What is security?
Security remains a contested concept. The term security is derived from the Latin word Securus which literally means without care or apprehension. By extension and on a wider scale, the safeguarding of the interests of a state, organization or persons and making it safe is securitas,
Today the name security encompasses a broad scope starching from the concept of the wellness of a nation state as outlined on a geographical sphere to the wellness of the human individual.
The definition of security has acquired a broader conceptualization due to greater attention given to human security, the onset of terrorism, globalization and the attendant surge of technology.
The phenomenon of globalization has influenced the world in many ways. It has intensified cross-border interactions and inter-dependence among states. Globalization has also liberalized markets by removing government-imposed restrictions on the movement between countries in order to create an integrated economy.
Another perspective of globalization has been the promotion of the degree of universalization of norms and practices but most significantly, it has decreased the dominance of states over matters of security. As regards security, globalization has had greatly impacted on how security had hitherto been perceived. First, the world community has become interdependent in matters of commerce and communication.
With borders becoming increasingly porous, it is not practically possible to have absolute sovereignty. In this sense, it is more accurate to refer to frontiers rather than distinct territorial state borders. In this context, technological advances are a manifestation of how security has become vulnerable to both internal and external threats.
Conflicts have also rapidly spread across borders through contagion, hence the notion of the internalization of conflict which has forced the introduction of external factors into internal conflicts.
In a global setting, regional security can no longer be perceived purely in the context of military might; rather, security has expanded to encompass environmental, economic, political and social insecurity.
This is one aspect of security which can be defined as State security.
Security in Kenya- A prediction for 2022
Over the last 12 months, Kenya’s security trajectory has been extremely volatile, ranging from cattle raids in the far flung nomadic areas of the country, rampant reports of domestic violence, suicide and homicide among the security personnel, kidnappings and Covid 19.
But the main focal point will be in the electioneering exercise.
The country is set to go for general elections later in the year and is likely to be the most intensely watched elections in Africa this year for three reasons; One, the country’s history of violent and contested polls; two, this year’s elections are set to lead to a presidential transition and three, the country’s pivotal position in the east and horn of Africa region.
The election campaigns are expected to be long drawn, confrontational and toxic but unlikely to lead to major episodes of violence as seemingly the security machineries are on top of the situation and the fact that other international agencies are keenly monitoring the electioneering developments. Localized but muted political violence, is however expected across country.
The Al Shabaab scourge however remains a potent headache in Somalia and are bound to be active in the country during the electioneering period as the country’s security focus is expected to be heavy on the electioneering and elections.
COVID -19 is also another security issue which continues to cause adverse effect on overall human security in the country with job losses, corporate restructurings, reduced earnings and an overly sense of despondency. The uptake and impact of the vaccine in the country is bound to take a long time to be realized mainly due to cost constrains and the logistic challenges.
There have been an upsurge of unexplained cases of kidnappings and disappearance of people who even after release have remained mute. Worryingly, many have been found dead after missing for extended periods. Without clear explanations or arrest, this trend is bound to continue.
Mental stress has been blamed for many cases of suicide and homicides across the country last year and particularly among the security personnel. This too is likely to persist in the year. Exam stress and drug abuse was also blamed for rampant cases of arson in the secondary schools. With two national exams set to be done this year, a repeat of arson cases is expected.
Cattle rustling among the nomadic communities are expected to continue in the year with no solution expected in the foreseeable future. The reasons are complex and gravitate along social, environmental and economic spheres.
The arid northern areas of the country experienced long stretches of drought leading to famine, human deaths and loss of livestock. Again, this scenario is expected to be repeated in 2022.Ironically, the changed weather patterns will lead to heavy rains in most parts of the country with resultant death and destructions.
As pointed out, the country’s security landscape is highly volatile and unpredictable but the listed cases are likely to be the most dominant with political violence attributed to the elections leading the pack.
