Security Plan for the Department of Homeland Security - Admission/Application Essay Example

Security Plan for the Department of Homeland Security Introduction Physical security refers to the protection of assets from deliberate or accidental damage, vandalism, theft, catastrophe and other natural and man-made threats (Tipton and Krause, 2003.p. 152). Broadly speaking, the physical security is more related to controlling access to equipment, monitoring visitors, and implementing security measures (Bird and Harwood, 2003.p. 465). Additionally, it is a way to protect the critical information that is central to overall security measure and security framework (Flammini, 2012.p.279). And critical infrastructure is defined as assets and systems vital for the national economic security, security and national public health safety for the United States of America (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2014, p. 3). Physical security plan for DHS Physical Security Policy The main aim is to provide and ensure the physical security for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In the physical security plan, the security objectives include only allowing authorized personnel inside the DHS building and further classification based on the type of critical infrastructure sub-departments within the DHS will also be required for any entry into the sub-departments. Chain of Command A complete security department will be set up. In this security department, a comprehensive hierarchy of security officials will be determined and established as well in which each official will have its security role and job description. For example, security department head will lead the entire department and he/she will be responsible for providing physical security to the DHS. Subsequently, there will be a chain of command from the department head to the security personnel providing security services at the different entry checkouts of the DHS. In addition, a security monitoring and surveillance cell will also be established and whose responsibility will be to install, use security cameras for monitoring the activities inside and surrounding the DHS main office. Subsequently, chief physical security officer will be assigned to provide security services in which he/she will be required to monitor the subordinates and remain in active coordination with the field staff. In this regard, it is important to highlight that the field staff is one who has been assigned to provide security services at the main entry and exit points and they are required to report any security situation to their related supervisor. And the supervisor’s role includes supervising 8 field security staff and they are directly required to report to the supervisor. Guideline The operational security personnel are important for providing physical security. The personnel stationed at the key entry points are required to follow certain codes of conduct. For example, this guideline expects that these security personnel must stand alert and have a watchful eye on the surrounding physical environment in which they are required to take into account normal and abnormal movements within the surrounding environment. And if they see anything unusual, they are required to inform to the supervisor. Upon knowing such information, the supervisor has different standard operating procedure (SOP) for dealing with the possible physical security threat in which he is required to assess and evaluate the possibility and ramifications of such physical security threat. If he assesses that the security threat is manageable at the operational level, in that case, he will still have to inform the security department head and take him into confidence before going to tackle the security threat situation. Moreover, the supervisor has also required coordinating with the chief security officer and it is the responsibility of the chief security officer to inform the fire department, local police, civil defense and other agencies whose role will be required in the event of any attack. Standards Authorization policy highlights that a particular individuals are disallowed and they are required to undergo a further scrutiny before their entry is confirmed. It means only authorized personnel will be allowed to enter into the area of the DHS. In this regard, it is important to mention that even authorized personnel are still required to prove their identity and they must carry their identification card and other identifications that have been given by their respective departments. Additionally, they are also required to display their arrival and exit timing on their identification card because this will enable the field security personnel to cross check the displayed evidences with the original information. Procedures Separation of Duties Separation of duties is an effective physical security control. At every check point, at least two field security personnel must be stationed and each should be separately mandated with different security responsibility. For example, one security official should physically observe individual interested to enter into the area of the DHS and this security official must ask for reasons and identification proofs from the individual. And he is required to ensure that the individual does not carry any prohibited things and is completely unarmed as well. On the other hand, the accompanied field security official is required to verify the details and carry out the necessary security controls for establishing the true identity of the individual. In this regard, it is important to highlight that both field security personnel have separate duties and they are not allowed to deviate from their assigned duties. Identification and Authentication The security scanners, such as walkthrough gates, will physically check individuals. However, if the walkthrough gates are not installed, the field security officer is required to scan the individuals. After scanning, the security official is required to obtain identification documents from the individuals and subsequently he should give the documents to the other security officer who is assigned to cross check and verify identity of the individuals through using the saved computerized data and other security accesses provided to the security officials. In case, the security personnel is unable to verify the identity, the person must not be allowed and if he still insists, the matter should be reported to supervisor. Conclusion The DHS’s physical security is largely based on the overall security policy framework in which security policy measures have been determined and established besides highlighting the chain of command through which different security measures and policy steps will be taken by each official assigned different security responsibilities. References Bird, D., & Harwood, M. (2003). Network+ Training Guide. United States of America: Que Publishing Flammini, F. (Ed.) (2012). Critical Infrastructure Security: Assessment, Prevention, Detection, Response. Miami, MA: WIT Press. National Institute of Standards and Technology, (February 12,2014). Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. Retrieved: http://www.nist.gov/cyberframework/upload/cybersecurity-framework-021214-final.pdf Tipton, H.F., Krause, M. (Eds.) (2003). Information Security Management Handbook. 5th edn. Miami: CRC Press. Read More