In confronting risk, individuals and all agencies cannot simply respond with endless resources in mitigating the damage that hazards engender—they have to establish a balance. Risk Balance and Security combines the conceptual underpinnings of risk assessment and management at both the individual and agency level with a clear analysis of how these relate to challenges faced in responding to crime, terrorism, public health threats, and environmental disasters. With a new understanding of how decisions are made about threats and hazards, and how this understanding may be applied in our preparedness, prevention, and response strategies, we will be able to better conceptualize our task for enhancing security in the future. Key Features Links theoretical ideas with real world examples: Clear discussions are presented of how risk is constructed in modern society and why that is important in our efforts to develop strategies to enhance security. Provides an interdisciplinary treatment of risk: To capture the realities facing public security today, ideas are drawn from a number of different disciplines. Illustrates real applications of solutions to security problems: Students are shown how agencies are dealing with specific threats to security. Compares individual-level and institutional-level assessments of risk and security: These divergences enable readers to appreciate the complexities of establishing security. Intended Audience This is an excellent text for undergraduate and graduate courses such as Disaster Research, Security, Police Studies, Emergency Planning, and Crime and Public Policy in the departments of criminology, criminal justice, political science, and public health.

Van Brunschot and Kennedy capture the interdisciplinary realities facing public security today, and the means in which a risk balance is evident in the secruity decisions made to deal with crime, terrorist activities and environmental disasters.

In seeking to evaluate the efficacy of post-9/11 homeland security expenses--which have risen by more than a trillion dollars, not including war costs--the common query has been, "Are we safer?" This, however, is the wrong question. Of course we are "safer"--the posting of a single security guard at one building's entrance enhances safety. The correct question is, "Are any gains in security worth the funds expended?"In this engaging, readable book, John Mueller and Mark Stewart apply risk and cost-benefit evaluation techniques to answer this very question. This analytical approach has been used throughout the world for decades by regulators, academics, and businesses--but, as a recent National Academy of Science study suggests, it has never been capably applied by the people administering homeland security funds. Given the limited risk terrorism presents, expenses meant to lower it have for the most part simply not been worth it. For example, to be considered cost-effective, increased American homeland security expenditures would have had each year to have foiled up to 1,667 attacks roughly like the one intended on Times Square in 2010--more than four a day. Cataloging the mistakes that the US has made--and continues to make--in managing homeland security programs, Terror, Security, and Money has the potential to redirect our efforts toward a more productive and far more cost-effective course.

This is the first book to introduce the full spectrum of security and risks and their management. Author and field expert Bruce Newsome helps readers learn how to understand, analyze, assess, control, and generally manage security and risks from the personal to the operational. They will develop the practical knowledge and skills they need, including analytical skills, basic mathematical methods for calculating risk in different ways, and more artistic skills in making judgments and decisions about which risks to control and how to control them. Organized into 16 brief chapters, the book shows readers how to: analyze security and risk; identify the sources of risk (including hazards, threats, and contributors); analyze exposure and vulnerability; assess uncertainty and probability; develop an organization’s culture, structure, and processes congruent with better security and risk management; choose different strategies for managing risks; communicate and review; and manage security in the key domains of operations, logistics, physical sites, information, communications, cyberspace, transport, and personal levels.

