1. How Did We Get Here?

Okay, so where is here?  A country that went from Leave it to Beaver to Beavis and Butthead, being in awe of a teacher to cursing, yelling, and even shooting them, respecting police when you are pulled over (after YOU broke the law) to feeling you have the right to incite an argument or the prevailing attitude de jour of feeling entitled for things you haven’t worked for, and angry at those who have things because they did work for them.  Can anyone tell me how we got here?  We come out of WW II with an overwhelming sense of national pride and strong economy, then we hit the 60′s, and all of a sudden our sense of pride was replaced with resentment fueled by unwarranted entitlement and a desire to balance the scales without the forethought of the collateral damage. So now, we sit around in our small groups and quetch about the state of the nation, pointing fingers but not creating a plan to return us to greatness.  How we define what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior is a conscious decision we all make and one we need to focus much more intently on, as it clearly has significant ramifications.  Just look at workplace and school-based homicides as an example.  When our society allows violence to be an acceptable form of resolving conflict (just look at the media), that is what we get.  It is all about decisions!

2. And we thought we would emerge unscathed?

Let’s look at history, shall we. The Founding Fathers of our great country formulated our foundation on such tenets as strength, perseverance, humility and a reliance on the greater power, GOD. Oh, now I said it and risk offending all those that do not believe in GOD. Okay, my response, too bad and stop reading. The greatest man I will ever know, my Father, a first generation American, said “Always be proud of our Greek heritage (as I am), but never forget, we are Americans”.  By the way, he was a proud member of the US Navy’s Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), the original Seal Team, in WWII.  We not only took GOD (yes, it is capitalized intentionally) out of our schools so that our children (the future of our planet) wouldn’t be tarnished.  We removed HIM (yes, again intentionally in the masculine) from work, government buildings, monuments and now, are left feeling if you say GOD, or GOD forbid, JESUS, you really are a radical and should be shunned.   Really?  We have forced crosses to be taken down and are failing to stand by our brothers and sisters in Israel, all because of what?  So we don’t offend who?  We seek to protect the rights of illegal aliens (yes, like that’s not an oxymoron) or prevent non-denominational prayer in schools, but allow the satanic church to practice freely within our military.  This is clearly not what our forefathers intended from the First Amendment; but moreover, a blatant example of the subsequent decisions we have made as a country.   I recently heard that people were shocked that Country Music Great, Carrie Underwood, was discouraged from releasing her first song with the word, Jesus, in it, as it might offend people. Good for you, Carrie, and to anyone who would be offended, get a life.  You wonder why we are so screwed up?  So we are clear, I am not saying those that do not believe in GOD are not welcome in our country; but what I am saying is stop thinking that you or anyone else has a right to trample all over how our country, and more importantly (GOD), it was founded upon.  It is our decision where we let GOD sit in the future of our country.  It is all about decisions!

3. Don’t complain after November 6th!

Clearly America, WE will make a decision as to the direction of this country and NEVER before has it carried so much weight because WE bear the responsibility and accountability of navigating the course to either Socialism or Capitalism. The issues are not life changing, but world-tenure changing, so dial into these, do your research, and come up with the facts. We are $16 TRILLION in debt, unemployment is hovering around 17% (ask any leading Economist), a fact that will clearly surface after the election, our foreign policy has failed as evidenced by 19 attacks on U.S. Embassy’s in the last 30 days resulting in deaths of Americans, unquantifiable damage, the destruction of the American brand abroad and the blatant lack of candor from the current administration to the American people (just scratching the surface). Mass homicides in our workplaces will continue at record pace, as long as, unemployment keeps escalating, jobs continue to be moved to other countries, people keep losing their homes and their ability to put food on the table, and employers continue to disregard the risk.  Please do me a favor and stop saying, “I can’t believe this happened here”, because it is going to continue at record pace.

