From terrorism to fraud, to piracy and identity theft, security has become one of the highest priorities of government, business and the general public at large. The February 2011 issue of ISO Focus+, the magazine of ISO (International Organization for Standardization) highlights some solutions to address security gaps by both anticipating and managing eventual threats.
The Special Report of ISO Focus+ highlights some of the most important standards in the security domain. It features how ISO 31000 for risk management help organizations deal with uncertainty in the achievement of their objectives, in managing security to reduce risk that could affect individuals, processes and organizations.
With the exponential growth of international commerce, it becomes harder for any one country to manage supply chain security on its own. An article shows how the ISO 28000 series of International Standards for supply chain security management system harmonizes global efforts to help organizations in industries such as manufacturing, service, storage and transportation to reduce risks to people and cargo.
Freight containers are particularly vulnerable as they are always on the move and routinely cross borders. Another article exposes how International Standards for container seals help authorities fight related crime and facilitate the work of professionals in the transport industry by air, sea, road or rail.
Earthquakes, floods, volcanic ashes, attacks are some examples of the risks dealt with by the ISO technical committee developing standards for societal security. Its work will help organizations to be prepared for incident so they can be operational in the event of crises, increasing confidence in business, community, customer, first responder and organizational interactions.
In an exclusive interview, in the February edition, Catherine Tilton, Vice-president of Standards and Emerging Technology at Daon, highlights the importance of International Standards for biometrics-based security: “For biometrics to be used effectively, data must be exchanged. This exchange may simply be between a capture device and a local resource, or it can be between a collection system and a backend matching system – or between systems, agencies or governments. Standards are required to support interoperable data exchange in a heterogeneous environment.”
Other highlights include articles on how standards support the following:
- Standards for financial security
- International Standards help enhance the development and efficiency of biometrics
- ISO standards in cybersecurity field can help prevent attacks such viruses, worms and phishing
- Telebiometrics in anti-terrorism efforts
