3 semester credits

Given the uncertainty of emerging terrorist and criminal threats, business leaders require a quick qualitative assessment of the vulnerability to existing business operations, personnel, facilities, and assets. From a business perspective, critical infrastructure protection is one of the cornerstones of homeland security. The National Strategy for Protection of Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets lists 11 critical sectors. Students in this course are introduced students to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) risk-based resource allocation process. In the course, the fundamentals of business-related risk assessment are discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages of various risk assessment tools are examined. At the completion of the course, learners will be able to assess the value of various risk tools, apply those tools to any critical infrastructure within their multijurisdictional region, and derive optimal business strategies and draft policies to reduce the risk associated with future terrorist attacks and other hazards on their business interests.