HID Corp. is one of four security solutions providers that
is part of the Open Security Exchange, a newly formed
collaborative group that is defining best practices and
promoting vendor-neutral specifications for integrating the
management of security devices and policies across the
enterprise.

The Open Security Exchange will promote more effective exchange of enterprise-wide security data, which will enable organizations to significantly reduce both their exposure to a diverse range of threats and their total operation costs.

Other founding members include Computer Associates Int’l Inc. (CA), a provider of security management software; Gemplus, a provider of smart card solutions; and Tyco Fire & Security’s Software House, a provider of integrated physical security management systems.

Initially, the Open Security Exchange will focus on the integration of physical and cyber security technologies. Lack of assimilation between these two primary aspects of enterprise security is perhaps the most glaring example of how security management remains fragmented at most organizations today.

“Most corporate security managers wouldn’t dream of having separate security systems for their Windows and UNIX servers. Yet they often have no linkage between their building security systems and their cyber security systems,” says Russell Artzt, executive vice president of CA’s eTrust security brand.  “The Open Security Exchange is committed to remedying this situation by delivering an interoperability specification to support the effective integration of these diverse areas of security management.”

According to a recent research report by Pinkerton Consulting and Investigations, only 36 percent of all companies surveyed have formal procedures in place for the collaboration between the physical and cyber security departments. The lack of security management results in increased exposure, limited situational awareness, poor accountability and higher operating costs.

The Open Security Exchange’s initial specifications for physical and cyber security management convergence are available at www.opensecurityexchange.com.

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