Given the last few days of activity around suspicious packages being sent to current & former Democratic Party leaders, celebrities, and news organizations, it’s worth taking a moment to review your organization’s mail screening and handling procedures.
It’s important to point out that at this time, most of this bombing campaign appears aimed at a targeted set of individuals and organizations. There does not appear to be a widespread campaign to attack other individuals or private sector organizations, however, these are the early days of the investigation.
In 2012, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published Best Practices for Mail Screening and Handling Processes: A Guide for the Public and Private Sectors. This document remains the definitive guide for processes and procedures that can be used for mail screening and handling.
In addition, the General Services Administration (GSA) published the Mail Center Security Guide – 5th edition in 2024. While this guide is focused more on large mail centers for government organizations, it contains solid advice and guidance for similar private-sector facilities.
Private Sector organizations should take the opportunity presented by the recent incidents to review their mail and package screening and handling processes – and perhaps define escalation steps they may take in the near future if this campaign continues over the coming days and weeks in order to best protect their employees, facilities, and other assets.
Can we help?
Our experts have helped design, implement, and monitor mail and package screening and handling systems for Fortune 50 corporations – and helped build procedures to escalate physical security measures as risks and threats indicate.
We’d love to talk with you about how you can leverage our experiences and knowledge to improve your organization’s physical security posture and processes.
Drop us a note via our contact page or give us a call at +1.612.235.6435. We’d love to help!
Personal Safety in an Uncertain World