ASIS International 2011ASIS Conference: Securing the global supply chain

At the upcoming annual ASIS International security conference, attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about protecting the global supply chain at one of the many educational sessions.

Currently the United States is leading a global coalition to secure the global supply chain. In particular the United States is focusing its efforts on sea ports and the millions of cargo containers that criss-cross the globe.

So far nearly sixty ports around the world have signed on to the U.S.-led Container Security Initiative (CSI) which is aimed at preventing terrorist attacks and the smuggling of dangerous materials by mandating that port authorities pre-scan and evaluate containers.

Government officials fear that a terrorist attack on a seaport could cripple a local economy and have global repercussions. Nearly 90 percent of the world’s good are still shipped via containers on massive transport ships. In addition preventing terrorists or criminal organizations from smuggling illegal substances like drugs, weapons, or even nuclear materials is a daunting task as each year more than 100 million cargo containers are shipped to seaports around the world.

In the ASIS seminar “The Impact of Cargo Theft on the Global Supply Chain,” presented by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the Global Maritime and Transportation School, conference goers will examine methods to secure the global supply chain including the identification of emerging threats, effective mitigation processes, and the role that intelligence plays in the strategic security planning process.