Nearly 1.5 million people in England and Wales are victims of stalking every year and during last year’s lockdowns, this increased by 40%. What can you do to regain control?

There was a time not so long ago when being watched would have been concerning, but nowadays we’ve become numb to it and almost worry if we’re not being watched.

For example, probably like me, you’ll have regular alerts and notifications that people are viewing your profile on social media like LinkedIn. Our lives have now embraced technology and extended our own boundaries of privacy, often welcoming complete strangers into parts of our personal world that we wouldn’t otherwise previously have done.

Privacy is an ambiguous term in these modern times. Our smartphones are in themselves the biggest perpetrator of leaking our private information and we can either knowingly or unknowingly permit this. However, we do have the option to withdraw these privileges. But the necessity to communicate with our friends and contacts, and promote our skills and business means that this is, excuse the pun, virtually impossible. And this form of communication and sharing is, in most cases, not generally a problem and can be positive and sometimes even gratifying. That is until it creates a negative and intrusive impact or force in our lives.

You may have had a negative response to something you’ve posted online, an opinion you may have held on a current issue. Depending on the individual, this can either affect them or not. You might shrug it off but others might feel personally affronted and upset. I recall in the early days of Twitter, I had celebrity clients who would call me, extremely upset, that they had received vicious, abusive, offensive or cruel comments and asked what could be done. My response was pretty much as it remains today, some some ten years later: to simply advise they either had to grow a thicker skin or just not use that platform. However, many need to use these platforms and to withdraw would isolate them from their fans.

But what happens when it is more than just trolling, and becomes a fixation on you? The difference is more than palpable. It can consume you so much it impacts on everything: your personal life, your work, your movements.

Stalking by definition is the act or a crime of engaging in a course of conduct directed at a person that serves no legitimate purpose and seriously alarms, annoys, or intimidates that person, or willfully and repeatedly following or harassing another person in circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to fear injury or death, especially because of express or implied threats.

According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, almost one in five women over the age of 16 have experienced stalking, as well as almost one in ten men, so it would not be surprising if you or someone close to you has been or currently is a victim.

I’ve been a victim myself

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has said nearly 1.5 million people in England and Wales are victims of stalking every year and during the last year, there was a 40% increase during the national lockdowns, with various support agencies and police finding that there was a surge in the first four weeks of the first lockdown in cyberstalking involving social media, messaging apps and emails. Where conventionally, stalkers would often only physically monitor, they now have 24 hours in the day, uninterrupted, to obsess over their victims.

Gaining Control

During my professional career I’ve dealt with many cases, from those involving people in the public eye through to everyday persons, and they have come in many different forms. Some suspects were known to the victim or had a relationship with them; some were complete strangers. If you find yourself the target of a stalker, there are many things you can do to regain control. Many of which apply to almost every type.

The first and one of the most important things to do is not to suffer alone. As hard as it might be talk to someone about it, you must. You’ll find it easier to deal with and will disrupt the insidious and secretive environment stalkers try to create between the two of you. I can’t count the number of times victims have come to me for support often only when they were at their wit’s end. Many haven’t reached out sooner in the belief that no one would believe or take them seriously.

The second thing that is absolutely critical: gathering evidence.

Again, many victims have contacted me after months of being stalked and have not collated a record of all the incidences whether there have been sightings, contact, calls, posts, social media comments and messages. The most upsetting is when they’ve deleted messages or voicemails. It is essential that you have all of this to demonstrate the ‘course of conduct’ that defines stalking in the law and equip the authorities to be able to act on it.

Start a journal, if you haven’t already, and keep records of times, dates, locations, screenshots, recordings and everything you can. This will help build the case and if already sufficient, be enough for the police to already go and knock on their door.

My next suggestion would be to create ‘safe spaces’. Many victims are filled with dread every time their phone rings or notifications appear on their phone or social media. This is a horrible way to live so I would recommend setting up duplicate environments you can safely go to where you can feel safe. These, for example, could be new email accounts, social media pages, and even telephone numbers, but make sure they are not with your genuine name, so easily searchable, and are private to you and only shared with your most trusted friends and contacts.

You don’t have to move your lifestyle whole-stock to these environments but they could be used as a temporary means of keeping in contact with friends, family and business contacts until you get the situation resolved.

Once you feel confident the situation is sorted, you can dispose of them if you choose. What it will give the victim is the ability to control and choose when they pick up and respond to calls or accounts that the stalker might be using and communicating through, when they’re feeling strong enough. They can even ask a friend to check first before they do.

Lastly, thankfully there are great support groups and resources now available that can provide good advice and help for virtually every type of case.

The police and Home Office are also beginning to take it more seriously, with the new Stalking Prevention Orders (SPOs) launched last year allowing the courts to act more quickly in protecting victims.

And very importantly, once you’ve reported it to the Police – keep all over them. Take the badge, contact number and email address for the officer who took your statement and pester if it’s not gaining traction. I appreciate our police forces are overwhelmed and under-resourced but they are obliged to investigate and pursue. Pester them if you feel you’re being neglected and it’s not being taken seriously.

