{"id":773915,"date":"2026-06-30T06:00:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&p=773915"},"modified":"2026-06-30T06:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:00:41","slug":"asset-theft","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft","title":{"rendered":"Recent Thefts Put Business Security in the Spotlight"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1661,285382,489232,493540],"department":[488822],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-773915","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-asset-management","tag-corporate-security","tag-operations-management","tag-operations-security","department-sustainability-risk"],"acf":{"short_description":"Across industries, corporate assets are increasingly in criminal crosshairs. A new form of visibility is helping security teams fight back.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In a development sure to make the hair on a security executive\u2019s neck stand up, thieves are breaking into solar farms and carting off high-value hardware, leaving behind damage that can run into the millions."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"Snapshot<\/strong>: As some corporate security executives grapple with evolving threats to assets and operations, others employ new tech and new techniques to boost resilience.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Recent incidents of theft show geographic diversity and varying levels of sophistication. In 2024, a 63-year-old Fresno, California, man was arrested on suspicion<\/a> of stealing copper from a local solar farm to sell for cash. In 2025, a group of masked men in Ohio loaded solar panels onto a trailer and made a bumbling escape<\/a> before police arrived. In early 2026, criminal groups across Chile began cutting fences, disabling security devices, plundering solar installations, and selling the spoils on the black market, according to Bloomberg<\/em><\/a>.\r\n\r\nThe threat isn\u2019t unique to solar businesses\u2014or even the energy sector. From utility and natural resource companies to retailers, safeguarding operations and assets is an increasingly demanding task. Some corporate security executives and operations managers are making sense of the situation by putting their operations on a map.\r\n

With Assets in Jeopardy, Clear Vision Is Key for Security Executives<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nFor energy executives, threats to solar infrastructure carry echoes of the past. In the early aughts, a rapid run-up in copper prices and an expanding opioid crisis set the stage<\/a> for thefts at electrical substations, railroad control boxes, and other sites, according to the FBI.\r\n\r\nToday, as some commodity prices flirt with all-time highs, thieves are using ever more innovative\u2014and dangerous<\/a>\u2014methods to ransack infrastructure for cash. Utilities and other companies that have long used digital maps to track field assets are now finding such visibility invaluable in security work."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Related Read:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n\/\/ Managing security away from the office<\/a>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"One Midwestern power producer uses maps made with geographic information system (GIS) software to analyze outages<\/a> related to copper theft. According to the company\u2019s director of engineering and operations, GIS tools \u201cenable data-driven analyses, which enhance system reliability and reduce costs.\u201d\r\n\r\nAn electric and gas utility in the Southeastern US enlisted a map-based threat awareness dashboard, enabling security personnel to see geographic patterns in operational threats. With that clarity, the team was able to set up targeted defensive measures.\r\n

Operational Security Beyond the Field <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAs criminal activity flows into other areas of the economy, GIS analysis is expanding, too.\r\n\r\nRetail brands faced significant security challenges in recent years when shoplifting incidents rose. In response, an industry group known as the Loss Prevention Research Council began using GIS analysis<\/a> to spot patterns in retail crime and give retailers the operational awareness they need to keep assets, employees, and customers safe.\r\n\r\nIn remote areas, location software is creating visibility that helps authorities combat illegal activity. One multinational task force in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru is using GIS analysis to understand how stolen fuel is routed<\/a>, trace it to the heavy machinery used in illegal mining and logging, and shut down unauthorized operations.\r\n\r\nAs criminal schemes grow more sophisticated\u2014and potential business losses more severe\u2014the night watchman of old is fading into obsolescence. Companies are adopting an all-hands-on-deck approach to operational security, relying on the analysts and location technology that bring clarity to corporate threats.\r\n\r\n "}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nSecurity Executives Face New Threats to Business Assets<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In an ever-changing threat environment, some security executives are showing their peers how to respond.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Recent Thefts Put Business Security in the Spotlight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In an ever-changing threat environment, some security executives are showing their peers how to respond.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/recent-thefts-put-business-security-in-spotlight-card-826x465-1.jpg\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/recent-thefts-put-business-security-in-spotlight-card-826x465-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft\",\n\t \"name\": \"Security Executives Face New Threats to Business Assets\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2026-06-30T13:00:41+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"In an ever-changing threat environment, some security executives are showing their peers how to respond.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Recent Thefts Put Business Security in the Spotlight\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b890389919572d29641d24fc67eaf376\",\n\t \"name\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\"\n\t },\n\t \"description\": \"Chris Chiappinelli is the editor of Esri\u2019s WhereNext magazine. Through his writing, he explores the intersection of business strategy and location intelligence\u2014and strategic challenges like sustainability, growth, and risk. Prior to joining Esri, Chris managed internal content for PTC, a pioneer in IoT technology, smart products, and augmented reality. Earlier in his career, Chris spent a decade as a journalist covering business and technology news.\",\n\t \"sameAs\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-chiappinelli-ba56814\",\n\t \"https:\/\/x.com\/chrischip\"\n\t ],\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/cchiappinelli\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Security Executives Face New Threats to Business Assets","description":"In an ever-changing threat environment, some security executives are showing their peers how to respond.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Recent Thefts Put Business Security in the Spotlight","og_description":"In an ever-changing threat environment, some security executives are showing their peers how to respond.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft","og_site_name":"Esri","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/recent-thefts-put-business-security-in-spotlight-card-826x465-1.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""},{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/recent-thefts-put-business-security-in-spotlight-card-826x465-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Esri","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft","name":"Security Executives Face New Threats to Business Assets","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-30T13:00:41+00:00","description":"In an ever-changing threat environment, some security executives are showing their peers how to respond.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/asset-theft#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Recent Thefts Put Business Security in the Spotlight"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/","name":"Esri","description":"Esri Newsroom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b890389919572d29641d24fc67eaf376","name":"Chris Chiappinelli","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg","caption":"Chris Chiappinelli"},"description":"Chris Chiappinelli is the editor of Esri\u2019s WhereNext magazine. Through his writing, he explores the intersection of business strategy and location intelligence\u2014and strategic challenges like sustainability, growth, and risk. Prior to joining Esri, Chris managed internal content for PTC, a pioneer in IoT technology, smart products, and augmented reality. Earlier in his career, Chris spent a decade as a journalist covering business and technology news.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-chiappinelli-ba56814","https:\/\/x.com\/chrischip"],"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/cchiappinelli"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext\/773915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wherenext"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext\/773915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773915"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=773915"},{"taxonomy":"wherenext-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext-category?post=773915"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=773915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}