ABSTRACT
Industry has many roles in Homeland Security. One of the major roles it plays is researching, developing, and implementing technology solutions to help protect our nation’s infrastructures.
Industry also has another role — ensuring that it has protective measures in place to protect against terrorist attacks at their facilities — they comprise an important component of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) plan — they are critical. DHS plays a couple of roles in its interaction with industry. It is a partner to industry, but sometimes it assumes an authoritarian role — expecting industry to comply with its mandates. DHS has rallied the best resources in the country to establish all the programs in place in the short time that it has been in existence — it has been a daunting and overwhelming task, but the work and quality of the work are high. For the most part, it does assume a role of collaboration — more than the other role. DHS has many industry partners working in
partnership to develop standards and guidelines. Many industries have developed their own standards and guidelines, which may be similar to DHS’s or perhaps even exceed DHS requirements. ASIS is working to promote education, standards, procedures, and much more to assist industry in their homeland security role. ASIS International (also known as ASIS) is the largest organization for security professionals, with more than 35,000 members worldwide. Founded in 1955, ASIS is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and productivity of security professionals by developing educational programs and materials that address broad security interests, such as the ASIS Annual Seminar and Exhibits, as well as specic security topics. ASIS also advocates the role and value of the security management profession to business, the media, governmental entities, and the public. By providing members and the security community with access to a full range of programs and services, and by publishing the industry’s number one magazine — Security Management — ASIS leads the way for advanced and improved security performance.1