Will Geddes

Managing Director / Founder

ICP Group

www.icpgroupcompanies.com

Read more articles from Will Geddes

Read more articles on personal safety

The post Stalking – how to regain control appeared first on City Security Magazine.

In late 2020, the UK  raised the National Threat Level to ‘SEVERE’. This is the first time since 2014 and likely specifically in the wake of the spate of attacks in Paris, Nice and Avignon in France and Vienna, Austria.

As many of readers will well know, ‘SEVERE’ means that although no specific intelligence is known, the threat of a terrorist attack is perceived to be highly likely. Naturally, in an already very tumultuous year, this, for many people, was very alarming and upsetting.

There had been incidents this year in the UK, notably Streatham (February) and Reading (June), with the former raising the threat level to ‘SUBSTANTIAL’, but with the lockdown, many felt that the threat had diminished, especially with the prospect of moving into a second lockdown, making it less of a concern. However, two factors I think significantly impacted: the Vienna attack and all of the attacks occurring on the eve of lockdown.

The attacks earlier this year in Streatham and Reading are only indicative of the adjustment of the terrorist attack typical modus operandi format: iconic location, large numbers of fatalities and casualties, maximum devastation and which can be also subsequently broadcast across the world’s media, garnishing impact and location recognition.

This is not to say that there aren’t plans that won’t always be within their ideal attack vectors, but Streatham High Street, Reading park and Vienna are also a stark reminder that spontaneity, unpredictable locations and especially crowded places are of importance to them to achieve their objective. We should never forget that terrorists, akin to every criminal out there, will always seek the ‘path of least resistance’.

So why did the government raise the threat level?

Well, the one thing we know is that the terrorist will always wish to create the greatest impact with their attacks. If we consider that the more ‘iconic’ locations are going to present a greater challenge, the timing is perhaps the catalyst. Naturally, with lockdowns, the streets are empty and any people that are out and about will be more widely spread out. There aren’t going to be as many ‘prospects’ within a limited area. However, we have seen that once a government announces an impeding lockdown, people fill the streets, crowd bars, restaurants, supermarkets to get those ‘last minute’ needs completed. It usually also draws the national media and news crews to spectate. It potentially also creates a ‘now or never’ moment for the terrorists to take advantage of.

Not just the densely populated areas but also the chances that they might believe they have won’t have the opportunity again after the lockdown has lifted. Most of my friends who work actively within counter terrorism know that many of their persons of interest are likely very conscious that they are being monitored and realise it is only a matter of time before they will be picked up. Therefore, another month, or however long a delay, to a terrorist could be considered as borrowed time.

Therefore, the period between a government announcing a national lockdown and it being invoked creates a very real and genuine risk corridor. I think the authorities and government were pragmatic and sensible to raise the level when they did as we know it is always a good reminder to the general public to be on their guard, amplify their situational awareness and even report anything suspicious they may have seen.

So what bearing does this have on international travel and the risk of terrorism when we’re overseas? As we likely now accept that terrorism can potentially impact us at any time and anywhere, in addition to being more aware and cautious when in crowded places and iconic locations, I think we also need to consider ‘lockdown corridors’: the period of time between the government in the country you’re located within announcing an impending lockdown and the lockdown coming in effect.

The greatest concern has usually been more ‘COVID-19’ related with people amassing pre-lockdown but we also have to now consider that this could be an extremely vulnerable period in terms of the timing of a terrorist attack.

At ICP we’ve taken the stance to alert our clients to this potential risk and would advise that if you have people overseas, clients and operators, that rather than rushing out and joining the crowds in getting that last dinner, beer or supplies in and potentially getting infected with COVID-19, there could be another dark threat that might equally be invisible and cause them harm.

Will Geddes

Managing Director / Founder

ICP Group

www.icpgroupcompanies.com

The post International Security in a Pandemic appeared first on City Security Magazine.

2020 – a year we won’t likely forget

 The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has touched everyone. Many have had to adapt the way they do business and how they may need to deliver it in the future. None more so than those delivering Close Protection.

Those whose work necessitates dealing directly and requiring physical interaction with other people, must now adapt. Can Close Protection be as ‘close’ as it once was? Probably, but how do we manage and deliver this provision effectively in these current challenging times?

The fundamental delivery of close protection is to protect our clients from actual and perceived threats. Our risk assessments are formulated on various risk factors including medical and wellbeing considerations (health, environment, etc.), but now we have to include this globally impacting virus that not only could incapacitate the client but also the personal protection officer/team.

Our considerations now have to include the potential health risk of contact with third parties – associates, clients, drivers, chefs, support staff, hotels, offices and venues to be visited – universally and regardless of country, for the time being.

The coronavirus is extremely complex and still difficult to quantify. Much of the coronavirus testing promoted by governments has generally been directed to only those that have developed any of the recognised symptoms.

