Threat Mitigation and Security Engineering

"In the past our focus has been on traditional law enforcement prosecution. Prosecution is retrospective; it re-creates a past event. It is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with the benefit of the picture on the box top. Our new, international goal of terrorism prevention, on the other hand, involves anticipation and imagination about immerging scenarios, the puzzle pieces of which have yet to come into alignment. Together, our nations are finding new ways to anticipate these dangerous scenarios and to identify, intercept and disrupt them before they become tragic terrorist realities."

Attorney General John Ashcroft Feb 10, 2003

With the threat of terrorism becoming ever so imminent, the U.S government is looking for solutions and mitigation strategies to confront this problem. Since 9/11 many governmental and private organizations have been trying to meet this need with the installation, development and improvement of advanced securi ty technologies. While these technologies and products contribute heavily to the terrorist threat mitigation efforts they still fall short of giving a comprehensive solution:

• Limited abili ty to detect threat and to identify suspicion indicators.
• Inabili ty to refute suspicion indicators (assessment) or to deploy a threat oriented procedure.
• Securi ty solutions are focusing only on the execution phase of an attack. Inabili ty to detect the following terrorist activities: marking (casing), intelligence gathering, surveillance, planning, tooling-up, rehearsing and training.
• Offering only a physical barrier that acts as a low deterrent to terrorists who can identify the operational patterns of the system (who, what and when the system detects) and adjust to it.
• Solutions are focused on finding means of aggression rather then finding aggressors.
• Inabili ty to compile or assess data (suspicion indicators) coming from law enforcement, securi ty personnel or employees In the last few months, government and private entities have begun to realize the limitations of the current securi ty technology in countering terrorism. This realization will grow as terrorist acts increase and more automated securi ty systems are breached.

There is a need and a demand in the market for a solution that integrates both technological and human based algorithms into one operating system. A software based operating system can establish a decision-making matrix for securi ty personnel and law enforcement to detect and determine threat and to deploy subsequent procedures. The integrated system must also have the capaci ty to analyze data (suspicion indicators) compiled from automated systems and personnel and determine the potentiali ty and likelihood of threat.

In the last two years, the Chameleon Group has developed operational protocols that can be customized to any protected environment. These protocols offer a comprehensive solution through the detection and assessment of terrorist threat and the deployment of effective mitigation procedures. Customization of the protocols to the client's needs and threats is done based on Chameleon's Cyclical Engineering Process.

1. "Red Teaming" (initial) - Conducting enemy simulation to establish possible and plausible Aggressors' Methods of Operations and terrorist scenarios
2. Assessment - Evaluating the threat through intelligence, establishing objectives and calculated risks, assessing securi ty requirements, and compiling suspicion indicators.
3. Threat Mitigation Protocols - Establishing procedures for detection, determination and deployment against threat. Establishing decision making criteria and hierarchy.
4. Integration of technology and manpower - Establishing securi ty rings with technological and manned backups. Establishing limitations of technology and manned applications. Establishing rules and definitions for data input, articulating data output in the form of Suspicion Indicators and Aggressors' Methods of Operations.
5. Training - Training personnel to use the skills associated with the detection of threat, the assessment of threat and the deployment of a threat-oriented protocol, training personnel for effective use of technology and accurate use of the securi ty protocols.
6. "Red Teaming" (reoccurring) - Terrorist simulation to test the effectiveness of the protocols, technology and personnel in mitigating the perceived threats and to establish new terrorist scenarios with which the securi ty system maybe challenged. Scenario drills to assess personnel awareness and alertness utilizing positive and negative incentives.

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