A Perspective, not THE Perspective — this library gathers 35+ years of converged security insights: LinkedIn articles, monthly newsletters, and curated external resources across 12 topic areas. Each piece reflects real-world experience — what works, what doesn’t, and what often gets overlooked.
Browse by topic below. Items link to pages on this site; external resources open in a new window.
Contents
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Career & Professional Development
Certifications, cross-training, and what the field actually demands.
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The full picture — physical, cyber, personnel, and supply chain working together.
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EP at the intersection of physical security, intelligence, and mission risk.
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Job Seeker / HR Recruiter Security
LinkedIn fraud, recruiting scams, and hiring process vulnerabilities.
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Physical access, vendor risk, cyber, and integrity controls all intersect here.
Career & Professional Development
Insights on building a security career — certifications, cross-training, and what the field actually demands.
- IFPO-CPO Training Experience — A firsthand account of the CPO certification program and its real-world applicability.
- Want to Become a Member of a SOC? Start Here. — A practical primer on SOC careers — what skills matter and how to start building your foundation.
- Career Development Training – Full Hit OC (Pepper Spray) Exposure — What going through full OC exposure teaches security officers about the tools they carry.
- Train a Street Cop to Be a Cyber Cop in 50 Minutes — Bridging physical law enforcement instincts and cyber security fundamentals — what translates and what requires rewiring.
External Resources
- College Recruiter – 6 Strategies for Employers Hiring Early-Career Security Candidates ↑↗ — Jim’s insights on developing the next generation of security professionals.
- NetworkSecurityTips.com – 4 Insights to Share With My Younger Self About Network Security ↑↗ — Lessons from years in converged security, shared with the next generation.
Church Security
Pro bono security consulting for houses of worship — practical, converged, built for volunteer-led teams. See also the church security comparison documents.
- Converged Church Security – A Starting Point TOOL — An integrated framework covering physical, personnel, cyber, and medical response for churches.
External Resources
- XPastor – Church Security, Safety & Medical Response: A Senior Pastor’s Primer ↑↗ — A foundational overview for senior pastoral leadership.
- ASIS International – Cultural Properties/Houses of Worship: Initial Metrics Program (PDF) ↑↗ — A metrics framework for security programs in religious organizations.
- Religious Product News – Defining a Church Security/Safety/Medical Program ↑↗ — Published in Religious Product News — defining the scope of a complete church security program.
- ASIS International – Disaster Response Best Practices for Houses of Worship and NGOs ↑↗ — Disaster preparedness and response guidance tailored to religious organizations and NGOs.
Converged Security
The integration of physical, personnel, cyber, and supply chain security — thinking about the full picture rather than siloed disciplines.
- Jim’s Security One Liners — 24 hard-won insights on metrics, integrity, supplier risk, and what actually moves the needle in security programs.
- Real Estate Agent Safety Recommendations — Practical converged security guidance for real estate professionals — before, during, and after every showing.
- Ask McConnell, Get Solutions – February 2024 — Monthly newsletter covering converged security topics and industry insights.
- Ask McConnell, Get Solutions – March 2024 — Monthly newsletter covering converged security topics and industry insights.
- Ask McConnell, Get Solutions – April 2024 — Monthly newsletter covering converged security topics and industry insights.
- Ask McConnell, Get Solutions – June 2024 — Monthly newsletter covering converged security topics and industry insights.
- Ask McConnell, Get Solutions – July 2024 — Monthly newsletter covering converged security topics and industry insights.
- Ask McConnell, Get Solutions – August 2024 — Monthly newsletter covering converged security topics and industry insights.
- Cyber Security for Physical Security Technology – The Open CS4PST Standard (GSX 2018) — A vendor-neutral framework for addressing cyber risks in physical security technology. (Content coming soon.)
- Letter to My Younger Self – Pen Testing — What 35+ years in converged security would have told a younger Jim McConnell about adversarial thinking.
- Take Your Employees (and Vendors) to a Place That Matters to Your Mission — Connecting people to mission builds security culture that policies alone never can.
External Resources
- International CPTED Association – Scoping CPTED vs. Safety vs. Security Assessments (PDF) ↑↗ — A practical guide to understanding where CPTED, safety assessments, and security assessments each begin and end.
Cyber Security
Cyber security from a converged perspective — not just networks and code, but the physical and human dimensions that matter just as much.
- Information Security for Travelers — 10 practical reminders for business travelers — from device handling at customs to operational security awareness on the road.
