Interagency Security Committee Documents

If you wish to view documents marked FOUO (For Official Use Only), please contact the Interagency Security Committee, stating the purpose of your inquiry and providing your full name, contact information and employer information.

Standards, Policies, and Best Practices

Standards

Security Standards for Leased Spaces (FOUO): Reflects background information on why standards expressly for leased locations are needed and identifies the framework of considerations upon which the standards were developed to close the security double standard for leased and owned buildings.

Security Design Criteria for New Federal Office Buildings and Major Modernization Projects (FOUO): Developed to ensure that security becomes an integral part of the planning, design and construction of all new federal courthouses, new federal office buildings and major modernization projects, the criteria consider security in all building systems and elements.

Policies

Facility Security Levels Determinations (FOUO): Defines the criteria and process to be used in determining the facility security level of a federal facility, a categorization that then serves as the basis for implementing protective measures under other ISC standards.

Best Practices

ISC Best Practices for Safe Mail Handling (PDF, 16 pages - 831 KB): Identifies best mail room operations practices used by federal agencies and assists security managers to implement safe mail handling practices at their facilities; developed by the ISC Safe Mail Handling subcommittee.

ISC Guidance on Escape Hoods (PDF, 9 pages - 72 KB ): A number of federal agencies are in the process of considering whether to provide escape hoods to employees for use in the event of chemical, biological or other emergency events. The Interagency Security Committee has developed this guidance to assist managers in the decision making process of determining when to purchase and distribute such protection devices to their employees.

Additional Resources

• ISC Standard Operating Procedures (PDF, 4 pages - 118 KB): Outlines the responsibilities of the ISC members, details ISC voting procedures and describes the ISC document coordination and approval process.
• ISC 2007-2008 Action Plan (PDF, 16 pages - 148 KB): The action plan was developed during the September 2006 ISC Planning Conference and identifies three objectives that have seven associated tasks. Four of the seven new tasks address recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office. In addition to the three new objectives, the ISC also affirmed its commitment of completing five in-progress tasks.
• ISC End of Year Report - 2006 (PDF, 6 pages - 46 KB ): The report provides a summary of ISC initiatives for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of security in, and the protection or, facilities in the United States occupied by federal employees.

• Government Accountability Office Reports:
  • Homeland Security: Guidance and Standards Are Needed for Measuring the Effectiveness of Agencies’ Facility Protection Efforts , (PDF, 74 pages - 1.2 MB) Government Accountability Office, (GAO-06-612), May 2006
  • Homeland Security: Further Actions Needed to Coordinate Federal Agencies’ Facility Protection Efforts and Promote Key Practices, (PDF, 90 pages - 6.99 MB) Government Accountability Office, (GAO-05-49), November 2004
  • Building Security: Security Responsibilities for Federally Owned and Leased Facilities, (PDF, 51 pages - 911 KB) (GAO-03-8), General Accounting Office, October 2002 
• The Interagency Security Committee and Security Standards for Federal Buildings, (RS22121), Congressional Research Service, April 22, 2005