Explore to Learn: "Get Out There" to Build New Relationships…

As the early morning light revealed the white mountain peaks in the near distance, recent explorations were still on our mind.

Walking along narrow rock paths engineered in sandstone thousands of year ago.  Looking at centuries old trees and the fruit they still produce for human generations.

Then sitting in and reflecting on the creative humans who designed and built the only Christian Church to worship in the middle of the town square.

When you take the time and the courage to seek new knowledge, see historical evidence of our human innovation and learn about our true global existence, you will smile.

Think about where you are sitting or standing right now.  Why are you there?

Your journey to this particular location at this time in your life is your decision.  Do you like what you see, hear and feel about why you are there now?

You will only know the answers by leaving it behind.  For a few hours, days, or a few weeks to explore someplace new and valuable where you have never visited before.

Maybe your journey is only a plane ticket away.  Perhaps a short drive over the mountain.  Could it be a walk on a trail around the corner?

Or is it just an elevator ride 10 floors below you in your secure Corporate HQ.  Or a walk a few blocks away to a local branch office on the promenade.  Yes, that is the floor or branch where you will find the expert people you don’t even know yet, who are there to help you learn.

They will guide you on a historical walk of the past to help you better understand the world you are operating in right now now.  This hour.  This day.  This week.

The past may be minutes, hours, days or decades yet they are the teachers, the analysts, the Quants or expert guides who will tell you the real story.

As you listen and view the evidence of their analytical perspectives and the true Satellite imagery data that creates the new hypothesis, just imagine.  As you see the evidence of the insider data breach of your intellectual property and the current ransomware demand, believe.

You see, you are capable of the journey and the exploration, yet you still don’t have the courage to walk out of your room and travel to the relevant places you have never been.

Being brave on a more regular basis to meet with new people will give you new confidence.

Being brave to build new expert “Relationships” will bring new “Results”.  Being brave to experience new results will produce new “Rewards”. (R3)

After about 400 miles driving in and around a new euro country where human behavior on the road in and around traffic circles or on the highways is unique, you will learn.

Driving 75 km/h over the speed limit in the highway fast lane with your left blinker on means something…

Remembering 9/11: 2026-Teaching the Children...

Where were you on the morning of September 11th, 2001? Everyone seems to remember...

On a cool sky blue morning, 25 years ago in Northern Virginia, we are sitting in a Reston Town Center Hyatt hotel restaurant having breakfast around 8:00AM with a business colleague. A little over 40 minutes into our discussion, we heard some people talking quite loud in the bar next to us as they were then watching CNN to see the World Trade Center Twin Towers attack. As cell phones rang around us, they were all loved ones checking in and urging us to hurry home.

Walking to the parking lot, the proximity of our kids elementary school and middle school to the CIA campus created a feeling of great internal anxiety and it soon turned to fear.

Unknown to us at that moment, five terrorists were also onboard American Airlines Flight 77 that had already departed from Dulles (IAD) at 8:20AM headed to Los Angeles (LAX).

Little did we know that the AAL77 hijackers onboard that Boeing 757 flight had slept the night before a half mile from us in a Herndon, VA motel.  30 or so minutes into the flight over Ohio, with the terrorists now in control and the aircraft transponder off, it would make its turn back to Washington, DC to attack the West side of the Pentagon at 9:37AM.

We could now see the smoke rising in the distance on the Eastern horizon.

What this September 11th day is about every year beyond these memories, is the renewed vow of vigilance. A time to revisit all the reasons why you have made the decisions you have since that Tuesday morning twenty-five years ago. Never Forget that day. Never Forget why you wake each morning.

9/11 vigilance is about being adaptive. It is about resilience.

For those of us who have never paid the same price as those who have served, supported and are the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters or relatives of those who have, we can never know or really feel what they have. We can only pledge our vigilance in continuing our respective missions.

Most of all. The mission is not America's alone and the entire planet understands this. As they teach the history of 9/11 in the schools of New York City, Haiti, Chile, Pakistan, India and even Saudi Arabia, what do you think the lesson is about?

If it is not about vigilance and resilience, then we are doing our children a disservice. We must be preparing them for the future threats that this globe will be facing in the years and decades before us.

Whether it is the wrath of "Mother Nature" or the evil planning of AI or ordinary people does not matter. We can never predict exactly the day the hour or when and where the next attack will occur. Whether it will impact our buildings, bridges, rivers, schools or the Internet is unknown.