Little is still known about the period of pre-symptomatic infectiousness or the effective detecting of the asymptomatic – those not demonstrating any symptoms yet infectious with virus. I believe that testing (and regularly) and maintaining good hygiene protocols has to be an integral part of pre- and throughout deployment both for client and PPO.

Will that mean that only those who’ve previously contracted it and recovered (displaying IgG antibodies) are potentially ‘fit for protecting/work’ or do waivers need to be generally agreed beforehand, as it is still uncertain as to whether it can still be re-contracted?

I believe clients will fall into two categories in this regard. Those that will be highly conscious and cautious and those that won’t. As a personal protection officer, we need to be prepared to facilitate for both mindsets, not only for the client but for ourselves and decide whether the risk of contracting the virus is something we’re also prepared to mitigate for the time being at least.

So how could close protection work in practice?

One thing that does play to our advantage in this ‘new normal’ is social distancing. Everyone has become used to practising this on a daily basis every time we leave our homes or are in company of others outside our immediate family. Could this be a blessing in disguise?

Over the last two decades, I’ve seen close protection evolve significantly from the ‘close-up’ delivery to a more discreet, blended-into- the-background approach. Clients generally have a preference for this. This does come with its own challenges and in certain circumstances, it simply can’t or shouldn’t be done. However, where possible, this ‘reactive OP’ approach – broadening the perimeter of the vital ground around the clients – allows the client the feeling of more liberty, privacy to take and make personal and confidential calls, without their personal protection officer breathing down their collar. It can now be also reasoned for their health and wellbeing.

Social distancing could likely help on a number of levels. Firstly, the conscious distancing by the majority of people will likely prevent them entering our ‘box’, whilst those that do will be potentially more identifiable as either the deliberate or simply idiotic. Either one is likely to be even now more easily spotted and assessed as they, themselves, cannot now easily hide as they once did before.

However, some of these advantages, and wellbeing measures, may be short-lived. At the time of writing, the lockdown restrictions across the world are lifting further and the George Floyd protests are occurring across the USA and the UK.

The media coverage demonstrates that many people within the UK have already tired of the restrictions and are flooding parks and beaches and that even in the country where the pandemic is most drastically impacting, people are still amassing in their numbers to protest and riot.

All thoughts and considerations about transmitting and contracting the disease are apparently ignored. (Call me cynical, but the face coverings are perhaps more for anonymising than health reasons.) Impatience, emotions and agenda are now taking priority over their own health.

So will things really change in the longer term? I still believe they could. A bit. I think that even as the virus is suppressed and becomes less critical, some human behaviours cultivated during these challenging times might still prevail: the respectful acceptance of the need for social distance. Anything that contributes to an early warning can likely only help.

Will Geddes

Managing Director/Founder

International Corporate Protection (ICP) Group

www.icpgroupcompanies.com

See other articles from Will Geddes

Close protection: what makes a good CPO?

Resilience – isn’t it just business continuity planning?

The post Close Protection: the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic appeared first on City Security Magazine.

As rare or improbable as events might be that could interrupt your business, it is essential to invest in resilience, business continuity and crisis management planning, because it is likely guaranteed to cost much more to fix things retrospectively, once crisis hits.

National Grid Blackout

Forty minutes, in relative terms, might not seem a particularly long period of time. Less than most business meetings. Less than maybe your workout at the gym. Less than most TV shows. But for National Grid on the 9 August 2019, this caused blackouts across the midlands, south east, north west and north east of England and Wales, seriously impacting everyone, including commuters and businesses, even long after the power was restored.

National Grid’s Operations Director said that the near-simultaneous loss of two generators was more than the grid was routinely prepared for, prompting automatic safety systems to shut power to some places. A lot of places. But even two days later, at the time of writing this, there is still no clear explanation of why it happened. Cyber attack, sabotage, wrong button pushed? We may never know.

Regardless, serious doubts and questions should be raised about their resilience. Getting the system back on line quickly was probably pretty quick; proof perhaps that their business continuity/interruption plans evidently worked. But what about their resilience in the first place?

Planning for the wheels to fall off

Having worked with many companies over the years developing Business Continuity Plans (BCP), Business Intervention Plan (BIP) and Crisis Management (CM) plans, it almost feels that it has only been quite recently that companies are actually thinking seriously about what they should be doing before the ‘wheels’ wobble, let alone spinning off entirely. I have noted that many Boards are now sitting up and paying heed to the financial implications even a momentary ‘downtime’ could have, let alone reputational impact, but that’s not to say that all of them are investing significantly into their resilience as perhaps they should.

Having a BCP, BIP or CM plan should only really act as an absolute failsafe.  During the process of ‘crystal ball’ gazing, the issues should be fixed at the root, not only planned for in terms of a failure and the associated response. Sadly, the majority of companies often only realise this once a situation has occurred. I’m still more regularly called when an incident has happened and it’s a ‘clean-up’ operation. Many of these situations could have likely been prevented or avoided, with the adequate investment having been made initially. The inevitable challenge for many companies is allocating priorities and necessary investment. However, as rare or unlikely the event might be, you can likely be guaranteed it will cost more to fix retrospectively.

easyJet fan the flames

In these ‘digital’ times the repercussions, reputationally, could also be even worse than the damage the incident actually caused. A good example of this, also this week, with easyJet. A picture was posted on social media of a woman sitting on a plane seat with no back. The company’s comms team leapt into action requesting the poster to furnish them with more information (good move) and immediately delete the picture (bad move).

