Get Certified at Your Own Risk
You have just passed a test and received your professional certification.
Now,…
…prove that you actually deserve to be treated as a professional.
Will you be able to pass the same test in 1 month without preparation?
How about in 3 months?
Would you be successful a year from receiving your cert?
If one’s knowledgeable enough, shouldn’t they be able to pass a professional certification test without preparation?
Is what we do at work out of alignment with how certification tests are designed?
Should our path toward professional knowledge instead include deeper self-assessments to determine whether we are sufficiently knowledgeable in our profession as it applies to the work we actually do? For example, does CISSP, PSP, CPP, or other certifications in asset protection actually establish one as a professional who can protect any asset?
The answer is a resounding “NO”.
I’ll explain.
If we ask a certified “cybersecurity professional” to assess risks and recommend controls associated with protecting human beings, what can this “expert” offer? Conversely, if we ask a certified “physical security professional” to offer advice for protecting data, will they suggest a prudent approach?
What is the absolute minimum spectrum of foundational knowledge for those in asset protection to earn professional respect? Shouldn’t it address protection of any asset?
Even if we bring the “cyber” and “physical” practitioner to their respective comfort zones, is it true that there are no interdependencies and overlaps in protection of data and physical assets? What about reputation, trade secrets, or backup tapes? Does it “take two to tango”? Is this a sustainable approach when we know perfectly well that “cyber” and “physical” niches are still struggling to work together?
We missed another school
I’m asking these questions because yet another school shooting happened in America in the last couple of days.
This makes me wonder who’s giving schools such terrible protection advice that our children continue to perish or sustain lifelong physical and emotional injuries. I’m certain that many of these “advisers” have professional certifications.
At this point, for many in our industry, protection equals reaction and not prevention. There’s often an argument like, “Look, we prevented a higher death toll.” To that I say, “You didn’t prevent this atrocity from happening in the first place. Go and offer this argument to the parents of those kids who died or will never recover from their physical and emotional injuries.”
The deal with the asset protection industry
The asset protection industry is resting comfortably in two niches — “cyber” and “physical” — without any accredited academic programs and easily understandable entry pathways, while industry associations come up with new certifications to feed their commercial needs. It is scary to imagine that an increase in the number of certifications dispensed correlates with the increase in the number of incidents. Is our blind faith in certifications actually causing more risk to our current and prospective clientele? I wish I could offer some data to prove my point. But, absence of robust and globally consistent academic programs means that our industry sucks at professional research.
What a pickle!
Well, my objective is to make you think critically.
Back to certifications
The only perspective on certifications in asset protection at this point should be one of deep skepticism. Nobody becomes a professional simply by getting certified. They have no proof except a piece of paper and acknowledgement from a commercially driven industry association. I should know. I have been assessing protection programs run by certified “professionals” since 2006. It’s not a pretty picture.
So if you have any asset protection certification or planning on getting one, remember not to pass on the risk of your lack of competence and narrow knowledge to those who clearly expect more from you. Be very clear about limitations of your knowledge. Don’t call yourself a professional until you could comfortably and credibly design protection solutions for any asset.
Last but not least, consider this: protection of schools starts far outside of school properties. There is no certification that can help you understand this.
Soar above mediocrity!
