Terrorist attacks should now be expected in Australia. Are you prepared? Many organisations are not and lack the right security staff. Where to from here?

In 2016, companies on a global scale will be more exposed to security risks than ever before.

While 2015 was a high-risk year, we somehow managed to get through it unscathed, either by good management or simply good luck.

However, in 2016 businesses of all sizes will face two single security threats that have the potential to financially cripple businesses if the proper risk management strategies are not in place.

If we take a broad look Terrorism and Australian businessesat the trends that have shaped Australia, many will have originated from overseas. This can apply to nearly every facet of our daily lives – from how and where we shop, to the music we listen to and the clothes we wear. Even many of our manufacturing and business processes have been influenced by overseas trends.

So it is only reasonable to assume that from a crime perspective, we can anticipate what topics and issues will be visiting our shores by looking abroad.

Right now, it’s terrorism.

Drones are a hot topic and mostly for positive reasons.

Up until now, theDrones use of Drones have been associated with outdoor activities such as mountain biking, snowboarding or many forms of aerial photography.

As we understand the versatility of these inexpensive flying cameras, we also learn what impact they can have on the security industry.

During an interview on 2GB recently, I was asked what security measures should be implemented in shopping centres following the Westfield terrorist threat.

It is a difficult question to answer because to properly advise Westfield or any other organisation about counter-terrorism specific security practices, you first need to qualify the level of risk.

How equipped is the private security industry to detect and respond to terrorism activities?

In the wake of the terrorist tragedies that have occurred both locally and globally, the issue of counter-terrorism has unfortunately capitalised a lot of our news. For the business world, it has raised two important questions – what can and should we be doing?

People responsible for detecting and preventing a serious incident within the organisation need to be working to a formal strategy that is specific to the local environment. This will cover everything from security staff roles and responsibilities, detection methodologies and incident response and containment.