Physical And Infrastructure Security Is Essential For Protecting Organizational Interests From Both Well Known And Undocumented Threats

Security and ethical employees will continue to be a vital aspect of ensuring the success of an organization. There will always be a need for ethical IT security professional as hackers will continue to force organizations to make adjustments in their business models to protect their employees, data and customers. Many organizations and managers believe application security requires simply installing a perimeter firewall, or taking a few configuration measures to prevent applications or operating systems from being attacked. This is a risky misconception. By understanding threats and respect impacts, organizations will be equipped to maintain confidentiality, availability and

Managing these risks involves developing approaches that result in sound, scenario-based consequence and vulnerability estimates as well as assessments of the likelihood that the suggested threat will occur (“Executing A Critical”, n.d.). Risk is influenced by the nature and magnitude of a hazard or threat, the vulnerabilities to the threat or hazard, and possible consequences (“Executing A Critical”, n.d.). The threat landscape of the electric utility subsector includes physical attacks/theft, cyber-attack, natural disaster, and nuclear attacks (“Addressing Dynamic”, 2014). In addition to these threats and vulnerabilities, the subsector has identified other key issues and risks such as workforce capability and human errors, equipment failure and aging infrastructure, and evolving environmental, economic, and reliability regulatory requirements (“Energy Sector”, 2015). Electricity assets are numerous including residential homes, commercial offices, utility companies, transmission lines, etc. and their locations vary across the

The tragic events of 9/11, have drastically added to the myriad of recognized risk types and threats as well as the security recommended and required to counter those threats. The Security Manager must be aware of current threat trends, as well as mitigation strategies for the risks identified by the stakeholders. The mitigation strategies vary depending on the type of asset, location, threats and level of risk. These risks can include the spectrum of natural events and disasters, human-caused events as well as the secondary events spawned by primary events. This paper will examine special event security, its purpose, and when such security is recommended.

As such, our company’s people resources pose the greatest risk for security breach. Our way to help mitigate risk in this area is to keep communication lines open in this area and to continually mandate security knowledge training, with mandatory updates on a regular basis. When the employees are informed of company policy when facing a security matter, they are better equipped to act in the best or right way. In this way knowledge is power – or at least empowerment to act in the best interest of the company’s information security.

The Department of Homeland Security supplies a national protection plan concerning critical infrastructure security. This plan targets a wide audience, including public and private critical infrastructure owners and administrators. Managing risks through identifying, deterring, and disrupting threats to critical infrastructure is the direct focus of this plan. The ability of an organization to reduce the impact of a threat that has occurred and reducing the impact of one that may occur is essential to an active security posture. Compromise of a critical infrastructure such as oil, airports, or traffic flow management could result in a major loss of life or resources (Department of Homeland Security, 2013).

This paper will thoroughly define and explain planning and mitigation. Additionally, it will cover several factors that play a role in each category. Specifically, this paper will look into several phases of planning to include: continuity of operations; mission essential functions; planning development; and preparedness. Furthermore, it will look what types a factors should be looked at when making an organizations plans. In addition, this paper will look at mitigating risks, specifically cyber and physical risk mitigation and some of the different approaches risks can be mitigated. Finally, this paper will briefly look at the Department of Defense’s Operational Risk Management process and how it ties planning and mitigation together.

When it comes to the protection and mitigating of any structure or organization risk analysis and vulnerability assessments must be conducts so as to know what’s to be protected, the threats manmade or natural disaster, ranking the potential of threat as well as the probability. In terms of critical infrastructure the risk analysis and vulnerability assessment has guidelines from Homeland Security Presidential Directive Number 7(HSPD-7).

System approach is defined the physical security to appropriate measure to decrease the loss of personal, equipment, material and supplies for threats against human and natural. Leaders prove the responsibility of physical security officer, force protection officer and provost marshal. Protecting the assets based on systematic process to integrate the system. Specific assets are protected contrast to threats to acceptable levels of protection. Protecting asset is developed for building and facilities that contained

No human life wants to deal with events such as; earthquakes, forest fires (West Coast), hurricanes, tornadoes, and terrorist like 9/11. To avoid these kinds of events is inevitable but, with the risk equation such as: R=f(C,V, T). These types of disasters can be contained and reduced by damages. Homeland security partners must provide and receive information and assessments on current and emerging risks in time to carry out their risk management responsibilities, while enjoying access to the data, tools, and expertise to make informed risk management decisions (Department of Homeland Security, 2010). Risk management plays a huge role all across America and is considered to be very important.

The U.S. economic downturn also played a major role in our security selections. Due to these recent attacks and the impact they have had upon our system, we will analyze our disaster readiness level, national security index, and budget. A detailed review of our security policies, procedures, rationale, and changes that were in place prior to the attack will be performed. This evaluation of our security decisions will be then be adjusted and reapplied to the control set in order to improve our security and national security index. After reviewing current security procedures, recommendations will be given to maximize the security posture and performance during round three.

The Department of Homeland Security is task with a very important job of coming up with a critical infrastructure and key resources sectors in order to properly protect, withstand, and rapidly recover from all hazards whether is natural disasters or from a terrorist attack. Through a critical infrastructure set in place the Department of Homeland Security can provide strategic guidance to the public and private partners, encouraging national unity of effort, as well as coordinating the overall federal effort to promote the safekeeping and spirit of the United States (The Department of Homeland Security, 2015). The department of Homeland Security’s approach to identifying all the Critical Infrastructures and Key Resources Sectors,

City, state, and federal emergency management personnel across the United States encounter threats and hazards daily. Those threats and hazards can vary in intensity between low and high levels of danger with different severities of impacts on the citizens in affected areas. Sometimes threat and hazards can be detected before they strike. Those early warning periods allow emergency managers to enact preventive measures or prepare responsive plans and resources in order to stop or lessen the impacts of the threats and hazards on the community. In order to assist city and state emergency agencies with creating the foundations to draft, plan, and execute preventive and responsive emergency plans, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S.)

One of the key measures is the Protecting Critical Infrastructure since it includes the protection and security of transport system, security of air and maritime space, energy, health, agriculture and food, mail and shipped , water, bank and finances and defense industrial, representing a large proportion of the targets that could be considered for a terrorist attack. (National strategy for the physical protection of critical infrastructures,

This policy seeks to provide Pathways Industries offices guidelines in protecting company assets from vulnerabilities from physical attack. This includes not only computers and intellectual property, but access to physical areas as well. Additionally, this policy will address potential damage to assets from natural occurrences like fire, loss of power, flood and other naturally occurring disasters.

Nearly every community has some sort of community risk, threat, and assessment plan that takes into account one of the six potential risks that are of concern to homeland security. Though each of these plans will likely differ from one another, many communities will have the same types of information in their plans. This essay will look at the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Guide (THIRA), the Community Risk Reduction Planning Guide, as well as FEMA’s National Preparedness plan. Any combination of these guides are a good starting point for every community in America. At top of every communities list as well as the nation is the protection of the critical infrastructure. Loss of infrastructure regardless of how big or small the community is could have very crippling effects on that community.