In our “Ask the Expert” blog series, we feature some of the most experienced and knowledgeable security professionals in the industry as they share their expertise. In this edition, we explore how GardaWorld provides customized and comprehensive security solutions for financial institutions.  

To do so, we caught up with Steve Somers, CPP, CHS-V, who is GardaWorld's expert on the financial sector. Steve has over 47 years of experience in the security industry and has served on numerous law enforcement boards for over 20 years. He holds a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) credential, as well as a Certification in Homeland Security, Level V (CHS-V), which have helped to make him one of the most trusted security experts on private-public partnerships, especially in the D.C. region. At GardaWorld, he leads a top-notch team, who have been providing security services to leading financial institutions across North America and beyond for over a decade. 

In this interview, Steve shares how GardaWorld tailors its approach to meet the particular needs of financial institutions, how he and his team apply the ASIS guidelines for training security officers, and how GardaWorld leverages its partners Crisis24 and ECAMSECURE to offer the most complete security solution on the market. Read on to learn more about Steve and his valuable insights into the security challenges and opportunities facing financial institutions today. 

What’s the most important consideration when approaching a client in the financial sector?

Steve: Our clients hire us to manage their security programs for them, and we take that job seriously. We look at their specific needs, assess the situation, and then use whatever resources necessary to move the needle forward. That applies to everything from hiring and training the right security guards for the job to selecting the right technology to offset cost and prevent incidents before they occur.  

Why is it important to customize security solutions for each client?

Steve: It's important because each client has specific needs and risks that other clients might not have. For us, it becomes a learning opportunity, because we get to develop new programs, new learning paths, which then also gives us best practices to share across the rest of our client base.  

How do you design training and skill requirements for security officers at financial institutions?

Steve: All GardaWorld training adheres to the ASIS guidelines for private security officers, but for each individual deployment that we have, whether it's a bank branch, a corporate campus, or a cash handling facility must be looked at differently.  

Again, it depends on the actual specific needs of each client. What I mean by that is, an officer that's patrolling a corporate campus has a different profile from an officer sitting at a cash handling facility that's protecting money, or an officer that's doing rounds at a data center. So, first and foremost, it impacts the way that we recruit for the client. We look for the profile that matches the client's need. Then, we decide what learning path that person needs to take and design a program for them.  

For example, what I teach the officers at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. is quite different than the training for a security officer at a TD Bank branch in Columbia, South Carolina. The learning path is adapted for each specific portion of the vertical.  

How do you assess and mitigate risks facing financial institutions?

Steve: We mitigate risks every day. This is where public-private partnerships come into play. Thanks to our partnerships with law enforcement agencies, other local businesses, and within the community, we constantly have an eye on what’s happening. We discuss concerns, threats, whispers, or chatter that's going on. Then, we apply best practices on how to eliminate any threat or reduce that chatter by putting the right protection measures or methods into place.  

At GardaWorld, we’re fortunate to also have access to intelligence from Crisis24 and technology from ECAMSECURE, which enables us to be even more proactive with our clients.  

Speaking of Crisis24 and ECAMSECURE, how do you leverage them to enhance security solutions in the finance sector?

Steve: Crisis24 and ECAMSECURE allow us to offer the most complete security solution on the market. 

Crisis24 gives us the best intelligence model out there. They provide us with daily updates in the areas where we're operating, which is extremely valuable. It can mean all the difference when it comes to mitigating threats against our clients. For example, in the D.C. area we’re aware ahead of time of any protest that might be happening so we can prepare an extra deployment for that day at our clients’ facilities. Additionally, we also offer TopoONE by Crisis24, a critical event management platform, to our clients for GSOC compliance.  

ECAMSECURE has great technology, some of the best on the market, and if they don't have it, they'll build it. Technology plays a crucial role as electronic countermeasures, especially in a context where our financial clients are worried about security breaches and data privacy.  

For me as a security professional, as a CPP, it's my job to offer my clients the best options out there, because my clients count on me to keep them at the cutting edge of technology and to make sure that they have everything they need to be successful. And, as a trusted advisor, I make sure that it’s the case. 

Can you give us an example of a success story involving how we serviced a financial institution?

Steve: Sure, for a contract with an international finance organization, we proposed a combination of technology and guarding, aiming to create a customer-friendly environment with a soft security look, but with a hard perimeter behind it. This approach would allow the organization to maintain a welcoming atmosphere while still ensuring the safety and security of its assets. data, and people. It’s essentially what GardaWorld calls Hybrid Security.  

What are some of the key takeaways for financial institutions?

Steve: I think it's really important when it comes to financial institutions to look at them and ask, “Okay, if somebody wanted to do harm here, can they access either cash or data?” Starting with that question allows us to decide what we need to deploy and where: whether it's security guards, tech with ECAMSECURE, Crisis24 intelligence, or a combination of it all. Our business model is completely guided by each one of our clients' specific risks – we make sure to tailor our solution to what they need. 

Want to learn more about GadaWorld’s approach to securing financial institutions? Discover our industry-leading services and case studies.