Understanding the Hostile Planning Process to Establish a More Powerful Security Position

In this episode, Fred and Ami Toben discuss the hostile planning process and how to isolate and target vulnerabilities in order to prevent it from getting to the execution phase. They also discuss the finer points of detection and observation as well as the available training from HighCom Security including hostile activity prevention, executive protection,…

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Executive Protection: The Fear of Kidnappings

From a historical perspective, the perception of the kidnapping threat has driven the creation of many, if not most private executive protection teams. Threat of kidnappings is very low for high-net worth families and CEO’s in the United States. Notorious kidnapping cases helped shape the public perception of the need for protection for the rich…

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How to Recruit and Select a Protective Intelligence Analyst

There are many considerations to keep in mind when looking to hire a protective intelligence analyst to support your corporate security operations. In our experience, the security industry (excluding infosec) generally offers a hiring manager limited standards by which to judge a candidate’s competence. This is doubly true for managers seeking to hire a protective…

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The Delivery Man Ruse: An Effective Method to Kill

Key Points If you want to prevent the next attack, understanding the “how” can be much more important than the “why” With numerous individuals to protect, technology can help prioritize resources Technology and threat assessments can help fill intelligence gaps After a lifetime of examining attacks and failed plots, my eye has always been drawn…

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Behind the Wheel: Secure Transportation in Executive Protection

In this episode In this episode, Fred Burton sits down with secure transportation pioneer Tony Scotti to explore the critical role of vehicles in executive protection. They dive into the science behind protective driving, how secure driving training has evolved, and what’s next in automotive security technology. Tony also shares insights from real-life cases of…

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A Sniper in the Tower

When campus safety is compromised and a violent incident occurs, the impact to our society is deeply felt. Each incident, when studied, can offer a wealth of knowledge on how to best avoid the next potential tragedy. In this episode, Fred sits down with Gary Lavergne to discuss one of the first widely documented incidents……

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Surveillance Detection: You Can’t Find Surveillance Unless You’re Looking For It

I learned surveillance tradecraft the hard way in the 1980’s, as chronicled in my memoir Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent (Random House, 2008). The course of history has been altered with significant protective intelligence failures and tragedies, from assassinations to school shootings, many caused by failing to notice or act on hostile surveillance. The…

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Protective Intelligence: Mobile Applications are the New Norm

Due to protective intelligence failures, our efforts to identify surveillance were born out of necessity. Technology innovation continues to drive better protection tools. A mobile application enables the officer to rapidly identify persons or vehicles that pose a proximity risk. I’m a big believer in understanding how we got here. Due to protective intelligence failures,…

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The Definitive Protective Intelligence Reading List

I get asked all the time for reading lists on a range of topics, so here are a few thought provoking books (one of mine included!) on the topic of protective intelligence that I would recommend for your library. I’ve also added a few thoughts as to why I think the books are relevant. What…

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