Information overload – with risk alerts coming from seemingly every direction – can make it difficult for business leaders to distinguish what’s a real and imminent threat, from what’s not. And when the line between a threat and a false alarm is unclear, it jeopardizes the ability to act with confidence.
Consider this real-world example that some businesses recently faced: You receive an alert of a mass casualty incident in your city, triggering a significant police response. It’s the first you’ve heard of it. You search for information to verify the report, only to find a single social media post referencing the incident. The issue is, the source is a post made by an account for a popular video game, and the attack was a fictional one that occurred in the game.
So why did you receive the alert? Because the alerting provider relies solely on artificial intelligence (AI), which detected certain keywords and automatically issued the message. While platforms like these are great for processing large volumes of data quickly, they lack a critical component that can mean the difference between taking decisive action and questioning your intel: the human element.
Having a human in the loop provides situational context, subject matter expertise, and real-world judgement, turning information overload into actionable intelligence. AI-generated alerts aren’t the same as true finished intelligence, which answers the all-important “so what?” to decision makers, and guidance on what they can do about it.
The intelligence cycle: Where people make the difference
One of the most important ways people shape accurate, timely, relevant, and actionable intelligence is through their involvement in the intelligence cycle.
The intelligence cycle is a framework for how intelligence is managed and operated. It begins with defining what intelligence an organization needs, before collecting data to fulfill these requirements, processing this data into information, analyzing it, and producing intelligence, then delivering this in a ready-for-action format.
People are essential throughout the intelligence cycle, because understanding what organizations and the decision-makers truly need takes more than a semi-filtered stream of data points. It requires awareness of situational context, real-world dynamics, and organizational implications.
Many organizations rely on “raw” automated alerts about nearby incidents, like protests or crimes, but without context, these just become noise. And while AI can collect and process data at speed and scale, that doesn’t always mean the results are relevant or accurate. AI is limited to the sources it’s been programmed to search and its ability to instinctively question the trustworthiness of what it finds is varied.
And while AI can provide a technically correct answer, people provide the right one for the situation at hand. Ultimately, it’s the combination of AI and other technologies – and “a human in the loop” – that provides the highest quality of finished intelligence, which is meaningful, relevant, and actionable.
3 common mistakes companies make with risk intelligence
Even with the right people and tools in place, mistakes can happen, especially when foundational steps in the intelligence cycle are misunderstood or skipped. Some of the most common mistakes we see include:
Unclear intelligence requirements: Without a clear understanding of what the business needs to know and why, intelligence can lack relevance or focus on the wrong priorities.
Limited sources: Relying on only a few data sources, instead of using an all-source intelligence method, can lead to blind spots and incomplete insight
Failure to act: Intelligence is only valuable if it drives action. That means delivering accurate, timely, relevant insight to decision-makers and integrating intelligence across your organization – not just identifying threats, but understanding their potential impact on your people, assets, and business outcomes.
True finished intelligence requires people
True finished intelligence connects the dots and gives decision-makers the clarity to act. It should help leaders understand not just what is happening, but why it matters and what to do about it.
Think back to that video game example. When other companies struggled to determine whether the attack was real, our analysts were able to quickly identify that the information was neither accurate nor relevant, preventing unnecessary escalation and providing assurance to our clients, enabling them to focus on their priorities.
And when a threat does have the potential to impact a business, our team is there to provide the insight needed to respond with confidence.
The analysts working at Securitas’ risk intelligence centres come from diverse backgrounds, both professionally and personally, allowing them to apply context, challenge assumptions, and translate insight into decisions.
Ultimately, humans play a critical role in making sense of data and turning this into intelligence that is both accurate and actionable. But it’s not about humans versus machines; you need both. They are a force multiplier for each other.
Reach out to learn how we can deliver true intelligence for your organization, helping you stay vigilant, prepared, and protected.
