Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) honored in Back to Back ‘ASTORS’ 

American Security Today’s Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards, the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program, now entering its Ninth Year, recognizes industry leaders of Physical and Border Security, Cybersecurity, Emergency Preparedness – Management and Response, Law Enforcement, First Responders as well as federal, state and municipal government agencies in the acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to Keep our Nation Secure.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) (First of Two)

Excellence in Public Safety and Community Resilience

• Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program 

• The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program provides a dynamic approach to fortifying the cybersecurity of government networks and systems.

• The CDM Program works to reduce the agency threat surface, increase visibility into the federal cybersecurity posture, improve federal cybersecurity response capabilities, and defend critical government infrastructure against the evolving threats of both today and tomorrow. 

(Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program is leading the effort to reduce cyber risk and provide visibility across the federal government. See how the CDM Program is delivering automated tools to federal agencies to strengthen their ability to monitor and manage the threat of cyber vulnerabilities. Courtesy of CISA and YouTube.)

• CISA’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program has long supported efforts across government agencies to provide risk-based, consistent, and cost-effective cybersecurity solutions to protect federal civilian networks across all organizational tiers.  

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) (Second of Two)

Excellence in Public Safety and Community Resilience

• Bomb Threat Preparedness & Response Training, and the
  C-IED Capabilities Assessments (CCA) Program

• Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) remain a persistent threat globally. They kill, injure, and intimidate citizens, disrupt transportation and the flow of commerce, and pose a great threat to our deployed forces.

• IEDs are one of the most accessible weapons to terrorists and criminals to damage critical infrastructure and inflict casualties. The tactics used in IED attacks evolve as our adversaries seek to overcome countermeasures. We must challenge ourselves to be more effective against these threats as we work together to ensure our nation’s safety, security, and prosperity.

• CISA has been charged with a leading role in implementing the National Counter-IED (C-IED) policy, articulated through Presidential Policy Directive 17 (PPD-17): Countering IEDs. Through this leadership role, CISA is instrumental in aligning DHS and national C-IED efforts through centralized and effective coordination of ongoing programs. This results in better resource allocation within CISA and across DHS and our federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners.

• To reduce risk to the nation’s critical infrastructure, CISA’s Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) provides training, products, tools, and services to build nationwide C-IED core capabilities and enhance awareness of terrorist threats.

• Through these offerings, CISA OBP seeks to enhance the nation’s ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and mitigate the use of explosives against critical infrastructure, the private sector, and federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial entities.

• These training, products, tools, and services are broken into five sub-topics: bomb threats, suspicious activity and items, IED awareness, protective measures, and planning and preparedness.

(Sean Haglund, Associate Director of the Office of Bombing Prevention, speaks on CISA’s role in enhancing the nation’s ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and mitigate the use of explosives against critical infrastructure. Courtesy of CISA and YouTube.)

• Bomb threats create significant operational and psychological impacts. It’s important to know what steps the public can take in the event of a bomb threat.

• A plan to assess and respond to bomb threats can greatly reduce the impact.

• CISA’s Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) Training Program offers a series of Bomb Threat Preparedness & Response Trainings so you can learn more about various products, training offerings, and resources that help prepare and respond to a bomb threat.

• CISA’s  Bomb Threat Preparedness and Response Course (AWR-903) provides participants with interactive exercises and case histories of what actually happened during bombing incidents to familiarize participants with the steps necessary to prepare for and respond to a bomb threat.

• OBP offers bombing prevention training, free of charge, throughout the United States on multiple platforms. Courses cover topics that span the bombing prevention spectrum – and are organized into three levels of instruction: Awareness, Performance, and Management. 

• To learn more, please visit https://www.cisa.gov/bomb-threats.

(Although a bomb threat may seem rare, it happens every day across the nation. Reacting quickly and safely to a bomb threat could save lives, including your own. Courtesy of CISA and YouTube.)

• The Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) Capabilities Assessments (CCA) Program systematically evaluates and analyzes public safety agencies and entities in a methodological assessment process.

• The CCA Program, which provides two types of assessments, Unit-Level Assessment (ULA) and Community-Level Assessment (CLA), determines the specific capabilities and activities to address best IED risks and resource gaps found during the assessment process.

• At its core, the CCA Program provides a complete picture of local and regional IED risks and sources identified gaps with the Office for Bombing Prevention’s (OBP) preparedness resources.

(CISA’s Office for Bombing Prevention develops and delivers a diverse suite of Counter-IED training for every learner. Watch this short video and discover many convenient and exciting bombing prevention training opportunities – free. Find out how you can sign up today. Courtesy of CISA and YouTube.)

• *CISA was also Recognized in the 2022 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program.

Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2024 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program at https://americansecuritytoday.com/ast-awards/.

Comprehensive List of Categories Include:

Don’t see a Direct Hit for your Product, Agency, or Organization?

Submit your category recommendation to Michael Madsen, AST Publisher, at mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

Homeland Security remains at the forefront of our national conversation as we experience an immigration crisis along our southern border and crime rates that are dramatically higher than before the Pandemic across the United States.

These challenges have become a national priority with an influx of investments in innovative new technologies and systems.

