Posts By: Jacob Charles

Big trouble

As internal dissent continues to grow within China, John Chisholm analyses the threat from Uighur terrorists and the rising middle classes   China likes to portray itself as a Confucian society: orderly, deferential and internally coherent. But that vision is not, and never really has been, the case. Culturally, the Confucian-infused society may be more… Read more »

Inside cargo

The increased terror threat level has led many countries to re-evaluate how they screen large cargo passing through their borders. Richard Mastronardi weighs the various screening and inspection technologies available   With increased activity and renewed commitments by terrorist groups to undermine the values of developed nations, implementing a comprehensive security strategy is the top… Read more »

Deadly cargo

Paul Simpson describes how the latest radiation detection technology is being applied at ports to identify and intercept potentially deadly radiological cargo with minimal disruption There are a variety of threats and risks posed by the illegal presence of radiological and nuclear materials within the flow of commerce. These range from inadvertent risks, such as… Read more »

Digital forensics unlocked

With courts still failing to take advantage of mobile digital forensic evidence, Yuval Ben-Moshe argues legal systems must accommodate and embrace this data to successfully investigate and prosecute terrorists The use of mobile forensics has the potential to transform traditional methods of profiling criminal and terrorist offenders and build a comprehensive picture of suspects. By… Read more »

Countering budget cuts

Lina Kolesnikova looks at the global response to ISIS, and argues that cuts in spending on counter terrorism could leave us exposed to attack by returning fighters   On 15 September 2014 more than 30 countries, including ten Arab states, met in Paris and discussed the proposed US-led alliance to contain and combat the militants… Read more »

Nato rebooted

Anthony Tucker-Jones reports on a reinvigorated alliance forced to confront Russian expansionism and Islamic militants   President Obma came away from September’s Nato Summit in Wales saying, “I leave here confident that Nato allies and partners are prepared to join in a broad, international effort to combat the threat posed by the Islamic State of… Read more »

Bugs, espionage and the insider threat

Tony Kingham examines the how cheap, widely available covert surveillance technology is making corporate espionage by employees an increasingly urgent threat   Many agencies now regard the ‘insider threat’ as the most dangerous threat to the security of government organisations and corporations, and it’s not hard to see why. The proliferation of cheap, sophisticated GSM… Read more »

Sonar security

Konrad Mech discusses how advances in multimode multi-beam sonar technology are helping to protect ports and shipping from underwater terrorist and criminal threats   Underwater attacks on ports and ships have been a risk since before the Second World War. Today, waterborne attacks continue to threaten ships, high value assets and piers, which are vulnerable… Read more »

One step ahead?

In an industry shaped by the 2010 attempted “printer cartridge” bombing, Frederic Brouiller asks whether air cargo security detection equipment is keeping ahead of security threats   Air cargo is essential to global sourcing, manufacturing and assembling and, without secure distribution, countries would suffer economically. But the combination of increased terror threat and criminal activity… Read more »

The Gaza split

British foreign policy over the latest Israel-Gaza conflict is a shambles and has split the government, reports Anthony Tucker-Jones This summer Gaza found itself victim to yet another Israeli military invasion. It is the third major military operation in Gaza in six years. The situation underlines the terrible human cost, to both sides, of the… Read more »