Category: Blog

When we think of what special protection Board Members or CEO´s need, most of us will draw a blank. We’ve all been on some kind of board before … be it a club, school or anything like that, and usually that’s all there is to it.

However, that obviously can’t be compared to say, the CEO of Microsoft or BMW or Henkel or Google or Facebook or Daimler, it’s quite different. Personal security, bodyguards and armoured cars aside, there is another often forgotten about area of security and protection. While personal protection is obviously very important, from the viewpoint of the company, there is something else, just as important … the protection of confidential information, classified data and intellectual property.

So, when a big company draws up protection strategies for its corporate board members, or rather, has a security firm do so, this particular topic will feature rather heavily. After all, companies, especially in say, the technology sector have to trust their employees to treat their data smartly. Obviously, if an employee wasn’t trusted, they wouldn’t be allowed to advance to the position of Board member in the first place, however accidents happen.

Files get lost, briefcases are forgotten, and laptops are stolen. There is nothing anyone can do to completely eliminate any chance of that happening, after all, humans aren’t perfect, however they can make sure to minimize and contain the damage done by having a good protection strategy. Step one for that is to not let employees take home any kind of hardcopy of data, print-outs or anything like that.

For electronic data, the measures need to be a bit more sophisticated as it is much harder to prevent someone from carrying out, even accidentally, a file on their laptop. Company laptops and very sophisticated security services come into play here. The standard password protection has long since ceased to be enough. Nowadays, facial recognition, fingerprint scanners and voice pattern recognition systems are used to protect even the seemingly most mundane offices and computers in large corporate offices, as there is no such thing as too much security.

Employees will also be tested by metal scanners and bug devices before going into important and confidential meetings as corporate espionage is growing ever more sophisticated too, along with the protection devices and measures against it. The fake spy pen that makes for a nice laugh in a movie can be a threat to companies worth billions-though in the real world it wouldn’t be shaped like a pen of course.

A panic or safe room is something most of us only know from movies or what we imagine is located under the White House in Washington. That is, of course, most likely true. However, panic or safe rooms aren’t exclusive to the President of the United States of America. They serve a variety of purposes, the primary one revealed in the name itself ‘Safe Room’. Generally, it’s a safe-like room that can be locked from the inside only, for protection purposes. There are several variations of the theme, though the ones displayed in the media are usually fairly unrealistic. While it isn’t impossible to have, for example, a room that locks down completely on the press of a button, it is incredibly impractical. More common are underground rooms with one or two possible exits that are closed mechanically.

A good safe room will have necessary facilities, water and rations as well as a phone connection outside. Similar to a bunker, they can be used to protect oneself from threats like robbers, kidnappers, terrorists or the like. While they don’t come as standard equipment with most houses, they are certainly popular in certain circles, for example with politicians, celebrities, HNWI´s and UHNWI´s.

Large organisations like the U.N. have panic rooms too, in case of, for example, a terrorist attack, for the protection of the visitors. While the benefits of a safe room seem relatively self-explanatory, there are certainly drawbacks as well. First of all, the costs of having one installed, even if there is sufficient space, can be incredibly high, since it requires special planning permission, and resources.

Generally these rooms are built to be very sturdy and strong, able to withstand a theoretical attempted break-in. Ventilation, storage and facilities have to be planned and accounted for, upping the price of construction even further. In today’s day and age, this kind of bunker-like room is hardly necessary for an every-day home, panic rooms have a long history. During the Second World War, a variation of them, bunkers, were very, very common and used during bomb alarms. They were only used for short time stays until the alarm and immediate threat was over. As such, they were much simpler and often intended for use by several people at once.

Modern panic rooms can usually hold between one person and a family, as they are more built to last for time rather than space, for example until help arrives in the form of police. These rooms often have an actual safe in them as well so that small items of value can be taken to safety as well.

By now, most of us will know what SEO is and, at least roughly, how it works. Personal SEO isn’t as well-known or as popular, even though it is something that can and should be relevant to a great number of people.

We will all agree that maintaining a good reputation in the business world is key to a successful career and lucrative job. For many, that means not to post any drunk pictures on Facebook and to keep embarrassing posts to a minimum, however in today’s world that isn’t all there is to it anymore.

Positive storytelling, as it is called, is the art of reputation management on a personal level. The same way a company will try to gear its website and articles towards the best possible search engine placements, the same thing is possible on a more personal level and it should definitely be done.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone, but to younger people, people active in the IT sector, or any kind of leading personnel and managers as well as exposed people, this should be considered a functional skill. As we all know, as far as the internet is concerned, once something is out there, it’s out there forever, which means that we should not only avoid negative content to be spread, which essentially leads to a void of information, no, instead we should actively spread and confirm positive things.

