Posts by Chameleon Associates
Iran’s Push for Power
Since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has tried to establish itself as a dominant power in the Middle East. The goal to dominate during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s cost both sides of the conflict millions of lives and billions of dollars. While the Iran-Iraq war was essentially over the Shaat al-Arab (the…
Read MoreReality is Stranger than Fiction
Reality Winner who worked for Pluribus International at their offices in Georgia was arrested this week under the Espionage Act for sending a classified document to Intercept, a publication first created in 2014 as a platform to report on documents released by Edward Snowden. Ms. Winner faces one count of “gathering, transmitting or losing defense…
Read MorePerception and Travel Risk
I recently went to Paris and before my departure, more than one friend warned me to be careful while in Europe. When I arrived in Paris, my French friends expressed concern over the shootings at schools in the U.S. It seems that danger is to a degree a matter of perspective. Our perspective is most…
Read MoreManchester Attack – Known Vulnerabilities
With the Manchester U.K. suicide bombing incident still under investigation, it is hard to draw final conclusions regarding security failures in this incident. What we know now is that the Manchester Suicide Bomber exploded himself at the foyer of the arena immediately after the concert ended at around 10:30PM and just as thousands of young…
Read MoreBin Laden Marketing to Lone Wolves
Bin Laden is an über brand name in terrorism. Osama Bin Laden’s son, Hamza, has recently narrated a video encouraging Lone Wolf terrorists to act, one of several videos he has made over the last few years. Hamza was often featured in his father’s videos, holding a weapon or reciting. Clearly it is hoped that…
Read MoreSecurity at Cannes
Next week is the opening of the famous Cannes Film Festival, celebrating its 70th anniversary with maximum glitz and glamour. Hundreds of thousands attend. After the horrific terrorist attack in nearby Nice last July, and the particularly tense political atmosphere roiling in the south of France, festival organizers are ramping up security. Again. Last year…
Read MoreICE’s Voice?
Controversy is everywhere these days. Not surprisingly, the opening of a new office under the auspices of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) called Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) began with a bang. The idea behind the office created under President’s Trump’s Executive Order No. 13768 is to act as a liaison between ICE and the…
Read MoreAge of Fear?
[S]ince love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved. —Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, 1513 Last week’s post concerned the ‘definition’ of terrorism. While usually politically motivated, terrorism as a phenomenon has itself become politicized. Terrorists and their supporters are of course…
Read MoreWhen is an Attack a Terrorist Attack?
Does an attacker shouting ‘allahu akbar’ make it a terrorist attack? How many people have to die for it to be an act of terrorism? This week in downtown Fresno, California, Kori Ali Muhammad shot and killed three random people. Muhammad was already a suspect in the shooting of a security guard at a Fresno…
Read MoreMore Things, More Trouble
The Internet of things (IoT) is (Wiki definition) the inter-networking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to as “connected devices” and “smart devices”), buildings, and other items—embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data. Last weekend, when I finally bought home security cameras whose…
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