Executive Risks Intensified Throughout Pandemic, Study Finds
This article was originally featured in ASIS Security Management. The scenic neighborhood of Pleasure Point Drive in Santa Cruz, California, was shockingly disrupted in the early hours of 1 October 2019 when Tushar Atre was dragged from his home by three assailants. By 9:00 a.m., the namesake and then-CEO of tech company Atrenet was found…
Read MoreCombating Extremism, Terrorism and Hate from Anti-Defimation League’s Oren Segal
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has over a century of experience in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education and fighting hate online. One of the many people at ADL that has played a key role in continuing this mission is Oren Segal who has spent the large majority of his career working with ADL’s Center on Extremism,…
Read MoreSecurity at Sporting Events — What Goes Into Protecting Fans, Athletes, and Stadiums
If you’ve ever been to a sporting event, you’ve experienced the age-old somewhat thorough bag check and metal detector walk through. I’ve often gotten to the other side of those security checks and thought to myself, “did they even look in my bag?” In reality, this “protocol” only breaks the surface of entertainment and sports…
Read MoreFred Burton – Most Influential People in Security 2021
This article was originally featured in Security Magazine. Looking back at his life, Fred Burton says his father instilled within him the very values he holds dear today, including a commitment to service and a wish to make a difference. “My dad gave me a better start in life than he ever had and instilled…
Read MoreRipples of Sept. 11: Afghanistan, Counterterrorism, and Concerns For Corporate America
This article was originally featured in The Hill. As someone who was engaged in the hunt for and capture of Ramzi Yousef, the first World Trade Center bomber, the need to be proactive in addressing terror threats was always clear to me. However, terrorism simply was not a national priority throughout the 1980s and 1990s.…
Read MoreThe Attack Cycle, Mass Shootings And Lone Wolves: What Companies Should Know
This article was originally featured in Security Magazine A mass shooting at the workplace is a nightmare for everyone involved. But for corporate security professionals, it means the injury or death of colleagues, executives or customers they are responsible for keeping safe. And the trauma of these attacks goes well beyond physical injuries. The average gunshot victim…
Read MorePreventing the Next Attack: Implications of Returning to In-Person Activity
As society cautiously re-opens and returns to in-person activity and work, violence and physical threats to businesses are occurring at an unsettling, record-high pace. This is a result of multiple factors, from pent up economic and political frustrations to revised health and safety protocols in the office. However, there’s someone who isn’t passively scrolling through…
Read More3 Questions to Understand and Analyze Any Threat
No successful team strategizes to win without evaluating who they’re up against. The same goes for security — a program has little chance of success without logically evaluating the risks or assessing the threat(s) at hand. Understanding the Threat The first foundational principle of an effective security program is to understand the threat, which should…
Read MoreA Glimpse into Opening a Professional Sports Stadium from Austin FC’s Director of Safety and Security
When you attend an Austin FC professional soccer game there is a palpable energy felt within the stadium and surrounding metro area. However, beneath the surface of the sea of green and white, there are intricate and proactive security measures in place to make the event enjoyable for all. In this episode, Fred talks with…
Read MoreWhy Does Convergence Matter? A Q&A with Bob Hayes, Founder of the Security Executive Council
Bob Hayes is a global pioneer of corporate security. A former CSO at Georgia Pacific, and a security operations manager at 3M, he’s designed and guided some of the most complex enterprise security programs in the world. He was also one of the first security executives to successfully implement a program to unify corporate security,…
Read MoreThe Balancing Act Behind Sporting and Entertainment Venues Opening to the Public
As events cautiously open up to the public, security teams are faced with an unforeseen element of protection — personal health and safety. Event security teams are forced to weigh the benefits of increased security measures with the goals of the venue’s event, making it enjoyable, profitable, and well-attended. In this episode, Fred discusses sporting…
Read MoreManaging Increased Cyber-Physical Security Threats in a Hyper-Connected World
This article was originally featured in Dark Reading. When it comes to enterprise security, the physical world and the cyber domain have long been treated as separate — like a Venn diagram whose circles don’t overlap. Those days are over. Companies are facing an enormous increase in threats, with physical exposures interacting with the cyber…
Read MoreAmerican Companies Are Not Prepared for Physical Threats
The threat landscape has changed dramatically. As a nation, we’re seeing an uneven recovery, with masks and social distancing in some places, while others are wide open. Concerts and outdoor events are selling out in record time, even as law enforcement agencies warn that domestic extremists could exploit them for violence. The pandemic spurred 15…
Read MoreWhen Seconds Matter: How Active Shooter Training Saves Lives
The average attack is typically around six minutes. The hard truth is that law enforcement is able to confront the issue while it is occurring only half of the time. This leaves tremendous opportunity for training and informing the civilian response to protect themselves and the organizations they represent. In this episode, Fred discusses the…
Read MoreRevealing the Most Prevalent Physical Security Threats at U.S. Companies
For many executives leading major companies, the threat of violence in the workplace is distant. They don’t think it could ever happen to them, and few want to openly discuss the threats they do receive. Security professionals don’t have that option. They swim in a fast-moving river of threats made by strangers, activists, co-workers and…
Read MoreBrad Thor on the Inspiration Behind his 20th Thriller, Black Ice
It’s hard to imagine a different path for Brad Thor. However, being a writer (and a New York Times bestselling one, at that) was not an easy leap. With a vast fan base (a large majority being in the security and protection business) he shares an important lesson that we can all learn from: “That…
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