Interagency Security Committee Standards and Best Practices

The ISC’s mandate is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of physical security in, and the protection of buildings and civilian federal facilities in the U.S. The ISC standards apply to all civilian federal facilities in the U.S.—whether government-owned, leased or managed; to be constructed or modernized; or to be purchased.

Government users with a need to know may access the Interagency Security Committee standards that are For Official Use Only (FOUO). To request access, please send an e-mail to ISCAccess@DHS.gov with your full name and contact information including e-mail, the name of your agency, and the reason you need access.

The ISC reviews and updates its products on a regular basis. Please make sure you are using the most updated version as some of our older documents have been superseded.

Standards

January 2012/1^st Edition Security Specialist Competencies: (PDF 19 pages – 1.27 MB) Provides the range of core competencies Federal Security Specialists can possess to perform their basic duties and responsibilities. 

January 2012/2^nd Edition Facility Security Committees: (PDF 37 pages – 1.27 MB) This interim standard establishes the organizational structure, operations, accountability, and decision-making authority for Facility Security Committees (FSCs). Starting on January 1, 2012, the pilot will expand and apply to all facilities with a Facility Security Level (FSL) of I, II, III, or IV. Building on the first six months of the 12-month validation period, and based on recommendations from both the Steering and Standards Subcommittees, the further testing at all levels will provide a more complete picture of the Standard's effectiveness and utilization; and thus will allow for user input to inform the final standard. The FSC is intended to be used in conjunction with the ISC documents Facility Security Level Determinations for Federal Facilities (FSL), Physical Security Criteria for Federal Facilities (PSC), The Design-Basis Threat Report (DBT), and Performance Measures (PM). The final standard will be released in July 2012.

November 2011/4^th Edition - Design-Basis Threat Report (FOUO): Creates a profile of the type, composition, and capabilities of adversaries. It is designed to correlate with the countermeasures contained in the Physical Security Criteria for Federal Facilities. In order to keep pace with the changing nature of the threat to federal facilities, updates to the DBT are made every six months, and a full membership review of the document will be conducted annually.

April 2010/1^st Edition - Physical Security Criteria for Federal Facilities (FOUO): Establishes a baseline set of physical security measures to be applied to all federal facilities and provides a framework for the customization of security measures to address unique risks at a facility. These baseline measures provide comprehensive solutions in all five areas of physical security, including site, structural, facility entrance, interior, security systems, and security operations and administration.

June 2009/1^st Edition - Use of Physical Security Performance Measures: (PDF, 16 pages - 631 KB) New ISC policy requires all federal agencies to assess and document the effectiveness of their physical security programs through performance measurement and testing. This standard provides guidance on how to establish and implement a comprehensive measurement and testing program.

March 2008/1^st Edition - Facility Security Level Determinations (FOUO): Defines the criteria and process to be used in determining the facility security level of a federal facility, a categorization that then serves as the basis for implementing ISC standards.

Best Practices

September 2011/1^st Edition - CTTSO/TSWG/ISC - Best Practices for Mail Screening and Handling (FOUO): A guide to provide mail center managers, their supervisors, and agency security personnel with a framework for understanding and mitigating risks posed to an organization by the mail and packages it receives and delivers on a daily basis.

ISC Training Courses

The ISC has developed a series of online training courses to provide Federal facility security professionals, engineers, building owners, construction contractors, architects, and the general public with basic information pertaining to the ISC and its facility security standards, processes, and practices.

IS-890a - Introduction to the Interagency Security Committee: Introduction to the Interagency Security Committee is an introduction to the Interagency Security Committee's (ISC) history, its mission and organization, and a basic outline of the ISC risk management process. This is the first of four courses.

IS-891 - Interagency Security Committee: Facility Security Level Determinations for Federal Facilities (FOUO): The purpose of this course is to provide Interagency Security Committee-authorized Federal personnel an overview of the process to determine the facility security level (FSL) for a Federal facility.

IS-892 - Physical Security Criteria for Federal Facilities (FOUO): The purpose of this course is to provide Interagency Security Committee-authorized Federal personnel an overview of the process to determine the baseline physical security criteria and develop a list of customized countermeasures needed to protect U.S. Federal nonmilitary facilities, their employees, contractors, and visitors.

Superseded Products

• July 2011/1^st Edition - Facility Security Committees. Superseded/January 2012. 
• April 2011/3^rd Edition - Design-Basis Threat Report (FOUO). Superseded/November 2011.
• November 2010/2^nd Edition - Design-Basis Threat Report (FOUO). Superseded/April 2011.
• April 2010/1^st Edition - Design-Basis Threat Report (FOUO). Superseded/November 2010. 
• Augusts 2007/ISC Best Practices for Safe Mail Handling. Superseded/September 2011.
• February 2005/Security Standards for Leased Spaces (FOUO). Superseded/April 2010. 
• September 2004/Security Design Criteria for New Federal Office Buildings and Major Modernization Projects (FOUO). Superseded/April 2010. 
• June 2003/ISC Guidance on Escape Hoods. Superseded/May 2009.

Additional Resources

Executive Order

• Executive Order 12977, Interagency Security Committee, October 19, 1995
• Executive Order 13286, Amendment of Executive Orders, and Other Actions, in Connection With the Transfer of Certain Functions to the Secretary of Homeland Security, February 28, 2003

Delegations

• Department of Homeland Security, Delegation Number: 7035.1, 02/01/2005, Delegation of the Chair of the Interagency Security Committee to the Chief Security Officer (PDF, 5 pages - 75 KB)
• Department of Homeland Security, Delegation Number: 7035.2, 08/15/2007, Delegation of the Chair of the Interagency Security Committee to the Assistant Secretary of Infrastructure Protection (PDF, 2 pages - 35 KB)

Homeland Security Presidential Directives

• Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization, and Protection, December 17, 2003
• Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors, August 27, 2004
• Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20, National Continuity Policy, May 4, 2007

Reports

• DOJ 1995 Vulnerability Assessment Report: Superseded/April 2010 (Updated in the 2008 Facility Security Level Determinations and the 2010 Physical Security Criteria).