Posts Tagged ‘Intelligence’

Well the World has gone mad…………It has been reported that the Police Royal Protection Officers will get X26 Tasers capable of delivering a 50,000 Volt shock at a range of 21 feet as a mobile non leathal option when carrying out Close Protection duties. Until now Taser has only been available at static locations and in light of the student protests when Prince Charles and Camillas Rolls Royce was attacked by students chanting “off with their heads” Taser will now be deployed on Royal Protection duties full stop.

The real fact of the matter in all this is that the police didnt show great restraint in not drawing their weapons on the evening of the student riots, they were probably to scared to because of unworkable rules of engagement which says that drawing and pointing constitutes use of a firearm. If chanting “off with their heads” and poking Camilla with a stick through a broken window does not constitute a risk to life then I don’t know what does.

The police don’t need another weapon and more rules of engagement they need someone with some balls to stand up and tell it as it is, give them proper rules of engagement and above all, sort out the intelligence shambles that put the Royal car in that situation in the first place.

This should have been a wake up call and it would seem it hasn’t woken anyone at all. All it has done is probably brought more policy and high ranking Officers pontificating about things they have no idea about.

Recent AQ events have suggested that tactics are shifting away from the spectacular to the vulnerable.

Events in Stockholm last weekend have highlighted how easy it is, or can be to cross borders and carry our an attack against innocent people going about their everyday lives. The plotter was not high on the intelligence radar and as such had relative immunity from intrusion by the Security Service. He had been asked to leave his local Mosque in Luton because of his extremist views. The leader of the Mosque when asked admitted that he had not contacted the authorities about the expulsion as he thought it was a view and nothing more sinister. How many of us fall into this trap? How many times have you seen something that you instinctively thought as not being right only to dismiss it and carry on regardless?

Events in Stockholm and Maryland have shown that more attacks are being orchestrated by radicalised individuals who are below the radar of suspicion but  then rise, at a time and place of their choosing to commit or attempt to commit mass murder in the name of a twisted ideology. The security Service and the Met Police Service have launched another campaign highlighting the risk and reminding us that we ALL have a duty to remain vigilant and report activity that is suspicious or out of the ordinary.

Royal Security has been brought into question after the Rolls Royce Phantom carrying Price Charles and his wife Camilla came under attack by students who were rampaging in the West End. Resignations have been offered and it will be very interesting seeing what happens. In todays climate Royal Security should be of the highest order. When a Rolls Royce Phantom comes around the corner its not ordinary joe taking his wife out for a bite to eat and in this case it was the future King and his Lady.

Serious questions MUST be asked to ensure that something like this does not happen again because next time i may be reporting and writing about a death. Whether its Royalty or a Business client its about intelligence and professionalism of those doing the protecting. In this case the intelligence was lacking and as for professionalism it would be unprofessional of me to slate all involved but there are serious questions that have to be asked of the planning for this event.

The Police were aware that the demonstration was taking place and when protestors tried to outflank the Police and there were significant injuries on both sides then Royalty Protection Officers should have been reviewing how they were going to get the Royals to the event. Had an advance party gone to the area they would have seen or at least surmised that that it was to much of a risk to use that route. Why put the Royals in a Phantom? Surely if they had briefed Prince Charles about the heightened risk then they could have got them there in a more understated car that would not have looked out of place in the West End but afforded the comfort they are used to.

Communications have been mentioned as one area that failed. how on earth can Royalty Protection officers be operating on a completely different frequency to the rest of the Met Police on a Day that was so volatile? There should have been at least one member of the party monitoring the general radio comms which would have alerted them to crowd and demonstrator movements.

People outside the vehicle can clearly be heard saying “off with their heads” Now all Royalty protection officers are armed and reports have said they were moments from opening fire on demonstrators. In hindsight it was the right judgement not to open fire as it could have fuelled an already violent confrontation and the crowd would have scattered but overwhelming numbers is no match for a few officers armed with Glock pistols. Had they fired and the crowd scattered could the cars have made a good getaway?

It is easy to point fingers after an event but fingers need to be pointed here. These officers are supposed to be the best of the best. Had students on a CP course planned and used that scenario on a final exercise they would have failed miserably.

The UK is to set up a Maritime Control Centre to monitor shipping after new evidence shows increased electronic traffic concerning the traffic and movement of radiological material.

The Security Minister Lord West has said the increase in piracy around the Horn of Africa and the seaborne Mumbai terror attacks has highlighted the need for such a centre.

