Building a SOC to Enhance Campus Security Operations
- By Bruce Canal
- November 07, 2024
Every day, thousands of alerts and sets of data compete for your attention. Many of these relate to minor events that don’t need an immediate response. Unmanaged, this constant flow of alarms obscures real threats. A unified security operations center (SOC) can be a resource to help cut down on the noise and aid in collaboration. A SOC helps security personnel view their security systems in one place, share information seamlessly, and respond more effectively.
While SOCs have become more common in cities and large, multi-site organizations, they’re starting to gain traction in educational campuses. If you’re beginning to implement a SOC, there are a few key considerations.
The Power of Unification
Collaboration is at the heart of success within a SOC. Your campus security operators should be able to easily work together. Advanced tools like video walls, communication tools, and map-based systems enhance collaboration significantly. However, the key to strong collaboration is unification. With a unified solution, data flows seamlessly between systems so operators can see all of their data from one interface and easily share information.
A SOC operator can share insights on a large video wall to investigate and discuss a security incident with their colleagues–pulling up data from their video, access control, and other inputs. This dynamic collaboration, supported by features like news feeds and traffic maps, ensures a well-coordinated response and a fluid flow of information within the team. The ability to share information at any moment ensures that everyone in the SOC is on the same page.
Get the Bigger Picture With Mapping Tools
Your operators need more than just security system data to coordinate SOC operations. Providing mapping tools that visualize the entire campus and connecting data from Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) sensors contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the environment.
Mapping tools allow your operators to grasp the campus’s dynamics intuitively. For example, you can integrate IoT devices to provide information on smoke or vape detection, propped door alarms, or other safety concerns. More importantly, it can provide real-time data for ongoing events, such as active assailant or pursuit situations.
This unified approach not only helps with proactive threat detection and addressing security issues but also allows operators to respond to broader environmental changes that may impact your organization.
Cut Through the Noise With Automation
The volume of data generated in a SOC can be overwhelming. One of the dangers of receiving so many false or nuisance alarms is that you start to ignore them, which may have dangerous consequences. So, it’s important to ensure that you receive qualified alarms. Using a collaborative decision management system within your SOC helps.
A collaborative decision management system can group detected events—a blacklisted plate in the parking lot, a perimeter breach at the fence, or a forced door into the facility. It then creates a qualified incident. When it recognizes a series of events that suggest something is happening, it provides your team with essential context. It links separate events to form a larger picture.
Based on this, the system alerts the SOC staff and identifies the event as having a higher priority. Because the collaborative decision management system can also send the associated video feeds with the alarm, your team doesn’t need to search through camera feeds to see the activity.
These automated tasks not only enhance the overall efficiency of your SOC but also ensure that human resources are directed toward tasks that require critical thinking. This frees up time for operators and minimizes errors.
Streamline Response Protocols
During campus security incidents, having a well-defined escalation process is critical. Every second matters, so it’s important to have a quick and efficient response strategy.
You can also support your staff by digitizing your standard operating procedures (SOPs) within the unified platform. Step-by-step instructions integrated within the system guide your team so they follow best practices. Configure your system to include prompts or reminders, send alerts, or trigger workflows when certain conditions are met.
For example, if a propped door alarm signals a potential issue, the digital SOPs can quickly guide the security team on the next steps. Operators don’t have to spend time looking for written procedures. Everything is quickly available in their unified security platform.
A SOC as a Resource for Your Campus
Your campus security should protect people and property without making people feel watched, mistrusted, or fenced in. A well-planned SOC can be a significant resource for your campus security team to enhance safety in subtle and unobtrusive ways.
Overall, a SOC should be viewed as an aggregator of information. Its success depends on correctly bringing together data from sources like IoT devices and sensor intrusion systems, followed by an effective incident response strategy.
A complete solution that is fully unified makes life easier for security teams. When a system can aid in collaboration, cut through the noise, and provide a comprehensive view, it helps your team focus on what’s important and respond more effectively.
This article originally appeared in the November / December 2024 issue of Campus Security Today.