Kudos to the CIA and its intelligence partners for foiling the latest Al Qaida bomb plot out of Yemen.  It appears the explosive device destined for a U.S.-bound flight was an improvement over previous models like the one used by Abdulmutallab aka the Underwear Bomber in December 2009.  The lead azide detonator is more reliable.  Being devoid of metal obviously makes this IED that much harder for screeners to find.  It would seem the al Asiri lab is making headway.

That terrorists are improving their methods and adjusting their attack strategies in step with our (more…)

Tourists come to Tel Aviv, also known as “The City that Never Sleeps” to enjoy its beaches and cafes, its museums, funky architecture, vibrant culture and night life.  At the same time, Israel is a tiny country, with no shortage of enemies, often a target.  Israelis may well be fun loving and irreverent, but they take security very seriously.  There, homeland security is not theoretical but rather existential.  And thus Israel has earned the unfortunate distinction of being amongst the world’s best when it comes to security.

What better place, then, to learn about using a threat-oriented security approach than in Tel Aviv?  That is exactly what you can do (more…)

If we were to sit around and brain storm ideas on how to terrorize a given country, someone might come up with a plot that involved imbedding malware in IT and electrical components sold to enemy defense contractors or governmental agencies.  Whether the notion arrives as part of such a session, or out of the pages of recent history, thinking like the enemy is the only reasonable way to proactively strategize against a viable and potentially devastating attack.

What I may never understand is why

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In preparation for the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, organizers asked Dr. Georg Sieber, a police psychologist, to sketch out the possible scenarios that would jeopardize the safety of the Olympic Games and to prepare requisite security training.  Sieber identified twenty-six highly detailed scenarios, which ran the gamut from hijacked jets, remote controlled bombs and smuggled arms.  In his method, he extrapolated from his study of the most notorious terrorists of that era, including the IRA, PLO, ETA and the Baader-Meinhof gang.

His scenario Number 21 went something like this: (more…)

For many years now, Chameleon Associates has provided training and consultation on how to identify external adversaries, on how to mitigate attempts to defeat physical security access or a security screening process.  But when you think about it, all bets are off and physical security is rendered benign in the face of internal threat.  This is the reason why effort, resources and training should also be put into how a company’s or agency’s human resources, including contractors, are screened.

Predictive Profiling is an excellent security tool for both for pre employment screening and for screening an existing employee base.  How is this accomplished?  In the hiring process, just as in terrorist mitigation, look for indicators from an applicant’s background, application, resume and interview.  Some would argue that a background check is good enough.  I think not.  A background check reflects only (more…)

A client of ours, a Security Training Supervisor at a federal financial institution in the Midwest, called to chat.  They have been using Chameleon’s Predictive Profiling Online course as part of their curriculum for about a year now, and he called to tell me how pleased he is with the program.

Tell me more, I begged.

This is what he liked:

• The course information is taught using actual events and real situations via videos or in abundant reference materials.  The students aren’t given purely hypothetical scenarios but (more…)

A story I heard from a client the other day confirms the simple power of security questioning as a really effective tool.  I’d like to share it with you.

A security officer who works for a large U.S. company had taken our Predictive Profiling and Security Questioning course.  Let’s call him Mike.  Mike was working the access control checkpoint at their main headquarters where both a metal detector and screening machine are in place.  These are located in a large lobby with a good deal of people traffic and activity.

A visitor to the facility approached to be screened and was flagged by the operator as having a questionable object in their bag.  (more…)

This month, some five years after his abduction by Hamas terrorists, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.  Commentators from outside Israel are trying to puzzle out why Israel agreed to this swap.  Why was this lone soldier so important?  Some bloggers hypothesized that Shalit must come from a very powerful family.  (In fact, the Shalits are nondescript middle class folks from a tiny rural town.)  Generally, it makes little sense to many observers why a low ranking soldier would be exchanged for such a disproportionate number of convicted murderers.

In the context of national security, it really seems a dumb move.  (more…)

Since 9/11, the role of law enforcement has shifted with ever larger numbers of officers now working in counter terrorism.  Over 1,000 NYPD officers are engaged in CT; and 700 officers of the LAPD work directly in CT.  The effort includes community outreach to (for example) Muslim populations to develop positive ties and establish communication and trust.  The CT effort also involves the gathering, analysis and dissemination of intelligence.  CT HUMINT is an efficient and effective addition to the job description of law enforcement officers who are already working on the streets and intimately familiar with their communities.  Homeland Security is a national effort made better (more…)

Chat Downs is the term used to describe the TSA’s latest behavioral detection procedures currently being tested at Boston Logan and Detroit Metro airports. ‘Chat Down’ has a nice ring to it.  When done correctly, this kind of purposeful questioning should indeed be as casual and friendly as a chat.

Up until recently at the TSA, behavioral assessment was conducted by a Behavioral Detection Officer (BDO) looking for observable physical signs whether it be a facial twitch or an unusually sweaty body.  The chat takes assessment to a new and I think more effective level.

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