Certification Pathway
Four levels of practitioner certification. Three independent resilience vectors. A stockpile modifier that rewards endurance. The goal: permanent internal capability so your community never depends on outside consultants to maintain its resilience posture.
The Three-Vector Scoring Model
FIR assesses each entity across three independent resilience vectors. Each vector carries its own maturity level — Bronze through Diamond Blue — and its own stockpile modifier indicating days of self-sufficiency. Progress on one vector is real progress, regardless of where the other two stand.
Cyber
Network segmentation, OT monitoring, credential management, incident response, Volt Typhoon detection capability. Scored against CISA advisories and NERC CIP standards.
Physical
Substation hardening, facility security, ballistic protection, counter-UAS, surveillance, access control, perimeter defense. Scored against FERC CIP-014 and FIR physical standards.
EMP/GMD
Faraday protection, GIC blocking devices, surge protection, hardened communications, backup systems rated for electromagnetic environments. Scored against EMP Commission standards.
How a Score Reads
An entity scored “Cyber Silver | Physical Gold | EMP/GMD Bronze | 30-Day Supply” has Silver-level cyber hardening, Gold-level physical security, Bronze-level EMP/GMD protection, and 30 days of stockpiled supplies — water, food, fuel, medical, treatment chemicals — to sustain operations regardless of which attack vector caused the outage. The stockpile modifier is a single number because the community has one stockpile. Whether the grid failed from a cyberattack, a rifle attack on transformers, or a geomagnetic storm, the water and food last the same 30 days. Each vector has its own champion, its own funding stream, and its own roadmap. The stockpile supports all three.
The Stockpile Modifier
The days-of-supply number represents the community’s physical stockpile — water, food, fuel, medical supplies, and treatment chemicals — that sustains operations without external resupply. This is a single number for the entity because the stockpile is physical, not vector-specific. Thirty days of stored water is thirty days whether the cause was cyber, physical, or EMP/GMD. A community at “Cyber Silver | Physical Bronze | EMP/GMD Bronze | 60-Day Supply” has bought itself two months of time on all three vectors. FIR encourages communities to build stockpile depth early — even at Bronze maturity — because endurance is a strategic asset that changes the outcome of every scenario regardless of which vector is attacked.