Given today’s risk trends and the current economic situations of most companies, the following question deserves a more than perfunctory answer.
Q: What kinds of New Year’s resolutions are you seeing relating to security?
A: The typical New Year’s resolutions that I have heard are:
- Doing more on professional self-improvement;
- Security program improvement, especially for better risk alignment;
- Stopping the continued investment in outdated technology and finding a way to move to current-day technology despite financial constraints; and
- Getting my “convergence act” together.
I am pleased to be able to write that some very valuable supporting material is available for these resolutions for somewhere between $99 and $199, depending on the status of your ASIS International membership and annual seminar attendance. What I’m referring to is the ASIS “deal” of the century as I call it — the purchase price for online or DVD access to audio and video recordings of nearly 200 educational sessions from the ASIS 57th Annual Seminar. This still seems to be a little-known secret. Each year I make my $99 purchase because it is physically impossible to attend the 100-plus sessions that I am interested in at each fall conference.
I like to look over the list of sessions, prioritize based on what is applicable to client requirements, current trends, and my personal objectives, and set myself a program to review one or two sessions each week. For me, this works out to be about $1 per session, and that’s the highest value I can find in security education today.
I have put together a web page to provide you with links that let you browse the session titles and descriptions, convince yourself of their applicability, and then make your purchase. Be sure to type ASIS in all capital letters: www.go-rbcs.com/ASIS-57. You will also find a link to a list of the 80 educational sessions that were convergence-related, including some sessions of high interest to IT personnel, plus some links to a few free webinars available.
Seven Free Webinars
ASIS is currently providing access to seven free webinars, which you will find at the bottom of the above ASIS-57 page link. Three of the webinars I found of particular interest are:
- Save Time and Money by Training Online in First Aid, CPR, AED Use and Blood borne Pathogens;
- Private Security Company Operations Standards Workshop; and
- Enhanced Performance Through Standards.
ASIS Member Council Participation
Another way to increase your personal knowledge and strengthen your security program is by active participation in the ASIS Member Councils. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the level of work being done by the councils. Last year, the councils developed and released several white papers on key security topics. I have met and worked with many fine people in the workshops and activities of the Physical Security Council and the IT Security Council.
The list of councils is included in the nearby sidebar. If a council looks like it may be a good match for your interests and responsibilities, go to the ASIS Member Council page (asisonline.org/councils) and reach out to one or more of the members listed on that council’s page.
Whatever your security New Year’s resolutions are, you should be able to help yourself to some very useful support in one or more of the ways presented above. Here’s to a Happy and Secure 2012!
Write to Ray about this column at [email protected]. Ray Bernard, PSP, CHS-III is the principal consultant for Ray Bernard Consulting Services (RBCS), a firm that provides security consulting services for public and private facilities. He is founder and publisher of The Security Minute 60-second newsletter (www.TheSecurityMinute.com). For more information about Ray Bernard and RBCS go to www.go-rbcs.com or call 949-831-6788. Mr. Bernard is also a member of the Subject Matter Expert Faculty of the Security Executive Council (www.SecurityExecutiveCouncil.com).
