Leader: Catch a thief

Thanks to the introduction of CCTV, sophisticated alarm systems and forensic methods, bank robbers have changed tactics - the risk of getting caught for forced entry is just too high.

According to the Financial Services Authority, criminal gangs are now placing shady people in banks. These 'employees' observe the bank's security systems and then report bank on the weaknesses to their leaders.

Businessmen use technology to make their businesses more efficient - it would be foolish to assume criminals don't use it in a similar way.

This only stresses the need to minimise the security risk presented by employees. If you keep staff happy and ensure the proper access controls exist in the first place, only a limited amount of information would be reported to the underworld. And that's a worst-case scenario.

Any firm that takes security seriously should vet their staff properly. There are enough tools to do it legally without breaking the Data Protection Act.

Modern bank robbers are, of course, also staging digital attacks with greater and greater frequency. If a criminal wants information, why go to all the effort of placing a human being behind enemy lines when a piece of software can do the bulk of the work instead?

Businessmen use technology to make their businesses more efficient - it would be foolish to assume criminals don't use it in a similar way. They can then glean the information they can't get digitally by paying off poorly-paid staff.

Because of this, regular digital and physical security testing is essential for all financial institutions. Criminals and hackers are experts at finding flaws, so it's better for the banks to find them first.