Self Assessment

The best assessment is a hands-on approach that will clearly identify threat and provide suggestion for solutions. Compare your answers along with your current situation to the next six question to the "Ideal Situation" listed below the question.

1. Do you have someone dedicated to managing security?

Ideal Situation
You will be better positioned for security issues or business disruptions if a security professional is responsible for security functions. A dedicated person can facilitate a security plan or ensure that the critical program components are being addressed by enlisting the resources of outside assistance. Security is an important function in every business. The person assigned security responsibilities should have experience or required expertise to function in the position. Often, outside assistance may be beneficial to assist in assembling the program, policies and procedures while identifying someone within your organization to ensure they are implemented and followed.

2. Have you had a professional security assessment conducted?

Ideal Situation
Time, money and resources will be saved if a professional assessment is conducted to identify what risks you will face. In order for any security program to be effective, it must be based on a clear understanding of the threat against which it is based.. A security assessment report is an effective tool in prioritizing security activities. The work does not stop with the generation of the assessment report. An equally robust plan is required to ensure effective implementation of recommendations. Use of the security assessment tool ensures that the protection of people, assets and information is not an ad-hoc endeavor. Read more about Risk Assessment.

3. Are you planning a reduction in force?

Ideal Situation
Employee separation is a difficult task sometimes resulting in a distressed employee that could result in forms of violence. Violence in the workplace can be eliminated while escalating awareness of the warning signs that disgruntled or disruptive employees display when pre-planning and coordination are completed. Effective planning will ensure personnel involved in separation discussions are comfortable with their role and the resources that are available should a situation deteriorate.

4. Do you possess intellectual property you have chosen to protect as a trade secret?

Ideal Situation
Decrease the chance of forfeiture of your ownership rights by identifying and protecting sensitive, proprietary information through an effective policy. Policy should require guidelines that outline expectations of the information security program, the threats to proprietary information and the actions to take that will safeguard information from loss. Trade secret information requires a very specific level of identification, classification and protection. According to trade secret case law, most organizations possess a number of trade secrets that should be protected. Read more about Information Protection.

5. Do you have an incident-reporting program?

Ideal Situation
Eliminate reoccurring incidents by creating a centralized incident-reporting program. To be effective, all security incidents should be recorded and cataloged in a central repository and root causes identified for each incident. A mechanism should also be in place to implement corrective actions in support of all lessons learned. Read more about Incident Reporting.

6. Are you considering the purchase of a new security system or have significant facility renovations planned?

Ideal Situation
Create significant cost savings and substantially improve the finished product by establishing a design specification that defines the scope of work and the functional performance expectations of any systems to be installed. Utilizing such concepts as crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), security can be significantly improved if professional security input is provided to the designers early enough in the project. Read more about Consulting on Security System Purchase.