If for no other reason, then because employers, more often than not, google potential employees before hiring them. Now, them finding nothing is still better than finding negative things, however in an ideal situation, the applicant’s reputation management skills will have allowed them to create a positive image that will reinforce the employers intent to hire them rather than not giving them anything at all.

After all, lack of information is also lack of positive things to find, and that should be avoided. Simply having a website with a personal ‘about me’ section and perhaps a few mentions of past projects or awards, successes or jobs will kick-start a personal SEO campaign. That doesn’t necessarily mean that a full scale web page needs to be bought or developed-although if that’s possible that’s a great thing to do as well, no, a front or landing page with a few personal details and a nice smiling picture will, in this case, really tell more than a thousand words, by giving a positive impression to anyone who stumbles across it.

Reputation Protection, Reputation Management, Positive Storytelling, Personal SEO

Armored vehicles are something most only know from movie screens. We expect them to be owned and used by the Pope, the President of the United States or maybe the Emperor of Japan. Granted, that isn’t very far off.
The safety of bulletproof vehicles is valued highly, especially by politicians that sometimes find themselves in the centre of a bull’s-eye, as well as the occasional celebrity.
As a rule, armored vehicles come with personal guards (bodyguards, executive protection agents) as well, to ensure the safety of the passenger of the car. In the case of the President of the United States, there are usually several cars, with the location of the president being kept secret to minimize the risk for his person to be protected.
Most kinds of armored or bulletproof vehicles are built to withstand bullets of commercial firearms and possibly grenades, especially in the window area. To do that, special materials are used. This ends up increasing the weight of the finished vehicle by quite a lot-they often require special permissions to be allowed on the street. Reinforced parts, often using Kevlar and ceramic, the same materials used for body armor, assure that the passenger is kept safe long enough for other forces to take over protection.

Nowadays, bulletproof vehicles come in many different shapes, models and makes, and they are available commercially. There are companies that will take ‘normal’ cars and upgrade them, then there are car companies that will produce special editions of commercial cars that are bulletproof, and companies that exclusively focus on producing armored vehicles.
Each option has its up and downsides. Generally, upgrading a vehicle can be very expensive and takes up rather a lot of time during which the car is out of commission. A special edition car of a brand like BMW, Mercedes, Audi or SUV (i.e. Toyota) can take a very long time to receive since they are specially manufactured. Another downside here is that the available models are somewhat limited. And as for the last option, an off-brand vehicle, they are generally easy to spot as not being normal vehicles.

As far as the upsides go, the third option is, in general, the most affordable one, and sometimes the safest as the vehicles are built with safety in mind from scratch. Upgrading a normal vehicle means that it’s possible to get a bulletproof vehicle that is more or less unique, and it allows the owner to choose a car more freely than from the limited pool of vehicles. That, however, has the advantage of behind a low-hassle and discreet choice of car that doesn’t sacrifice any functionality.

Having a security manager is key for all types of people. Families who have young kids, people who have some wealth/valuable property, people who store client data and much more. Without security your family/possessions could be at risk to theft, kidnapping for ransom, Extortion and Blackmail. Those reasons alone should be enough for you to consider hiring somebody for security management.
Many people would say that their family is the most important thing to them, however many neglect the security, thinking that ‘locking the door’ will be enough or ‘keeping a password’ will stop hackers – You are wrong. Simple security measures might have worked 10 years ago but in an evolving world where criminals are getting smarter by the minute you will need to adapt, or hire someone to show you how best to adapt.
It’s all well and good to talk about needing ‘security’ but what is security? Security comes in 4 different ways: Technology, Physical, Political and Monetary. Technology includes things like Computer Security, Data Security and Network Security. Physical Security is what most people think of when it comes to security, it includes things such as: Home Security, School Security and Transportation Security.
Political Security involves things concerning a much wider range of things. It can vary from: National Security, Homeland Security and International Security. Monetary Security is simply the economical & financial security and stability. As you can see, there are many threats out there and I have simply named a few of what can be an endless list. Of course there is very little you can do for the Financial Security of your country, or the Homeland security for that matter but you can protect your corner in the world with some simple methods:

1. Security Cameras – In a dangerous world where everyone is susceptible to danger you should have dash cams in your vehicles, and security cameras around your home. Many technology firms are coming out with these all-in-one security suites that are quite intelligent.
2. Shredding Letters – How often have you thrown out a bill just into the trash? That’s 33-50 percent of what a fraudster will need to fake your identity. If a person manages to get hold of just a few more documents like a bank statement or payslip then they can very easily fraud their way into your life by applying for credit illegally for example. You should shred your letters for security and fraud prevention reasons.

Here are just some ways you can impact your security right now. Doing so will take your risk down significantly. Why not look at bringing in a Family Security Manager if you are concerned for your children’s safety and security? Or a private/personal security manager if you just want some extra peace of mind.