By now most everyone has seen the leaked video of the altercation between Jay Z and Beyonce’s sister Solange in a hotel elevator.
To a building owner this is a critical leak of security information. It puts the entire brand of the business at risk. For businesses, and buildings that cater to celebrities and high net-worth individuals, maintaining the integrity of their business and the privacy of the individuals that trust their business is critical. Once the trust of the environment is lost, so is the business.
So what can a building or business owner do to protect their business from the internal or external leaking of video surveillance footage? Consider taking these 5 critical steps:
- Restrict System Access – Have your video systems programmed so that video playback and export can only be performed by supervisory level personnel. Most digital video systems offer this level of control. This allows the “rank and file” the ability to view cameras necessary for carrying out their job responsibilities, while limiting their access to recorded video. Most all “video leaks” happen from viewing recorded video.
- Restrict Viewing Access – Restricting access to video monitors by unauthorized persons. Swiftly enforce violations so employees know that there is no tolerance for violations.
- Written Policy – Detail in a written policy what is permissible and not permissible concerning the access, use and distribution of live and recorded video, and what will happen if the policy is violated. Have the policy distributed, employees trained and sign off on the policy.
- Employee Agreement – Have all employees sign an agreement that they will not share, distribute, copy, or allow to be shared, distributed, or copied any form of digital information they may have access to, including video. Make it clear that this digital information is property of the business and any violation will be treated as a theft crime. This agreement should also detail that any financial gain from violations to this agreement shall be forfeited to the business.
- Enforce Professional Conduct – Do not allow employees to photograph, video record, or obtain autographs of celebrity patrons. Your patrons should feel at home in your establishment and this means protecting celebrity guests from personal intrusions.
While there is no guarantee that you will stop every possible leak incident, you can take significant steps to avoid this highly embarrassing and damaging type of incident.
Need help deploying these steps in your business, call Sentinel. We can evaluate your systems, write policies, employee agreements, and perform training to make sure you’re protected.
Slider Image via PopSugar
