhelming, yes, but it is the foundation of a strong security mindset.
Communication
Without open channels of communication, you're on your own during any security incident. Know your support; memorize or save emergency contacts, and know who you can count on to remain poised and in control.
Low Profile
Clothes may make the man, but they can just as well unmake him; when traveling through public spaces, it's best to dress down, and keep to yourself. Be sensitive to photography and other media, and avoid any overcrowded areas.