Take just one example the conspiracy theories around 5G were quickly re-tailored to incorporate Bill Gates and George Soros as targets, and were effective enough that there were arson attacks against 5G infrastructure. In other words, a few memes and videos, along with the use of these techniques (whether deliberate, or accidental, but there is strong evidence of deliberate action) were enough to cause homegrown domestic terrorism attacks on UK soil.
Drone Technology and the Paradigm Shift in Security
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) colloquially known as “drones” are expected to become ubiquitous in the short to medium term as the world’s advanced economies inevitably grow and converge with the complexity of everyday life. As a result, society is facing a technological wave that will change the way business and security is done.
A Deeper Understanding
a PoC service is like any other client server system that you use. Take Skype as an example that many people will be familiar with. This is what is commonly referred to as a ‘client-server’ application. The Skype app sits on you phone, tablet, laptop or desktop and is in constant communication with the Skype servers out there in the cloud.
New Horizons
The truth is, the simulated communications you just read were not with a helicopter, but instead were between an Executive Protection team, and it’s FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Licensed and experienced UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Pilot. Executive Protection is evolving every day, and one of the areas out front is technology. Developing are new forms of detection, tactical hearing and visual aids, vehicle security and transport, radio systems, and now UAV’S.
The Dangerous Reality of Unmanned Drones
Governments have already developed the lethal capabilities of unmanned drones on the battlefield. And until greater regulations and countermeasures are introduced, protectors need to remain mindful and watchful of the threat this technology poses to ourselves and our clients.
The Changing Face of Surveillance Training Qualifications?
Things are things afoot in the surveillance sector in respect of qualifications, and I am hoping that the ‘powers that be’ do not let things slide down a slippery slope as they did with the Close Protection qualification when it was introduced in the UK, by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
Behavioral Analysis Part 1
Many people spending more time online this past year due to COVID-19 lockdown and isolation has created limited options of socialization, forcing people to a record amount of screen time on the internet and social media. Much more than ever before.
HUMAN INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence is the information we obtain on a target or threat in order to locate them, gain information on their operations and to predict their future actions. Accurate intelligence is essential not only in security and counter-insurgency operations but also in the corporate world where companies need to know what their competitors are developing and planning.
Social Media Policies
Anyone who works for you and has their work title/position linked to your company represents your brand and is responsible for your reputation. They can also be a liability for you and may become the weak link of your company and their online activities are such that your competitors can use it against you.
Phishing Phenomena on the Rise
As with many methods used to manipulate, they do not try to argue someone around to a position in a rational manner; instead, they are designed to elicit and exploit emotional responses.
Phishing is a whole family of different attacks designed to manipulate a target into performing actions against their best interest, usually disclosing information in some way or carrying out fraudulent transactions. Within that family of different types of phishing we have:
The Key Elements of Counter Surveillance
Counter Surveillance is defined as the actions that a person (or team) carries out, in order to detect that a person (Principal) is under surveillance and to identify the composition and makeup of a hostile surveillance team.
In this article, Pete Jenkins talks through the key principles of a counter-surveillance operation.
Ransomware, Insurance, and Backups
Most people are not aware of the real impact and threat of ransomware campaigns going on almost constantly. While I’m sure everyone knows of the ransomware attack on the Colonial pipeline and the more recent similar attack on JBS, these are only the latest and most visible in a continuous stream of attacks. These are just the tip of the iceberg. The true scale is hidden not only by the media but also by a reluctance to talk about the problem.
Emotional intelligence
In today’s lifestyle and business dynamics, solving emotion-related problems is equally crucial in both personal and professional settings. In a professional context, we deal with complex problems and must work as a team to provide the most efficient solutions for our principals or clients.
TSCM in the Workplace – How to Provide an Accurate Quote For Services
Planning and considerations to take into account when putting together a quote for providing TSCM services. The ability to accurately quote for a TSCM inspection has many permutations, and each TSCM provider has its own formula for quoting. This article looks at the main criteria you need to take into consideration.
Introduction to Steganography
All the techniques of steganography share one core concept, trying to hide a message. When children draw stick figures as secret messages to each other, they are practicing steganography. Modern steganography is usually a lot more malicious. It is used in malware command and control and the exchange of illicit information and material. If you do not know where to look it is frighteningly hard to detect.
TSCM in the Private Security Industry
The art of technically and physically searching for illicit bugs, and/or devices, is generally referred to as a Technical Surveillance Counter Measures (TSCM) inspection. A conventional TSCM inspection does not cover cyberspace but could detect illicit cyber devices attached to hardware or cabling infrastructure.
How anonymous are your conversations, really?
Maybe you’re a close protection officer, trying to arrange a safe route through a dangerous location, or a surveillance specialist trying to communicate with others in your team.
Perhaps you just don’t trust the local government. Whatever the situation, it’ll almost certainly be easier to focus on the task at hand if you aren’t worrying about whether your messages were possibly subject to being intercepted.
Cyber Security and Humans
Over 2020 cyber security and technology have only soared in terms of profile and importance, with talk about threats to remote working from technology, difficulties, and some dramatic outages. Logistics, enabled largely by technology, have been essential to keep things moving and give people support and normality.
Hiding from OSINT
It often comes as a surprise just how much is available and the nefarious uses it can be put to. OSINT can be applied towards defensive purposes, but this article will only be covering the malicious purposes (i.e. how a bad guy might get access to your client’s sensitive information and data).
One of the biggest challenges of OSINT is not merely recognising it as a threat, but encouraging the behavioural change needed to protect against it widely enough. It is not simply enough for a principal to stop posting Instagram pictures of their travels in order to hide them. Their colleagues, friends, family, and employees also need to be aware and cautious with information which could be misused.
Insecure Smart Houses
They are only of limited relevance today, but as the technologies involved become more widespread and implemented into every facet of life they will only become more prevalent. While it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, these threats exist now and are not going to go away.
For simplicity, we’ll say that a ‘smart’ device is anything which connects to the internet (or a network) and is not intended to be a computer interface. Intended is the key word there, as many of these devices are insecure for the simple reason that they are a computer. The problem is that it is now cheaper and easier to put a general purpose computer into a device and run some software to, for example, turn lights on and off than it is to design a single-purpose lightbulb which also connects to a network.
