//Glossary
Security Operations Lexicon
63 terms defined. The definitive reference for security operations terminology.
Access Control
Systems that manage and monitor entry to secured areas using card readers, biometrics, or mobile credentials. Protocols include OSDP and Wiegand for communication between readers and controllers.
AI Analytics
Machine learning and artificial intelligence applied to security operations data — patrol patterns, incident trends, staffing efficiency, and threat correlation — to surface actionable insights.
Anomaly Detection
AI-powered identification of deviations from normal patterns in guard behaviour, patrol routes, sensor data, and system access. Flags potential security issues before they become incidents.
ASIAL
Australian Security Industry Association Limited — the peak body representing the security industry in Australia. Sets standards for security operations, training, and compliance that serve as the baseline for APAC markets.
Asset Tracking
Real-time monitoring of the location and status of all security resources including guards, vehicles, drones, cameras, and sensors across one or more sites.
Audit Trail
An immutable, timestamped log of every action, access, and change within the security operations platform. Provides defensible records for regulatory audits, legal proceedings, and client reviews.
Blue Force Tracking
Real-time GPS tracking of friendly security assets (guards, vehicles, drones) on a map display. Borrowed from military terminology where 'blue' represents friendly forces.
Callout Management
Automated workflows for finding replacement guards when scheduled personnel are unavailable. SMS and push notification chains with acceptance tracking and escalation.
CCTV Integration
Connecting existing closed-circuit television camera systems to a security operations platform via RTSP or API, enabling camera feeds to overlay on the Common Operating Picture alongside guard positions.
Chain of Custody
The documented, chronological trail of evidence from collection through preservation, ensuring integrity for legal and insurance proceedings. Each transfer of evidence is recorded with timestamps and handler identity.
Checkpoint Scanning
The act of a security guard using a mobile device to scan an NFC tag or QR code at a designated patrol waypoint, creating a timestamped, GPS-verified record of their physical presence.
Client Portal
A read-only, white-label web interface giving venue owners and site managers real-time visibility of their security operation — guard positions, patrol status, incident reports, and compliance metrics.
Client Reporting
Automated or manual delivery of security operation reports to venue owners and site managers. Includes patrol compliance, incident summaries, response times, and trend analysis.
Clock-In / Clock-Out
The process of recording when a security guard starts and ends their shift, typically using GPS-verified mobile app check-in to confirm physical presence at the assigned site.
Common Operating Picture (COP)
A real-time, unified visual display of all deployed security assets — guards, cameras, sensors, and vehicles — on a single map. Provides operators with complete situational awareness across multiple sites simultaneously.
Cross-Domain Correlation
The analysis of events across both physical security (patrols, cameras, access control) and cyber security (network traffic, system logs) domains to detect coordinated threats.
Cyber-Physical Convergence
The merging of physical security systems (CCTV, access control, guards) and cybersecurity systems (network monitoring, threat detection) into a unified security operations approach.
Data Residency
Legal requirements governing where data must be physically stored. Different APAC jurisdictions have varying rules about whether security operations data can leave their borders.
Digital Evidence
Electronic records captured during security incidents — photographs, video footage, GPS coordinates, timestamps, and structured incident reports — stored in tamper-proof digital format.
Dispatch System
Technology for assigning and communicating tasks to security guards in real time via mobile push notifications. Includes priority levels, acknowledgment tracking, and task completion verification.
Duress Alarm
A silent or audible emergency alert triggered by a guard under threat. Transmits the guard's GPS location to the control room for immediate response coordination.
Duty of Care
The legal obligation of a security company to take reasonable steps to protect the safety and wellbeing of their guards and the people at sites they protect.
Escalation Workflow
A predefined chain of notifications and actions triggered by incident severity level. Automatically alerts supervisors, clients, and emergency services based on configurable rules.
Evidence Management
The systematic collection, storage, and retrieval of incident evidence including photos, videos, documents, and metadata. Ensures evidence integrity and accessibility for legal, insurance, and client purposes.
Geofencing
A virtual perimeter defined by GPS coordinates that triggers automated actions when a device enters or exits the boundary. Used in security to define site boundaries, restricted zones, and alert areas.
GPS Verification
The use of satellite-based positioning to confirm a security guard's physical location during clock-in, clock-out, and patrol activities. Prevents buddy-punching and verifies on-site presence.
Guard Management
The comprehensive administration of a security guard workforce including rostering, attendance, patrol tracking, performance monitoring, licence compliance, and payroll integration.
Guard Tour System
A technology system that tracks and verifies security guard patrols using NFC tags, QR codes, or GPS checkpoints placed along designated routes. Ensures guards physically visit required locations at specified intervals.
Incident Reporting
The structured documentation of security events including categorisation, evidence capture, witness statements, and escalation actions. Modern systems use mobile apps with GPS-tagged photo and video capture.
Intrusion Detection
Systems and processes that detect unauthorised entry into a secured area. Combines physical sensors (PIR, fence vibration, thermal cameras) with AI-powered analysis to reduce false alarms.
