Corporate security is the provision of services to keep a corporation functional in a variety of settings, including emergencies, while protecting its integrity and the confidentiality of its operations. This includes activities in a variety of areas, from placing guards around a facility to limit access to controlled areas, to meeting with members of the board to discuss measures for protecting the secrecy of a new product release. Experts in corporate security offer consulting services and may also work heading the security departments of corporate clients, supervising personnel responsible for security services.
For corporations, security is not just about the need to be physically secure, although this is an aspect. Information security is critical, and this becomes extremely complicated when companies rely on computer systems, use the Internet, and may interface with branches and partners around the world. Corporations also need continuity plans for events like natural disasters and political uprisings, and must consider their long-term goals and the best way to secure them.
Rather than being purely defensive and reactive, corporate security tends to be proactive. Security teams work on preventing access to confidential and restricted information, areas, and personnel, to maintain integrity. They identify emerging risks and develop plans for addressing them. Part of risk management can include assessing a variety of possible options and determining the least risky choice, whether the security team is discussing site visits or the controlled release of information to the public.
A corporate security team can include a wide variety of professionals. Most corporations need talented information technology personnel who can build secure systems and protect them from incursion, preventing release of information from internal sources as well as penetration from hackers interested in looking into a system. Physical security personnel can include guards for facilities as well as key personnel. Security strategists work on overall plans for better security, from improved governance to risk assessment for offices in foreign countries with unstable governments.
The field of corporate security is rapidly evolving, and job opportunities are often readily available. These include entry level positions for personnel who receive training on the job as well as more advanced work for individuals with experience and higher education. Wages vary depending on the corporation, the position, and the type of security services expected. In corporations with benefits, security personnel typically have access to pension plans, health care, paid vacations, and all the other benefits extended to employees.