We are in the embryonic stage of a holy war.  Al Qaida did not just re-emerge in the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Libya on the 11th anniversary of 9/11, they have been planning this since then, like they have done from the attack on the Cole, the first bombing of the Trade Center and then once again on 9/11. Do not let arrogance or ignorance veil reality.  Again, this is not the right or left-side of the aisle, but a surface level illustration of our trajectory.  How about WE THE PEOPLE, eliminate this “Partisanship Gone Wild” attitude that permeates throughout our government halls and is fueled by politicians more concerned about keeping their jobs than doing their jobs.  How about we stop buying into it anymore and demand decisions be made that are best for the future of America. Let’s make sure the interests for those little girls on their way to ballet class or little boys just learning how to hold a football are given paramount attention!  Let’s hold each and every one of our elected officials accountable for every decision they make.  If we stop accepting this republican vs. democrat BS and just focus on being Americans (following the wishes of our forefathers and the intent of our Constitution), we can begin to dig out of this mess.  The bottom line is, this will be YOUR DECISION in the weeks to come; and with all due respect, just don’t point fingers about it afterwards.  It’s all about decisions!

4. Let’s NOT talk “end of times”! 

Iran’s leader is intent on eliminating Israel off the face of the earth (tell me history isn’t repeating itself) and Israel’s Prime Minister is pleading with us to stand with him and we do not take a meeting.  Really? They are (Iran) in the red zone here and we are taking a seat on the bench.  Who really thinks this will not have GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS?????  Then, of course, there’s the volatility in the Middle East, ongoing risk from North Korea, perpetual threat from Al-Qaida, decline of the world economy, looming nuclear threat against U.S. assets; and most importantly, all at the same time, we are planning to reduce our nuclear capabilities and downsize our military (NOT a good decision).  Remember where you get kicked, when you stick your head in the sand!  Of all the decisions that need to be made, these perhaps, have the most severe consequences if not made correctly.  If not, we may not have many more decisions to make!

]]> http://riskcontrolstrategies.com/what-weve-createdits-all-about-decisions/feed/ 1 http://riskcontrolstrategies.com/personal-protectiondispelling-the-mythcrystalizing-expectations/ http://riskcontrolstrategies.com/personal-protectiondispelling-the-mythcrystalizing-expectations/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:48:24 +0000 admin http://riskcontrolstrategies.com/?p=1701 Perhaps, the most distorted and misunderstood component of the Personal Security space is that of Personal Protection.  A dozen or so times a month, clients reach out for us seeking “bodyguard” services and expecting the 6’10″ 350lb male wearing a shirt two sizes to small so that they can draw as much attention to themselves as possible while ominously increasing the risk of personal liability from untrained men.  Or, they are looking for the Kevin Costner-esq gentleman who fires one shot and hits 3 people while using knife throwing as a warm up.  Really?   Here’s a newsflash, Personal Protection, aka Executive Protection (but never bodyguard, please) services are, in reality, the complete opposite from the mosaic the big screen portrays.

PEDIGREE

A bodyguard is essentially a retired (or possibly still gainfully employed as a) bouncer whose main credential is his girth; for example, someone the A listers typically employ (and they wonder why they stick out like a sore thumb). A deeper look would find someone of below average intelligence (which speaks to their inability to execute sound decisions in the midst of a crisis), without any formal training in areas such as the “Use of Force Matrix” and lacking professional protection credentials.  Also lumped into this “bodyguard” (I like that phrase almost as much as I like ‘Security Guy’) category is those that bought into what they saw on the small and big screens and decided to bring it to life.  Then, there are the athletes.  Unlike the A listers, for them, we see the local posse, the fellas, the boys; you get the point.  That’s so ludicrous; it doesn’t need to be expanded upon.  Let’s just go show some loyalty and arm individuals that shouldn’t even be protecting empty parking lots.  Yet, that is in fact the standard. Item last with this group and perhaps the one aspect that should cause the potential client the greatest trepidation is the loquacious nature of the individual and the risk of privacy exposure it continues to display, post engagement.

