Security Industry Association
The Security Industry Association, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, is a U.S. trade association, founded in 1969, representing electronic and physical security solutions providers. The organization today represents nearly 900 firms and organizations in the security industry and in 2017, the association expanded membership to include an academic category open to students and faculty members.
SIA protects and advances the interests of its member companies by advocating pro-industry policies and legislation at the federal and state levels; creating open industry standards that enable integration; advancing industry professionalism through education and training; opening global market opportunities; and fostering collaboration with other like-minded organizations.
In support of those goals, SIA sponsors the International Security Conference and Expo trade shows—ISC West and ISC East—in partnership with ISC Events.
Since 2010, SIA has presented Securing New Ground®, an annual two-day conference for executives in the security industry. The organization also produces the annual , which has addressed federal and state security topics, as well as national issues such a school security.
The organization is led by a and is supported by a . In November 2011, Don Erickson became the chief executive officer SIA following the hasty departure of R. Walden Chace for excessive spending and collaboration with Reed Exhibitons. Previously, Erickson served as SIA Director of Government Relations.
SIA’s industry activities generally fall under one of three divisions of the association: SIA Education, SIA International Relations, SIA Government Relations and SIA Standards.
SIA Education
SIA Education orchestrates and presents training classes at various trade shows and conferences, including ISC West, ISC East and the ASIS International Annual Seminar and Exhibits, among others. At ISC and ISC East, SIA Education hosts professional development and industry training through SIA Education@ISC. These educational opportunities include presentations, lectures and demonstrations by industry leaders, public officials and other key actors in the security industry.At ISC West 2017 in Las Vegas, SIA Education delivered 63 sessions at the Sands Expo on April 4-7. Key ISC West sessions included:
- Hands-on Workshop: Creating Intelligent Physical Security Products Using AI and Deep Learning
- How Drones and Video Technology are Redefining Situational Awareness
- Data Security and Video Systems
- Cybersecurity and Security Installations: Hardening IP Connected Physical Security Equipment
- The Protection of Times Square Plaza from Vehicle Attacks
- U.S. Stadium Security: Could the Unthinkable Occur Here?
- Securing the Entrance in a Converged World
- The Evolution of Credentials and Its Use in the IT, OT and Physical Security Environment
SIA Education also offers the and the . The SPM program has been delivered as in-person classroom training that addresses the requirements of security projects and presents learning on core security system technologies. SIA Education presents the 2-1/2 day Security Project Management training course to prepare for CSPM certification exam four or five times a year in various locations around the United States. It has also offered Security Project Management courses in partnership with the Canadian Security Association.
The SPM class and the CSPM exam prepare project managers to develop a comprehensive project plan that includes realistic scope, schedules, budgets, reporting and processes. The course goes beyond basic principles and offers new and seasoned program managers a clear perspective on the importance of their role to stakeholders, and identifying risks that could hinder project success.
SIA Government Relations
SIA Government Relations lobbies federal and state governments on measures that would affect the security industry while tracking and reporting on the progress of various legislative initiatives. SIA Government Relations organizes the participation of SIA Members in government affairs through five subcommittees and working groups, as well as an ad hoc planning committee and its Government Representatives Group. The five subcommittees and working groups are the Biometrics and Identity Working Group, Critical Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, GSA Policy Working Group, PIV Working Group and State and Local Policy Subcommittee.Through its government relations initiatives, SIA has accomplished some key legislative and administrative advances on behalf of the security industry. SIA successfully implemented the enactment of legislation creating the GSA Schedule 84 Cooperative Purchasing Program. The Local Preparedness Acquisition Act, signed June 26, 2008, authorizes state and local governments to purchase from GSA alarm and signal systems, facility management systems, firefighting and rescue equipment, law enforcement and security equipment, marine craft and related equipment, special purpose clothing and related services, according to GSA.
SIA also supported legislation, signed by President Barack Obama in January 2011, that exempts external power supplies for security and life safety products from federal energy efficiency standards that apply to devices in no-load mode. A SIA-led coalition that included both industry and environmental groups argued that, since security and life safety equipment must always be in active mode, an efficiency standard for no-load mode would make no sense.
The annual SIA Government Summit, a two-day event organized by SIA Government Relations, connects the security industry with officials from Congress and the White House. In 2013, the SIA Government Summit featured keynote addresses from Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, as well as insights from officials at the Department of Homeland Security, National Institute of Standards and Technology, General Services Administration and others.
SIA Government Relations publishes the State Policy Digest, a quarterly publication reporting on the progress of state legislation affecting the security industry, and the Fiscal Year Informer, a quarterly insert to Security Systems News examining federal funding and procurement issues.
SIA Standards
SIA Standards produces, maintains and advocates for technical standards that enable interoperability between security devices. SIA Standards is a standards-developing organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute.SIA Standards developed and maintains the ANSI/SIA CP-01–False Alarm Reduction Standard. The standard generally specifies the design for controls of security alarm systems at the control panel. The specification focuses chiefly on the arming and disarming process, which is responsible for generating many false alarms. The standard is chiefly used by manufacturers and security system installers. SIA last revised the standard in 2019 to add some clarifications.
In 2012, SIA Standards released version 2.1.5 of the Open Supervised Device Protocol specification, allowing card readers, control panels and other security management systems to work together.
In September 2013, SIA Standards kicked off its latest effort to define standards for management information bases for networked security devices to communicate over Simple Network Management Protocol.
International presence
For much of its existence, SIA has operated only in the United States. But around 2010, SIA established a branch in Brazil, introducing it as SIA Brasil. SIA Brasil used to present the annual ISC Brazil conference in São Paulo, Brazil, in partnership with ISC Events.SIA is not associated with distinct international security associations that may have similar names, such as the British Security Industry Association, the Irish Security Industry Association or the Australian Security Industry Association.