Why you might ask was the request to remove the picture a bad call? Never forget sensationalism is the bedrock of social media – something the comms team would know better than most? This only fanned the flames with the poster categorically refusing, much to the mirth of others who then proceeded to repost the thread. As it turned out, this seat had been decommissioned and passengers told not to sit in it – but why let the truth get in the way of a good story (or picture).

The clawback by easyJet may have been relatively easy but how many bookings did they lose from those hovering over the booking button when they saw the picture? In peak season too.

Crisis Management

The easyJet story is an example of why a good (or shall we say bad, in this case) crisis management strategy is also essential. What could they have done? Plenty. Firstly, don’t ever try and bury it. The damage has already been done, but don’t exacerbate it. Be honest.

Be humorous and put in a ‘holding pattern’ while you investigate furiously behind the scenes. If it’s true, fall on your sword and give assurances that this shouldn’t have happened and every step will be taken to prevent it in the future. We all make mistakes but it’s owning up to them when we do that makes the difference, in my opinion.

To that end, I sometimes like to use the analogy of your car as an example of resilience, business continuity and crisis management. If you ensure your petrol tank has enough fuel, that’s good resilience. If your car breaks down, you have a vehicle recovery subscription, that’s good business continuity.  If the onboard computer unexpectedly goes haywire, and your family starts kicking off, that’s crisis management.

Will Geddes, Managing Director, ICP Group & TacticsON

www.icpgroupcompanies.com

www.tacticson.com

See also our archive of articles on Business Continuity in particular:

Security strategy: planning for risk

Strategy for corporate security: Sir David Veness

Business continuity: the need for regular assessments

The post Resilience – isn’t it just Business Continuity Planning? appeared first on City Security Magazine.

Doesn’t it seem that not a day goes by without there being yet another reported cyber incident impacting a major corporation or government agency?

I’m sure, like many, you might be thinking: I’m having a hard-enough time keeping myself safe, but what chance have I got when companies and organisations – spending millions on their cyber defences – can’t? It can be somewhat depressing, and many people I talk to can feel, understandably, a bit helpless.

The target for hackers

The readers who know me will also know that I’m not a ‘cyber expert’ in the truest sense. However, I have garnered experience across this subject over the last two decades, working alongside many who are, and the one thing I can say is that if someone is determined enough to hack you, they probably can. And will. Especially if you find yourself in a country where state-sponsored surveillance is prolific, or you are a celebrity, a football team, an IoT device manufacturer, involved in government elections or working on something of specific interest (like NASA) that especially draws the attention of the hacking community.  Where is the vulnerability: The person or the technology?

Most hacks are widespread distributed spyware, ransomware, malware or other viruses intended to impact as many devices as they can. Disconcerting though this may be, you can also take solace that unless you are holding specific information or assets of value, it will likely be more a case of you getting affected through the wave of widely spread threats. This means that you can likely also avoid becoming a victim. Why? Well, I honestly believe it actually often has less to do with the technology and more to do with the person operating it. As a very clever ‘techie’ once said, it’s often: PICNIC – Problem in Chair not Computer.

PICNIC – Problem in Chair, Not in Computer

This I’ve certainly found often to be the case. On the vast number of occasions when certain large organisations have been hacked, we’ve usually found out it wasn’t the super-amazing software which let them down, but the persons responsible for managing it. All too often, the problem will be related to not updating software patches, fixing identified weaknesses like ports left open, administrator rights being widely used, simple passwords or something else equally basic that a little ‘housekeeping’ could have easily prevented.

The same applies to us, personally. I wrote a book last year (Parent Alert: How to Keep your Kids Safe Online) and waited with bated breath for the ‘Cyber’ community to tear into me. OK, it is focused on kids and is, in ‘techie’ terms, pretty basic stuff; but even I was taken aback by the number of experienced IT professionals who responded positively.

Too often our considerations are set at such an elevated level we can often – and easily –forget that if we take care of the basics, we can immediately reduce our exposure to the majority of those nasty cyber threats: prevention over solution, and it does not require too much hard work to do this. In fact, it can be relatively straightforward, and in the most part, somewhat easy.

Taking care of the Cyber Security basics

Name your devices anonymously:

Why call them ‘John/Jane Smith’s’ iPhone or computer? Every time you connect to Wi-Fi this will identify you.

Join a Wi-Fi network, search other devices on Bluetooth or airdrop and you’ll see loads of other people’s named devices. Call it something anonymous like ‘Sponge-bob’, ‘ABC’, ‘Radish’; it does not matter what, just as long as it’s something that doesn’t identify you personally by your name or even your gender.

