Before beginning to design and implement any security program, it is important to first conduct a thorough baseline threat assessment. It should provide a thorough understanding of the security environment where the residence is located, as well as the current and historical trends for crime, terrorism, and civil unrest in the nation and the city.…

The shooting in Buffalo, NY exemplifies how white supremacists use the internet to broadcast their attacks to spotlight their radicalized beliefs and spread an excessive amount of fear. Steps must be taken to prevent such bad actors from succeeding in this effort as they advance through their terrorist attack cycle.

In the wake of the recent wave of bomb threats placed to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) I have been asked about the threats and what they mean for the HBCU institutions and their students. These threats give us an opportune time to discuss in general terms the topic of bombs, bomb threats, and…

The threat of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed to the forefront discussions regarding contingency plans, trip wires, and threat levels. While those potentially affected organizations’ plan specifics may not apply to everyone, there are high-level concepts that all contingency plans must consider. The potential events being planned for may not happen, but…

In 2017, a Chinese operative sneaked into the Massachusetts-based Medrobotics’ headquarters building. The intruder was accidentally discovered after hours as he attempted to hack into the company’s wireless network, presumably looking for trade secrets regarding new technology for the multi-billion dollar robotic surgery industry. He had traveled to the U.S. from Canada, crossing the border…

Extremism is a growing problem that is of interest to many of TorchStone’s clients and contacts. We must be careful to recognize that it is not just jihadists and white supremacists who are threat actors, but also individuals who hold any extremist ideology that can pose an insider threat to our organizations. While these persons…

Americans from all walks of life and across all political persuasions were deeply impacted by the events that September morning. I can still recall watching television interviews in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in which people of many different backgrounds told reporters that “Things will never be the same again.” And these statements were…

The threat posed by domestic violent extremists is real, but that it is important to place the threat in the proper context. Historical and tactical context is critical in assessing threats because it is what allows us to understand what a threat is, and just as importantly—what it is not. Because of recent Department of…

A man in Würzburg Germany, launched a knife attack against a crowd, killing 3 women and wounding numerous others. This attack comes in the wake of knife attacks against police officers in France in April and May. There have also been several knife attacks in the UK in recent years, including attacks in June and…

Organized jihadist groups and White Supremacist groups have put a great deal of effort into propaganda and online recruitment. However, they are not alone in their ability to recruit and mobilize. The same factors that have allowed terrorist groups to become their own media have also permitted individual attackers to have an outsized influence in…