Global Security vs. True Security: The Role of a Security Advisor Embedded in the Client′s Management Team

Dear All,

Many moons ago it was fashionable to say "Think Global, Act Local", a concept related to environmental protection .. if you want to save the Earth and humanity turn the lights off when you leave the house !

In the world of security quite the opposite is true. You cannot think of security as a global issue and then apply the solution locally, but you must approach it as a local issue and then replicate the model globally. I explain, so bear with me.

Security is a mix of geography, climate, culture, religion, history, customs, traditions, and, most important of all, local "written laws & unwritten rules".

The majority of security threats does not come from external terrorists which would require a Rambo-like reaction, but it comes from within the local institutions where bribery is maybe more common that at home, or in locations where local people might consider your operations as an invasion & exploitation of their land, or where the local workforce is so hungry that might have to trade loyalty for food.

Many security companies are actually "security guard" companies .. without any doubt most of them do an excellent work at providing big guys with big guns in hundreds of different Countries. But a True Security company will provide a completely different set of services.

The role of a professional "true security" advisor is not only to protect the Client in the line of fire, but first and foremost, to make sure that the Client has no reason for being in the line of fire.

The figure of the security advisor is a "trust-based" role embedded in the Client′s management team to provide guidance to the Client and its security managers in a variety of issues.

a) first .. COMPLIANCE & RESPECT OF ALL LAWS, starting with the laws of the country where the security company is registered and the laws of the country hosting the Client′s operations. This requires a lot of studying, maybe the involvement of local lawyers or diplomatic experts, and a tailoring of solutions. Trying to outsmart the legal system is a bad idea. Stay clear of advisors who tell you "yes we can do it even though we are not supposed to .. we just give the service a different name". No no no .. A good security advisor is respectful of all laws and does not play tricks or gimmicks but finds a workaround solution.

b) bribery or appreciation?? let′s face it .. if you need a security service from a PMC, you are not in Kansas anymore, and there is a high chance you are not in Denmark either. Most likely you are in a country where a little bit of "undocumented appreciation" gets you a good service and avoids hurdles. I am not talking about government-level bribery .. just some little gifts you might have to give to your local contact person. A good security advisor will make sure that this petty appreciation does not become an excessive burden to the level of extortion or ransom and this has very much to do with the way your Client & your team are perceived.

c) marketing & image .. a good security advisor will work with the Client to make sure that the company gives the idea of being a positive thing for the hosting community. The advisor will assist the security manager in drafting guidelines for the personnel on how to behave, what to say and when to say it, and even simple rules such as: do not date the local girls !!

d) prevention .. a good security advisor will provide the Client with need-specific technologies in order to increase the preventative side and reduce the reaction aspect of security. This will demand an evolution of the security personnel as well, much like the "Force Transformation" of the US DoD.

e) finally, a good security advisor will make sure that any security initiative will give the Client a competitive advantage. For example the integration of safety, security, and emergency solutions with the production line cyberphysical systems will provide a profitable Security 4.0 strategy.

I am very passionate about preventative security technologies because they pose a strategic as well as an engineering challenge. And I, being an engineer, am like a child in a toy store.

My company and my small team are convinced that a 360-degree protection based on preventative technologies is the key to real security. We are not killers, we have no interest in killing anybody, not even the bad guys, and we are not LE officers who have to combat crime. We are just interested in protecting the revenue, the assets, and the lives of the good guys (i.e. our Clients) with high efficiency and little noise.

The best possible compliment we can receive is "..with you nothing happens ..". Not quite true, but we surely manage to anticipate the problems way before they come too close, or we make any hostile action against our Clients too inconvenient and too difficult to do.

The members of my team have many years of experience not only in combat but also in military/diplomatic operations such as organizing emergency evacuation with the support of the local people, or protecting a construction site with the cooperation of all workers, etc. Smooth talking and intelligence instead of guns & muscles.

"Security: prevention-based generation of profit" .. not bad as a tag line !

Keep safe.