Top 6 physical security predictions for 2022 BY Madeline Lauver
In a year defined by supply chain shortages, COVID-19 pandemic surges and the return to in-person or hybrid work, physical security professionals have dealt with new challenges in order to maintain safety and security across their organizations.
In January 2022, physical security leaders noted an uptick in security incidents and reported difficulty retaining guards and frontline security officers. As the year continued, many security professionals transitioned their organizations from remote to hybrid or fully in-person work, managing the business and health risks posed by COVID-19. Physical security professionals pushed their organizations forward by integrating modern security technologies and furthering how security teams approach potential threats. As security professionals reflect on the challenges and successes of enterprise security in 2022, six physical security leaders share their insights on where best to focus in the New Year.
#6: Hybrid work model is key to return to workplace efforts
Kinnera Angadi, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer of Commercial Security at Honeywell Building Technologies
“I expect to see greater attention on physical site security as facility managers adapt to the changing workforce, with the change primarily focused on where workers are located and how access is managed to ensure we create a safer working environment and the ability to monitor in real time across all sites and act quickly. To facilitate multi-site access for a mobile or hybrid workforce, we’ll see a shift towards full enterprise management (often embodied in cloud solutions), which will also impact remote monitoring demand as resources will continue to be limited or building managers will need the ability to be flexible. Companies may look at changing how they manage employee badging processes and visitor management to not only manage the site for capacity limitations, but to also know who is on-site in case of an emergency. This may also increase the use of remote management tools for satellite sites due to limited resources.”
#5: Enterprise security leaders will foreground organizational resilience
Matt Bradley, Vice President of Global Security Solutions at OnSolve
“If 2020 was the ‘Year of the Pandemic’ and 2021 was the ‘Year of the Vaccine,’ then 2022 should be the ‘Year of Resilience.’ Organizations must prioritize their organizational resilience programs in the coming year. COVID-19 will transition from pandemic to endemic, organizations will return to the office and travel, and resilience programs must be prepared for the new steady state.”
#4: Climate disasters will effect corporate America
Dale Buckner, Co-Founder and CEO of Global Guardian
“It’s undeniable that we’re going to continue to see enormous amounts of global disruption based on natural disasters, and that is going to affect corporate America and its travel. Fortune 1000 organizations are going to start thinking about weather patterns, earthquake zones and hurricane zones when they consider where they are going to set their headquarters up.”
#3: Standard metal detectors will be phased out
Peter Evans, CEO of Patriot One Technologies
“The metal detectors used today at stadiums, arenas and schools are based on 40-year-old technology that has not changed much at all. However, people’s expectations, and security threats have become more complex over this time. Look for new, next-generation AI-based screening tools to replace legacy metal detectors at venues around the U.S. and globally, in an effort to meet modern, more dynamic security threats, while enhancing patron experience and de-escalating fan irritation.”
#2: The first physical catastrophe is coming
Saket Modi, Co-Founder and CEO of Safe Security
“A central, mission-critical application will go down and create a ripple impact across businesses and for consumers around the world. For example, a hack on a major central system like an internet gateway, public cloud provider or a healthcare system will impact millions of people and we will see the physical ramifications in our everyday lives. Healthcare could be upended, businesses unable to provide digital services, flights cancelled, food and supplies not delivered and more.”
#1: Cyber and physical security convergence will help manage insider threat
Dr. Marisa Randazzo, Executive Director of the Ontic Center of Excellence
“Physical and cybersecurity will continue to converge in 2022, especially in the case of handling troubling employee behavior. Those who work in the field of behavioral threat assessment already know that physical security and cybersecurity are often closely linked, especially when it comes to concerns about current and former employees. Employees who engage in troubling or odd cyber behavior may also be engaging in alarming in-person behavior in the office or on Zoom calls, etc. However, if physical security responsibilities and cybersecurity domains don’t communicate with each other, they may miss opportunities to share information, connect the dots and identify growing concerns.”