Flashback to ASIS in 1993

Energy Security

Electric utility security was the focus of the June 1993 issue of Security Management. Director of Security for Alabama Power David B. Hinman, CPP, offered this list of security functions in the utility business:

• Protect corporate assets at HQ and in the field.
• Develop preventive programs.
• Act as a liaison to criminal justice organizations.
• Assist in emergency restoration efforts.
• Provide security education progams.
• Represent the utility in criminal matters, including investigative assistance.

Security professionals in the utility industry continue to perform those duties and more: cybersecurity and terrorism also figure into the mix. This month’s “National Security” (Is Pipeline Security Adequate?) examines pipeline security, where those two concerns are top of mind.

Intellectual Property

In the same issue, the magazine reported on the ASIS-sponsored Proprietary and Technology Theft Survey, which addressed protection of trade secrets and other proprietary information. In 1993, the business world was newly aware of the value of information, according to the article “Is the Secret Out?” by Dan Swartwood of Strategic Corporate Safeguarding. He advocated the Operations Security (OPSEC) process to identify assets, adversaries, and vulnerabilities, then create a threat strategy.

This month’s Security Management cover story (Entertainment Security: Managing Third Parties) looks at how the entertainment industry keeps its secrets under wraps. Protecting the storylines from popular series is crucial to the companies’ profitability. The Internet and social media make keeping secrets more difficult than ever.