Physical Security Certifications

5ekurity

I've been recently tasked with physical security responsibilities at my organization, and was wondering what coursework / certifications exist in this particular space. I know ASIS has the PSP, but I haven't been able to find much else.

Up to this point, I've been using knowledge gained from real-world experience, as well as some guidance from the CISSP study coursework, but I'm interested in taking my knowledge a step or two deeper. Any feedback on the ASIS PSP or any other courses out there?

cyberguypr

First one that comes to mind is PSP: https://www.asisonline.org/Certification/Board-Certifications/PSP/Pages/default.aspx

636-555-3226

ASIS is the primary physical security org. Thought about taking some myself, but there's so much technical in infosec land I haven't run out of things to learn here yet!

cyberguypr

Not gonna lie, I attended ASIS a few years ago I got excited with all the physical sec stuff. One of the coolest thing I saw was the Cisco NERV. i definitely want one.

Kalabaster

In a related note, SANS is hosting a physical security training event as part of their yearly "Pentest Hackfest" event this November in DC. Not sure how relevant that is to you, but I thought you may be interested.

https://www.sans.org/event/pen-test-hackfest-2016/course/physical-security-specialist-full-comprehensive-edition

gespenstern

I worked in electronic/physical security for 7 years and have tons of experience so I keep my eye on PSP to validate this skillset, maybe in a year or two from now but eventually I plan to get it.

abnmi

The PSP id a good cert to have. I recently passed it and it was a doozy. I also do PS for the DoD and have their cert(PSC) as well. Great thing about the PSP is if you work for the DON or USMC you can automatically qualify as a Physical Security Inspector.

jeremywatts2005

Too funny on the CISCO Nerv I never saw one before. However I used to have students in the capstone design something similar from a stock RV. The students in the capstone were from multiple disciplines and we had a few CAD students who did the internal layouts the electronic guys came up with the components needed to hydraulic lifts, sensors and so on including the sat systems. The IT guys put the system designs together and so on. Then they presented to the city of Mobile AL. Some of their ideas were so good the city was considering looking into getting something put together similar to what they designed. That was years ago though. Awesome stuff

beads

PSP is generally associated with EP types or Executive Protection but really an under represented discipline of security in general. Hack a HID, gain access and tick your client off in five minutes or less.

- b/eads

5ekurity

Thanks for the replies everyone. There's probably a lot of knowledge to be had in going through the study material for the PSP, even though I don't meet the experience requirement. The Physical Security Specialist offering at the SANS event looks really interesting - unfortunately I won't be able to attend, and it looks like the organization who is presenting it doesn't offer that specific class outside of the SANS event.

gluesniffmonkey

I realize this is an older thread but it seems worth bumping since the field is pretty relevant.

I passed the ASIS PSP (Physical Security Professional) earlier this year. I found it to be a challenging exam mainly because the questions were pretty ambiguously worded. This year I have done Prince2 Foundation and Practitioner and resat my GIAC GCIH. So I have a fair idea about certification exams.

The PSP is not about Executive Protection/Close Protection/PSD type stuff. It is about how to manage complex physical security projects. Broadly  there are three domains: Risk Analysis, a basic look at security technologies and project management.

It is closed book for the exam. 

I did their online course which is pretty dated and references the old books. It was still none the less useful. You could probably pass with just the books.  A good guide can be found at "Plan of Attack: Studying for the ASIS Physical Security Professional Certification Exam". You'll find a pretty good blog post there on one guy's study methods. Still useful although based on older version of the exam.

The good news is that it is cheaper than SANS.  There are some live training available through ASIS and at least one provider in the UK.

For those who don't meet the experience Requirements for PSP there is the new Associate Protection Professional (APP).

The Associate Protection Professional (APP) designation provides the first "rung" on the security manager's career ladder. It is for those with 1-4 years of security management experience and measures the professional’s knowledge of security management fundamentals, business operations, risk management, and response management. - From the ASIS Online website.

I think this the PSP is suited for IT people who are supporting large security installations or people in critical infrastructure protection.