The recent terrorist attacks in Nice, Stockholm, London and Berlin were all committed with vehicles running at speed. Therefore, increased digital security should go hand in hand with better tangible security, Perimeter Protection Group believes.
It is positive and important that the proposal for next year’s Finance Act will add more funds to the fight against cybercrime. We must prepare ourselves to counter the new, serious threat on the digital area.
But it is equally important that we, for the greater good, do not overlook the threats that we as society must guard ourselves against in the low-tech areas. The recent terrorist attacks in Nice, Stockholm, London and Berlin were all committed with old-fashioned primitive methods – by vehicles at high speed. And according to the Danish Security and Intelligence Service’s Center of Terror Analysis (CTA), attacks with simple tools and short planning are the most likely form of terrorist attacks in Denmark.
As a threat, this kind of attack may appear primitive, but it is nevertheless the reality we have to deal with in the central urban areas of Denmark. And we need to prioritize the necessary resources.
Suitable responses do exist
The good news is that suitable responses do exist. Based on the sad circumstances of recent years, several methods have been developed and, in particular, more knowledge about how we intelligently build more security into the central urban spaces.
Therefore, we should also use the dearly bought experiences from our neighboring countries who have faced the importance of investing in measurements that work. It’s not about a flower bowl here and there but about incorporating solid, rooted solutions that cannot be pushed to the right and left. Apply certified solutions that in biased tests have demonstrated the robustness, which is alpha and omega in a critical situation. Alternatively, people’s lives are at stake.
Security can be cost-effective and discrete. It’s about focusing on where the threat is greatest – and in a way that does not constantly remind us of the threat.
Think holistically and involve architectural expertise so that we maintain the charm of the city space and keep developing the free space, which we all appreciate.
And prioritise carefully: Let increased digital security go hand in hand with better physical security.
By Morten Andreasen, CEO of Perimeter Protection Group
