Monthly Archives: April 2024

Beth Hepworth considers a big year for global elections in this digital threat forecast 2024 is set to be a monumental year for democracy; with over two billion people across 50 countries going to the polls to elect representatives at local, national and intra-continental levels. This includes elections in some of the world’s most populous… Read more »

Patrick Rea examines the mental health challenges facing the security sector The mental health of security personnel in the UK is under unprecedented strain, a situation brought into sharp relief by a landmark 2020 study by Professor Mark Button, Professor of Criminology at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth. This… Read more »

Paul D Turner examines the growing role that AI plays in signals intelligence and technical surveillance countermeasures Perhaps dangerously overused and misunderstood, AI plays a significant role within SIGINT/TSCM across administrative and deployment-oriented signal analysis, analytics and reporting, as a path to clarity of large intelligence data subsets. AI and Machine Learning (ML) can be… Read more »

Joseph Carson addresses the growing cyber threats to critical national infrastructure In an era where digital connectivity underpins the very fabric of society, the security of our Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) has never been more important. In recent years there has been a surge in sophisticated cyber attacks targeting these vital systems, including energy grids,… Read more »

Eugenia Marina explores the role of biometrics in education: navigating the path to a secure and inclusive learning environment In light of the urgent global problems, education is a lighthouse for hope that will bring about change. Like any other aspect of our daily lives, the education sector is not unexposed to the effects of… Read more »

Elaine Whyte examines the UK security implications of the recent Spring Budget The geopolitical environment created a challenging backdrop for the Spring Budget, as the UK’s role in promoting peace and security around the world, most pressingly in Ukraine, competed with fiscal challenges. The Government is holding the Defence budget at 2 percent of GDP… Read more »

Simon Alderson examines the role of security firms in managing activist protests The ‘friendly threat’ that activists pose to event disruption is often incredibly difficult for security firms to spot. Although security measures can be in place such as body searches and checkpoints, activists often can get around these by concealing banners and often small… Read more »

Paul Mason considers how the security community can work together to deliver Protect Duty legislation. As identified in the Manchester Arena Inquiry (the recommendations from which inform Martyn’s Law), a lack of preparedness and inadequate response to suspicious behaviour, enabling the terrorist to carry out his attack with tragic consequences, were amongst the key shortcomings… Read more »

Rodger Cook, Kate Fitzpatrick and Frank Harrison at World Travel Protection examine the current security challenges facing the global traveller International travel in 2024 is at a pivotal crossroads, eagerly anticipated by travel enthusiasts, businesses and governments alike, yet facing greater risk and uncertainty than in living memory. Travelling teams face numerous risks in today’s… Read more »