The Sochi Olympics has shed worldwide attention on the Russian security environment. While security at the Olympic Games in always a concern, the Sochi Olympics seems to be at heightened risk. To date, most coverage of Russian security has highlighted the threat of terrorism. The media has particularly focused on the possibility that a female […]

The holiday season is an important time for many businesses, particularly retailers. Unfortunately, the season presents its own set of corporate security concerns. These range from employee theft, to cyber security, to the effects of blizzards on supply chain security. Additionally, the shift towards e-commerce is continuing to change the way firms protect customer transactions […]

Expatriates evacuation planning in North KoreaHow a War with North Korea Could Affect Business, Employee and Travel Security Operations in Northeast Asia

Since it was sanctioned by the United Nations for carrying out a nuclear test, North Korea has made an alarming series of threats, upsetting the regional stability in Northeast Asia. It has announced plans to attack American and South Korea military targets, ended a half-century long armistice with Seoul, and even threatened to attack the United States with nuclear weapons. It has followed up these threats with a series of military demonstrations, and may be conducting preparations for another missile test. To add extra weight to these provocations, Pyongyang has even suggested that Foreign Diplomats living in the country’s capital should prepare an evacuation plan in the event of a war. Continue reading

IMG Note: The following article is the first in a two-part series analyzing North Korea’s motivations and presumed end game with their recent series of provocative actions and brinksmanship. Many corporations have employees in South Korea. Good corporate security planning involves developing an evacuation plan for expatriates in the event of a Korean crisis. This article points to the need for corporations in South Korea to form a coherent corporate security and evacuation plan. This article details thoughts on how to construct well-thought-out, detailed contingency plans to evacuate their expatriates (as well as employees who may happen to be in the Republic of Korea) and business continuity plans to ensure disruptions to business operations are held to a minimum. Continue reading

Following the disclosure of a string of assassination operations during the Cold War, President Ford issued Executive Order 11905, prohibiting government personnel from engaging in political assassinations. The order was reaffirmed by President Reagan in Executive Order 12333 and has generally been considered US policy ever since.

However, the United States has continued to engage in military operations that have often blurred the lines between assassination and targeted warfare. For example, President Reagan directly targeted Moammar Gadhafi’s home in 1986 with air strikes. For his part, President Clinton used cruise missiles to attack insurgent camps in Afghanistan in 1998. Furthermore, both presidents Bush and Obama have made drone strikes against Al-Qaeda leaders and militants a major component of the War of Terror. Continue reading

When people think of workplace violence, they tend to imagine scenarios such as those depicted in the 1993 movie Falling Down, starring Michael Douglas. They envision an emotionally unstable individual suffering from multiple personal and relational problems. When this person suddenly looses his job, he snaps, goes berserk, and sets out on a shooting rampage. Indeed, the phrase going postal came into being in response to several incidents of workplace violence involving disgruntled employees from the US Postal Service.

Although incidents like these do occur occasionally, most instances of workplace violence bear little resemblance to these heinous acts. However, violence occurs in the workplace much more often than many people might suspect. In fact, 1.7 million American workers are victims of it every year. This includes the 700 employees who die at work or on duty in the United States annually. Continue reading

In today’s world, most employers accept that they must provide a safe, healthy, and secure environment for their employees in the permanent workplace. Unfortunately, many firms do not apply this same standard to employees when they travel on business. Perhaps they are ignorant of potential threats. Perhaps they feel that they cannot control the environment outside the workplace, and therefore are not liable for anything that happens there. Maybe they think that its “just not an issue.” Whatever the reason, many firms simply do not do embrace their duty of care role for traveling employees to the extent they do for employees working at home base. Yet, duty of care is as important for employees traveling on assignment as it is for employees operating within the firm’s offices. Continue reading

Since the attacks of September 11th, there has been a common perception that terrorism and Islamic militancy are one and the same. This is understandable to an extent. After all, there here have been a number of prominent terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah, claiming to be fighting for Islamic ends. Moreover, the War of Terror has put a spotlight on jihadi groups while largely ignoring non-Islamic terrorist organizations. However, terrorism was hardly invented by fundamentalist Muslims. Indeed, the word “terrorism” itself probably originates from the French Revolution, an event far removed from the Islamic world. Terrorism has never been, nor will it ever be, an exclusively Muslim phenomenon. It has been perpetrated by groups of all ideological stripes, in all places, over many generations. Two separate, yet telling, events bear this fact out. Continue reading