January 2, 2009—ASIS International has released its first American National Standard, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) Organizational American National Standard. Approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the new CSO Standard is based on the ASIS CSO Guideline. ASIS, the preeminent organization for security professionals worldwide, is an ANSI Accredited Standards Developer.
The CSO Standard is a model for organizations to use when developing a leadership position responsible for providing comprehensive, integrated risk strategies to protect an organization from security threats. The CSO may be viewed as a stand-alone position or one that has been incorporated within an organization’s existing leadership team.
“The standard states that effective leadership within the top levels of an organization, especially its security functions, is imperative,” says Jerry J. Brennan, chairman of the CSO Standards Committee. “Traditionally, what has been lacking in many organizations is a single governance position at the senior level being accountable for crafting, influencing, and directing the organization-wide security-related risk and protection strategies in a manner that is compatible with that enterprise’s structure and culture. The ability to effectively influence business strategy and address issues related to internal and external security risk exposures requires a CSO-type function at the appropriate level in the organization.”
Applicable to both private and public sector organizations, the CSO Organizational Standard includes information on a CSO reporting relationship, key responsibilities and accountabilities, key competencies, experience, education, and compensation, as well as a model position description.
The CSO Standard is available from the ASIS Bookstore.