Turn-off ‘Sharing’:

Unless you have this properly locked down, you are exposing yourself to the huge risk of someone going through your files and documents. I remember using someone else’s iTunes library when on holiday once because they left sharing on.

Your passwords:

What are they protecting: your banking? Email account? Social media accounts? Which of these contain the most confidential, sensitive or important stuff? Which one of these, if compromised, would cause you the most damage or impact? Rate them from ‘most’ to ‘least’ and create a suitably complex password to correspond.

Every one of them should have the following; upper and lower case, alpha, numeric and a symbol. Replace ‘i’s’ with ‘1’s’, ’S’s’ with ‘5’s’ and use ‘*’s, ‘%’s and other symbols in there somewhere.

Maybe just use ‘1Password’ that will create these for you and also, register your email account on https://haveibeenpwned.com .

This site will alert you if your password has been compromised.

The Google Chrome browser has recently introduced a similar service too. If your password has been stolen (I found mine had been from the servers of some app I once used), then these services will let you know.

Two-factor authentication:

Make sure everything you can set up with two-factor authentication you do. This is one of the best ways to ensure that no one accesses that account without you knowing, even if they know your password.

Update your software:

Whenever there’s a new release or update. Each update will have a beneficial security element to it, even if it doesn’t say so. If you’re forgetful or super busy, set your device to ‘auto-update’ to ensure you’re prompted when it needs to be done.

Install a VPN (Virtual Private Network) on all your devices – phone, tablet, computer – so that when you surf the net – especially on a ‘communal Wi-Fi’ – like at a coffee shop, airport or hotel – the bad guys won’t be able to intercept your browsing activity or eavesdrop/sniff your information.

Install a capable anti-virus/malware

Don’t cut corners – get something good.

There are a multitude of other ‘tips’ I can suggest but implementing what I’ve suggested above will give you a good head start.

These cyber threats aren’t going away, but there are things we can do to protect ourselves. There is hope.

Will Geddes
Managing Director, ICP Group and TacticsON

Parent Alert: How to Keep your Kids Safe Online

See also:

The Breck Rules – keeping young people safe online

What is phishing and how does it work?

Hacked! Have your accounts being compromised?

The post Cyber security basics from Will Geddes appeared first on City Security Magazine.

In the last few years the UK authorities have wished to clearly publicise they would be taking a very robust stance and response against any individuals or groups promoting extremist ideals, messages, propaganda and, most especially, against those attempting to ‘radicalise’ with Islamic ‘extremist’ ideals and agendas.

The ‘PREVENT’ strategy

In many ways one of the most crucial  elements of the ‘PREVENT’ strategy and tactics is to intercept and diffuse those seeking to radicalise others to supporting groups like Islamic State, from social media through to the various recent arrests and charging of individuals publicly demonstrating, such as Ibrahim Anderson and Shah Jahah Khan found guilty of distributing ISIS propaganda from a stall they set-up outside Top Shop in Oxford Street, London.

What is clearly evident is that these extremists are utilising every and any platform to spread their ‘message’. However, there are various questions that could be raised with regards to the advantages of arresting those who have taken to the street to demonstrate and whether they should be prevented from doing so.

Should we prevent Islamic extremist rallies?

Don’t get me wrong, none of us want to walk down our own streets, especially with our families, and be witness to radicals spouting ‘hate-filled’ messages, but there are some questions that could be raised to why we might need to tolerate it?

The UK legal statutes clearly define that any incitement to hurt, harm or promote violence is illegal, and those found doing so would feel the full might of law upon them. The two individuals arrested in Oxford Street were found guilty of ‘inviting support for a proscribed organisation’. However, if we prevent these individuals from publicly demonstrating, could this actually be potentially counter productive?

To be clear, this is not a point on censorship or freedom of speech, which in itself is an important issue, but more in terms of frustrating some of the benefits of forward intelligence gathering.

Many plots and individuals, who’ve been arrested and charged on terrorist related offences, have often first emerged as having previously attended and supported these types of rallies. Mohammed Imwazi (Jihadi John) and Michael Olumide Adebolajo (one of Lee Rigby’s killers) were regular attendees and motivators at street demonstrations.

Intelligence-gathering opportunities

Undoubtedly, there will always be the fantasists and ‘Four Lions’ types in attendance, but even they shouldn’t be necessarily discounted. The intelligence-gathering matrix has always been a jigsaw puzzle assembling process; different pieces emerging and linking one person of interest to another.

When Ibrahim Anderson was arrested, the authorities found plans, maps and guidance for those wishing to smuggle into Syria. To prevent them gathering in public places possibly pushes them further underground to meeting in secret and concentrating on how they can exploit the ever-evolving advances of technology to communicate with each other.

Why pincer them into environments that the security services and authorities are already challenged with? Living in Central London and a regular runner in Hyde Park, I often pass Speakers’ Corner where there’s often a congregation of some ‘vocal’ types with their own little axe to grind against society, politics or religion.

