Homework Wk 2

 According to this week's lesson, the three essential elements of convergence within the realm of public and private sector security are the use of technology (physical and virtual), integration, and globalization. After the September 11th attacks President George Bush established many Executive Orders and Homeland Security Directives that determined Critical Infrastructure to the United States. Nearly 80% of the United States critical infrastructure is operated by the private sector. Protecting these essential operations is why convergence is needed between both private and public sectors. Convergence is the combination of physical and information Technology (IT) systems, processes and technological use. Convergence is present in almost all organizations, including our federal, state, local agencies, military, private and public companies, and computing or Information Technology environments (APUS, 2020).

          The convergence between private and public sectors has led to technological advances in security. Access control to facilities, surveillance techniques with CCTV, investigative measures, identity protection, and many other security measures have improved because of convergence. Access control with (CAC) cards have been instituted throughout the government, and private businesses have developed their own versions to protect identities and determine access levels to or within their facilities. IT security has advanced with many different forms of protection to log onto government and private companies' internets. Many require several access control measures before being granted access and IT security departments constantly restricting access to websites that could be potentially hazardous. This is convergence between physical and IT security. 

          Integration is most notable between public and private sectors in the form of government contracts. Private businesses might develop a specific technology to be used by the federal government and in return are awarded a contract with significant monetary possibilities. Then the technology is implemented in various different systems which could include; weapons systems, communication, Information Technology, Radar, Access control, surveillance, and several other types of technological advancements. The company that develops the latest or most advanced technology, typically tries to market this to solve many private companies or public agencies to make the security protections better and more user friendly. 

          Globalization is the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale. Once public or private sectors develop new security technologies, they can have an impact on many different regions all over the world. With advancements in security technology and a forever growing demand for IT security, new technologies and new security countermeasures need to be addressed on a global scale. Once a new technology is developed, adversarial threats are almost immediately trying to figure out a way to circumvent the new protection technology. This is why private and public sector operations perform vulnerability tests before a new security technology is introduced. All hopefully developing a technology that will have a global impact on business or government operations domestically and internationally. 

          I would hypothesize that with the continuing demand for improved security measures both physically and virtually, that convergence will continue to grow both with integration and globalization over the next decade. New threats become identified with each new security development. Then technology needs to be developed to mitigate threats to that new security technology. So the process is and will continue to evolve because no security measure or technology is guaranteed, one hundred percent, in it’s operation or protection of critical assets. New threats emerge globally, and integration of new security technologies needs to be created, hopefully, for a seamless transition between physical and virtual technologies to protect critical assets within private and public security operations. 

 

References:

APUS. 2020 Lesson#2 IT & Physical Security Convergence.  Retrieved from   https://edge.apus.edu/portal/site/436537/tool/8ffe061d-26e9-42f8-8637-0ff998a7e54a