If all of us on this 3rd rock from the sun, have done our job teaching our kids about “Vigilance and “Resilience”, then we should all be able to have a peaceful nights sleep. Devoid of nightmares.

Remember that Tuesday in September across the globe, for the lessons we have all learned since that infamous day in New York City, Washington, DC and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

For the children, teach them the truth…

9/11 Revisited: The Future Homeland Security Practitioner...

We are approaching the 9/11 anniversary and the images and memories will be revisited.

Many of us will shed a tear and millions will recall where they were and what they were doing, on that unforgettable Tuesday morning in September, 2001. 

The education of "Homeland Security" is taking place on a daily basis in the popular press and on the new social media platforms that have risen and now dominate the digital content since 9/11.

The academic and government institutions have strived for improving the standards, processes, rule sets and protocols for anti-terrorism policy. By education, we also need to explore what we are doing to collaborate at the academic institution level on a global basis, not just on a government basis. 

The "Homeland Security" curriculum at universities in the EU and the United States will soon be converging on several fronts and for good reason. The generation that will be starting their 1st year (freshmen) in college were not even born yet in 2001.

Their perception of what Homeland Security is today and the future for a life long career must be designed on a global basis, because this remains a global issue. 

The students who pursue an education in languages, political science, international affairs, history and science have just as much a stake in the future of Homeland Security as others. Those who are now getting a degree in emergency management, criminal justice or risk management, or information security are well on their way, yet still may lack the knowledge and tools their liberal arts colleagues have learned to be better analysts, intel targeters or linguists. 

A flash back to this article on "Homeland Security Intelligence" (HSI) , reminds us that regardless of the university education one receives, the future of effective strategies across the world will stem from intelligence: 

(27 February 2011 HSI: Homeland Security Intelligence…)

“What is the modern definition of U.S. Homeland Security Intelligence (HSI)? Many would differ on the jurisdiction, sources and nexus with specific intelligence that falls outside U.S. borders. The future of sharing relevant pieces of the vast mosaic of information may well lie with the definition and the interpretation of Homeland Security Intelligence.

One thing is certain about this topic of debate. If the information is being utilized to determine the nature of a threat within the confines of the U.S. Homeland, then that information will be treated according to the laws of the United States. This brings us to the next question. Are the current laws an impediment to more effective Homeland Security Intelligence (HSI) processes, methods and outcomes? The following areas must be addressed in order to get closer to the truth. 

• Governance
• Policies
• Regulatory and Statutory Concerns
• Civil rights and Liberties

Yet the question begs the discussion on the structure and the purpose of the Intelligence Community (IC) itself.”

Whether the homeland security incident is a natural catastrophe or a man-made threat, there are several components that all people pursuing a profession in the discipline should be developing with increased competency, including risk mitigation, legal framework, ethics, communication/collaboration, alternative analysis, supply chain, critical infrastructure, emergency/crisis management and terrorism. 

Those kids who were not even born yet on 9/11, may have a different perspective on what might be important these days in order to detect another attack of the same magnitude during these times of heightened digital and mobile awareness.

They grew up with the Internet and they don't need a class in Social Media 101 or how to use TikTok. They might however, also need some training in AI or the Deep Web, if they want to support the HSI infrastructure, or understand the adversaries modus operandi. 

The definitions of Homeland Security Intelligence (HSI) and what comprises the spectrum of relevant and legally obtained information may differ from country-to-country and state-to-state.

Is it legal to perform digital triage on an iPhone that has been part of a lawful search and seizure in the State of Ohio, USA? 

The education for Homeland Security professionals beginning with the university must take into consideration the requirements that exist for collecting, analyzing and sharing relevant and legally obtained information. The next step is to determine the correct skills that must be developed, before the newly minted student is filling out their first job applications or interviewing for their first internship. 

As we reflect on the 9/11 25 year milestone, we can all admit the journey has not been easy. It is still far from over.

Let the next decade produce our next generation of Homeland Security professionals who may decide that Social Media and Internet AI expertise is just as vital to the curriculum as Privacy and Civil Liberties.

Watch this area to converge dramatically over the course of the next few years and for the Supreme Court in the United States to make some landmark decisions…

Asymmetric Warfare: Board Room to Battlefield...

The planet Earth is experiencing a multitude of historical and 21st century "Asymmetric Wars" from the Board Rooms of the Global 500, Internet Cafes of Third World countries and the Miranshah.