An “executive protection professional” or “close personal protection professional” is a certified expert with years of experience (minimum 10), as a former law enforcement officer, ESU/SWAT team member, Military Specialist or federal agent. The professional will most likely be fluent in multiple languages with thousands of hours of training in areas such as, but not limited to, Use of Force, verbal de-escalation, tactical firearms, crisis avoidance and response, dignitary protection,  subject extrapolation, first responder to medical emergencies and emergency vehicle operations (EVOC) to name a few.  Further, not only does a protection professional not have to be a man but in many situations, shouldn’t be.  What’s critical to remember is that the primary methodological goal is to provide seamless protection without drawing attention to the Principal.  Therefore, the gender, size and attire of the professional are all key components in the process.  Specifically, one wouldn’t provide the same detail to a celebrity traveling across the U.S. on her concert tour as to the male CEO to the Middle East. Gender is one of several factors in the choice of a protection professional; a sampling of some others includes location, itinerary, risk level, habits and exposure.

PREPARATION

Conceivably, of equivalent importance with assuring the correct pedigree of the professional is warranting that they are encircled within a true corporation that is properly licensed, insured and administratively backstopped in lieu of the smoke and mirrors crew operating out of the garage which clearly has become the norm. Unmistakably, this presents a myriad of landmines for the client surrounding their personal safety as well as risk to their financial legacy (arising from negligent acts of the ill prepared company).  The most deleterious path a potential client can take in the selection of the company and the one it is most advantageous to avoid is the ‘I know a guy who knows a guy’ approach.  Ideally, all those seeking this type of service should incorporate the same level of due diligence they would prior to any other significant alliance or accept the vetting of a trusted advisor such as a major wire house, private bank or wealth management firm.

Once the firm is selected, a threat assessment must conducted on the principal so as to validate the level of risk, design the required deployment methodology (to include mandatory advance risk analysis on all sites within the itinerary) and position the appropriate detail (protection team). The team leader will brief the principal on all rules of engagement prior to the commitment to eliminate any form of ambiguity regarding expectations and the operation itself. All details should be evaluated, post deployment, to assess project efficiency.

PRONOUNCEMENT

As we continue to navigate through the inherent risks associated with the 21^st century, such as the down economy, record unemployment, the Occupy Movement (which gave birth to the plethora of ‘have not’s whose lips drip with disdain toward those who ‘have’),   it is critical for all those of wealth and those in the public eye to remember that they, and their families, make an extremely attractive target and that the criminal business model that enfolds them is quite lucrative and frankly, executable with relative ease.  Further, given the world economy and the blatant rise of anti-American sentiment, cases of unlawful detention and express kidnapping will certainly continue to increase given the attractive revenue stream they bring.

This begs the question, is the risk real and how should I protect myself and my family.  For the former, only you can decide and for the latter, just remember, “Cheap is Expensive”.

The worse the U.S. economy fares and the bigger the income inequality gap grows, the better business seems to get for Paul Viollis and Douglas Kane. Their New York City-based company, Risk Control Strategies, has doubled its revenues this year by providing security services to the affluent.

Viollis, who formerly ran one of the nation’s largest police academies and a counterterrorism assault team, met Kane, who served in the FBI as a SWAT team supervisor, in 2003, on a job assessing a large bank that was a possible target for attack. “We clicked,” Viollis says. “Two weeks later, we sat in a bar in lower Boston until about 4 in the morning and, on a stack of bar napkins, wrote up a business plan.
They agreed the wealthy would face increasing risks to their lives and therefore require more security. That idea came years before the collapse of Wall Street, the recession and Occupy Wall Street. Viollis acknowledges the indelicacy of their serendipitous success, and explains why he’s proud of their mission to protect the 1 percent.

How did Occupy Wall Street and the economy in general benefit your business?
People generally think, “I’m okay, I live under the radar,” and don’t recognize risk, but whenever you see a major event, that’s when our business spikes. Forensically, back in the fourth quarter of 2008, we had the implosion of Wall Street, the AIG collapse, the whole Paulson thing with the banks — that’s really where we had the growth spurt, and we’ve been in critical mass since. The really frightening part is where are we now. It’s what I refer to as a perfect storm of risk: the financial implosion and the banking crisis, the decline of the world economy, the failure of the super committee to effectively strategize a debt solution, unemployment, the Occupy Wall Street movement and the global increase of violent crime against Americans when they travel.

