Vulnerability Assessments: Tabletop Models, and the Improvements that Lead to the Gregg Threat Assessment Program

Effective protection of any target depends on the ability of the security force to detect, assess, respond and neutralize the threat prior to an unauthorized act taking place. Planning for this event increases the probability of success of a fully integrated protection program. Planning involves the use of subject matter experts, computer modeling and performance testing of elements including physical barriers, electronic security systems and protective forces. This data, when compiled together, enables management to make informed decisions about threat mitigation. Maintaining and updating site specific information is essential to the security planning process. The planning process must be responsive and flexible enough to rapidly adapt to new and changing analysis criteria. The purpose of this document is to address computer based vulnerability assessments in general and the Gregg Threat Assessment Program (GTAP) specifically. GTAP is a computer based tool that uses the Vulnerability of Integrated Safeguards Assessment (VISA) tabletop process as a foundation. It evaluates security effectiveness, provides decision making documentation and saves time in the overall process. In fact, utilization of the GTAP program can result in a labor hour savings of approximately 80% over other more complex computer models while producing the same results. This figure is driven by such factors as the depth of analysis and complexity of the facility.