Operational Risk Management (ORM) doctrine will continue to be a factor:

a·sym·met·ric

    [ey-suh-me-trik, as-uh-]  Show IPA

adjective

1.

not identical on both sides of a central line;

"Asymmetric warfare" can describe a conflict in which the resources of two belligerents differ in essence and in the struggle, interact and attempt to exploit each other's characteristic weaknesses. Such struggles often involve strategies and tactics of unconventional warfare, the "weaker" combatants attempting to use strategy to offset deficiencies in quantity or quality.^[1] Such strategies may not necessarily be militarized.^[2] This is in contrast to symmetric warfare, where two powers have similar military power and resources and rely on tactics that are similar overall, differing only in details and execution.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) perfected the car bomb against the British.  Now "Improvised Explosive Devices" (IED) and suicide bombers continue to be the single greatest threat to U.S. troops in Afghanistan as we withdrew and in Iraq as we engage once again. The Middle East has been embroiled in conflicts with the modern use of "Social Media" and an asymmetric rebel element to initiate change in labor laws or to overthrow a nation states leadership.

A laymen may not understand the relevance of "Asymmetric Warfare" on the corporate battlefield. Some would describe the age old tactic of industrial espionage, competitive intelligence or even patent litigation as a method for a small unknown company to gain an advantage over a much larger and established institution. This is a strategy of Asymmetric Warfare, nothing new.

In any case, the perception is that the small and agile still have the means, tools and tactics to defeat the large and overbearing with the benefit of time, resources and the will of the people.

So what are some good examples of modern day asymmetric conflicts:

• Apple vs. Google
• NATO vs. Putin
• Sunni vs. Shiite
• BMW vs. Jaguar
• Earth vs. Anonymous
• Taliban vs. Afghans
• United States vs. Jones

Each of these represent a conflict between two able parties, regardless of the perception of who is the "David" and who is the "Goliath". So what can your organization or nations state do to prepare yourself for the inevitable risks that will be associated with doing business or operating your enterprise across countries and in hostile environments?

By providing your employees and stakeholders the best education, research, training and exercise programs; technology test and evaluation and capability improvement programs that your resources can offer.  Why?  In a few words, to make faster and more informed "Trust Decisions".

The desire to Deter, Detect, Defend and Document is prudent doctrine in Operational Risk Management (ORM). You may call these steps or tactics by other names in your particular process; such as Observe, Orient, Decide Act (OODA). What matters most is that the environment and landscape for the "Asymmetric Threats" and "Asymmetric Warfare" will continue to be challenging and dynamic.

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS June 16 2014

WASHINGTON — Judges around the country are grappling with the ripple effects of a 2-year-old Supreme Court ruling on GPS tracking, reaching conflicting conclusions on the case’s broader meaning and tackling unresolved questions that flare in a world where privacy and technology increasingly collide. 

The January 2012 opinion in United States v. Jones set constitutional boundaries for law enforcement’s use of GPS devices to track the whereabouts of criminal suspects. But the different legal rationales offered by the justices have left a muddled legal landscape for police and lower-court judges, who have struggled in the last two years with how and when to apply the decision — especially at a time when new technologies are developed at a faster rate than judicial opinions are issued. 

The result is that courts in different jurisdictions have reached different conclusions on similar issues, providing little uniformity for law enforcement and judges on core constitutional questions. Technological advancements are forcing the issue more and more, a development magnified by a heightened national debate over privacy versus surveillance and the disclosure of the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records.

Continuous Continuity (C2): Organizational Survivability...

The modern enterprise that effectively manages the myriad of potential threats to its people, processes, systems and critical infrastructures stands to be better equipped for sustained continuity. A Business Crisis and Continuity Management (BCCM) program is a dynamic change management initiative that requires dedicated resources, funding and auditing. Corporate Directors must scrutinize organizational survivability on a global basis. 

Corporate Directors are ultimately responsible for Continuous Continuity (C2) of the Enterprise and Organizational Survivability is a Board Room issue. 

Since effective BCCM analysis is a 24/7 operation, it takes a combination of factors across the organization to provide what one might call C2, or "Continuous Continuity". A one-time threat or risk assessment or even an annual look at what has changed across the enterprise is opening the door for a Board of Directors worst nightmare. These nightmares are "Loss Events" that could have been prevented or mitigated all together. 

