The only constant about organizational and security risk is there is nothing constant about it. There have been paradigm shifts in how organizations perceive the role of security and how they assess and mitigate their perceived risk.
For many, this new dynamic is a recent development as risk management in today’s environment has slowly migrated to a holistic and collaborative process.
While the goal of most security programs is to reduce risk and decrease threat levels by establishing preemptive strategies, forward-thinking organizations also realize that a shared vision of risk management is not siloed nor is it relegated to one or two departments.
The current environment is an unstable patchwork of physical, cyber, natural, man-made, socio-economic, political, criminal, terroristic, internal and external threats that require constant vigilance.
Joining the Team, Expanding a Vision
Because of this dynamic and morphing risk landscape, organizations are becoming more reliant on data intelligence and real-time information to provide a security advantage.
For Mark Niblett, the relatively new Senior Vice President for Global Operations and Chief Security Officer at Crisis24, a GardaWorld company, his decades of experience across multi-site international and high-risk operations provides a wealth of understanding of global risk’s ebb and flow.
He has recently held executive leadership roles as Vice President of Security and Resilience at Weatherford International, where he led Global Security, Business Continuity and Crisis Management, across a multi-national enterprise with over 40,000 employees in more than 100 countries.
Prior to that Niblett was Chief Security Officer for the large Fortune 100 giant Halliburton Energy Services for more than a decade and AECOM.
“Crisis24 is a GardaWorld company with world-leading integrative risk management business, crisis response consulting and global footprint. We are very proactive in what we do. Our offerings are extremely dynamic, which is one of the reasons why I came here,” says Niblett, who oversees a team providing security and medical operations and response at a global level.
“When I met with our CEO and founder (Stephan Crétier), I was extremely impressed with his passion because I do believe that's a big part of what we do. We must feel very passionate about what we do, and we talked about what his vision was, what the vision is, and what it will be in the future. I really loved his overview and it excited me to be involved.”
With his Crisis24 team, Niblett figures to approach it in its most simplistic terms, but he still has a bold vision for his end-user clients. He cites his last three roles as a CSO with top global organizations as the training ground for what he expects to accomplish moving forward.
“I think about my challenges, headaches, if you will, as a CSO, and now bringing all that under one roof, under one relationship was what really attracted me to come here.”
To that end, Niblett and Crisis24 are unveiling a new risk management platform, Crisis24 Horizon, at the Global Security Exchange (GSX) in Dallas this week. Crisis24 Horizon is an advanced comprehensive risk management platform available that provides organizations with a global picture of their risk exposure and delivers increased levels of autonomy and self-sufficiency in managing those risks.
"At Crisis24 we understand the significance of reliable information in making critical decisions. Crisis24 Horizon not only meets this universal need but elevates it by delivering actionable insights that matter to any team responsible for people or assets," says Gregoire Pinton, Managing Director and Head of Integrated Risk Management at Crisis24.
“This new product, Crisis24 Horizon, is a game changer for what it does and how it does it. Although AI drives it, it’s backed by over 200 analysts across five continents. We are, without a doubt, the biggest commercial entity of commercial analysts,” Niblett says. “That person and machine is the best way to manage analytics and create solid situational awareness tools. AI is great, but it's got to also have that human component that allows you, as a risk holder, to manage critical decisions. It allows us to integrate high-intensity data to best protect organizations, people and their assets.”
Solving The Expanding Risk Puzzle
For Niblett, having a grasp of the complete global risk picture is critical to protecting your local turf. The risk picture has drastically changed over the last half decade, he admits, but understanding how events on one side of the globe have rippling effects elsewhere has been part of his risk DNA from day one as a CSO.
“I really think (changes in the risk landscape) come down to a few things. Onoe is politics, and I don't mean that in a bad way. If I look at my top five risks as an organization, this will be no surprise to you. I think about geopolitical risks, U.S.-China relationships obviously, cybersecurity, data privacy, and then I built on what I call generalized security risks.
“We are thinking about Russia, Ukraine, instability in West Africa, conflicts, wars -- everything that goes with it. The supply chain is a big one everyone is considering and what are the knock-on effects of the supply chain. You think about gas in Eastern Europe, grains, food security, inflation shock waves -- another big one. But here at home are my real concerns.”
Niblett’s concerns are many, but he laments that one of the most pressing flash points that keeps him awake at night is what he calls the continued dividing states of America.
“Where we are seeing extreme policy differentiators in politics is where I think -- this year or next year - it will be a big eyeopener to the human populace. They’re all concerns for me. These risks are ever evolving and ever changing.
“When I assess risks, I look at the convergence of physical security and IT security, and I also look at the post-pandemic resurgence of safety and security function. For me, that's where my focus is, and that obviously relates to all the services that we offer organizations as we provide them some comfort in what they do every day.”
When your clients are global giants, the strategic security and risk management frameworks must be as big as your end users. Like a juggler, a CSO is charged with ensuring that all the balls stay in the air and that threats can be met with solutions.
“The big thing for me starts with understanding your organization's risk, the risk appetite, your risk tolerance, what you are prepared to do to formulate those mitigating strategies,” says Niblett. “I talk to our sales folks on a regular basis and we’re all security practitioners, but I tell them they must possess a certain depth and breadth of understanding of the organization that they’re pitching to.
“Each CSO and their (respective) organizations have various levels of tolerances that must be recognized and appreciated so strategies can be formulated around that. That’s our goal.”
For a demonstration and introduction of the new Crisis24 Horizon solution, you can meet representatives at Booth 3619 at GSX in Dallas.
About the author: Steve Lasky is a 34-year veteran of the security industry and an award-winning journalist. He is the editorial director of the Endeavor Business Media Security Group, which includes magazines Security Technology Executive, Security Business and Locksmith Ledger International and the top-rated website SecurityInfoWatch.com. Steve can be reached at [email protected]
