ASIS 2010ASIS 2010: Comprehensive, rich, and diverse educational program

This is the third of three articles about the2010 ASIS International event in Dallas, Texas; the first article was “ASIS 2010, I: Major market, technology trends” (28 October 2010 HSNW); the second article was “ASIS 2010, II: New solutions to new — and old — security problems” (29 October 2010 HSNW).

More than 160 sessions spanning eighteen tracks were offered at the ASIS International 56th Annual Seminar and Exhibits. Practitioners and attendees were given the opportunity to gain new knowledge in the best practices and strategies in a wide variety of security topics. Among the topics discussed in the seminars and panels were crisis management, critical infrastructure protection, crime/loss prevention, physical security, homeland security, and more.

As we have come to expect of ASIS, the Dallas event’s educational program was comprehensive, rich, and diverse in its offerings. The sessions offered insights, practical knowledge, and actionable information which would be useful for individuals and organizations alike, in the public and private sectors. The program consisted of discussions and presentations that ranged from over-arching themes and global strategy relating to the war on terror, to how to prepare an effective resume in order to get a good security-related job — and covered everything in between.

Here are but a few highlights.

The post-9/11 world

Immediately following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, U.S. federal government departments and agencies took steps to bolster America’s defenses against terrorism. More than $10 billion from the FY 2002 Emergency Budget Supplemental was directed to homeland security to help the effort, although the challenge for law enforcement at all levels to create a stronger foundation for the country’s security remains, and the threat itself continues to evolve. Carlos Villarreal, senior vice president of Whelan Security, a privately held contract security company, was joined on a panel by Alan Snow, director of safety and security for Boston Properties, Mark Wright, director of security for Brookfield Properties, and Keith Kambic, director of security for the Willis Tower in Chicago (formerly known as the Sears Tower) to discuss how 9/11 changed the security industry. Villarreal commented on the activity of terrorism as a continually active threat: “The attempts have not been very large-scale… but they are smaller-scale, easier to execute,” he said. “The threats are real and they keep coming at us.”

The panel discussed how many organizations were reluctant to adopt new security measures following the events of 9/11 because of high costs and fear