Dealing with Intruders in the Workplace

It is surprisingly simple for an intruder or other persons that don’t belong in your workplace to simply walk in and set up shop so as to speak.

Once in they can walk around; maybe “casing the joint”. They may also get up to no good by taking (stealing) things move things around; which can be very disruptive or even install devices such as eavesdropping, interception or injection devices designed to facilitate further ill like usurping communications and networking services and functionalities or even with a view to committing industrial espionage.

Unchallenged

The worst part is that more often than not they can do all of this without ever being challenged. The reasons as to why this is so all stem from the fact that the perpetrator is exploiting the realms of uncertainty.

By this I mean that in many organizations workplace duties are clearly delineated and looking out for and dealing with intruders is the job of the security personal. Unfortunately this is not the end of the matter. It is up to all persons within any given environment to work towards ensuring that the sanctity of the security of that environment and all within it is not breached or put at risk.

The intruder makes use of the fact that most employees know what they do and usually quite well but when it comes to areas of mixed responsibility or of responsibility perceived by an employee to be the realm of another department then attention and vigilance tend to wane. This is a phenomenon known as workplace responsibility tunnel-vision. Oh. That’s not my job let security handle it.

The problem is that security can’t handle it until they have been informed that a problem exists. Thus the workers first part and duty is in the security awareness area of many eyes don’t miss much side of alertness.

You certainly wouldn’t walk past a trash bin on fire and think to yourself “Fire. That’s for security and the fire crew to deal with. I’ll just evacuate myself from the building and watch it burn.” You know only too well that there would be repercussions of an unpleasant nature for this type of irresponsible reckless and criminal behavior. So you ring the alarm, grab the fire extinguisher and tell the security and fire people about the fire.

Well the same holds true for intruders. If you see someone that looks unfamiliar or out of place then challenge them by politely asking if you can be of any assistance while asking for some form of authentic and duly authorized identification. Always remember the “loose cannon”. Some folks get their jollies simply from causing as much interference and disruption to other folks as possible.

Reporting Procedures

Crimes relating to unauthorized intruders are a lot more common than most people realize. Intruders, once gaining physical access to a facility; be it a room or floor of a building can potentially view financial cabinets, get into server rooms, see plans of operation, install listening devices, or simply steal equipment.

The simple rule of thumb is that if you are ever suspicious of someone wandering alone in your workplace report it to your security personal such as a floor marshal. In this way you can directly avoid a potentially intimidating personal one on one or one too many confrontations where your own personal safety may be placed at risk. At the very least be aware of policy concerning appropriate identification and ask to see it.

Spotting Intruders

Here is a list of the most common methods we can all employ to assist with the spotting of intruders:

Unescorted – Most organizations today employ policies that are designed to prevent people from simply walking into the inside of the workplace by use of a gatekeeper, access cards or other choke point access clearance procedures including sign-in and sign-out registers. They also tend to have a firm policy that all itinerant visitors including utilities service personal can only enter beyond a predefined choke point with an authorized escort.

For example many workplaces require that a visitor must be escorted by an employee that is responsible for the visitor during their stay in the building. This is to ensure the safety and security or one and all. That is the safety and security of the business its staff and assets as well as that of the visitor. Remember that you might know the fire drill but the visitor won’t.

So if you notice someone is unescorted and you do not recognize them or they do not have an employee/access card visible then stop and ask to see it. This is now a policy that many organizations are or have already added to their employee handbooks as a preventative measure for intruders.

Acting Out of Place – This could be as simple as dress code standards. Thus any person that is not dressed like other employees or is dressed down in an environment that is dressy. It could be someone is taking pictures when that is not the normal course of events.

Other acting out of place indicators include such activities as individuals or groups that appear to be snooping in off-limit areas (i.e. “casing the joint”), behaving skittishly to avoid being seen, suddenly increases their speed of movement or even begin to run at the first sign of interest from you. These are all signs that you may have an intruder. Report it to your floor marshal immediately. Remember it is better to be safe than sorry.

Mingling With the Crowd - Most organizations have solid measures in place to prevent intruders so the intruders get creative in their entry methods. Some will involve a degree of bravado and social engineering skills.

For example; entering a building with smokers is a common ploy where a would-be trespasser may approach a smoking area in the hopes of finding employees outside smoking. They will light up, engage in conversations, and as the employees return to work, they will enter the building with them. They will also employ similar tactics to gain entry anytime groups of authorized personal are re-entering a facility such as after a lunch break.

Choke Point Surfing – Also referred to as Card Surfer and Piggy Backing. In fact there are multiple names for this type of person but the description is the same. In short this is a situation whereby someone simply walks in with you when you swipe your access card/key code and enters without entering their access control.

Often times it is simple employee laziness, forgetfulness, preoccupation or due to haste. But make no0 mistake about it this is one of the most common and easily performed of all methods of gaining unauthorized access for the would-be trespasser.

Another spin on this theme is where the intruder may be carrying large bulky items so that their hands are full in hopes that an employee will open the door/access area for them. It is also a great disguise for hiding a lack of identification cards; especially the types that are pinned to the top left hand pockets or around the necks of authentic employees.

Dumpster Diving - While not technically intruding on the inside of the office, this may be one of the more important items to report as a plethora of data is potentially in every dumpster and evil-doers/competitors/criminals will steal it. If you witness someone doing so, then report it. Furthermore, take care at your own desk to ensure sensitive materials are shredded properly.

Conclusion

In conclusion the bottom line is that if for whatever reason you think someone is out of place report the incident to a manger, security guard or your floor marshal. Even if you are wrong, it is better to be wrong 50 times and right the one time it counts.

Workplace security also entails the safety and well-being of all and sundry including physical and electronic systems and assets.