Security at the crossroads – technology alone is not enough
Mike Bluestone from Corps Security, discusses the rapidly evolving threat landscape and the growing complexity facing the security sector today. He explores why, despite this rapid changes, effective security still depends on people, planning, and strong leadership.
The Times They Are A-Changin…’ was a powerful Bob Dylan song back in the 1960s, written as an anthem of change for the time, influenced by Irish and Scottish ballads. Less than a month after Dylan recorded the song, President Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963.
For all of us now, immersed as we are in the world of security, we find ourselves facing new and emerging changes in the global threat landscape, many of which present a multitude of challenges that have to be addressed, and all against the backdrop of meeting, if not exceeding, clients’ expectations.
The UK, and with it our own sector, today faces a blurring of the previously recognised distinctions between terrorism, protest, and criminality. We now face a myriad of threats emanating from criminals who are increasingly low-level operatives directed by the proxies of hostile state actors. Intimidating and often inciteful ‘protest’ groups who have also adopted terror tactics and are themselves sponsored or encouraged by those very same state actors.
One such ‘protest’ group, Palestine Action, was of course proscribed last year by HM Government following the Brize Norton incident when activists breached the perimeter of the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Oxfordshire.
The group spray-painted military aircraft, resulting in an estimated £7 million-worth of damages, and had previously committed other major incidents, such as the 2022 disruption at a Thales defence factory in Glasgow, which caused over £1 million in damages and forced staff to evacuate due to pyrotechnics.
More recently, we have witnessed a combination of ‘low-tech’ arson attacks, fire-bombings against synagogues and Jewish community ambulance services, and knife attacks on members of the Jewish community.
Whilst these violent tactics have been relatively ‘low-tech’, in contrast we are also seeing no end to sophisticated cyber-crime and attacks.
In 2025 we witnessed cyber attacks against Jaguar Land Rover, widely described as one of the most expensive security breaches in British history. That incident alone cost the UK economy an estimated £1.9 billion, and over 5000 organisations in the automotive supply chain were affected.
Other cyber attacks were perpetrated against Marks & Spencer, The Co-op, Southern Water, and the Legal Aid Agency, where that Agency suffered a severe data compromise, exposing the sensitive personal data of up to 2.1 million individuals.
In UK shopping centres and on our high streets, retailers and shoppers are being worn down by the rise in shop theft and violence against shoppers and security personnel, a situation exacerbated by the lack of prompt and effective police responses.
The burden here falls on the shoulders of security officers who are bereft of adequate powers of enforcement, whilst ‘shrinkage’ levels rocket for retailers.
Surely, change on this issue is required? What will it take for government to pass appropriate legislation? What does it say about societal values when uniformed security officers are having to stand and watch the theft of goods in front of their eyes, and cannot intervene for fear of being prosecuted themselves for assault or facing civil legal claims along with their employers?
This evolving threat landscape requires security professionals and service providers to stay alert to emerging risks and deliver effective measures to deter, prevent, and mitigate them. This includes adopting modern technologies such as autonomous drones and robotic patrols, AI-powered surveillance, biometric access control, cloud-integrated smart alarms, and encrypted remote monitoring.
However, technology alone is not enough; it must be supported by strong leadership and management and well-trained personnel to provide truly effective security. That, in turn, depends on regular security awareness and refresher training for all staff, not just security teams.
Regular tabletop scenario-based exercises will help keep teams alert, maintain operational readiness, and reduce the impact of hostile incidents, whatever their scale.
The introduction of the Terrorism (Prevention of Premises) Act 2025 – ‘Martyn’s Law’ – has injected much-needed mandatory requirements for event security and will hopefully mitigate against the impact of threats to events of varying categories and scale.
The key to effective event security and, indeed, to security measures across the corporate and business sectors is in the planning, and when that planning is thorough and fully integrated solutions are delivered, it is possible to not only meet clients’ expectations, but to also exceed them.
Mike Bluestone MA CSyP FSyI RISC
Executive Director,