Almost as equally vocal are those standing, listening in bewilderment.

Muslims against ISIS

Let’s not underestimate the majority; we can give as good as we get. Those who may have also recently watched the Channel 4 documentary ‘The Jihadi Next Door’ will have seen Muslim passers-by robustly denouncing and mocking the radicals demonstrating on the street.

I can’t think of a stronger rebuttal of those promoting distorted Muslim interpretations than that from the wider Muslim community. The two arrested on Oxford Street were convicted on the evidence provided by an outraged Muslim doctor and her sister who reported it.

The Muslim communities are seeing how important it is to proactively engage in counter radical actions. One example, again in London, was when I passed a huge rally of  ‘Muslims against ISIS’. So perhaps the route to interrupting the extremist recruitment process is in not necessarily preventing them gathering and ‘demonstrating’. Let them carry on. Gather intelligence and allow good sense to prevail in the multi-cultural society that allows us freedom of speech and, collectively, contribute to frustrating their attempts to recruit and radicalise by giving as good as we get.

Will Geddes

MD, International Corporate Protection

Will Geddes is one of the world’s leading specialists in counter terrorism, and is a regular specialist commentator and analyst for CNN, BBC, ITN, Channel 4, Channel 5, LBC, The Economist, The Times Newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, NBC, ABC, Newsweek, to name just a few.

The post Should the UK prevent Islamic extremist rallies? appeared first on City Security Magazine.

At the time of writing this piece, a random knife attack had just occurred in Russell Square, Central London, involving one attacker killing one and injuring five others.

Only earlier that day, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, stated it was ‘When, not if’ we would see a terrorist attack in the UK, also unveiling his new Elite Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms officers, masked, grey BDU, locked-and-loaded, standing by their high-powered motorbikes poised for action. I woke the following morning to find twenty or so missed calls and text messages from the media in a frenzy that Russell Square was a terrorist attack. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in believing there was a good ‘possibility’. A little later that morning it was confirmed the perpetrator’s actual motive was in fact mental illness. No evidence of radicalisation. We can’t blame the media for their initial speculations though, especially after the sheer volume of sustained attacks across Europe we’ve seen in the last year.

New terrorism

Since 2013, when Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) formally established themselves, the last two years has seen an unprecedented number of attacks, in excess of seventy ‘inspired or conducted’ in their name across twenty countries. The sheer range and diversity of attacks from lone wolves through to hostage taking, massacres of innocent civilians via vehicles, street stabbings, in churches, on trains, music venues and nightclubs by active shooters, suicide bombers and marauding terrorist attacks has created a prevailing unease across the authorities, security sectors and general public alike, an unease I’ve not seen in twenty-five years in security.

Daesh’s new model of terrorism taps directly into and inspires individuals with histories of criminality and mental illness, the majority of whom are unknowns to the authorities and intelligence agencies. This guerilla warfare by the disenchanted, disillusioned and mentally vulnerable now needs new thinking, methods, means and solutions in order to combat it.

Naturally, there are still those, such as the attackers in Paris and Belgium, who will plan and execute their plans through the conventional chains of command, as we’ve been more used to with the likes of Al Qaeda.

However, this now been expanded to in-directly recruiting those seeking to exact their retribution on society, camouflaging it with a desperate attempt of credibility, through pledging support to extremists, shouting ‘Allah Akbar’ and unfurling a black flag with the Shahada. It is these new ‘bedroom terrorists’ (a term I coined a while back) we now evidently need to tackle with additional and alternate strategies.

Spontaneous and invisible threats

We can no longer rely or anticipate there will always be the traditional ‘attack planning cycles’ that would pre-empt an attack. No longer can we simply prepare for historic methods and delivery of attacks. The sheer spontaneity of this ‘new wave’ makes it far less easy to predict.

We truly have a ‘world-beating’ counter terrorism and intelligence capability, but even they can’t solve this alone, despite the astounding success they continuingly achieve (if only the general public were aware of how many plots they actually have intercepted).

With the threats even less visible than ever before, they need us, the general public, more than ever to be their ‘eyes and ears’. We, within the security sectors, have constantly stated this and hopefully it’s now sinking in.

Recent figures state at least 32 calls are now received by the Anti-Terrorist Hotline, 5 referrals of extremist materials online and 2 instances of potential radicalisation are reported, every day. Without fully engaging the general public’s help, we simply can’t improve our chances of gaining that pre-emptive advantage needed. But in addition to this, I believe there are critical ‘junction’ points that, if addressed robustly and effectively, do give us even greater chances of interrupting these attackers. However, this will take time. A considerable amount of time.

Focus for security in 2016

So, where are the roots and what should, in my opinion, be considered? The options are numerous, but when we analyse many of the contributing factors, there do appear to be certain commonalities across a majority of this new breed of perpetrators. Criminality and mental illness elements figure highly within their profiles. With the Prevent strategy now gaining results, this needs to expand to the other areas where the vulnerable and susceptible are. We, as a nation, have pitifully degraded our support to mental health and care workers in that field.

