New Open Security Exchange Structure Extends Membership Benefits

Makes Participation more Accessible to Enhance the Organization's Contribution to the Security Industry

Piscataway, NJ – The Open Security Exchange (OSE), a cross-industry forum dedicated to delivering best practices guidelines in the area of security management and vendor-neutral interoperability specifications for physical and cyber security systems, announced significant changes to its working procedures. The most significant change is related to the introduction of a new membership structure, introducing a $5000 annual membership category, designed to make it easy for any company with a desire to play an active role with defining interoperability specifications and best practices to become an OSE member. "The strength of the OSE lies in its' ability to attract member companies of all sizes and from a number of backgrounds," said Eric Maurice, Chairman and Executive Director of the Open Security Exchange. "The Board believes that the new membership structure will attract a wider variety of member companies who can ultimately enhance the effectiveness and deliverables of the organization."

As a result of these changes, effective immediately there are two levels of memberships available to organizations who wish to join the Open Security Exchange. General Membership is available for $5,000 per calendar year, while Board Membership will remain at $15,000 per calendar year. Current OSE members were elevated to Board Membership to reflect these changes. The Board membership category remains for those organizations that want to participate at the Board of Directors level along with their participation in the technical committees. In addition, the Exchange will continue to waive membership fees to non-profit organizations, educational organizations, and government agencies.

Organizations wishing to join the Open Security Exchange are urged to apply at http://www.opensecurityexchange.org/join.html. In addition, potential members can meet with OSE Officers during the upcoming ASIS Seminar and Exhibits in Dallas September 27 to 29, 2004 by contacting info@opensecurityexchange.org to set a meeting. “This new level of membership is a significant step in the right direction,” said Sandra Jones of Sandra Jones Consulting, and Advisory Member of OSE. “The creation and subsequent adoption of industry standards can only take place through the active participation of a wide range of vendors regardless of their size.”

Since its creation in April 2003, the Open Security Exchange has issued the first of its kind technical specifications for the convergence of physical and cyber security systems, named PHYSBITS. As a result of this effort, the Exchange has actively participated in the launch of the standards committee of the Security Industry Association for data modeling, and will continue to support this effort. In addition, the Open Security Exchange has issued a technical white paper designed to help organizations with the adoption and issuance of strong credentials for their physical and IT systems. These publicly-available documents are available on the Open Security Exchange web site at http://www.opensecurityexchange.org/resources.html.

Current members of the OSE include: Computer Associates, CoreStreet, Fargo, Gemplus, HID, Siemens Building Technologies, Siemens ICN, Software House, and VistaScape.

The Open Security Exchange, a program of IEEE-ISTO, was created to address today’s most significant security challenge — the lack of integration between various components of the security infrastructure. The Open Security Exchange is a cross-industry forum dedicated to delivering vendor-neutral interoperability specifications and best practices guidelines in the area of security management. This enables organizations to more efficiently mitigate risk, optimize their security postures and enforce privacy policies.

The Open Security Exchange combines the disparate technologies that form today’s security infrastructures, allowing for optimal security and operational efficiencies while respecting organization-specific operational requirements. Effective security management will result in: accurate detection of threats and attacks; consistent definition and enforcement of security policies; and enhanced organizational collaboration. www.opensecurityexchange.org

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