Corporate Protection - Textar Gas and Oil Company - Essay Example

Corporate Protection Corporate Protection Textar Gas and Oil Company is a multinational corporate organization responsible of exploiting gas and oil reserves globally. Apart from exploring, refining, transporting, storing and selling gas and oil, Textar Company is also committed in expanding its business activities through corporate development and exploration. The aim of business expansion together with the fact that it is competing with a number of emerging markets, influences it to acquire risks in order to capitalize on profit. In addition to expansion measures, Textar Company is planning to push comprehensively into the Caucasus geographical location of the former Soviet Union. In order to achieve these objectives, the company has made an effort of sending its Chief Financial officer and CEO to the Caucasus region, as a fact-finding mission, as well as deploying an expatriate group of 25 employees for 6 months, in order to familiarize with engineering and drilling techniques required in the region. However, the stated objectives of the company have led to it facing a number of threats which requires it to take action. It is needed to increase the expertise of its Protective Security Managers for better examination and understanding of threats hence planing and implementing effective security strategy (Kit bond corporate protection services n.d.). The purpose of the strategy will be to provide protective security solutions, capable of not only maximizing protection for the employees, but also ensuring their liberty in conducting operations in the region. Textar Oil and Gas Company as a multinational corporate organization in the field of gas and oil global exploitation, is facing a lot of difficulties. It is experiencing a number of threats which are putting its employees, especially those in the caucasus region, into a great danger. The emerging Textar’s competitive companies in the market are responsible of these threats. To provide better solutons for these threats, the Company has proposed a corporate orientated protective security solution, through a strategy that involves two maximum security corporations (Halibozek & Kovacich 2003). These security corparations can work as separate entities but in the case of Textar Company, they have decided to work as one unit inoder to ensure maximum security for the company, as well as its employees especially those working in the caucasus regions which seems to be the most insecure region. The first security corporation is KBCPS. This is an asset protection corporation, developed to offer interventions that protect institutions and companies from things that negatively impacts assets, the quality of the corporate brand name, or endanger employees. Its team members offer skills set to assist employees by mitigating risk, offering security consultation for institutions and organizations, meeting investigative needs, and protecting business assets. KBCPS has the real expertise and world experience to provide better quality confidential services, offering employees the assurance of positive results that prevent or neutralize crisis situations. The second security corporation is phase 4 investigations, which is one of the best security corporations in the field of surveillance, private investigations, evidence gathering, security services, information service and pre-employment screening. It is fully bonded, insured and licensed and has a great experience for over 35 years. Phase 4 investigations take a corporate-oriented strategy in the security process to achieve cost-effective, realistic, and enduring measures to security concerns. Their intial strategy involves a realistic evaluation of a company’s risks and vulnerabilities (Kit bond corporate protection services n.d.). The competitive companies are illegally hiring hackers with an intension of stealing privileged information from Textar Company in order to utilize it during market competition. These hackers target on employees where they send them malicious e-mails with an attempt to grab specific data or implant viruses that are capable of compromising the effectiveness of the entire computer system. Once the system is damaged, it becomes very difficult for the employees to operate it (Jeffreys 1995). For instance, they are unable to use computer systems in keeping records and even conducting investigations on drilling and engineering techniques, for them to come up with high quality results. Hackers can also be hired with a mission of attacking the Caucasus region where these expatriate workers have been sent. They simply hack the employees’ computer system, and acquire bid data which provides details on the location of Caucasus region, the size of the oils reserve, the quality and value of the oil exploited. Once they obtain the information they come to steal the oil and in the process they may end up killing a lot of Textar workers. To prevent this kind of threat and maintain security, Textar’s security corporations; KBCPS and the phase 4 investigations, therefore makes a number of efforts. KBCPS makes some consultation with the existing Textar security staff, with the aim of analyzing broadly on Textar’s vulnerability to the threats posed by the hackers. After that, it takes a business oriented approach of developing, reviewing and write a specified security plan that involves physical building security as well as the security of the workers; if at all a certain security plan exists, it makes an effort of modernizing and updating it. The established plan therefore makes it easy to conducts investigations on the malicious e-mails, and also in determining the path used by the hackers to access the Company’s network together with the type of computers used during the attack. There are also several security measures taken by KBCPS. The first one is training Textar’s staff to spot, assess and handle individuals who might seem to display crucial information about the company, to the outsiders. The second one is creating a strategy called Continuity of Operations Plan. This plan ensures that Textar Company continues to function subsequently to manmade crises, terrorism and natural disasters. The third one is providing seminar services meant to train employees and security staff in spotting and handling potential threats. Finally, KBCPS is working with Textar Company to expose early warning signs of emerging threats and develop an emergency response and action plan during a violent situation or confrontation (Kit bond corporate protection services n.d.). On the other hand, phase 4 investigations also make some efforts. Its team of investigators, technicians, surveillance experts, and process servers work diligently on the matter concerning the hackers. They make use of state-of-the-art knowledge and processes to gather, translate, and organize information required for investigations. Phase 4 investigations also increase the expertise of the Textar’s Protective Security