Statistically, 75% of all mental health issues start in adolescents and children are waiting on average 3 years for mental health treatment. Little is also being done to promote mental health issues, awareness and support in schools. Let’s not forget this demographic are also the most prolific users of social media. This needs seriously addressing on all levels and we need to start investing responsibly in this sector.

The next catchment to perhaps consider is those with historic criminal profiles. Know the saying ‘it takes a thief to catch a thief’?

Expecting honour amongst thieves might be stretching it, but they all have mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. Maybe target this community, not only from a personal perspective, like the rest of us, but also in a more direct sense to their base motivations.

Money. Incentivise, through a bounty initiative, their reporting any information relating to a potential suspect with terrorist intentions. It’s not a massive leap from, and only capitalising on, already highly successful public engagements such as CrimeStoppers. Simply extend these already effective and proven entities. Anything to add to the existing tapestry of intelligence gathering can only help.

The above ideas are simply that, ideas. If there was a simple straightforward solution, people far cleverer than me would have figured it out or are hopefully in the process of doing so as I write.

However, and for now, there’s a long road ahead and every idea needs to be explored.

Will Geddes

International Corporate Protection

IPC Group. www.icpgroupcompanies.com

The post Security in 2016: exploring new ideas appeared first on City Security Magazine.

‘Don’t talk to strangers’, ‘Don’t share your PIN’, ‘Always keep your passwords secret’

Regardless of who we are and what we do, protecting our personal information is often at the forefront of our minds.

However, as we continue to invite the latest advancements of technology into our lives, we perhaps forget that what may make our lives easier may also compromise our privacy.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many other social media tools can ‘leak’ our private lives to greater and lesser degrees. This could be your holiday photos, your personal thoughts on current affairs, or even posting videos of your ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. We can communicate widely with the simple click of a button.

We want an easier life and to take advantage of the available technology and, at the same time, to vigilantly maintain our privacy. However, how many of your Facebook friends or Twitter followers do you actually know or have even met? Is your account properly protected from anyone potentially seeing your posts? Have a look. It might surprise you.

With our willingness to ‘share’, someone can easily undertake a ‘lifestyle’ survey on you, under the banner of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) gathering. Can we truly complain about intrusion to our privacy, when we’re not perhaps hiding it as well as we could?

What is tracking?

This leads to the debate and discussion of the privacy of ‘tracking’. This technology has been around for many years and where it was originally extremely bulky and expensive, most smart phones today come with some variation of ‘findmyphone’ already loaded, and for free.

There are many elements within our day-to-day technology use that ‘leak’ information on our whereabouts, which we may often not even be aware of. So why is ‘conscious’ tracking important and how can we retain privacy from those we wish not to know our whereabouts?

About 20 years ago, pre-smartphone, tracking required the individual to carry a separate device. Those companies that ‘imposed’ these trackers on their executives would often meet considerable resistance. Yes, the executive knew that it was for their personal safety, but it was something else they had to pack and administrate, making sure it was plugged in overnight. As a result, many of these devices would go ‘missing’ or lost, or be left in the hotel, thrown out of a window, etc. The technology then evolved to mobile phone applications. The first versions of these were as much of a problem. Furious executives having their Blackberries rinsed of battery power within only a few hours was a common complaint. The other main issue was their company being able to track them whenever they wanted. ‘No thank you’ was the frequent response. ‘Not when I’m at home, with my lover, sneaking off to the golf course’. So the companies had to introduce the ‘switch-on/switch-off’ option.

You can imagine what happened. Tracking became a ‘black or white’ option. Either the company would demand the executive had a ‘live’ tracker or they couldn’t travel. Or they couldn’t enforce a tracker at all.

With current technology,  there are trackers that can remotely switch on the phone’s microphone and camera. How many executives are aware their companies can do this? So, we’re back to the privacy issue and how much we’re willing to relinquish.

There is still a debate to be had to consider what is realistic in our expectations and demands for privacy, when we’re all potentially leaking like sieves anyway?

Will Geddes

MD at ICP Group & TacticsOn Limited

www.tacticson.com

The post Data privacy: the ‘tracking’ debate appeared first on City Security Magazine.

My brief is to give my perspective of this very specialised role, the close protection officer. A tall order in many ways as it’s difficult to encapsulate the many diverse dynamics of an extremely complex service within a relatively short article. Complex? Well, in 20 or so years of my experience in providing this service, no one provision has ever been the same.

So what is today’s close protection and what makes a good Close Protection Officer (CPO)?

I can honestly say I’ve experienced the good, the bad and certainly the ugly sides of the industry, in various corners of the world with personnel of virtually every background. Even with the best experience and training, it always comes down to the individual and how they approach their Principal (the VIP), the client (the company which has engaged you), the task, their team mates and, importantly, themselves.