What types of clients do you serve?
Senior level, C suite execs and entrepreneurs, people who have had significant liquidity events and are now retired investors, and on the institutional side, single and multi-family offices and the advisor community. The majority of our clients are wealthy families, a significant amount are corporations in the financial, manufacturing, technology, pharmaceutical, entertainment sectors — just about every industry across the board.

Do you get a sense from these clients that there is a growing culture of fear?
No question. Several clients have opted to secure an alternative residence outside the country. Two have actually bought islands. There’s an apprehension right now among the high net-worth community as to are we really safe from terrorism, and where are we economically, as in, are we going to become the next Greece or Italy? There’s a huge vote of no confidence among our clients as far as where the country is headed. And that’s why so many of them are trying to protect themselves. We had a couple of Occupy Wall Street protesters show up at one of our client’s homes in Connecticut, protesting outside while his kids were being brought to school. So you’ve got that, which is not going away. We have this risk that’s circling us right now, and you can only navigate in those waters so long before you either find a solution or have an explosion.

Do you attribute the fact that you almost doubled revenue this year to Occupy Wall Street?
Yes. People want to make sure they’re preemptively addressing certain risks. It doesn’t help when you have clients getting emails from strangers saying, “I know you have lunch at the Starbucks on Williams and John,” or “That’s a nice house you have in Greenwich.” That kind of spooks you a little bit. It’s not a threat — you can’t charge anybody — but it’s enough to make people stop and say, “Am I really safe or do I now have to look over my shoulder?”

Part of our job is to temper that fear, to make sure people aren’t running around terrified unjustly. For us to look at the human race with a jaundiced eye is inaccurate, unfair and unrealistic. For example, someone who’s uneasy might not have to pay me for bodyguards. I take a look at his or her schedule and see how some lifestyle changes might be modified to bring peace of mind. Throwing money at the problem doesn’t necessarily solve it.

Do you deal with a lot of paranoia from clients?
Part of the job is to hand-hold the client. I spend a lot of time visiting with clients all over the country. If someone is anxious, it helps to look someone in the face rather than communicating over email. And education is key. Maybe they should have better security at their house or have a driver in Dubai rather than catching a cab, but should they spend tens of thousands of dollars on protection detail? The security deliverable must be validated by the probable risk.

What’s the oddest request you’ve gotten from a client?
The past three to four months, we’ve been inundated with calls from folks who want to get together an Armaggedon plan — in the event of a nuclear attack, terrorist attack, biological test, wanting to get off, say, the island [of Manhattan] to a safe house. That’s not going to happen. What will happen is New York will be shut down. The police department, military, FBI will take over, and you’re not going anywhere. [Some affluent clients] have been told [by security companies], “We have submarines that will take you out — we’ll airlift you,” and charge a truckload of money, for what — to have helicopters on call? That’s distasteful to me — it’s playing off someone’s fear. We cannot accept money from a client for things we cannot do.

What type of requests do you more commonly deal with?
The main ones are detail background investigations — not background checks — on house staff. Another growth spurt has been our technical surveillance counter measure practice, because of the desire of companies such as hedge funds to verify that eavesdropping devices are not in their offices. Our cyber security practice has grown for building small servers and putting them in people’s homes so they can communicate safely over the Internet. Security architecture for residences is huge. The system we aspire to is a tiered system vs. reactive system. The reactive system is designed to tell you when someone is in your home. But you have an average of 12 seconds from when a person gets in the house to face to face contact. Our system that we design and install ourselves will tell you when someone steps on the property. We have not had one intruder on the property ever proceed to the house.
The technology we use at the outer perimeter of the property is body heat-, mass- and weight-sensitive, but you can’t detect or disarm it. So the moment someone steps on the property, lights come on and there’s a prerecorded message saying, “You’re trespassing, you’re being recorded on videotape, the police have been called.” We use high pixel cameras with Infrared illuminators that give you an image at 3 in the morning that looks like 3 in the afternoon. So God forbid, if you do have an intruder, we take a snapshot and send a crystal clear picture to the police department and say” this guy is on the property.”

