What is a Security Program Mission & Mandate?

The goal of the security office as well as its associated level of authority to reach that goal.

Mission & Mandate Considerations: Below are the top five considerations when developing a mission & mandate for your security program:

1. Ensure it Incorporates Your Security Program Strategy: Build your security program strategy, and then reflect it within your mission & mandate statements.

2. Document your Mission & Mandate: Bottom-line, if you cannot document what it is you are doing, then you do not know what you are doing.

3. Be Specific: A flowery Dilbert-inspired Mission & Mandate Statement may seem tricky, but will lead to a vague understanding by the rest of the organization of what your security program is doing. This lack of understanding is more dangerous than the protection you may think you are getting by not effectively defining what you are doing.

4. Be in Balance: Do not try and take on a mission to secure the whole organization if you do not have a mandate to accomplish this goal. Ensure that your mission is balanced with the level of power you have been afforded to accomplish it.

5. Be Realistic: It is tempting to want to try and take on the world with your mission, but this can be very dangerous to a successful security effort. Take a look at what is practical within your environment, and then set your bar a little above that.