Posts By: Jacob Charles

Taking the initiative

Rajat Bhargava explores ways to step out from Shadow AI and turn risk to strategic advantage For years, shadow IT has been seen as a threat, an unmonitored and uncontrolled force undermining corporate policies, creating security gaps and circumventing procurement channels. If you’re an IT professional working at a mid-sized organisation, there’s a 90 percent… Read more »

Nato in the Arctic

Barry Scott Zellen, PhD, reports on the tectonic shift from euphoric expansion to intra-alliance crisis Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, there’s been a tectonic shift in Arctic diplomacy and security, resulting in the March 2022 diplomatic boycott of the Arctic Council under Russia’s term as rotating chair (2021-23), followed by the rapid pivot by… Read more »

Redefining information security

Brian Wagner explains the fundamental principles of building a security-driven organisation To meet the challenges of tomorrow’s digital landscape, security and technology leaders that represent organisations atthe forefront of security innovation must integrate and embed security within their strategic vision. Building a security-driven culture not just safeguards organisationfrom risk, but actively propels businesses forward to… Read more »

The big blue

Joanne Milne-Rowe explains why water safety starts with perimeter access control and why coded locks provide convenience and control No summer goes by in the UK without the inevitable heatwave headlines and favourable comparisons between our own cities and those better known for scorching temperatures. But behind the excitement are some altogether darker stories. Recent… Read more »

Optical solutions

Dr Mark Deakes considers integrated optical solutions and how they meet the demand for physical security applications among customers and end-users requiring sustainable solutions. A cornerstone of anti-counterfeiting solutions, holography has continued to evolve in the face of expanding market applications, security sector mergers and acquisitions and consolidation among solutions’ providers. Today, it now features… Read more »

Africa fights back

Jeanne McKinney explores the challenges of overcoming Africa’s tyranny of distance to fight terror Stabilising is a tall order on a large continent with many crises happening at once within the nation states. When it comes to Africa, it is not only about countering terror groups but also deterring malign actors like China and Russia… Read more »

Urban security

Lucy Ketley explains the importance of having a focus on access control for public safety It has been nearly 50 years since the famous psychologist from Stanford – Philip Zimbardo – launched one of the most influential theories of criminology; the ‘Broken Windows Theory’. In his field study, Zimbardo abandoned two identical cars in two… Read more »

On the brink

Matthew Borie explains how events in late April led to serious escalation in the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict On 22 April, a shooting attack by suspected Pakistani-linked militants killed 26 civilians in the Indian-administered Kashmir region. This was the largest number of civilian deaths in a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir since the May 2006 Doda… Read more »

Detecting extremist plots online

Dr Brenton Cooper explains why policing needs AI-driven open-source technology The foiling of an extremist bomb plot targeting the huge audience at a Lady Gaga concert in Brazil shows the value of open-source intelligence. The anti-LGBTQ extremists sought to radicalise teenagers online through digital cells, inspiring them to use improvised explosives in the attack against… Read more »

100 days that shook the world

Barry Zellen, PhD, reports on President Trump’s grand strategy for a new American empire Since triumphantly returning to the White House in January, Trump 2.0 has been a whirlwind of creative, innovative, paradigm-shifting American defence and security policy. Staggering in its vigour and bold in its willingness to take risks for what is hoped will… Read more »