Reviewed by Leonard William Smuts for Readers' Favorite

As the world enters increasingly turbulent times, corporate security is threatened by new and diverse challenges such as cybercrime, terrorism, kidnapping, natural disasters, social unrest, health-related issues, and many more. Dr. Karen Hardy has gathered together a team of industry experts to give readers an overview of areas that must be addressed to identify and mitigate risks to their enterprises. The various chapters deal with aspects of the organization such as resilience, continuity, compliance, and monitoring. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it unique threats that have tested corporate adaptability. It has also exposed weaknesses in the supply chain and threats to the health of employees. Global awareness is thus vital. As companies become more reliant on information technology, they must protect client confidentiality as well as have backup plans in place for data recovery and protecting themselves against ransomware. Flip This Risk for Enterprise Security takes readers through a variety of processes that will help them examine their risk profile, identify potential threats, and formulate a coordinated response and recovery plan. Top management buy-in is essential and a multi-disciplinary approach is advocated.

Flip This Risk for Enterprise Security is designed to be a user-friendly guide to the issues likely to be encountered. The advice provided is both sound and based on many years of practical experience by the contributors, who are all experts in their fields. I particularly liked the chapter on executive security, which highlights overlooked aspects such as what family members post on social media that could compromise home security. The tips on international travel include a checklist and were equally useful. The point is made that while security can be boring in terms of daily routine, it should not be taken for granted. The question is asked of management as to whether being in charge is actually being in control. An interesting debate is the need to balance risk with profit, but security should never be underfunded. In the final analysis, security is everybody’s responsibility and advance planning will give any organization the ability to respond appropriately. Dr. Karen Hardy, herself an authority, has put together a well-written and informative guide that will greatly assist enterprises in planning strategically. The book sets out to be a compact publication and in this, it succeeds admirably.