Robbery attempts and assaults in bank branches have increased over the past two years. The criminal attacks are diverse and concern both large cities and rural areas, raised a group of professionals from the banking sector during a meeting.
Bank branches and money transfer agencies are often targeted by criminals, endangering property and people, employees, customers, security guards and sometimes even bystanders. How did we get there? What are the reasons that make our bank branches vulnerable? How to avoid the worst and what are the technical and technological solutions of tomorrow?
Under the theme ” Bank Branch Security System: Issues and Solutions”, Elkron Maroc, a company that distributes electronic communication and security equipment, initiated a meeting-debate with professionals from the banking sector and physical security experts in Casablanca, to answer all of its questions.
Thus, the exchanges between professionals made it possible to highlight several areas for improvement and to expose the major trends in terms of technical and technological solutions. They agreed that the current context has changed enormously compared to the early 2000s and that the regulatory framework must also evolve to thwart new forms of criminal attacks, whether physical or virtual.
« It is not enough to install surveillance equipment and provide security guards at the entrance to protect goods and people in bank branches. It is important to integrate systems, recover and analyze data, support and train staff to have effective protection said Zahir Tamri, Managing Director of Elkron Morocco.
Through this meeting, the manager underlined that the goal is “to enlighten the legislator on the new risks and the new solutions made available for appropriate protection”, noting that professionals can be a real source of proposals for all components of the security ecosystem in Morocco.
Indeed, today, the agreement relating to security specifications in the banking sector and the strengthening of security and video surveillance measures, signed in 2008 between the GPBM (professional association of Moroccan banks) and the Ministry of ‘Internal, was drafted on the basis of data that dates back to the time in terms of risks. Today, according to professionals, it is essential to update it in the light of new forms of attacks and new technological solutions now available.
In this sense, Said El Houari, Managing Director of Al Omra Group International, which is also a Moroccan company specializing in the integrated management of technological and security projects with added value, particularly insisted on three essential points, namely maintenance, training and support for staff and adaptation of specifications and requirements to the Moroccan context.
« The risks are increasing and changing and it is important to provide new means of deterrence and protection that will allow new options thanks to digitalization “, explained Said Houari during his intervention during the debate.
Same story on the side of Kawtar Gnaoui, Technology and Solutions Director in a box specializing in security, underlined it during his speech. ” We must evolve from reactive security to proactive security and this necessarily involves digitalization. It is now possible to obtain real-time reports of all the recordings and information relayed on several sites at the same time to analyze it and act, or even anticipate, the various risks. “, she said.
The digitization of banking services, which has experienced a real revolution in recent years, has transformed servers into a veritable bank safe, as demonstrated by Amal Tijani, founding member and co-manager of a firm specialist in auditing and fire control, arson and panic management.
Securing them against cyber-attacks or against risks such as arson, for example, must be a priority to be taken into consideration by professionals in the banking sector and the government on the legislative and regulatory level.
At the end of the debate, the organizers of the meeting as well as their partners and guests present decided to create a think thank which will meet regularly in the form of debate meetings, but also working meetings to allow experience sharing and a continuous feedback of information and which will send recommendations to the various stakeholders of the ecosystem, announced Zahir Tamri.