Posts by Chameleon
Crime and Climate
A recent study has again found a correlation between continuing climate change and a rise of violent crime across the globe. Researchers determined that for every degree of above-average temperature there was a matching one percent increase in the rate of violent crime. This study was a collaboration between universities in Abu Dhabi, India…
Read More2021 Recap
2021 was a good year for Chameleon. While Covid continues to raise challenges, it has also provided new opportunities. Some of our contracted clients switched from classroom to virtual training. Although we prefer the former, the latter has its benefits and has proven very successful. In 2021, we helped government agencies address security issues related…
Read MoreBenchmarking Security Assessments
Ask three people: is the security here good? and you’ll get four different answers. Our notions about security tend to be qualitative. Sure, if a security system was recently breached that might skew the answer but even then, not necessarily. This is why when a security consultant embarks on a security assessment, the first step…
Read MoreHarden your Targets
Hardening a target is a critical part of effective security. Its importance in mitigating potential crime and threats cannot be underestimated. How easy or difficult a target is both to attack and escape from is a top factor for any adversary. Take just one case, that of Omar Mateen who in June 2016 killed 49…
Read MoreGun Detection Technology
Security professionals are always looking for ways to prevent crime and attacks from happening, particularly mass shootings. Since 9/11, we have endured terrorist attacks and active shooter attacks (similar insofar as the perpetrator is prepared to sacrifice their life). Regardless of the motivation behind a shooting, be it ideology or mental illness, both pose a…
Read MoreAfghan Identity
We were doomed to fail in Afghanistan from the beginning of our involvement there. Relentless rebellion was inevitable and insurgency will always win the day. A piece of land can be occupied, but a people is another matter entirely. Insurgents, unlike their occupiers, identify with the land. And identity is allegiance. A map of the…
Read MoreWho was Kate Warne?
Did you know that the first female private detective in the U.S. was key to saving the life of President Abraham Lincoln? In the time leading up to his inauguration, Lincoln faced profound political opposition. Southern states had been threatening secession if Republicans gained the White House and by March 1861, seven had done so…
Read MoreCountry Club Security
One of the many great aspects of private golf course or country club life is the feeling of being completely free to enjoy your time, safe from threats, with a sense of security. Indeed, the very definition of security is being free from danger or threat. At the same time, one does not want to…
Read MoreColonial Pipeline Hack
Colonial Pipeline, the largest for refined gasoline and jet fuel in the U.S., carries up to 3 million barrels a day between Texas and New York. Hackers broke in to Colonial’s computer systems conducting a malware cyber attack that shut the company down for almost a week. 12,000 gas stations were directly affected resulting in…
Read MoreTransit Insecurity
Violent crime on city streets and around transit hubs are in the news every day. A little old lady gets punched in the face at a bus stop, someone is pushed down near train tracks in the metro, folks are being robbed and verbally assaulted at what seems like every turn. Covid necessarily resulted in…
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