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Lessons from a Thwarted Plot in Michigan

TorchStone GlobalOctober 10, 2020

Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with a large, multi-state investigation into domestic terrorist activities. Six of them were charged by federal officials with plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, while the remaining seven face state charges for allegedly attempting to identify the homes of law enforcement officers to launch attacks against them.…

Protective Intelligence Lessons from a Failed Assassination in Mexico

TorchStone GlobalJune 30, 2020

At 6:35 on the morning of June 26, the armored Suburban carrying Mexico City’s Secretary of Public Security Omar García Harfuch, was traveling along the Paseo de la Reforma through the heart of Mexico City’s prestigious Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood of Mexico City. As the vehicle approached the intersection of Monte Blanco, a public works…

The Role of Baseline Threat Assessments in Protective Intelligence

TorchStone GlobalJune 19, 2020

As their name suggests, baseline threat assessments are foundational tools protective intelligence teams use to establish the threat posed to a specific person, company, event or facility. Baseline threat assessments are conducted to create as complete a picture as possible of the existing threat level, and will typically examine factors that could bring hostile attention…

Understanding and Countering Stalkers

TorchStone GlobalJune 4, 2020

On May 11, singer Billie Eilish obtained a restraining order against a fan who had repeatedly approached her residence, TMZ reported. According to TMZ, the fan traveled to Los Angeles from New York and approached her residence seven times over a period of two days. The man was confronted by security numerous times and yet…

Postmodernism and the Insider Threat

TorchStone GlobalJune 4, 2020

Insider threats are nothing new; factors such as greed, grievance, duplicity, and malice have long served to motivate workers to steal from or cause harm to their employers. Indeed, greed and grievance form a powerful dyad that combine to provide the motive for many, if not most insider threats. Ideology, however, can also be a…

Preparing for the Next Crisis

TorchStone GlobalMay 22, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis is unlike anything most of us have experienced in our professional lives. It is presenting an array of new security challenges as workplaces are shut down, tens of millions of workers have been laid off, and those still on the payroll are now mostly working from home. Companies are experiencing terrible financial…

The Pathway to Violence Graphic - TorchStone Global

Where the Attack Cycle Intersects the Pathway to Violence

TorchStone GlobalMay 13, 2020

I’ve written about how the concept of the attack cycle is a useful framework protective intelligence practitioners can use to understand, identify and detect behaviors associated with an intentional or targeted attack. I’ve also discussed how the demands of the attack cycle requires those planning an attack to conduct certain activities and the vulnerabilities to…

The Attack Cycle Graphic - TorchStone Global

Exploiting Vulnerabilities in the Attack Cycle

TorchStone GlobalMay 4, 2020

In the piece TorchStone Global previously published on understanding the attack cycle, I noted that the most important reason for studying the attack cycle is that it is a useful tool for proactively preventing attacks. It does so by providing a framework to identify behaviors and activities associated with an attack as it is being…

International Burn Down a 5G Tower Day

TorchStone GlobalMay 4, 2020

What is Happening: A group of internet activists have declared May 3, 2020 to be “International Burn Down a 5G Tower Day.” They have been using the hashtags such as #burn5G, #burn5Gtowers, #destroy5G, #destroy5Gtowers, #Disable5GTowers, #kill5G, #kill5Gtowers and #teardown5G. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have been working diligently to remove content, forcing it to migrate to…

The Importance of Understanding the Attack Cycle

TorchStone GlobalApril 24, 2020

In the piece I wrote on the need for, and functions of protective intelligence programs, I discussed how one of the foundational precepts in the way TorchStone approaches protective intelligence is by recognizing the reality that intentional attacks “don’t just happen.” They are the result of a discernable process that can be detected -- and…

Why Your Company Needs a Protective Intelligence Program

TorchStone GlobalApril 15, 2020

Many people perceive protective intelligence (PI) as some sort of highly-secret government program that is only used to protect the President and other high-level elected officials from terrorist plots. Certainly, this is one important use-case for PI, but in truth, PI programs are proactive tools that can be used to help any company or organization stay…