External Resources
- DevX – 14 Top Cybersecurity Tools: Experts Share Their Insights ↑↗ — Jim’s contribution to a DevX roundup of top cybersecurity tools and practitioner perspectives.
- Transit Tomorrow – Securing Smart Infrastructure: 8 Key Considerations & Risk Mitigation ↑↗ — Converged security guidance for smart infrastructure environments and the unique risks they present.
Ethics
Integrity is not a soft skill — it is the foundation of every security program worth building.
- Measuring Integrity & Transparency Challenge — How do you measure what is inherently qualitative? Exploring the hardest problem in security program management.
- Integrity In My Company – Absolute or “I Hope” — The gap between written integrity policies and lived organizational reality — and what that gap costs.
Executive Protection
EP is not just close protection — it lives at the intersection of physical security, intelligence, supply chain, and mission risk.
- Executive Protection Meets Supply Chain Security – “Must Comply With…” — How brand vendor compliance requirements flow downstream and affect the people protecting organizational leadership.
- Mission Self Evaluation / Assessment Tool — A readiness framework for EP, crisis response, incident response, disaster response, and search & rescue teams.
External Resources
- Security Journal Americas – Executive Protection: Before the EP 101 Class ↑↗ — Jim’s published piece on the foundational knowledge every EP professional needs before formal training begins.
Honor Your Mentors
The people who built us deserve to be remembered — by name, by what they gave, and by how we carry it forward.
- Pastor Dale Brooks – Double Honor Is Due — A tribute to a mentor whose leadership and faith shaped Jim’s approach to service and security work.
- Create A Call of Honor In Your Company / Organization / Life — A challenge to leaders: make honor a lived organizational value, not just a mission statement.
- Honoring My Butterflies Today and Forever — A reflection on the mentors and colleagues who believed before you did. Originally published 2014.
Industry Challenges
Direct takes on where the security industry falls short — and the accountability required to close those gaps.
- Two Peers Charged With Felonies – My Active Response — On professional accountability and the obligation to speak when the industry’s integrity is on the line.
- Hey Security – The Business Has Had Enough – Fix It in 2020 or Else — A 2019 challenge to the security industry: align with business objectives, or risk irrelevance.
- Need a Laugh or WannaCry? – Security Advertising Failure 2018 — How the security industry sometimes communicates badly — with a real campaign as Exhibit A. (Content coming soon.)
Investigations & Fraud
Internal investigations and fraud prevention require skill, judgment, and the courage to follow the evidence.
- Fraud Triangle – Cookies, Pencils, & Stealing From Your Employer — Breaking down motivation, opportunity, and rationalization with real-world examples any security professional can use.
- Op-Ed: Investigative Interviewing – It’s a Technique, Not a Checklist or Script — Why effective investigative interviewing requires human skill and experience, not rigid templates.
Job Seeker / HR Recruiter Security
LinkedIn fraud, recruiting scams, and the security vulnerabilities in the hiring process — documented and tracked.
LinkedIn Fraud & Scam Enhancement Tracker — 23 recommendations submitted to LinkedIn’s Executive Escalation team; tracking implementation progress. An ongoing pro bono effort to make the platform safer for job seekers and recruiters alike.
M&A Security
Converged security due diligence for transactions — equipping PE, VC, investment bankers, and M&A professionals to see security risk in deals.
- Converged M&A Security – July 2024 Edition — Security guidance for PE, VC, and M&A consulting professionals navigating transaction risk.
- Converged M&A Security – November 2024 Edition — Security guidance for PE, VC, and M&A consulting professionals navigating transaction risk.
Supply Chain Security
Supply chain security is converged security — physical access, vendor risk, cyber, and integrity controls all intersect here.
- Free Supply Chain Access Audit (Table Top) Tool (v0.1) — An open-access audit tool for evaluating supply chain physical and logical access controls.
External Resources
- Security Middle East – Issue 136 (Jan/Feb 2024): “Boosting Your Converged Supply Chain Security” (pp. 29–30) ↑↗ — Jim’s published article on converged supply chain security strategy in Security Middle East magazine.
- Telecommunications Industry Association – Supply Chain Security 9001 (SCS-9001) ↑↗ — The TIA’s industry standard for supply chain security — a foundational reference for any supply chain security program.
- TIA – Top 25 Supply Chain Security Measurements – 2021 Edition (PDF) ↑↗ — The top 25 supply chain security metrics and measurement guidance — a practical starting point for supply chain security programs.
- Logistics News – 5 Measures for Addressing Data Security Concerns With 3PL Providers ↑↗ — Jim’s contribution on protecting sensitive data when working with third-party logistics providers.