DHS To Adopt ASIS National Preparedness Standard

  • Oct 19, 2009

ASIS International recently announced that the Department of Homeland Security has selected the ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience American National Standard as one of three sets of standards to be adopted as a national preparedness standard for private-sector entities as part of the DHS PS-Prep program.

DHS is calling for a 30-day public comment period. Individuals wishing to submit comments may obtain a comment form and instructions for submission online at http://www.regulations.gov, in Docket ID: FEMA-2008-0017.

PS-Prep seeks to raise the level of private-sector preparedness through DHS adoption and promotion of preparedness standards and provides a mechanism for a private sector entity to receive certification that it is in conformity with one or more of the adopted standards. The ANSI/ASIS SPC.1-2009 American National Standard titled “Organizational Resilience: Security, Preparedness, and Continuity Management Systems–Requirements with Guidance for Use” provides a holistic approach for organizations to cost-effectively improve their resilience performance and increase preparedness.

The Standard takes an enterprise-wide view of risk management, enabling an organization to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent when possible, prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from a disruptive incident. It is the only ANSI Standard under consideration for the PS-Prep program that is 100 percent compatible with existing ISO management system standards, enabling a cost-saving integrated application with other internationally recognized ISO management system standards. The ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience Standard can be used by any organization wishing to enhance its resilience and preparedness.

“The importance of resilience management cannot be overstated,” said ASIS President Michael R. Cummings, CPP. “Organizations need to be able to adapt to an ever-changing environment. The ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience Standard provides organizations with a flexible tool they can use to tailor their preparedness needs to meet their business needs.

“ASIS International is proud that DHS intends to adopt its American National Standard for Organization Resilience to help businesses effectively address potential disruptions. Regardless of a business’ decision to participate in the PS-Prep certification process, it can use the ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience Standard to better manage its risks.”

This generic Standard is applicable to all sizes and types of organizations, from public to private, small to multinational, in manufacturing, service, storage or transportation, that want to:

  • Establish, implement, maintain and improve an organizational resilience management system.
  • Demonstrate resiliency and continuity for supply chain and contractual agreements.
  • Assure conformance with stated organizational resilience management policy.
  • Demonstrate and document conformance to the ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience Standard.
  • Make a self-determination and self-declaration of conformance with the ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience Standard.
  • Seek certification/registration of its organizational resilience management system by an accredited third-party certification body.

Leverage an existing investment in other ISO management system standards (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001) to improve security, preparedness and continuity performance.

“The selection of the ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience Standard for adoption for use in the PS-Prep program offers organizations a business-friendly, globally tested and proven method based on the ISO management system standard model, to improve their preparedness performance,” said Mark Geraci, CPP, chairman of the ASIS Commission on Standards and Guidelines.

As a complement to this effort, ASIS is offering a three-day class on Implementation and Auditing to the ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience Standard. Attendees will learn to implement the ASIS standard, identify necessary steps to establish and maintain an organizational resilience management system, understand the conduct of risk assessments and impact analysis to support decision making for resilience, and establish an effective internal auditing program to evaluate and improve performance. For more information on this class, go to http://www.asisonline.org.

Featured

  • Gaining a Competitive Edge

    Ask most companies about their future technology plans and the answers will most likely include AI. Then ask how they plan to deploy it, and that is where the responses may start to vary. Every company has unique surveillance requirements that are based on market focus, scale, scope, risk tolerance, geographic area and, of course, budget. Those factors all play a role in deciding how to configure a surveillance system, and how to effectively implement technologies like AI. Read Now

  • 6 Ways Security Awareness Training Empowers Human Risk Management

    Organizations are realizing that their greatest vulnerability often comes from within – their own people. Human error remains a significant factor in cybersecurity breaches, making it imperative for organizations to address human risk effectively. As a result, security awareness training (SAT) has emerged as a cornerstone in this endeavor because it offers a multifaceted approach to managing human risk. Read Now

  • The Stage is Set

    The security industry spans the entire globe, with manufacturers, developers and suppliers on every continent (well, almost—sorry, Antarctica). That means when regulations pop up in one area, they often have a ripple effect that impacts the entire supply chain. Recent data privacy regulations like GDPR in Europe and CPRA in California made waves when they first went into effect, forcing businesses to change the way they approach data collection and storage to continue operating in those markets. Even highly specific regulations like the U.S.’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) can have international reverberations – and this growing volume of legislation has continued to affect global supply chains in a variety of different ways. Read Now

  • Access Control Technology

    As we move swiftly toward the end of 2024, the security industry is looking at the trends in play, what might be on the horizon, and how they will impact business opportunities and projections. Read Now

Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area. 3

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities 3

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure. 3