Managers, through a program called Facility Security Management. The skills offered by this program increase the manager’s ability to offer the planning, leadership, and management of security operations both on short-term and long term basis (Phase 4 Investigations n.d.). Apart from computers, mobile phones may drive Textar employees into greater risks since everybody own one. The fact that they have the freedom to access the company’s networks without security, terrorists can take advantage and access these networks for their terrorism attack. The utilization of mobile device has grown exponentially and has been accelerated by the corresponding outburst in social media, mobile entertainment, and the wide news cycle that has been contributed by the internet. According to Cisco predictions, mobile data traffic is expected to double each year up to 2014; this is a reflection of the increased use of mobile phones devices not only to customers with legal intensions, but also to those with illegal intensions such as the terrorists (Jeffreys 1995). With a wide range of information being shared and accessed via mobile phones, there are possible threats to the employees as well as to the operation of the entire company especially if it has great achievements. Ovum made a recent survey with the title “Corporate mobile device security and use,” where he discovered that 70% of respondents used corporate mobile phones for personal activities, while 50% used private mobile phones to access corporate networks and business applications. Forrester is another evident that outlines how employees accesses corporate networks with their personal mobile devices. Its recent survey of 432 employees found that 42% used their private smartphones to access corporate intranet or internet for work-related information, while 48% check corporate e-mail (Halibozek & Kovacich 2003). The two security corporations have made an effort of identifying the risk exposure and vulnerability of the company’s communication system to the threats caused by terrorists. Their solutions being prioritized on mobile phones, they have managed to provide the Textar Company with an action plan that would offer security to each employee who is using his or her mobile phone to access the company’s network. The action plan consists of several steps that are needed when determining how to develop a comprehensive security approach for mobile devices. The first one is familiarize with the law and regulations. The growing electric data is being achieved with an equally considerable increase in statutes that tackle key issues, right from data breaches to encryption. It is therefore important for Textar security managers to foster diligent and regular dialogue among the workers, on the regularly changing regulatory landscape and how utilization of mobile phones exposes them and the company to risks. The second one is investing in the right technology. Security managers opt to consider several technology solutions that assist in managing mobile phone compliance and risk management and they include text guard, privacy screens, credant, and mobile mandate. The third one is determining the type of mobile phone allowed based on what conditions. It is important to define the type of mobile phones that will be permitted to access the company network as well as the data that employees are permitted to view, transfer, or store using mobile connection. The last one is revising the company compliance plan in order to include a protocol that is specific to mobile devices Radioactive wastes from gas and oil drilling are also a major threat to Textar workers. The process of drilling may expose soil and rocks that contain naturally occurring radioactive material. These materials can also be found as waste taking the form of drilling mud, produced water, slimes and sludge. Radioactive materials can even concentrate in pipes, storage tanks, or other exploiting equipment. In the waste, radio nuclides are primarily radium-228, radon gas, and radium-226. The radon gas is released into the atmosphere, while the water and mud produced that contain radium are placed in pits or ponds for re-use, recovery, or evaporation. Workers may therefore inhale radon gas which is discharge during the process of exploitation and produced after radium has decayed, raising the risks of lung cancer. Workers are also exposed to gamma and alpha radiation which are discharged after radium-226 have decayed and when the beta and low energy gamma radiation particles have been discharged from the decaying radium-228; the risk of skin cancer can also occur after gamma radiation have penetrated through the skin. KBCPS is capable of handling these threats caused by both radioactive materials and radon gases. It organizes a training program for educating the staff on how to identify signs of potential threats of these materials and gases, and developing a response plan and an emergency action (Kit bond corporate protection services n.d.). For instance, it can influence the Company to supply their workers with gas masks and chemical overalls with maximum protection. Through private investigations and information service, the phase 4 investigations gather information on the best and safe technology to be used by the employees hence increasing the level of security. The company can also develop a health centre just near the work place, which will be responsible of providing health safety. In conclusion, Textar oil and gas Company is one of the successful oil and gas companies in the world which is facing a lot of threats from its competitive companies in the oil and gas market. This paper shows a number of threats facing the Textar oil and gas Company such as hackers attack, threats from mobile phones, and threats from health problems caused by radioactive materials, and radon gas. It also indicates the efforts done by the company in order to ensure its survival in the oil and gas market. The company has centralized its efforts in the enhancement of knowledge and skills of its security managers and employees in the context of corporate security. In order to ensure this, Textar oil and gas Company has proposed a strategy that involves to security corporations, the KBCPS and Phase 4 Investigations, which would ensure maximum security for the company as well as its staff members especially those in Caucasus geographical location of the former Soviet Union. References Halibozek, E. & Kovacich, L. G. 2003, The Manager’s Handbook for Corporate Security: Establishing and Managing a Successful Assets Protection Program, Butterworth-Heinemann, New York. Jeffreys, S. J. 1995, Coping With Workplace Change: Dealing with Loss and Grief, Crisp Publications, Foster. n.d., Kit bond corporate protection services. Available from:< http://www.kbcps.org/>. [8 June 2012]. n.d., Phase 4 Investigations. Available from:< http://www.phase4inv.com/security_services.php>. [8 June 2012]. n.d., Phase 4 investigations. Available from:< http://www.phase4inv.com/>. [8 June 2012]. Read More