Business Security Information

As a business owner, you must sometimes ask yourself this question when talking to an employee and maybe at times when talking with a customer.  How can you know if you should investigate further or if you should trust that gut feeling you get sometimes?  Well, Carolyn Finch recently had an article in CSO (Chief Security Officer) magazine covering body language and how to use it when looking for signs that someone is lying.

According to her information, the majority of people do lie–sometimes because they are embarrassed about something, but other times because they are trying to hide something.  Research in one study showed that almost 60 percent of the study participants lied during the study.  If that is accurate or close to being accurate, then it falls in line with security studies that show the majority of a business losses occur from what is called the insider threat.  Insider threats are usually employees but can also be contractors, consultants or others who have inside access to your business.  Even though you may have a great workforce that has been with you for a long time, you must be aware that the majority of your losses will occur from within your organization.

If you are trying to discover details of an event or whether an employee is telling the truth, there are some physical signs that the person(s) may be lying to you?

1. Tense facial expressions – the person that is lying may try to fake a smile making it look fake or artificial.  Real smiles uses the whole face including the eyes.
2. Pausing when speaking – The person lying may pause frequently and/or repeat words while speaking.  The frequent pausing is an indication that the person is thinking about what they want to say.  Also, the person’s eyes will usually go up, around, and then down which is another indication that they are thinking about what to say next.
3. Nervous behavior – The person that is lying may put their finger in front of their mouth or they may touch their nose or underneath their nose.  Also, watch the hands which are usually good indicators of nervousness.
4. Eye contact – Those who are lying will usually avoid eye contact, but since most people know this, it is is not such a good indicator as it once was.  Instead, study the person’s eyes and where they go as they are talking.  Eyes that go up to the person’s left, then back down to their right may indicate they are lying or know more than they are saying.

The CSO website has a video interview with Ms. Finch regarding the physical signs of lying.  Watch the “Catch a Liar” video because it has additional information for each of the four different physical signs. You will also be able to see some of the signs in action as she demonstrates them or shows clips of others lying.

These indicators are not one hundred percent, but they may help decide if your gut feeling about the situation is true and if further investigation of the issue or situation is warranted.  Depending on the situation, you may want to contract with a professional investigator to conduct the investigation.  Either way, understanding some of the signs that someone may be lying may save you time and money if hiring an outside investigator is not warranted.

Related posts:

1. Security Issues Related to Insider Threats
2. Seven Kidnapping Security Tips
3. Social Engineering Means What?