With the proliferation of freely available shipping information we feel this is a step in the right direction. Currently anyone can get information on vessel location size cargo destination and current location based on its AIS signal.

There would be absolutely nothing preventing the targeting of such vessels in our waters. Passenger vessels including ferries and cruise liners are at risk and we know from recovered intelligence that places of public gathering are a prime target. What better target than a cruise liner with 1 or 2 thousand people aboard.

Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

The Threat level is decided by JTAC (Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre) JTAC was created in 2003 as the UK leading body for the analysis and assessment of international terrorism. In setting the threat level JTAC look at a number of things including:

Available intelligence

Terrorist capability

Terrorist intention

Timescale

The threat levels and their meaning are:

Low – an attack is unlikely

Moderate – an attack is possible, but not likely

Substantial – an attack is a strong possibility

Severe – an attack is highly likely

Critical - an attack is expected imminently

The threat levels relate to the threat to the Country. There are response levels which are then set by individual security practitioners and can vary from location to location the response levels are:

Normal:

Routine protective security measures appropriate to the business concerned
(Low and Moderate)

Heightened:

Additional and sustainable protective security measures reflecting the broad nature of the threat combined with specific business and geographical vulnerabilities and judgements on acceptable risk. (Substantial and Severe)

Exceptional:

Maximum protective security measures to meet specific threats and to minimise vulnerability and risk (Critical)

Although the threat level changes as it did on the 20 July 2009 it doesn’t mean an automatic reduction in security measures in place at individual locations. If a building or location is high profile and a prime target then the response level may well be further enhanced to take into account terrorist belief that there guard may be relaxed due to a reduction in threat.

We reported yesterday that SO15 (Counter Terror Command) had warned City of London business of the threat of a Mumbai style terror attack.

In recent weeks the Police have come under criticism for stopping and searching people who have been taking film and pictures of public buildings around London. They have been citing Sect 22 of the Terrorism Act.

The Met has called for Officers to use common sense in the matter. One of the ways terrorist Cells gather information is through film. In recent weeks the Police have seen an increase in Hostile Reconnaissance which is used to gather vital information and intelligence prior to an attack. It is so serious that the Police have issued some of the footage seized in an attempt to raise awareness and get people to report suspicious activity.

Taking a picture of a famous building may not raise suspicion but taking pictures and film of CCTV cameras should indeed arouse suspicion.

If you would like more information on how to protect your company call us now.

How prepared are you?

Fears are growing that many companies are paying lip service to Internet security during recession.

The fact is that 20% of all online attacks are directed towards UK companies. The only country getting more attacks is the US.

Unlike a physical attack on your premises an online attack can be instantly devastating.

We recently reported how Intelligence chiefs are concerned after a large Chinese firm carried out extensive work on the BT infrastructure in the UK. The fear being that software could have been hidden to be activated at a later date to cripple our telecommunications.

How prepared are you?

Fears are growing that many companies are paying lip service to Internet security during recession.

The fact is that 20% of all online attacks are directed towards UK companies. The only country getting more attacks is the US.

Unlike a physical attack on your premises an online attack can be instantly devastating.

We recently reported how Intelligence chiefs are concerned after a large Chinese firm carried out extensive work on the BT infrastructure in the UK. The fear being that software could have been hidden to be activated at a later date to cripple our telecommunications.

Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

A suicide bomber who was detonated in the same room as a Saudi Prince who is in charge of counter terror is believed to have had the explosive device inside himself. The device is believed to have been detonated by mobile phone.

The bomber, a Saudi Al Qaeda fugitive said he was ready to give himself up but would only give himself up to the prince. The prince agreed and the fugitive was given safe passage to a rendezvous in Jeddah. Once in the same room he was detonated. The prince was unharmed and only the bomber died. The device left a considerable crater and its believed the saving grace was that the blast went downwards.

Security and Intelligence chiefs are extremely worried at this turning point as it renders airport security metal detectors useless.

Peter Neuman of Kings College London says the case will be studied intensively, and that there are “tremendous implications for airport security with the potential of making it even more complicated to get on to your plane”.

“If it really is true that the metal detectors couldn’t detect this person’s hidden explosive device, that would mean that the metal detectors as they currently exist in airports are pretty much useless,” he said.

Intelligence chiefs have warned that China may have gained the capability to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities.

They have told ministers of their fears that equipment installed by Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, in BT’s new communications network could be used to halt critical services such as power, food and water supplies.

The warnings coincide with growing cyberwarfare attacks on Britain by foreign governments, particularly Russia and China.