Technology is reshaping every aspect of our lives. Energy, transportation, food, housing – increasingly we have access to the tools that keep pushing up the minimum standards, as well as the limits of what can be achieved. Lifelong security and safety are similarly essential rights to be afforded to everyone, and emerging technologies will turn this ambition into a reality.
With the next edition of Intersec Dubai arriving in January 2025, now is the ideal time to review some of the most pressing focal points for the safety, security and fire protection industries for the coming year.
The following are some of the top priorities to address next year in terms of tackling ongoing and emerging threats, while also shoring up weaknesses in the collective capabilities of police, security and emergency response services at the local, national, regional and global levels.
Ongoing threats
Cybercrime: Dangerous, disruptive, and pervasive, cybercrime is at the top of the threat list for commercial companies and governmental institutions the world over. By 2025, cybercrime actions are predicted to cost $10.5 trillion annually, a rate that has more than tripled in just a decade.
Action needed: In its 2024 global threat report, CrowdStrike says that there is a tectonic shift occurring in the cybersecurity landscape. The “good enough” approach simply doesn’t cut it anymore when facing modern threats. Given the range and evolving nature of emerging cyberthreats, CrowdStrike recommends an “adversary-focused approach” to cybersecurity. Through the convergence of data, cybersecurity and IT, with generative AI and workflow automation built in, organisations can better know their likely adversary (hence, the most likely form of cyberattack they may face) and stop them before a breach occurs, not after.
Emerging threats
Drone-based threats: Drones are a new reality that need to be accounted for in the security strategy of every organisation, whether they are private or public. Their growing capabilities combined with a low cost factor make them increasingly versatile and therefore useful to a widening range of bad actors.
Action needed: Counter-drone tactics and technologies are a growth industry as organisations of every kind are looking to secure themselves against this emerging threat. Currently, there is no “silver bullet” solution for C-UAS (Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems). Rather, a comprehensive, integrated and layered approach will be needed, one that makes intelligent use of the new counter-drone technologies as they emerge.
C-UAS is a major focal point both upcoming Intersec events, and dozens of exhibitors specialising in this expanding sector will be present to showcase their solutions. Several conference agenda items will be dedicated to this subject.
Capability weaknesses
Unified data analysis: Security analysts and safety experts across the world are coming to a similar conclusion: the technology to keep us safe is there (or nearly there), but it’s what you do with that technology that counts. The ability to bring disparate sources of data together for a unified overview, analysis and response is what will separate the good from the truly capable. Big data, automation and AI are all set to play formative roles in upgrading the safety and security infrastructure of the future.
Human element: Alongside the design and integration of new tools and platforms, human operators also need to feature heavily in the future security strategy of any organisation. Training – not just with these new technologies but also regarding a better security mindset – will be crucial in developing human operators who can use their intuition to make the most of the systems under their control.
Develop security strategies in parallel, not in tandem
Since the range and complexity of security and safety threats is on the rise, the response must be similarly agile. Organisations from every sphere – governments, commercial entities, law enforcement, etc – looking ahead to 2025 and beyond must aim to create security infrastructure that takes a comprehensive approach. As CrowdStrike have said, knowing your adversary (in this case, the shape of the likely threat landscape) is essential to formulating an effective response.
At the upcoming Intersec events in Dubai and Riyadh, you’ll have the chance to better understand that landscape and find the right partners with the right solutions to ensure you’re prepared to face whatever emerges from it.