Homeland Security
A Changing U.S. Threat Environment
For decades, organizations in the United States have been accustomed to looking outward for threats. Prevention efforts were focused mostly on bad guys coming from outside the organization to attack “us.” Was the attack of the US Capitol a wake-up call to alert us that perhaps our focus should change, and to give more attention…
Read MoreSystematic Security Failure at the Capitol
US Capitol January 6, 2021 The burning of the German Parliament in 1933 “We can afford being attacked; we cannot afford being surprised.” This is what the Sergeant at Arms of the Israeli Parliament (“the Knesset”) said to our group during a security seminar in Israel, a few years ago. Surprise is what the…
Read MoreProtecting People’s Right to Vote
Emotion and commotion around the presidential election of 2020 is unprecedented. Citizens of all political stripes are coming together this and next month to declare themselves. Violent clashes and protests involving myriad factions are in the news every week. What can be done to secure voters and the public this election season? Although hopefully, voting…
Read MoreThe Courage to Debate
My daughter’s class is studying 9/11, so at the dinner table it was naturally the prime subject for discussion. I asked what the teacher had said about 9/11 and my daughter told us that they learned that it was a tragic “bittersweet” event. I thought I had misheard. Bittersweet?? Because it brought the country together,…
Read More8 Lessons from Soldiers to Deal with Uncertainty and Stress
In this time of uncertainty, anxiety and fear, we look for tools to help us to cope. There are many lessons to be learned from our men and women in uniform. A soldier’s job involves learning to cope with stress and crisis.Even if they aren’t in the middle of the action, they have been trained…
Read MoreThree Levels of Security Deterrence
In security there are three basic levels of deterrence. Deterrence levels are measured based on the cognitive assessment an adversary makes and their emotional experience when facing the security system he is about to attack. Deterrence Level 1 is achieved in a security system that incorporates detection technology such as x-ray machines, metal detectors or…
Read MoreRussian Surveillance is Nothing New
Russian surveillance is nothing new. Back in 1945, the Russians gave U.S. Ambassador Harriman a gift of a wall plaque that years later was revealed to be bugged. (Link here to that story.) The desire to have current, usable intelligence is a powerful motivator. It’s surely no surprise that power-hungry states with the means and…
Read MoreSixteen Years of Predictive Profiling
Back in 2002, I was driving with a colleague to see a client in Palmdale, California, a couple hours’ drive outside of Los Angeles. This was only a few months after 9/11 when the country and the world were looking for an understanding of and solutions to the specter of terrorism. We were talking about…
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…
Read MoreSafety Act
After an active shooter event or act of terrorism in the U.S., victims and their representatives often file suit against just about anyone they can. In the case of the Las Vegas shooting by Stephen Paddock, the concert promoters, the Mandalay Bay Hotel and bump stock manufacturers were all sued. Victims and their families of…
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