Provide three key learning takeaways you have gained from this course and how you intend to utilize them in your professional life. (750 word response to this question you can look at two response below as examples when writing the answer)
(Post 1 need 250 word response with at least one reference)
One learning takeaway, I am going to apply to my career is the security convergence process. Technology is a part of security, and my new goal is to gain more knowledge on IT security. Hence, after I complete my masters degree, it would be beneficial for me to gain knowledge on the IT side of security. At first when learning about the convergence of physical and IT security: I was a little worried because I am not the computer savvy. After reading an article, I gained confidence that I could become proficient with IT security. In actuality, the concepts of physical and IT security are similar and will involve the same risk models (Arnold,2017). Thus, teaching a physical security individual on the basic IT security tasks will not be that difficult. One example of a physical security individual learning IT is the former infantry Marine, John Petruzzi (Slater,2005). Mr. Petruzzi took classes on IT security and now he is the chief security officer at Constellation Energy. If physical security individuals can learn IT security they will be more competitive in the job market. Additionally, a chief security officer (CSO) of the future might be required to be proficient at both physical and IT security. Any organization that is doing a security convergence will greatly benefit from one individual who has experience in both areas overseeing the convergence.
The CSO will be a crucial part of the security convergence process to implement successfully in an organization. One example of a convergence process not going successfully is at Microsoft. Howard Schmidt, was hired to implement a security convergence process but he eventually would quit and the convergence did not happen. He would quit working for Microsoft because he felt the physical security employees were hostile towards him and the IT security employees: maybe the physical security individuals were hostile because the IT security employees were getting promoted. Moreover, when an individual is from a different field of work and they are put in charge of ones department it can also create hostility. Some believe letting someone else control their department from a different department will result in their department giving up resources, budget, and influence. By having a CSO that is experienced with both physical and IT security they will have a leader who should be able to overcome workplace cultural conflict.
Before taking this class, I only believed the threat of nuclear attacks was from conventional militaries. Moreover, I believed that a nuclear attack that is not from a conventional military was just a scene in a Hollywood movie. Hence, nuclear attacks from a non-conventional source are a real possibility. The next catastrophe has a real possibility to be a result of an act of nuclear terrorism. Nuclear terrorism does not pose as much as a threat to humanity as a nuclear global war but it has a better chance of happening than a nuclear war (Namboodiri,2014). The threat of nuclear terrorism is not a new emerging threat or concept, it has actually been around for quite a while now. The FBI would arrest three Americans in 1978 for the charge of conspiracy to steal a nuclear missile submarine (Namboodiri,2014). Their goal was to overtake the submarine and then use that submarine to send a missile to their designated location.
The threat of nuclear terrorism was identified by a United Nations spokesman in 1972: he mentioned that the modern terrorists prefer to use rifles or bombs but in the future, they will prefer using nuclear bombs or death-carrying germs (Namboodiri,2014). Another individual William Epstein has been an advocator of nuclear non-proliferation for a long time. According to Epstein, one of the risks associated with nuclear proliferation is the increased risk of terrorist gaining access. Non-governmental nuclear proliferation can gain nuclear capability by hijacking, theft, and black-market purchase. There is a wide range of non-governmental nuclear proliferation, which includes, motivated political or criminal groups, revolutionaries, disaffected persons, extremists, and dissidents. Once these non-governmental groups gain access to nuclear weapons they can blackmail any government and as a result, the group will hold all the cards (Namboodiri,2014). Going forward security managers will have to consider nuclear terrorism as part of their risk assessment.
I always knew PSCs in the United States existed but the vetting process and training for these companies is subpar. Furthermore, numerous senior managers and executives of PSCs mentioned that the PSCs industry is failing in the US cause it does not have a standardization for vetting and training employees (The changing role,2008). Employees of PSCs in the US do have some critical responsibilities. The private sector will be responsible for 85 percent of the USs critical infrastructure and as a result, they will protect or operate most of these infrastructures; furthermore, these infrastructures are a huge part of Americas safety, security, and economic vitality (Busch & Givens,2012). Any attack on these infrastructures can have a huge negative consequence. (Harrel,2017). Hence, PSCs will have a key role and responsibility to protect the nations critical infrastructure. Future security managers of PSCs must make sure they have a standardization within their organization for vetting and training because PSCs can have the responsibility of protecting priority assets, infrastructure, or people.
(Post 2 I need 250 word response with one reference)
have found the course SCMT 509, Contemporary Issues in Security Management to be very relevant to the modern security professional and the service they provide in both a corporate world, as well as the federal/military world. Although there are numerous takeaways from this course that I will utilize in my professional life, the three main concepts include the challenges of private security companies, the nature of terrorism, and security convergence.
One of the major challenges facing the security industry, specifically the private security industry, is maintaining adequate training for personnel in accordance with their respective objectives. Privatized security has and always will be a business with the intent to make a profit. Without getting too far in the weeds of business practices, the lower the overhead (labor, training costs etc.), the higher the profit. So, if I were in the private security industry, I would obviously want to keep training costs as low as possible. However, this will undoubtedly lead to less experienced, less educated, and less qualified candidates. Purpura (2013) writes The harsh realities of the contract security business hinder training. It is easy to forget about national reports and recommendations when a businessperson is under pressure to reduce expenses and turn a profit while dealing with employee turnover, must ensure that security officers are on client posts, and faces competition from low bidders. To counter this stigma, I would establish 4 core requirements which I feel would be the most important areas to address, in terms of retail loss prevention: experience in Closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring/surveillance techniques, physical security measures, verbal de-escalation techniques, and an intimate familiarity with local shoplifting/theft laws.
Has the nature of terrorism really changed since 9/11? I would argue, no. First and foremost, let me say that I am by no means an expert on terrorism. That being said, if we are discussing the true nature of terrorism, I do not believe it has changed. I think many aspects of it have changed, such as its actors, its capabilities, its ability to recruit/radicalize people internationally, and specific objectives (which are based on the actors), but what terrorism actually results in and seeks to accomplish, has not. This plays into my professional career because it is important to look at terrorism not only in its current state, but also pre-9/11. Terrorism has been around for centuries, so if I, as a security professional, only looked at it through the lens of the post 9/11 mindset, I would be ignoring a plethora of examples and data that may be useful to me at some point in my career.
The third takeaway from this class is security convergence. I think almost anyone in any career field today can utilize the concepts encompassed by convergence. But from a security perspective, technology convergence must be incorporated into a security plan today. The tools and capabilities of security technology today overlap each other in such a way that todays security professional must embrace them all and be an expert in how to best employ them.