Enter American Security Today, the #1 publication and media platform in the Government Security and Homeland Security fields, with a circulation of over 75,000 readers and many tens of thousands more who visit our AST website at www.americansecuritytoday.com each month.

The pinnacle of the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Ceremony Luncheon Banquet, an exclusive, full-course plated meal event in the heart of New York City.

The continually evolving ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security, Public Safety, and Government Excellence Awards Program will highlight the trail of Accomplished Women in Leadership in 2024.

So be on the lookout for exciting upcoming announcements of Speakers, Presenters, Book Signing Opportunities, and Attendees at the 2024 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon in November of 2024 in New York City!

In 2023, this exclusive sold-out event featured at ISC East, well over two hundred representatives of law enforcement, public safety, and industry leaders came together to honor the selfless service of those who stand on the front lines – and those who stand beside them – providing the capabilities and technologies to create a safer world for future generations.

Comprehensive collaborations between these private and public sectors have led to the development of innovative intelligence and technologies that serve to protect our Nation.

Steven Dettelbach, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives, delivered the keynote address at the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security and Excellence in Public Safety Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon.

Director Dettelbach spoke with passion on the epidemic of Gun Violence by Illegal Guns taking place across the United States, which results in over 125 deaths daily and impacting generations of families – leaving open chairs at holiday events.

Firearm injuries were the leading case of death for children for the third year in a row, he explained, and have doubled in the U.S. since 2021, levels that are simply intolerable.

Director Dettelbach lauded the strong partnerships with Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Policing that ATF has earned and relies upon to reduce violence and spoke with admiration as a former prosecutor on the selfless sense of mission and drive that is universal across the entire First Responder Community.

The prestigious Annual ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program highlights the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.

The ‘ASTORS’ was specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit, and intelligence to end-users in a variety of government, homeland security, enterprise, and public safety vertical markets.

(See a few highlights during the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security and Government Excellence Awards Ceremony and Banquet Luncheon in NYC during ISC East on November 16, 2023. Courtesy of AST, My Pristine Images, and Vimeo.)

AST puts forward the Largest and Most Qualified Circulation in Government with Over 75,000 readers on the Federal, State and Local levels.

AST Digital Publications are distributed to over 75,000 qualified government and homeland security professionals in federal, state, local, and private security sectors.

‘PROTECTING OUR NATION, ONE CITY AT A TIME’

AST Reaches Private and public Experts, which is essential to meeting these new challenges.

Today’s new generation of public safety and security experts need real-time knowledge to deal with domestic and international terrorism, lone wolf attacks, unprecedented urban violence, shifts in society, culture, and media bias – making it increasingly difficult for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Military and Private Security Professionals to implement coordinated security measures to ensure national security and improve public safety.

These experts are from the Government at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as from private firms allied to the government.

AST provides a full plate of topics in our AST Monthly Magazine Editions, AST Website, and AST Daily News Alerts, covering 23 Vital Sectors such as Access Control, Perimeter Protection, Video Surveillance/Analytics, Airport Security, Border Security, CBRNE Detection, Border Security, Ports, Cybersecurity, Networking Security, Encryption, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Campus Security, Security Services, Corporate Facilities, and Emergency Response among others.

AST has Expanded readership into integral Critical Infrastructure audiences such as Protection of Nuclear Facilities, Water Plants and Dams, Bridges and Tunnels, and other potential targets of terrorism.

Other areas of concern include Transportation Hubs, Public Assemblies, Government Facilities, Sporting and Concert Stadiums, our Nation’s Schools and Universities, and Commercial Business Destinations – all enticing targets due to the large number of persons and resources clustered together.

To learn more about ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award Winners solutions, Be On the LookOut for the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ CHAMPIONS Edition Fully Interactive Magazine – the Best Products of 2023 ‘A Year in Review.’

The Annual CHAMPIONS edition reviews ‘ASTORS’ Award Winning products and programs, highlighting key details on many of the winning firm’s products and services, including video interviews and more.

It will serve as your Go-To Source throughout the year for ‘The Best of 2023 Products and Services’ endorsed by American Security Today and can satisfy your agency’s and/or organization’s most pressing Homeland Security and Public Safety needs.

From Physical Security (Access Control, Critical Infrastructure, Perimeter Protection, and Video Surveillance Cameras and Video Management Systems), to IT Security (Cybersecurity, Encryption, Data Storage, Anti-Malware, and Networking Security – to name a few), the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ CHAMPIONS EDITION will have WHAT YOU NEED to Detect, Delay, Respond to, and Mitigate today’s real-time threats in our constantly evolving security landscape.

It will also include featured guest editorial pieces from some of the security industry’s most respected leaders and recognized firms in the 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program.

For more information on All Things American Security Today, as well as the 2024 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program, please contact Michael Madsen, AST Publisher at mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

AST strives to meet a 3 STAR trustworthiness rating, based on the following criteria:

• Provides named sources
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• Includes supporting video, direct statements, or photos

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*FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recognized in American Security Today’s Annual ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security, Public Safety, and Government Excellence Awards Programs.

**Hornetsecurity won the 2023 Gold ‘ASTORS’ Award for Best Phishing Defense Solutions with its Security Awareness Service.

*** Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recognized in American Security Today’s 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security, Public Safety, and Government Excellence Awards Programs.

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