The premise of the guideline is that the skills and competencies essential to active protection and effective response to the modern threat environment are more critical than ever before. The guideline addresses what often has been lacking in many organizations--a single position at the senior governance level having the responsibility to develop, influence, and direct an organization-wide protection strategy.
Included in the guideline is information about the position's scope, reporting relationships, a model profile of the position's function, and the job's key responsibilities and accountabilities. The guideline also identifies the core competencies necessary for the successful CSO, as well as recommendations regarding experience and education requirements.
The Chief Security Office Guideline applies to both private and public sector environments, both of which must continually evaluate and respond to the constantly increasing and changing risks that organizations are experiencing worldwide.
The draft of this guideline was released on November 24, 2003. Following a 60-day comment period, during which 32 comments were received, the CSO Guideline Committee reviewed and made recommendations on all submissions. The ASIS Commission on Guidelines made the final decision regarding the applicability of all submissions. ASIS uses a voluntary, non-proprietary, and consensus-based process to write its guidelines, and relies not only upon the knowledge, experience, and expertise of ASIS members, but also upon those nonmembers who volunteer their time to the guideline creation process.
The CSO Guideline can be downloaded online free-of-charge. Printed copies are available from the ASIS Bookstore (Item No. 1585). Up to five copies are free to ASIS members; nonmembers are charged $10 per copy.
This is the second guideline release by the Commission on Guidelines of ASIS International, which was established in 2001 in response to a concerted need for guidelines regarding security issues in the United States. The guidelines section of the ASIS Web site, contains additional information about other guidelines anticipated, in draft form, or undergoing final review.
