Using Avert Physical Security (AVERT-PS) To Optimize Physical Security Effectiveness At The South Texas Project Electric Generating Station

ARES Security Corporation (ARES) flagship product, AVERT, is an established suite of all-encompassing software solutions for the entire physical security life cycle from design to operations. AVERT transforms physical security planning and assessment from a dependence on the qualitative judgement of subject matter experts to a science based on a 3D digital twin, physics-based quantitative modeling, simulation, and artificial intelligence. The AVERT software suite is actively used by 65% of the USA commercial nuclear plants, along with industrial, corporate, and government organizations and has a proven track record of effectively assessing and optimizing security systems and identifying subsequent cost savings. One member of the AVERT software suite, AVERT Physical Security (AVERT-PS) is unique Security Risk Assessment (SRA) software used to perform a facility Vulnerability Assessment (VA) along with providing the capability to visualize, quantify, assess and optimize security posture. This solution’s holistic and integrated approach, delivers accurate, measurable, and repeatable assessments of physical security design and operations. AVERT-PS provides security analysts with the capability to make security decisions based on quantitative, physics and probabilistic risk‐based models and provide decision makers with a detailed understanding of the effectiveness of their physical security systems and operations against evolving threats. The South Texas Project (STP) has been actively using the AVERT-PS software to assess and optimize security posture since 2018. In 2019, the South Texas Project (STP) initiated a program to optimize their security posture using AVERT-PS as a tool to support these activities. This paper will present in a high level, non-SGI generic format the types of changes implemented along with the improvements to security posture and resulting cost savings.