But it’s not like Occupy Wall Street protesters pose this level of threat.
I agree with you. The vast majority of people are there because they’re exercising their constitutional right. And they’re entitled to do that as long as they abide by the law. But in any movement in history, peaceful or not, you have your share of zealots. It only takes one to start doing something violent, and all hell’s going to break loose. So when crowds of people by the thousands or ten thousands start blaming certain groups of people for their lot in life, eventually it becomes violent.

By guarding the “bad guys,” are you seen as a bad guy yourself?
I am — I have no doubt by the feedback I’ve gotten in emails after TV appearances or on articles I’ve been quoted in. But that comes with it. For me, it’s nothing personal. I clearly understand I’m viewed as a guy who’s “protecting the establishment.” Listen, our responsibility is to protect human life. On our website is the Latin phrase “Servare Vitas,” which means to save lives. That’s our job. If protecting people means the majority views me in a bad light, then it is what is. I certainly understand that.

Have you had to increase your own personal security as well?
I have, yeah. Unfortunately, we field a number of concerning calls and deal with people making threats. I’ve gotten calls from people who are irate, asking, “Why would you protect these people? We thought you were a good guy.” But that’s okay. When you do what we do, you have to feel blessed every day. It’s a good feeling to know that we’re in a position to be able to help as many people as we can.

Name: Paul Viollis and Douglas Kane
Company: Risk Control Strategies
Age: 50, 60
Location: New York City, with offices in Los Angeles; Palm Beach, Florida; Houston, and Nevada
Founded: 2004
Employees: More than 80
Revenue: Not disclosed. Revenues projected to double in 2011 and increase by 70 percent in 2012

Wall Street Workers Demanding Private Security from Jessica Hartogs Oakley on Vimeo.

So, why are we so surprised that Ms. Anthony walked out the door this morning?  Is it because we thirst for justice so much that we overlooked why Lady Justice wears a blindfold or is it because we believed all the media hype?  If it’s the former, let’s examine that a bit because if you haven’t worked within the CJS, it can be both confusing and disheartening.  You can blame anyone you want for this piece-of-crap-sorry-excuse-for-a-Mother walking away from this, the jury for following the instructions given to them by the court, the police who are under a microscope now (but who did a remarkable job), or a process that was built to ignore the obvious.

The bottom line is the defense, who couldn’t get out of it’s own way, did not win this case.  The prosecution lost this case, and in grand fashion I may add.  Lady Justice doesn’t care about the truth but only the material elements of the law.  So, just maybe, the State Attorney should have thought this strategy out a bit before going for the jugular.  One, their evidence surrounding cause of death was weak at best and at no point could they connect the defendant to the crime of murder (two pretty important things when you’re prosecuting a capital case, but then my expectations of them was a tad high).  Two, why in the world would you make it known that you would go for the death penalty in a state, and more so, within a society that doesn’t put women to death.  Three, the whole basis of reasonable doubt is nothing new within our organism of jurisprudence.  At what point did we exist within this quagmire where reasonable doubt wasn’t present?  Four, throw common sense out when dealing with the CJS and appreciate it for what it really is, the greatest oxymoron of all time.   Item last on this point and as I told my wife (who by the way is one of the most intelligent humans on the planet), it is not what you think or feel, it is what you can prove!  And if it’s the latter, shame on you for getting caught up in the typical sensationalism we have allowed our out-of-control and constitutionally-challenged media to get away with.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of real journalism.  My mother was perhaps one of the most prolific journalists I have or will ever encounter and clearly a pioneer for women in that industry. Today I would look at the likes of a MP McQueen of the Wall Street Journal as someone that epitomizes journalistic talent.  It’s just unfortunate Ms. McQueen’s professionalism is not the norm so next time don’t get mesmerized in front of the TV.

As technology becomes more sophisticated we have the ability to track laptops, cellular phones, vehicles or to identify the current location of our children. With the constant advancement of computer technology, both in hardware and software, the computer eavesdropper will take advantage of these changes to intercept our personal and proprietary information. Quite often the new technology, that is designed to assist us with our daily computer activities, is used against us to monitor our information or activity.

