Who is more vulnerable? Who is at greater risk? A short-term traveler or a long-term visitor/expatriate? It’s an interesting question and one without a clear-cut answer. All other things being equal, each one can present its own set of vulnerabilities. Let’s look at each one and then compare and contrast. For simplicity sake I will…
Adversarial mindset is important to any security program whether you are protecting a Fortune 500 company, critical infrastructure, a high net worth person or yourself. We discussed some of the elements of using adversarial mindset here: http://iprotectiveconcepts.com/4-steps-to-taking-the-adversarys-perspective-and-enhancing-your-security/. I should empathize at this point I am mainly looking at protection against physical threats and not looking…
Today we are going to venture a little bit into the realm of corporate security. I realize that many readers may not be as interested in this area and are focused more on individual protection. No need to worry as two of the skillsets we are going to discuss are also very applicable to personal…
One of the greatest challenges in protecting a global workforce and training travelers and personnel undertaking overseas assignments is getting them to understand that the individual rights they enjoy in their home country don’t travel with them overseas. This is particularly true of Americans who are imbued from an early age with the concept of…
Most of us raised in the US and other democracies have been taught from an early age to seek out a police officer for assistance when they have a problem. Unfortunately this is not always the best course of action in the developing world. In these locations police and other security forces are often best…
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…
Intelligence needs related to security will largely be determined by the type of operation a company has in a particular location, the size of the footprint, number of personnel, amount of infrastructure and assets, etc. As an example, a company involved in oil, gas or mining operations with extensive and costly infrastructure will typically need…
If your company is expanding into new markets overseas how do you evaluate the physical security risk to your employees and assets? If you are working in the developing world how do you monitor events and assess the potential threat to your personnel and operations? Looking at year 2012 so far we have seen two…