Independent certification bodies such as the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) are one of specifiers’ most useful sources of guidance for identifying security products that will offer an appropriate and tailored level of protection against forced entry. Crucially, standards and certifications are continually adapted to match the evolving threat landscape. This ensures they continue to provide clear guidance on which products are suitable for a site’s risks.

Earlier this year, the LPCB announced its update to LPS 1175 with the newly revised Issue 8, defining a new performance classification system that recognises the increasingly diverse relationship between attack tools that a hostile actor might use and attack times. The update is more conducive to supporting a layered approach than previous issues and provides specifiers with greater flexibility when approaching and specifying security solutions.

The new performance classification system allows specifiers to prepare for the many variables that come into play during an attack. Security decision makers can adapt their security measures according to a number of conditions such as the tools intruders are likely to use, approach routes, strength and stamina required to carry certain tools, whether attackers need to conceal the equipment and how much noise they’ll make.

By predicting a likely toolset, specifiers can then construct multiple layers of defence to maximise how much time security services has to respond to an attack. Different levels of security are crucial for creating a perimeter that will deter, detect, deny, delay and defend against unauthorised access, otherwise known as the ‘5Ds’ of perimeter security.

While Issue 8 is a solution to increasing risk diversity, it also tackles a common hurdle for security specifiers: price. In a study we conducted on the UK’s security landscape, cost was the most cited challenge to commissioning security projects, reported by 47% of security decision makers.

The considered approach of Issue 8 facilitates more economical specification. Now, specifiers can choose products based on the delay in response time and tool set independently rather than selecting from fixed combinations of the two. The new certification provides forty eight possible combinations of threat and delay, allowing specifiers to select the most appropriate solutions for specific situations.

Over the past few years we’ve seen security threats diversify rapidly, from the tactics used to new technology. Businesses need to ensure that their assets are protected against the latest risks and threats, this is where LPS 1175: Issue 8 can help to guide them during specification.