Early on we experienced the key-logger which was attached to the computer keyboard cable and captured our passwords. Now this same type of intercept is accomplished with software buried within our computer and retrieved remotely. Numerous software suites are commercially available to stop the various spyware that has surfaced through the years. However, this software must be maintained and updated frequently to be able to defend the latest attack or intrusion.

So what’s next on the horizon? It could be the following tool designed to assist us in remotely accessing our computer from anywhere that we can logon to the internet. The “ITwin” devise (depicted below) appears to be a USB storage drive; however, it links a home or office computer to a second computer via the internet. After plugging half of the ITwin into the USB port of one online computer you simply have to plug the other half into another computer anywhere in the world, where you can obtain internet access, and the two computers are linked. The device is designed to allow the user to easily transfer or access information on the remote computer. The device allows you to view, copy, edit and upload files from the remote computer. The manufacturer states the link between the two units is protected by a robust AES-256 encryption.

It is imperative to know that your information, conversations and actions are secure from unauthorized eavesdropping in your offices, boardrooms, homes, vehicles, planes or other areas where you have an expectation of privacy. Contact any of the professionals at RCS for scheduling a Phase One IT Audit and TSCM.

Unmistakably, this is evidenced by the following joint statement recently made by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI’s New York office “these investigations are far from finished and mark neither the beginning nor the end of a long term FBI investigation which is expected to continue for a long time.” Further, the President of the United States has formed the Interagency Fraud Enforcement Task Force made up of federal, state and local agencies to aggressively investigate and prosecute financial crimes committed by HFs and other financial institutions.

As a direct result of this new found status, investors have begun to consistently reach out to RCS requesting pre-engagement due diligence on HF’s so as to establish the required confidence level that both their investment and personal information is being safeguarded professionally. Our methodology calls for a Best Practice security diagnostic of the organization which includes  a thorough examination of:

1.       The quality of the backgrounds done on staff and contractors
2.       The document security procedures they have implemented
3.       The electronic security measures they have incorporated
4.       The due diligence they conduct to ensure against money laundering and organized crime money
5.       The background on the company itself

Conversely, HF executives have elected to incorporate Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) into their strategy to ensure investors that critical communications (electronic and verbal) are kept confidential. Given the advent of ebay and other such networks, the procurement of sophisticated eavesdropping devices is not only affordable but non traceable.

With human behavior being what it is, it is highly probable that these trends will continue with the ongoing scrutiny of the Alternative Asset industry. Consequently, it is incumbent upon the HNW investor and all of their advisors to embrace this predicament with preemptive resolve in lieu of reactive panic.

-Don Ackerman

Risk Control Strategies was contacted by a corporate client whose headquarters, several corporate officers, and select employees were threatened with physical violence by a disgruntled retired employe

RCS conducted vulnerability studies of the facility and the residences of the corporate officers and suggested implementation of  policy and procedures in the areas of crisis management, threat management, and workplace violence avoidance. Also implemented were numerous employee training courses regarding bomb threats, building searches, and exterior barricade placement to prevent violent intrusions into the building with the use of a large heavy truck.

The threat to the corporate client involved the possible use of a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) which could easily target any employee evacuation area outside the building or on the first floor of the building.  Because of the nature of this threat, RCS devised a procedure known as “Evacuation in Place.” If surveillance reported the disgruntled employee was traveling in the area of the headquarters building all employees would be alerted and would immediately enter known fire escape stairwell routes within the building, however, in this case, the process would be reversed. Employees would leave their work stations and proceed up the stairwells to the third floor and gather in an area away from windows where food and water reserves were maintained.  Armed security officers would take positions on the first floor in the event the employee was able to drive his vehicle past the exterior barricades and into the first floor of the building.

This evacuation procedure was explained to the employees and practices were held on several days at different times to insure all employees were familiar with the process. As a result of the practice sessions, communication was improved as was speed and efficiency.

Although this type of evacuation was never needed, this crisis management process was successful in reducing the workplace violence fears of the employees and corporate officers.

-Bill Jonkey

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