In our fourth feature article from Counter Terror Expo (CTX) 2013; speaker at the event, Peter Clarke, Associate, Peter Clarke Associates and Former Assistant Commissioner and Head of the Counter Terror Command, Metropolitan Police; gives a preview of his upcoming CTX conference session on Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Terrorist Attacks. Peter writes; "21st Century crises are becoming more complex, geographically dispersed and difficult to resolve. Global communications, the dispersal of critical national infrastructure beyond national borders and 24 hour media coverage have ha...

In an exclusive article for Infologue.com, Tim Rosser looks at HMRC's new Real Time Information (RTI) system and wonders if the security industry is ready for it. Tim writes: "Like so many other business sectors the private security industry is currently operating under a back-drop of reducing margins. The old business maxim, ‘cash is king’ has never been more appropriate." "With the abdication of many banks and asset funders from the UK SME lending market, many security businesses have become used to using HMRC as the bank of last resort. Not surprising when you consider the const...

In our third feature article from Counter Terror Expo 2013; speaker at the event, Balaji Srimoolanathan, Principal Consultant at Frost & Sullivan Aerospace, Defence & Security Practice discusses the vulnerabilty of gas plants worldwide following the recent Algerian hostage crisis. Balaji writes: "The Algerian gas plant hostage crisis has yet again highlighted the vulnerability of Oil & Gas plants around the world. Although a wide majority of attacks on Oil & Gas incidents have happened in the Middle East and North Africa recently, the global nature of the Oil & Gas indu...

Doug Hewitson, the Managing Director of G4S Secure Solutions (UK) introduces his fifth blog on Infologue.com. Doug writes: "In good times and bad, any sensible business is always on the lookout for ways to reduce its overheads and to manage its budgets with optimum efficiency. Businesses will often look at the services they contract out and rightly examine the value they add in proportion to their cost." "It is critical for security professionals to reflect this continuous need for efficiency. In my view, we as an industry need to pose the following question: is it possible to deliver mo...

In our second feature article from Counter Terror Expo 2013; Cato Hemmingby, Research Fellow at the Norwegian Police University College and speaker at the event; looks at the way terrorists select their targets, focusing on the case of solo terrorist Anders Behring Breivik. Cato writes: "Why do terrorists target the way they do? This is a complex question, because the road from the principal decision to turn to terrorism to the actual act itself may be very long." "As such, the number of variables inflicting on the target selection process can be very high. Classic targeting literature ...

In the run up to this year's Counter Terror Expo 2013, Infologue.com is pleased to publish a new weekly feature from a variety of writers linked to the event. In this first article, Chris Yates looks at airport perimeter security following the multi-million dollar diamond heist in Brussels. Chris writes: "Airport perimeter security is under scrutiny again, following a reported $67 million diamond robbery at Brussels Zaventem." "The heist occurred within the supposedly secure airside of the airport and took the heavily armed robbers a mere 11 minutes from entry to exit to execute." "...

In his latest blog for Infologue, First Security’s John Briggs looks at the development of incident management systems and how these can be used to create a unified and effective company-wide security process. Incident management is a critical component in the delivery of effective security services and a key element in measuring a security provider’s performance. Such measures can include how quickly incidents are responded to and how effectively the team is trained to undertake this response. An incident can be classed as anything from a fire or flood through to theft from an area of...

Bob Forsyth, the Managing Director of MITIE Total Security Management (TSM) introduces his sixteenth blog on Infologue.com by looking at the affects of political changes. Bob writes; "The impact of political change and decision-making on our industry, and me as the head of a business is significant. It is one of the main catalysts for my strategic thinking and actions." "When discussing political change, I’m not referring to direct legislative changes, such as the introduction of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA) and the associated Approved Contractors’ Scheme (ACS), whi...

In David Rubens tenth exclusive article for Infologue.com, he takes a wider look at the problems in today's society. David writes; "In 1955-56, Alan Ginsberg published a poem that in its own way was to have as much impact on the next twenty years of cultural history in America as Elvis Presley or the Beatles. Entitled ‘Howl’, it was an almost demented scream of powerlessness into the night sky, an anguished rant against the gods that had allowed the American dream to be dashed on the rocks of greediness and self-interest, and in doing so had forced ‘the best minds of my generation�...

In his fifth article for Infologue.com, Bill Freear, Managing Director of Pilgrims Group Ltd, provides an insight into the situation in Mali and how it can affect those with business interests in the country. Bill writes: "The situation in northern Mali has increasingly impacted on the region’s business environment. As events in Algeria recently illustrated, escalating French involvement in Mali is likely to lead to blowback both in the immediate area and beyond. This is likely to affect international companies and organisations operating in the Maghreb and Sahel especially." "This de...