These provisions are always a challenging balancing act. How they are initially approached and engaged can make all the difference between how easy, or not, the task will run. The threat can sometimes be the easiest part to manage. Managing the Principal and the client, less so. In my experience, 90% of Principals have never had a provision before and their only understanding is from what they’ve seen on TV or in the movies. There are also those who’ve had prior experience, and perhaps not a good one and you inherit their bad experiences and negative preconceptions. Remember, they’re entrusting their (or their family’s) safety to someone they’ve never met before. Getting it right from the get-go is essential.

What are the basics for any Close Protection Officer (CPO)?

• First impressions are important. Time-keeping (never be on time, always be early).
• Always come to the task well-dressed (you can always dress-down, never up), dress conservatively, no jewellery (chains, earrings), good hygiene (not unshaven or too much cologne).
• Always carry your passport and driving licence (rapid response is standard).
• Discretion and confidentiality (never name your past clients).
• Keep physically fit (train hard, fight easy).
• Work hard on your ‘soft’ skills (‘hard’ skills are easy, ‘soft’ aren’t).
• Always call your Principal and Client ‘Boss’, ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ (until they tell you differently).

Remember, you could be doing everything right, but your face doesn’t fit. Don’t take it personally. I recall one occasion where a Principal dismissed seven extremely qualified CPOs before settling with the one they felt the most comfortable with. Another key thing to also always remember; if you ever have a serious disagreement with your Principal, client or team mates, either suck it up or walk away quietly and professionally. Never burn bridges. This is a very small industry and word moves far, wide and very quickly. Lastly, never forget your chain of command; principal, client, and company which has engaged you. This system is there to not only help but also protect you. And never ever give your personal business card to the Principal or client. The CPO who forgets these points will likely find their phone going very quiet.

What are the key components to delivering CP?

Well, whether you’re in hostile environs (like Iraq or Afghanistan), covering a businessman or even a red carpet event with some Hollywood-type, close protection is always a balancing act between keeping the Principal safe, first and foremost, and providing what can only be best described as facilitation.

The first part is often the easiest part. The facilitation is the tricky but very integral part. Accepting that we are as much ‘facilitators’ as we are ‘protectors’ is absolutely critical. If you don’t agree and don’t want to do this – good luck! Experience will prove otherwise. None of us want to do this, but as I’ve said, it’s a balancing act and never agreeing to carry bags, run errands or lend a hand, within reason, can easily and very quickly see you out of your job. There are times, however, when you can and must decline, which I will come to a little later.

The ‘modern’ CPO also has to be an incredibly versatile and intuitive person. Principals can be arrogant, impolite, obfuscatory and sometimes even dangerous (to themselves). You, as the CPO, can’t be. Thankfully, most Principals I’ve worked with have been a pleasure, but I’ve also had my fair share of tricky ones. Frequently the hardest part can be their assistants and support staff. They often don’t want (or believe they need) our presence. Assistants can believe they are as ‘important’ as their Principal and should be treated as such. This we have to accept. If their behaviour or requests actually increase the threat to the Principal, be prepared, you might need to consider withdrawing from the job (always politely and professionally).

Remember, if a threat materialises and you can’t protect your Principal because an assistant has had you run an errand, who will be to blame?

I recall an occasion where a Principal was debussing into a venue. The assistant screamed at the CPO to help with bags. If the Principal had been attacked and the CPO couldn’t easily obtain his weapon due to carrying a bag, it wouldn’t have ended well. Equally, be careful of what errands you run. As mentioned earlier, these can be perfectly innocent mundane tasks and very difficult to decline. However, be aware there is always a risk you could find yourself, quite innocently, in a wrong place –wrong time situation. As I said at the beginning of this article, being a CPO is a complex tasking that exposes us to a wide diversity of risks; many known and some that might not appear that obvious.

So what of the ‘job’ itself?

I’ve seen a significant increase in clients reverting to a more Reactive Observation Protection or Reactive Counter Surveillance level of protection that is more stood-off, less intrusive but with the ability to close in, when needed. Of course if you’re in the hostile environs or the threat is very high, your reaction distance is critical and this would not be feasible. However, unless this is the case, most Principals are less likely these days to accept you brushing shoulders with them. But this of course creates new issues. First being the ability to control a larger section of the vital ground (the immediate space within which the Principal is located or moving). To provide this level of protection the CPOs need to have the suitable skills, experience and confidence to detect the threat and associated indicators from this more distanced position. Meaning advanced levels of counter and anti-surveillance are an essential and critical skill in any CPO’s ‘toolbox’. Which brings me to my last point (although I could probably think of a hundred more); the most important point, in my opinion, is that we should always have an eagerness and willingness to learn.

Whether you’re a CPO, a company providing them or a client who engages them, we all (myself included) can always learn more and must remind ourselves we need to evolve as much as the threats do. The key objective is in keeping ahead of the threats and the more we learn the better an advantage we’ll have in doing so.

Will Geddes

Managing Director, ICP GROUP Companies

www.icpgroupcompanies.com

See also from Will Geddes:

Resilience – isn’t it just business continuity planning?

Stalking – how to regain control

The post Close protection officer: what makes a good CPO? appeared first on City Security Magazine.