ASIS 2011 Convergence Education

Each year I am always asked about convergence educational sessions at the ASIS International Annual Seminars and Exhibits event, as well as other educational events.

There are plenty of sessions covering both aspects of security convergence—organization and technical.

[Note: See the Security Technology Executive magazine’s March 2010 issue’s article on technology and organizational convergence, “The State of Converged Security Operations“, to help determine which aspects of convergence are of the greatest value to your current role and future career path.]

Technology and Organizational Convergence

Technology convergence is the result of the more general information technology convergence, and is the impact of computer and network technology being incorporated in security devices and systems. Organizational convergence involves eliminating organizational silos that keep security functions walled off from the rest of the organization in critical ways, and in particular between IT security and physical security.

ASIS 57th Annual Seminar Convergence Sessions

This year marks the highest number of ASIS annual seminar sessions ever that touch on convergence topics: 80 sessions in total, including many sessions on IT security topics that will be of interest to IT personnel. A significant factor is the contribution to this year’s sessions by (ISC)2 – the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc. There are more than a half-dozen sessions on all aspects of social media impacts on security, both as a tool and as a risk factor. There is a software applications security track.

Each session time slot holds many convergence-related sessions, so I recommend that you partner up with friends and colleagues to ensure sufficient coverage for your sessions of interest. Since attendees can also by the DVD of all recorded sessions right after the event for just $99, you can still catch up on those you couldn’t see live once you get back home.

I have placed the sessions into one or more of these convergence categories:

• Technology – The incorporation of computers and networking into electronic physical security systems, including “voice/data/video on the same cable”
• Organizational – Eliminating organizational silos that keep security functions walled off from the rest of the organization
• IT Security Topic – An IT security topic such as wireless network security, application security, information systems regulatory compliance, IT security risk assessment, and so on