IoT Sensors
Internet of Things devices deployed in security environments — PIR motion detectors, audio sensors, environmental monitors, and emergency call points — feeding data into the Common Operating Picture.
Licence Compliance
Verification and tracking of security guard licences against regulatory requirements. Includes expiry monitoring, automatic alerts, and compliance reporting across jurisdictions.
Mobile Patrol App
A smartphone application used by security guards for GPS-verified clock-in, checkpoint scanning, incident reporting with evidence capture, task receipt, and communication with the control room.
Multi-Tenant
A software architecture where a single instance serves multiple independent organisations (tenants), each with isolated data and configuration. Essential for security platforms serving multiple security companies.
NFC Checkpoint
A near-field communication tag placed at patrol waypoints that guards scan with their mobile device to verify physical presence at that location. Provides tamper-proof evidence of patrol completion.
NVR (Network Video Recorder)
A hardware or software system that records and stores video from IP cameras over a network. Common NVR platforms include Milestone XProtect, Genetec, Hikvision, and Dahua.
OSDP (Open Supervised Device Protocol)
A modern, encrypted communication protocol for access control devices. Provides bidirectional communication and AES-128 encryption, replacing the older Wiegand protocol.
Patrol Compliance
The percentage of scheduled patrol checkpoints successfully scanned within the required time window. A key performance metric for security operations, typically reported to clients.
Pattern Recognition
AI analysis of historical data across incidents, access logs, patrol reports, and sensor readings to identify recurring patterns, trends, and potential security vulnerabilities.
Payroll Integration
Direct data connection between the security operations platform and payroll systems (MYOB, KeyPay, Xero) to automatically sync verified guard hours, overtime, and penalty rates.
Penetration Testing
Authorised simulated attacks on security systems — both physical and digital — to identify exploitable vulnerabilities. Results inform remediation priorities.
Per Guard Pricing
A SaaS billing model where the subscription cost scales with the number of active security guards on the platform. Aligns cost directly with operational scale.
Perimeter Security
The protection of a site's outer boundary using a combination of physical barriers, sensors, cameras, patrols, and drone surveillance to detect and deter unauthorised entry.
Predictive Rostering
AI-powered shift optimisation that analyses historical incident data, weather patterns, events, and staffing patterns to recommend optimal guard coverage levels.
QR Checkpoint
A QR code affixed at patrol locations that guards scan with their mobile device camera to verify presence. An alternative to NFC that requires no additional hardware beyond a smartphone.
Real-Time Monitoring
Continuous, live observation of security operations data — guard positions, camera feeds, sensor alerts, and system status — enabling immediate response to events as they occur.
Red Team
A group conducting full-spectrum adversary simulation combining both cyber and physical attack vectors to test an organisation's security holistically. Named from military war-gaming conventions.
Regulatory Compliance
Adherence to government and industry regulations governing private security operations. Includes guard licensing, data privacy, workplace safety, and industry-specific standards across jurisdictions.
Risk Scoring
AI-generated numerical assessment of security risk for a specific site, client, or time period based on historical data, current conditions, and predictive models.
Roster Management
The scheduling of security guards to shifts across multiple sites, managing availability, qualifications, licence compliance, and callout workflows.
RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol)
A network protocol used to stream live video from CCTV cameras and NVR systems. Praetor uses RTSP to integrate camera feeds into the Common Operating Picture.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
Cloud-hosted software accessed via subscription rather than one-time purchase. Security operations platforms delivered as SaaS eliminate the need for on-premise servers and IT maintenance.
Shift Scheduling
The process of assigning guards to specific time periods at specific sites, ensuring adequate coverage while respecting rest requirements, qualifications, and licence constraints.
SIEM
Security Information and Event Management — a system that aggregates and analyses security event data from multiple sources in real time to detect threats, generate alerts, and support incident response.
Situational Awareness
The perception, comprehension, and projection of what is happening across a security environment. In security operations, it means knowing where every asset is, what state it's in, and what's about to happen.
SLA Compliance
Adherence to Service Level Agreements between a security company and their clients. Measured metrics include patrol frequency, response times, incident reporting speed, and coverage hours.
Tamper-Proof Logging
Cryptographically secured event logs that cannot be altered or deleted after creation. Ensures the integrity of patrol records, incident reports, and evidence chains.
Threat Assessment
Systematic evaluation of potential security threats to a site or operation, considering likelihood, impact, and existing countermeasures. Informs resource allocation and security planning.
Threat Intelligence
Information about current and emerging security threats gathered from external sources and correlated with operational data to provide context-aware alerting and proactive risk management.
Timesheet Management
Automated recording and management of guard working hours based on GPS-verified clock-in/out data. Feeds directly into payroll systems to eliminate manual timesheet entry.
Vulnerability Assessment
Proactive security testing of networks, systems, and physical infrastructure to identify weaknesses before they can be exploited. Includes penetration testing and social engineering.
White Label
A product or service produced by one company that is rebranded by another company to appear as their own. In security, the client portal is white-labelled with the security company's branding.
Wiegand Protocol
A legacy wiring standard for access control card readers. Transmits data unencrypted in one direction. Being superseded by OSDP in modern installations but still widely deployed.