All About IISSM, 2003

So, we successfully concluded the XIII Annual International Seminar on December 6-9, 2003. It was held at Hall No. 7, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. While a report on how things went in the Seminar is available elsewhere in this Newsletter, it will be of interest to those who could not make it to the event to know how one of our Vice-Chairmen, Mr. R. Swaminathan, had summed up the programme at the closing session. This is what he had said:

Unlike previous seminars, IISSM 2003 did not focus on a specific subject, but discussed the various aspects of the Challenge of Changes. It is therefore difficult to summarise the points brought out by different individual speakers. An attempt is hence being made to mention the overall outcome of the presentations and the discussions.

Security is like taking out health or medical insurance. You hope that nothing will go wrong, but want to be prepared if it does. Most attacks do not just happen; they are planned. Therefore, counter-actions also could and should be planned.

Some of the basic points for the delegates to carry back and remember are:

: Security should become a habit or second nature, resulting in reflexive reactions to routine threats.

: Security should be an integral part of corporate business policy - not just an add-on.

: Security is normally treated as an unavoidable necessity and often ignored by corporate management until a crisis occurs. It is unto the security professionals to try to change this management view.

Security of information has become more vulnerable, facing new threats, consequent to the conveniences flowing from the rapid developments in Information Technology. Special efforts have to be made to understand and counter such threats.

The importance of training can never be overstated. Training does not stop with the security personnel. It is necessary to provide customized "awareness training" to all personnel of every enterprise. The aim should be to sensitise all personnel to the threats and their indicators; and to make the entire workforce perform the first tier of routine security functions.

Considerable emphasis was laid on preventive intelligence. It is essential to think like the potential attacker, think of the actions he would take and look for indicators of such actions. The collection of good intelligence would be of no value if you do not put in place a system for coordinated collation and assessment.

Frequent audits, preferably with external professional support, should be carried out of Threat, Risk, Loss Prevention, Information and General Security.

The main purpose of seminars and courses like this is not necessarily to disclose new discoveries or inventions, but essentially to exchange views and experiences. However, this exercise should not stop with the delegates attending the seminar. When they go back, they should share these with all managers in their enterprises who can benefit from them.

We are happy to share this all of you.

D. C. Nath
Executive President & CEO,
International Institute of Security & Safety Management,
New Delhi, INDIA