Hannes Huotari, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of LOUHE discusses the hidden value of data and the developing cyber-physical risks facing organisations.
The boundaries between physical and digital security are dissolving.
As Mikko Hyppönen has put it, “there is no longer only cyber or physical – everything is cyber-physical.”
This shift fundamentally changes how organisations must consider risk.
Traditional, siloed approaches are no longer enough when attacks and threats increasingly take hybrid forms.
For today’s security professionals, this is not only a challenge but also an opportunity.
By embracing data-driven decision-making and advanced analytics, security can move from being perceived as a cost centre to becoming a strategic enabler of business continuity.
The stakes are high: According to the 2025 Ponemon Cost of Insider Threats Global Report, the average annualized cost of insider threats alone exceeds USD 17 million per organisation worldwide.
Access control systems, surveillance infrastructure and other security technologies generate immense amounts of data.
Yet in many organisations, this information remains locked away as an evidence archive to be accessed after an incident occurs.
The true value lies in what is hidden between the lines: Weak signals that, when identified early, can point to emerging threats long before anything happens.
By integrating and analysing this data, organisations can transform security from reactive reporting into proactive decision-making.
Instead of asking “what happened?” we can begin to ask “what might happen next and how can we prevent it?”
Artificial intelligence is accelerating this transformation.
Machine learning models can establish baselines of “normal” behaviour and detect anomalies in real time.
Explainable AI makes this process transparent, allowing human operators to understand why the system highlights certain anomalies, building trust and accountability into automated detection.
Automation also lightens the load on human operators.
Instead of manually sorting through thousands of logs and alerts, AI systems can triage events, flag the most critical issues and free up time for people to focus on strategic, high-value work.
Importantly, AI can merge data streams from multiple systems into a single situational picture: A capability that was almost unthinkable just a few years ago.
Siloed systems have long been a weakness in security architectures.
Each system may perform well in isolation, but when they cannot “talk” to one another, essential context is lost.
Integrating security systems allows organisations to build unified situational awareness, supporting both rapid response and informed decision-making.
Consider insider risk. Individually, access logs or video events may reveal little.
Combined, however, they can highlight unusual activity patterns, such as repeated attempts to access restricted areas at unusual hours, that may indicate potential threats.
The same principle applies beyond security: By analysing how spaces are used, organisations can optimise staffing levels, improve workplace experience and enhance operational efficiency.
Proactive, predictive security has direct financial benefits.
Reducing the likelihood of insider incidents and hybrid attacks can save organisations millions, not only in direct losses but also in reputational and regulatory costs.
But the impact goes further. When analysed intelligently, security data contributes to broader business objectives: Efficient space utilisation, smoother operations and improved employee well-being.
Security, once seen as a defensive expense, becomes a forward-looking investment in resilience and competitiveness.
The direction is clear: Security systems are evolving into intelligent, integrated ecosystems capable of autonomous detection and response.
This does not mean replacing human expertise.
On the contrary, AI functions best as a partner that handles the heavy lifting of data processing while people make creative, ethical and critical decisions.
Organisations that successfully merge physical and digital security will be better positioned to withstand the complex threat landscape of the future.
By adopting AI and integration, they will not only reduce risks but also strengthen their ability to adapt and thrive.
The key question is no longer whether to adopt AI and data integration, but how quickly.
For security professionals, this shift represents a chance to redefine their role – not as gatekeepers of the past, but as data-driven partners shaping the future of resilient businesses.
This article was originally published in the November edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.