Managing Risk and Information Security: Protect to Enable, an ApressOpen title, describes the changing risk environment and why a fresh approach to information security is needed. Because almost every aspect of an enterprise is now dependent on technology, the focus of IT security must shift from locking down assets to enabling the business while managing and surviving risk. This compact book discusses business risk from a broader perspective, including privacy and regulatory considerations. It describes the increasing number of threats and vulnerabilities, but also offers strategies for developing solutions. These include discussions of how enterprises can take advantage of new and emerging technologies—such as social media and the huge proliferation of Internet-enabled devices—while minimizing risk. With ApressOpen, content is freely available through multiple online distribution channels and electronic formats with the goal of disseminating professionally edited and technically reviewed content to the worldwide community. Here are some of the responses from reviewers of this exceptional work: “Managing Risk and Information Security is a perceptive, balanced, and often thought-provoking exploration of evolving information risk and security challenges within a business context. Harkins clearly connects the needed, but often-overlooked linkage and dialog between the business and technical worlds and offers actionable strategies. The book contains eye-opening security insights that are easily understood, even by the curious layman.” Fred Wettling, Bechtel Fellow, IS&T Ethics & Compliance Officer, Bechtel “As disruptive technology innovations and escalating cyber threats continue to create enormous information security challenges, Managing Risk and Information Security: Protect to Enable provides a much-needed perspective. This book compels information security professionals to think differently about concepts of risk management in order to be more effective. The specific and practical guidance offers a fast-track formula for developing information security strategies which are lock-step with business priorities.” Laura Robinson, Principal, Robinson Insight Chair, Security for Business Innovation Council (SBIC) Program Director, Executive Security Action Forum (ESAF) “The mandate of the information security function is being completely rewritten. Unfortunately most heads of security haven’t picked up on the change, impeding their companies’ agility and ability to innovate. This book makes the case for why security needs to change, and shows how to get started. It will be regarded as marking the turning point in information security for years to come.” Dr. Jeremy Bergsman, Practice Manager, CEB “The world we are responsible to protect is changing dramatically and at an accelerating pace. Technology is pervasive in virtually every aspect of our lives. Clouds, virtualization and mobile are redefining computing – and they are just the beginning of what is to come. Your security perimeter is defined by wherever your information and people happen to be. We are attacked by professional adversaries who are better funded than we will ever be. We in the information security profession must change as dramatically as the environment we protect. We need new skills and new strategies to do our jobs effectively. We literally need to change the way we think. Written by one of the best in the business, Managing Risk and Information Security challenges traditional security theory with clear examples of the need for change. It also provides expert advice on how to dramatically increase the success of your security strategy and methods – from dealing with the misperception of risk to how to become a Z-shaped CISO. Managing Risk and Information Security is the ultimate treatise on how to deliver effective security to the world we live in for the next 10 years. It is absolute must reading for anyone in our profession – and should be on the desk of every CISO in the world.” Dave Cullinane, CISSP CEO Security Starfish, LLC “In this overview, Malcolm Harkins delivers an insightful survey of the trends, threats, and tactics shaping information risk and security. From regulatory compliance to psychology to the changing threat context, this work provides a compelling introduction to an important topic and trains helpful attention on the effects of changing technology and management practices.” Dr. Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar Professor, Stanford Law School Co-Director, Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University “Malcolm Harkins gets it. In his new book Malcolm outlines the major forces changing the information security risk landscape from a big picture perspective, and then goes on to offer effective methods of managing that risk from a practitioner's viewpoint. The combination makes this book unique and a must read for anyone interested in IT risk." Dennis Devlin AVP, Information Security and Compliance, The George Washington University “Managing Risk and Information Security is the first-to-read, must-read book on information security for C-Suite executives. It is accessible, understandable and actionable. No sky-is-falling scare tactics, no techno-babble – just straight talk about a critically important subject. There is no better primer on the economics, ergonomics and psycho-behaviourals of security than this.” Thornton May, Futurist, Executive Director & Dean, IT Leadership Academy “Managing Risk and Information Security is a wake-up call for information security executives and a ray of light for business leaders. It equips organizations with the knowledge required to transform their security programs from a “culture of no” to one focused on agility, value and competitiveness. Unlike other publications, Malcolm provides clear and immediately applicable solutions to optimally balance the frequently opposing needs of risk reduction and business growth. This book should be required reading for anyone currently serving in, or seeking to achieve, the role of Chief Information Security Officer.” Jamil Farshchi, Senior Business Leader of Strategic Planning and Initiatives, VISA “For too many years, business and security – either real or imagined – were at odds. In Managing Risk and Information Security: Protect to Enable, you get what you expect – real life practical ways to break logjams, have security actually enable business, and marries security architecture and business architecture. Why this book? It's written by a practitioner, and not just any practitioner, one of the leading minds in Security today.” John Stewart, Chief Security Officer, Cisco “This book is an invaluable guide to help security professionals address risk in new ways in this alarmingly fast changing environment. Packed with examples which makes it a pleasure to read, the book captures practical ways a forward thinking CISO can turn information security into a competitive advantage for their business. This book provides a new framework for managing risk in an entertaining and thought provoking way. This will change the way security professionals work with their business leaders, and help get products to market faster. The 6 irrefutable laws of information security should be on a stone plaque on the desk of every security professional.” Steven Proctor, VP, Audit & Risk Management, Flextronics

A ground shaking exposé on the failure of popular cyber risk management methods How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk exposes the shortcomings of current "risk management" practices, and offers a series of improvement techniques that help you fill the holes and ramp up security. In his bestselling book How to Measure Anything, author Douglas W. Hubbard opened the business world's eyes to the critical need for better measurement. This book expands upon that premise and draws from The Failure of Risk Management to sound the alarm in the cybersecurity realm. Some of the field's premier risk management approaches actually create more risk than they mitigate, and questionable methods have been duplicated across industries and embedded in the products accepted as gospel. This book sheds light on these blatant risks, and provides alternate techniques that can help improve your current situation. You'll also learn which approaches are too risky to save, and are actually more damaging than a total lack of any security. Dangerous risk management methods abound; there is no industry more critically in need of solutions than cybersecurity. This book provides solutions where they exist, and advises when to change tracks entirely. Discover the shortcomings of cybersecurity's "best practices" Learn which risk management approaches actually create risk Improve your current practices with practical alterations Learn which methods are beyond saving, and worse than doing nothing Insightful and enlightening, this book will inspire a closer examination of your company's own risk management practices in the context of cybersecurity. The end goal is airtight data protection, so finding cracks in the vault is a positive thing—as long as you get there before the bad guys do. How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk is your guide to more robust protection through better quantitative processes, approaches, and techniques.