Security Discussions for Law Enf

Security Discussions for Law Enforcement

By Roy D. Follendore III

November 11, 2005

Police officials should be reassured by the knowledge that some of the things that they may already know about the nature of physical security can benefit them with respect to dealing with the most sophisticated computer crimes. Like physical security, technical security decisions involves direct and indirect moral and ethical choices. Like physical security, technical security is as much an art that involves human beings as it is a science. The way that we should choose to handle a particular enforcement of any security practice should be predicated by the philosophy that we choose, not what criminals would necessarily expect us to use. Perhaps you may think that this is simply another way of saying that the purpose of security can be different, given different circumstances. This is true, but the concept goes much further than that.

What I am saying is that the practical basis of technical security theory should not be considered to be separate from the actual practice of security enforcement. Our local law enforcement on the street has a special need to be able to intelligently talk about technical security and what we can expect to get from any form of security is directly related to the way that we approach the concepts and perceptions of security. The practice of security ultimately translates into a security philosophy regardless of our lack of philosophical motives. Unless we are to believe in barbarian pragmatics, the state of being secure is not necessarily justified by the means of enforcing security. According to our Constitution, the right to be secure comes from the common citizen and not from an imperial authority of the State. This is just as true for technical security as it is for physical security.

This all leads to just one basic concept that I am trying to get across. There is an opportunity to communicate to the general public the notions of security that is constantly being lost in the noise. Instead, what we are seeing is the recognition, acceptance and rejection of technical security policies which have already been put into practice. To understand how we might best do technical security, we must first be willing to discuss the essential nature of security; that is, What security is; What it means to us; How technical security is different from common physical security, as well as what it is that law enforcement should and should not be trying to achieve through technical security. Without the ability to openly discuss and reach consensus about of a security philosophy there can be no reliable and true ability to define or predict the local enforcement objectives and missions of technical security. Moreover, there can be no way to regulate the way that we will be able to deal with the fundamental changes in the concepts of security as they are taking place around us. To do anything in the name of public good requires open accountability to the public.

It is a good thing that the discussion of good technical security is not just for mathematical geniuses, computer geeks and propeller heads! Math does not create security. Human beings do that internally, both individually and within organizations. We all can and should discuss technical security without all of the complexities that prevent us from communicating our needs. But the more that, when we choose to ignore the topic of technical security because it is too complicated, we do so at our own peril. The more dangerous to our community becomes, the more technical security becomes important to us all.

This is why the selection of an appropriate security philosophy is essential in allowing us all to remain secure in this complex age. The ability for officials to be able to select from a potential range of candidate security philosophies provides us with tools needed to deal with threats and vulnerabilities to the general public. Because it affects everyone, no public discussion is more important today than the discussion of the nature of security. The nature of law enforcement is changing, and it is the largely technical security that is causing that change. I would therefore recommend that every local police department begin the process of public education, understanding and consensus by holding periodic seminars on the philosophy and applications of technical security.

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