Monthly Archives: March 2013

Protecting the CNI

Following the conviction of four would-be bombers in Birmingham, Peter Clarke tells Robert de la Poer that the UK must not grow complacent in protecting its critical national infrastructure     RP: What do you think are the major threats to the UK’s critical national infrastructure (CNI)? Do you think those threats are as great… Read more »

Thailand’s shadow war

Anthony Tucker-Jones reports that Thailand’s people and lucrative tourist industry are once again at risk from southern separatists   Despite being known as “the land of smiles”, Thailand has had more than its fair share of upheaval in recent years with political, sectarian and ethnic strife. Bangkok is nearly always the focus of attention when… Read more »

Digital device forensics

As the security services struggle to extract data from the growing array of mobile devices, Stewart Harrison argues that applying the right forensic tools is key to providing timely intelligence    The overwhelming majority of phone forensic experts agree on one thing – that the exploitation of mobile devices at all levels of criminal activity… Read more »

Narco wars: Part 2

Anthony Tucker-Jones continues his discussion of ongoing efforts to combat illegal narcotics with Benoît Gomis and Dr Claudia Hofmann of The Royal Institute of International Affairs   ATJ: Mexico has been blighted by drug related violence. Is there any real indication that the authorities are winning the drug war there? CH: Referring to a “war… Read more »

The roving eye

Robert de la Poer explores the rapidly-evolving field of deployable reconnaissance, which adds a vital new perspective on tactical hostage rescue and counter terrorism situations   Often the greatest threat faced by police Special Forces and other special operations units involved in a hostage situation is the unknown. When planning a tactical response, a huge… Read more »

Opening doors

Peter Stolwerk discusses the importance of co-operation between special operations forces and the security industry to ensure the potential of new technology is realised in effective and reliable equipment   A trend that has developed in recent years is that the security industry is more frequently approached by police and military special operations forces for… Read more »

Brothers in (nuclear) arms

As tensions continue to grow over Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programmes, John Chisholm asks whether their status as international pariahs has unwittingly pushed them together   As 2013 gets underway in earnest, North Korea and Iran have both made successful advances towards credible nuclear capability. Iran has installed new centrifuges, and appears unfazed by… Read more »