A groundbreaking report, the first-ever World Security Report, reveals that in 2022, large companies globally suffered a staggering combined revenue loss of $1 trillion due to physical security incidents. The report also sheds light on the rising security challenges that companies are bracing for in the coming year, with economic unrest emerging as the most significant threat, marking a substantial increase from the previous year.
Conducted in collaboration with Allied Universal®, a pioneering security and facility services provider, and its international counterpart, G4S, this extensive study compiles insights from 1,775 CSOs or equivalent positions across 30 countries. These CSOs represent large corporations with a collective annual revenue exceeding $20 trillion, equivalent to a quarter of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. Participation in the survey was independent and anonymous.
The World Security Report identifies economic unrest as the top security concern for the next year (47%), followed closely by climate change-related threats (38%). Social unrest (35%), energy supply disruptions (33%), and political instability (32%) are also significant concerns. Internally, data leaks worry 36% of respondents, while 35% experienced resource or data misuse. Externally, fraud (25%) is projected as the primary threat, with fraud, phishing, and social engineering incidents making up 23% of external security issues. Additionally, the report signals a growing threat from subversives, hackers, protestors, spies, and economic criminals, with 50% and 49% expecting their impact to rise—a substantial increase from the previous year’s 39%.
In 2022, security budgets reached $660 billion, 3.3% of global revenue for surveyed companies. 46% of respondents plan significant increases in physical security budgets in the next year, with 42% focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for future security tech. Looking ahead, nine out of 10 respondents find cyber threats to physical security challenging, but there’s a disconnect as 90% of CSOs believe stakeholders prioritize cyber over physical security. Hiring security professionals will be tough for 84% of respondents over the next five years, emphasizing the importance of people skills over physical attributes, as 92% highlight interpersonal skills for front-line security roles.
As the business landscape continues to evolve, the World Security Report highlights the critical need for companies to bolster their security measures, especially in the face of emerging threats, ensuring the protection of both financial assets and reputation.