Workplace violence continues to be the most significant security threat to American business, according to Pinkerton‘s seventh annual survey of Fortune 1,000 corporate security professionals. Meanwhile, concerns about Internet and network security jumped to second in 2000 from seventh in the 1999 survey.
The study, “Top Security Threats and Security Issues Facing Corporate America,” identified the following top 10 security threats: 10) sexual harassment; 9) drugs/alcohol in the workplace; 8) hardware/software theft; 7) unethical business conduct; 6) general employee theft; 5) employee selection/screening concerns; 4) fraud/white collar crime; 2) (tie) business interruption/disaster recovery; Internet/intranet security; 1) workplace violence.
“The financial and personal impact of workplace violence on a corporation can be devastating,” says Ray T. O’Hara, vice president of Pinkerton Consulting and Investigations. “Companies can minimize the likelihood of tragedy by being proactive.” Pinkerton President Don W. Walker adds, “The potential for theft of trade secrets and customer information, damage to sensitive data and interruption of commerce presents unprecedented vulnerability to businesses.” Pinkerton is a leading provider of security solutions.
