By Michael Hendrix
Critical infrastructures are the veins and arteries carrying the lifeblood of America’s economy and society. In a recent National Chamber Foundation event, Admiral Thad Allen described critical infrastructure as especially susceptible to “Black Swans.” To minimize the unexpected risk to critical infrastructure, we need a set of best practices, a sort “Black Swan toolkit.”
I published a piece in Foreign Affairs about the terrorist organization, Hezbollah, and their new role in the Lebanese government. With Iran’s economy weakening, and Syria in political turmoil, Hezbollah has launched a crime wave to gather funds, something Western countries should leverage to hurt the organization’s legitimacy and support.
The tragic bombing and shooting in Oslo on the same day will be used as a case study for many reasons, not least our exposure to the random element, the individual acting alone and off the grid. His intentions and background notwithstanding, one of the significant lessons for government, corporations and others is that of the effect of simultaneity – the conduct of a series of operations or activities simultaneously.
Social media posts are becoming the new digital fingerprints for law enforcement, providing critical tips and leads on criminal activity. Yet most law enforcement agencies aren’t monitoring or using social media sites to gather intelligence. If an individual in your business district began shouting threats at the crowds, how long would it take for police to be notified and respond? How quickly would your agency respond to the same threats voiced over Twitter, Facebook or the other social media channels?
Among the suspects indicted last month by the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) – the body charged with investigating the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri – is Mustafa Badreddine, a senior figure in Hizballah’s international terrorist operations branch. Public exposure of his activities, including Hizballah’s reported role in the Hariri murder, would deal a severe blow to group.
OK, I admit to being a Star Wars fan. One of the films’ story lines is the Empire’s attempt to strike back against the rebel forces and crush them. As in time honored tradition back here on Earth, the strategy never works. Watching the not-so-swift vengeance of governments against the Lulzs of the world after the recent spate of internet attacks – well, here we go again.
Yesterday, TSA Administrator John Pistole announced the first step in what is hopefully a lengthy process to reorient TSA’s airport checkpoint screening in a more risk-based manner. He announced a limited partnership with two airlines and four airports where travelers selected by the airlines will be asked to opt-in to a new screening program. This “proof of concept” is mainly designed to ascertain the changes that need to be made at airports to provide a more risk-based approach to aviation security.
On June 17, the UN Security Council enacted sweeping changes to the international sanctions regime against al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Security Council adopted two resolutions aimed at dividing al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the wake of Usama bin Laden’s death, creating a consolidated list of those understood to be supporting al Qaeda.
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