As the President-Elect wrapped up his speech, now joined onstage by his extended family, my attention was on the members of the United States Secret Service who were close by. I thought of these men and the job that they were tasked to do. Not knowing them personally, I wasn’t aware of their political affiliations, were they a Democratic like Biden, or a Republican, rooting for the current President, Trump? They, like every other citizen of the country, were allowed to cast their votes, and could have picked either, or none. However, at that moment, on that stage, I don’t think it mattered. These agents, surely knowing the risk associated with the occasion, were focused on the task at hand: The safety of their protective charges, no matter their personal political affiliation.
Communication Planning – Hardware & Technology
It is inevitable if you work within the security sector that at some point, you will have has a radio thrust in your direction for you to use as your primary form of communication.
Yet many of you will not have received any significant training on it, yet this one tool that may just save your life.
In this article, we’re covering some of the things you might have missed.
Crisis Management and Social Media
Effective crisis management invariably involves social media, whether the organization is a large multi-national or a small hometown business. When a crisis erupts, the effective use of social media should be seen as a key priority to counteract the crisis.
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.
Clients Should You Trust them?
There needs to be a healthy relationship with your clients, you don’t want to let them dominate you, and you don’t want to try to dominate and control them.
Boundaries must always be made clear as this works to protect you and your client’s interests. Clients are not your friends, they are clients paying you to provide them with a service, and if boundaries are ignored, it can undermine any respect in the business relationship.
Industry News – August 2021
England’s Euro 2020 heroes hired security and bodyguards to protect them on holiday after Harry Maguire incident Players were aware of the problems Harry Maguire found himself in when arrested in Mykonos last year. So a large number went away with security, who spent their evenings sat at the back of restaurants and bars sipping […]
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.
Industry News – At A Glance
We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry. Here’s what’s appeared on the radar since the last issue. Including, attack in Afghanistan, Boko Haram Leader dead, severed heads in Mexico and Kevin Durant’s Bodyguard charged.
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.
Tactical Firearms – Methods of Carry!
If you are carrying a handgun for defensive purposes, you need to be able to get to it when you need it.
On the market today, there is a wide variety of holsters to choose from that vary in price from a few bucks to a few hundred; some are worth it, many are not. What most people forget when considering carry techniques for a handgun or any weapons for that matter is that they are going to have to be able to access the weapon in all environments with both strong and weak hands.
Foot Steps Episode 5: Sam Alicea
What were some takeaways you obtained from your past line of work? And how have they helped you in the private sector realm?
When I look at the totality of what we do in this industry there are quite a few takeaways. From having dealt with the irate couples during a domestic dispute to negotiating a business deal the importance of not only verbal judo but communicative and interpersonal skills tops the list, followed by the skills I learned from collecting evidence at a crime scene where attention to detail was key.
Nonverbal Communication
There’s something to be said about the art of reading people, especially in the protection industry. The ability to pick up on nonverbal communication is an area where most, if not all, protection practitioners are skilled.
Foot Steps Episode 3 Devon Taitt
You and I know each other on a personal level but for those that don’t, can you give us an insight about your background and how you broke into the private sector?
All my life I wanted to go into Law Enforcement, I wanted to be the closest thing to a superhero. possible. Sounds funny , but it’s true. I started working loss Prevention at 19 and after graduating the reserve police academy I started working the night clubs eventually leading my own team at 21. Soon after I was introduced to Executive protection and I thought it was something I could be successful in and decided to jump in industry with both feet.
Leading for the Future – Excellence through Inspiration
Value-driven leadership doesn’t mean you tolerate underperformance, it just means excellence can be achieved with balance and inspiration and doesn’t require intimidation to garner results. As a leader, unless you have clarity in vision, you can never inspire others to follow. People don’t mind being led, as long as they know you understand where you are going.
Global Situation Report April 2021
Each issue our global geopolitical partner, Stratfor, provides an in-depth analysis of global incidents via in-house experts, cutting edge technology and through a comprehensive globally sourced network. Here is your summary from the last 30 days.
Industry News At A Glance
We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry. Here’s what’s appeared on the radar since the last issue.
Kidnap & Ransom – Part 1
If you are a security professional with significant high-threat worldwide protective services experience, you know that depending on the client, it may not be a matter of if your client or a family member is kidnapped, but when. You also understand that it is likely that you may not even be directly providing protection for the client at the time it happens and unable to prevent it, especially when they are alone and most vulnerable.
Confidentiality: Personal Choice or Professional code of conduct?
Surprisingly, many people who took part in the thread commented, saying that they don’t find anything wrong with it. Some of them even named their own old clients. Others tried to justify the practice of name-dropping by saying it was a former client, or that they didn’t reveal anything personal about the client, or that they had the client’s approval to post that picture or to name the client. And finally, some said their client is already pretty well-known and paparazzi are always getting pictures of them together so why hide it? Essentially, they are good guys, and how dare we criticize people we don’t know. These were a number of the comments from individuals who either work in the security industry as operatives or own companies and hire agents to represent them.
Industry News
We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry. Here’s what’s appeared on the radar since the last issue.
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.
