Security integrators across our nation are working to provide safer and more secure facilities for their staff, communities, and clients — which includes our country’s critical infrastructure (CI) operations. Security systems integrators are expected to advance their industry tradecraft through the plethora of education opportunities offered by leading industry bodies, like the Physical Security Professional (PSP) certification offered through the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), or the Certified Security Project Manager (CSPM) and Security Industry Cybersecurity Certification (SICC) offered by the Security Industry Association (SIA). In the national security domain, however, there is so much more to learn, a broader whole-of-security education bolstering effort that systems integrators can undertake to ensure their seats at the table become an indispensable resource to our critical infrastructure operating community.
The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) is a framework upon which the Sector Risk Management Agency (SRMA) collaborates to tailor sector-specific plans for the unique characteristics and conditions of each of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, water, healthcare, transportation, etc. Systems integrators naturally understand tailoring electronic security solutions to meet specific site requirements. However, with the CI facilities that we all service, we have an additional responsibility to support our trusted facility owner and operator relationships by bringing a whole-of-security mindset to the negotiation table. That mindset entails understanding and educating our clients on the resources available to them within the broader national security partner ecosystem, and connecting them to those resources, regardless of our own business development interests. That’s the implicit responsibility of a trusted relationship, and the ethical responsibility of every security professional.