Background

The Interagency Security Committee (ISC) was created via Executive Order 12977 after the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995—the deadliest attack on U.S. soil before 9/11—and the worst domestic-based terrorist attack in U.S. history. A truck packed with explosives was parked in front of the building and detonated. The bomb destroyed the building which housed 17 Federal agencies and claimed the lives of 168 people. In addition, over 800 people were injured. The day after the attack, President William Clinton directed the Department of Justice to assess the vulnerability of Federal facilities to acts of terrorism or violence, and to develop recommendations for minimum security standards. Until then, there were no minimum physical security standards for non-military federally owned or leased facilities.

The ISC provides standards which apply to all civilian Federal facilities in the United States. All such facilities must comply with these standards, except for the Department of Defense and Department of State. This includes government-owned, leased, or managed facilities, and sites to be constructed, modernized, or purchased for future use.