Logistics Security – 5 Key Factors to Consider

Logistics might be the backbone of modern business, but every shipment introduces a number of potential security risks. Whether it’s a compromised system or a breach in physical security, vulnerabilities are everywhere – and the consequences of overlooking them can be severe. In this guide, we’ll break down five critical factors you should never overlook if you want to strengthen your logistics security and protect your business from potential threats.

Physical security

Whether you’re a small ecommerce seller shipping a few hundred items a year or an international enterprise with multiple global warehouses, your first priority is securing your physical assets – from the products you sell, to the devices you use, to the physical facilities that store and process your inventory. 

For example, do you have strict controls in place around who can and can’t access your site? Are you able to restrict entry to certain areas?

Electronic access controls like key cards or biometric scanners ensure only authorised personnel can get in or out, while you always should request identification from anyone who doesn’t work for your organisation.

It’s also essential that you have the necessary surveillance equipment in place, such as high-resolution security cameras – particularly in high-risk areas like entry/exit points and loading docks. A reliable alarm system is also non-negotiable, notifying the relevant security personnel (or even local law enforcement) of an access breach.

Information security

With the logistics landscape becoming increasingly digital in nature, information security is now just as important as physical security – and arguably even more so. In fact, 1 in 5 logistics or transport businesses are likely to experience a cyber incident at least once, potentially costing them millions.

Just as you should be able to control who can physically access your site, the same principle applies to digital systems and programs.

Access should be restricted to only those who legitimately need it, and you should employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an additional layer of security – for example, login requests could involve a code sent to a personal device that only that user has access to.

Of course, if you’re partnering with a reliable third-party logistics provider such as Pro3PL, your data should be fully protected when being integrated into their systems, but you can’t take anything for granted – ask your provider how they safeguard data in transit, how they prevent unwanted access to their back-end programs, and what their incident response processes are. You can never be too careful.

Employee awareness

In pretty much any business, security controls are only as good as the people behind them. You can follow best practices to the letter, but if your employees aren’t trained in how to use technology safely or they’re unaware of how they should respond in the event of an incident, your ‘secure’ processes will become decidedly wobbly pretty quickly.

This is why employee security awareness is arguably the most important factor in ensuring your logistics process remains steadfast and safeguarded from vulnerabilities. For example, it’s essential that everyone from your warehouse operatives to your software developers is aware of factors such as:

• Who should and shouldn’t be given access to the site.

• How to handle suspicious parcels or items.

• The importance of recognising cyber threats such as phishing attacks.

• How to create strong passwords for personal logins.

• What to consider when using personal devices onsite.

• How to raise security concerns to senior members of the team.

Of course, it’s not enough to simply provide each new employee with security training and assume you’ve done your bit – security threats continually evolve (particularly when technology is involved) and so it’s imperative that your guidance evolves too. Your employees’ knowledge should be refreshed at least once a year to ensure they’re aware of new and emerging threats.

Tracking and auditing

One of the most crucial aspects of logistics security is visibility. If you’re not able to monitor and track your processes at every step, it’s easy for potential issues and vulnerabilities to go unnoticed – and this is why a clear tracking and auditing process is essential.

The same applies to both your physical inventory and your digital systems. For example, tracking vehicle movements using GPS gives you real-time visibility over your cargo, while RFID tags and barcodes help to track shipment movement. On the digital side, tools such as firewalls monitor and report cybersecurity threats, and access logs ensure you can track who has logged into your systems and when.

You should also be regularly auditing your processes to identify potential risks.

Checks should be carried out periodically on your physical infrastructure (your locks and surveillance systems, for example) while penetration testing service providers like Redscan can perform vulnerability assessments to identify weaknesses in your digital security.

Emergency response

Even with multiple layers of robust security in place, incidents can still occur. The key is how you respond to these incidents, and this means proactively putting in place an emergency response plan which considers a number of different eventualities. Without this, a security breach is likely to have far more severe consequences, and will inevitably take longer to resolve.

As a minimum, your response plan should include:

• An initial risk assessment: Identify all potential security threats, including cyber attacks, physical security breaches, insider threats, or corporate espionage.
• An outline of roles and responsibilities: Establish an incident response team (IRT) and clearly define who is responsible for aspects such as communication and investigation.
• Procedures for identifying and classifying incidents: Make sure you have clear protocols in place for reporting and escalating incidents based on severity level.
• A business continuity plan: Put in place procedures for ensuring business operations aren’t severely interrupted, including data and system restoration processes. 
• A post-incident review process: Conduct a thorough follow-up analysis of the incident, identifying the root cause and documenting lessons learned for future reference.

“You may also need to go back and adjust your risk assessment and incident response plan”

Following your post-incident review, you may also need to go back and adjust your risk assessment and incident response plan, as the lessons learned from the security incident may highlight risks you hadn’t previously considered – which might in turn require a different approach to investigation and issue resolution in future.

Logistics security is never a set-and-forget task. Instead, it requires continuous monitoring and proactive planning. By staying vigilant and consistently updating your processes, you’ll be better prepared to protect your assets and deliver peace of mind to your customers. After all, in the world of logistics, a secure supply chain is both a necessity and a competitive advantage.

Effective supply chain management requires an organised, well-managed logistics operation to ensure parts, products and services move from suppliers through the supply chain to the end user on time and in good condition. The aim of a logistics operation is to provide better efficiency, reduce operation costs and promote service quality. Call 0800 1422 522 to find out more.