According to the risk management best practices from sources such as the Turnbull Report1 and specifically Principle 13 of the Basel II Capital Accord, the Board of Directors and corporate management are responsible for the effectiveness of the Business Crisis and Continuity Management of an organization.

Certainly the largest organizations realize that the external threats are taking on new and different forms than the standard fire, flood, earthquake and twister scenarios. These historically large catastrophic external loss events have been insured against and the premiums are substantial. 

What it is less easy to analyze from a threat perspective are the constantly changing landscapes and continuity postures of the internal facets of the organization having to do with people, processes and systems. 

Corporate Boards of Director’s are now being consistently subjected to regulatory scrutiny across the globe to ensure the continuity and survivability of the enterprise. It is their duty and responsibility to their shareholders to make sure this occurs on a continuous basis.

The world can only hope that our Global 500 companies are well on their way to achieving C2 already...

Proactive: Acting in Participation...

How have you demonstrated your “Proactive” abilities this month?

Before you found your calling, were you spending wasted hours on social media or sitting places all alone.

After you became “Proactive,” the life changes were extraordinary and purposeful.

So what is the definition of PROACTIVE: “Acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes.”

Whether you have joined other fellow colleagues with your Non-Profit (501c3) volunteer organization placing or picking-up hundreds of American Flags on the head stones of the “Fallen” after Memorial Day USA.

• Whether you have volunteered your days of time to help the Safety / Security presence at a Religious or Educational organization during an important service or meeting.
• Whether you engaged with others to attend a “Stop The Bleed” course to learn how to save other's lives.
• Whether you burned hours of your time for your Team on creating and planning an upcoming annual event for a thousand members.

How many Proactive hours of your time and expertise have you given free this month?

Being “Proactive” gives you the ability to learn new skills, meet new people and to provide valuable services to your community.

“People who tend to react to a problem only when it's gotten serious could be called reactive people. Until recently, reactive (in this sense) didn't really have an antonym. So proactive was coined to describe the kind of person who's always looking into the future in order to be prepared for anything.”

You see, this can provide you and your “Proactive Peers” with the heart felt satisfaction that you have a truly valuable purpose.

It provides you with the ability to engage with other like-minded individuals on the actions and the “Doing” that can truly make a difference in this world…

Godspeed!

OSINT: If Intelligence were a Baseball Game...

What is Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)? Why is it important to your security and safety? How can you really understand how it is the same or different than other types of intelligence? Let's use this clever baseball analogy:

If Intelligence were a baseball game....

IMINT takes a picture every day or so, trying to discern whose winning from sporadic snap-shots at different times of day, different angles of look.

SIGINT tries to bug the dug-out and discern how the game is going from comments by the players

HUMINT tries to recruit the batter, find out where he thinks he is going to hit the ball, and send a spy out to catch it if it ends up there.

MASINT tries to smell the player's armpits and the arc of the ball from leather secretly treated beforehand.

OSINT gives everyone in the audience a baseball glove, and counts the ball out if anyone in the stands catches the ball.

What's the point? OSINT is not a substitute for spies, satellites, or secrecy. It simply takes all the low-hanging fruit off the table so the secret sources and methods can focus. Put simply, OSINT changes the rules of the game--eliminates all the "home runs" by the enemy that need not occur if we harness the distributed intelligence of the audience--and allows the secret sources and methods to focus more carefully on what's left inside the playing field.

So what? Open source intelligence is available to everyone at the touch of a button, Google and others. Intelligent bots troll the net in search of its target. Looking for the answer to the algorithim created to answer the question posed by it's designer. When it finds what it is looking for it brings it home to the clandestine machine with Petabytes of RAID.

The people behind the question look for a pattern. The question or hypothesis is there to accomplish an important task. To find some relevance in a vast sea of “Zeros and Ones” beyond the human brains capability to grasp. No one person owns it and has the ability to keep it secret, forever. Somehow, someone will put this information into the open. Then it becomes OSINT.

The race isn't about keeping information safe from being stolen or revealed to others. It's about something else:

Jeff Jonas, the one time chief scientist and distinguished engineer at IBM’s entity analytic solutions group, had developed a means of sharing corporate data without revealing what that data contains.

This technology, called anonymization, effectively "shreds" information, making it possible for companies to share information about their customers with governments or other companies without giving away any personal data.

Over time, Jonas believed companies will increasingly use anonymization to defend their data, and corporate well-being, from competitors and identity thieves.

This story to be continued…