Collections from a Lifetime in Protection
Anyone who has read my memoir Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent (Random House, 2008) knows I grew up in the Washington, D.C. area in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a different era when blue-collar families like mine could afford to co-mingle with the Washington power brokers and elite. Geography is always important, and…
Read MoreDangerous Admirers: How to Protect Public Figures From Harassers As Legal Protections Are in Jeopardy
In 2010, country-music singer Coles Whalen began receiving messages from a fan on her Facebook account. While Ms. Whalen ignored the relatively benign messages at first, the fan kept sending her messages—thousands over the course of several years. The fan praised her talents but also alluded to following her and knowing the whereabouts of her…
Read MoreThe Need for Nuance in Protective Intelligence Part 4: Extinction Rebellion
This is the fourth installment in an occasional series examining threat actors from a protective intelligence perspective. Earlier articles in this series examined the Islamic State pole of jihadism, Antifa, and the Boogaloo movement. This article discusses the background of some of the activists behind the Extinction Rebellion campaign (XR), their ideology, their past activities, and the implications of this…
Read MorePersonal Observations on the Evolution of Protective Intelligence
“We memorized them and if they were in the crowd they were brought to everyone’s attention.” – Former U.S. Secret Service agent Jerry Blaine, The LANCER (JFK) Detail (email exchange on January 29, 2021) Author’s Note: Special thanks to Scott Stewart and Mike Parks, protective intelligence professionals who were with me in the trenches from…
Read MoreProtective Intelligence 201: Mind the Gap Between Strategic and Tactical Intelligence
“The whole world is the arena of our conflict.” – Allen Dulles, The Craft of Intelligence In my experience in both the government and private sector, I’ve found that disaster looms in the gaps between strategic and tactical intelligence, but bridges can be built. Let me explain. The benefit of age is remembering strategic world…
Read MoreImagining the Unimaginable: A Letter From Executive Director Fred Burton
As we think about the unique challenges that we have faced over the past few months, it’s a good time to scan the horizon for what lies ahead. The Omicron variant arrived during a holiday season when many, not including myself however, had anticipated a reemergence from the pandemic. Supply chain issues led to a…
Read MorePlacing Bomb Threats in Perspective
In the wake of the recent wave of bomb threats placed to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) I was asked about the threats and what they mean for the HBCU institutions and their students. When investigating, law enforcement agencies must ask themselves if a bomb threat is specific and if it is plausible. Comprehending the…
Read MoreThe Case Files: Nasim Najafi Aghdam
In this blog series, we explore historical events to teach us what pre-incident indicators were present to reduce the chance of bad things happening in the future. History tells us that there is no detail too small, as even the slightest move off-center can set off an unfortunate domino effect. This Case File shares a…
Read MoreThe Case Files: Robert Gregory Bowers
In this blog series, we explore historical events to teach us what pre-incident indicators were present to reduce the chance of bad things happening in the future. History tells us that there is no detail too small, as even the slightest move off-center can set off an unfortunate domino effect. In this Case File, we…
Read MorePublic Figure Attackers in the United States, 1995-2015
In 2016 FBI Supervisory Special Agent Molly Amman and I completed a study of public figure attackers in the United States between 1995-2015. Our attempt was to update the work of the Exceptional Case Study Project (ECSP) conducted by Dr. Robert Fein and Bryan Vossekuil while with the U.S. Secret Service. We wanted to see…
Read MoreChallenges Facing Security Industry and Historical Inflection Points
This article is based off of my 2020 OSAC Annual Briefing presentation “Historical Inflection Points for the Security Industry” Looking back, history has not been kind to the safety and security industry. As a former agent hired after the devastating embassy bombings in Beirut and Kuwait in ‘84 and ‘85, tragedy has forced lots of changes, mostly…
Read MoreAn Effective Protective Intelligence Investigation: Unraveling the Michigan Plot
Protection personnel rarely see a roadmap into a plot to kidnap or kill. The aspirational plot to kidnap the governors of Michigan and Virginia shed light on pre-operational activities that are instructive for protection personnel. While many plots are disrupted by law enforcement authorities, protection professionals must use the lessons learned in these cases to…
Read MoreThe Case Files: Gabrielle Dee Giffords, Former U.S. Representative
In this blog series, we explore historical events to teach us what pre-incident indicators were present to decrease the chance of bad things from happening in the future. History tells us that there is no detail too small, as even the slightest move off-center can set off an unfortunate domino effect. Within this Case File,…
Read MoreThe Evolutionary Arc of Technology in Protection
In this 20-minute video, Fred shares:
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreThe Terrorist Attack Cycle Remains Unbroken
While our team and many protective intelligence professionals across the industry like to speak to the benefits of new technologies and new methods for protecting assets, we acknowledge that everything we do has a foundation in the tried and true methods that our colleagues in public sector security have developed over the decades. Specifically, it…
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