Pitfall #1: Using dated or overly anecdotal information to assess your destination. The world is a dynamic place. When planning travel to a particular location it’s important to use current information. Beirut today – while it has its security issues, some fairly significant – is not the Beirut of 1983 when the city was carved up…
A good point was brought up in a comment after the last post about dressing down and trying to blend in when abroad. Its an important topic that deserves a little attention. For Westerners and Americans in particular our ability to blend in will be very dependent on the society we are in. In many…
Myth #1: It can’t happen to me. This is perhaps less a myth and more a mindset. Crime victims, even those living in violent places with friends and relatives that have been victims of crime still sometimes hold on to the mindset that it can’t happen to them. Not only does this usually mean the…
One of the main factors to reduce the likelihood of being a victim of a targeted attack is to not be time and place predictable. This is especially true for “at-risk” personnel who are more likely to be specifically targeted. What do I mean by at-risk personnel? These are people that because of their profile,…
When using surveillance detection principles as part of your personal security program there are two levels that can be used: passive and active. In an active program you would design an implement surveillance detection routes (SDR) that include preplanned stops and movements designed to cause anyone that might be following you to inadvertently expose themselves. …
Most attacks, robberies, kidnappings, sexual assaults and other forms of personal, confrontational crime occur after a period of observation and target selection. This can range from a period of weeks or months (or in rare cases even years) in the case of terrorist attacks to less than a minute or two in cases of a…
Understanding where you are most likely to be attacked and knowing how to ratchet up your alertness level appropriately is a key component of personal protection — probably the key component. You can’t walk around hyper-alert in condition orange all the time. You’ll be exhausted and at some point – probably pretty quickly – it…
When evaluating threat information, especially information received from subscription security intelligence services which are produced for a broad audience, it is essential to view them in the context of your company’s operations. Many, if not most providers, use a color and/or numerical rating to designate the risk level of a particular city or country. …
Local sources of information can be immensely valuable when assessing the threat level at a location. These local sources may include host country national employees, expatriate employees or expatriates affiliated with another organization, employees of vendors or others. They are often able to provide excellent insight as they are there on the ground in the…
How does management identify and monitor these threats in different locations around the world? Many companies subscribe to one or more of the private security intelligence providers that are available. While some of these firms use the term intelligence to describe their products and services, others use terms like risk reporting, assessment & analysis and…