Security

A security referent is the focus of a security policy or discourse; for example, a referent may be a potential beneficiary (or victim) of a security policy or system.

Security referents may be persons or social groups, objects, institutions, ecosystems, or any other phenomenon vulnerable to unwanted change by the forces of its environment.[2] The referent in question may combine many referents, in the same way that, for example, a nation state is composed of many individual citizens.[3]

The security context is the relationships between a security referent and its environment.[2] From this perspective, security and insecurity depend first on whether the environment is beneficial or hostile to the referent, and also how capable is the referent of responding to its/their environment in order to survive and thrive.[3]

The means by which a referent provides for security (or is provided for) vary widely. They include, for example:

• Coercive capabilities, including the capacity to project coercive power into the environment (e.g. aircraft carrier, handgun, firearms);
• Protective systems (e.g. lock, fence, wall, antivirus software, air defence system, armour)
• Warning systems (e.g. alarm, radar)
• Diplomatic and social action intended to prevent insecurity from developing (e.g. conflict prevention and transformation strategies); and
• Policy intended to develop the lasting economic, physical, ecological and other conditions of security (e.g. economic reform, ecological protection, progressive demilitarization, militarization).

Any action intended to provide security may have multiple effects. For example, an action may have wide benefit, enhancing security for several or all security referents in the context; alternatively, the action may be effective only temporarily, or benefit one referent at the expense of another, or be entirely ineffective or counterproductive.

Approaches to security are contested and the subject of debate. For example, in debate about national security strategies, some argue that security depends principally on developing protective and coercive capabilities in order to protect the security referent in a hostile environment (and potentially to project that power into its environment, and dominate it to the point of strategic supremacy).[4][5][6] Others argue that security depends principally on building the conditions in which equitable relationships can develop, partly by reducing antagonism between actors, ensuring that fundamental needs can be met, and also that differences of interest can be negotiated effectively.[7][3][8]

Border Security vehicle at the US-Canadian border

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Computer security, also known as cybersecurity or IT security, refers to the security of computing devices such as computers and smartphones, as well as computer networks such as private and public networks, and the Internet. The field has growing importance due to the increasing reliance on computer systems in most societies.[9] It concerns the protection of hardware, software, data, people, and also the procedures by which systems are accessed. The means of computer security include the physical security of systems and security of information held on them.

Corporate security refers to the resilience of corporations against espionage, theft, damage, and other threats. The security of corporations has become more complex as reliance on IT systems has increased, and their physical presence has become more highly distributed across several countries, including environments that are, or may rapidly become, hostile to them.

Security checkpoint at the entrance to the Delta Air Lines corporate headquarters in Atlanta

X-ray machines and metal detectors are used to control what is allowed to pass through an airport security perimeter.

Security checkpoint at the entrance to a shopping mall in Jakarta, Indonesia

Ecological security, also known as environmental security, refers to the integrity of ecosystems and the biosphere, particularly in relation to their capacity to sustain a diversity of life-forms (including human life). The security of ecosystems has attracted greater attention as the impact of ecological damage by humans has grown.[10]

Graffiti about ecological security, Belarus, 2016

Food security refers to the ready supply of, and access to, safe and nutritious food.[11] Food security is gaining in importance as the world's population has grown and productive land has diminished through overuse and climate change.[12][13]

Climate change is affecting global agriculture and food security

Home security normally refers to the security systems used on a property used as a dwelling (commonly including doors, locks, alarm systems, lighting, fencing); and personal security practices (such as ensuring doors are locked, alarms activated, windows closed etc.)

Security spikes protect a gated community in the East End of London.

Boys play among the bombed-out ruins of Gaza City, 2009

Human security is the name of an emerging paradigm which, in response to traditional emphasis on the right of nation states to protect themselves,[14] has focused on the primacy of the security of people (individuals and communities).[15] The concept is supported by the United Nations General Assembly, which has stressed "the right of people to live in freedom and dignity" and recognized "that all individuals, in particular vulnerable people, are entitled to freedom from fear and freedom from want".[16]

National security refers to the security of a nation state, including its people, economy, and institutions. In practice, state governments rely on a wide range of means, including diplomacy, economic power, and military capabilities.