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“Insider threats” cause for concern for aviation security
As 2015 came to a close, the media was awash with a series of devastating and deeply concerning events, ranging from the terrible events that led to the Metrojet crash near Sharm-el-Sheihk to the attacks in Paris, and most recently, the evacuation of an Air France jet after a suspicious item was found.
January 19, 2016 By Redline Assured Security
With heightened security across Europe, Redline Assured Security have seen a huge increase in enquiries, and are making constant updates to their services in line with recent developments. Jim Termini, Director and former pilot, discussed the events and the changes which must be made for global security today.
According to Termini, the recent attacks have highlighted a number of disparities in security standards across the globe. “If we can get everyone to the same standard that would be a massive bonus – at the moment there is a huge disparity of standards between the EU, US and some other countries,” he says.
With that in mind, Termini advises that in order to guarantee high quality security standards, we need to understand risk. “Threat isn’t something we own – it’s owned by the would-be attacker. We own the vulnerabilities, so the risk is a combination of the threat and vulnerabilities. We need to close down vulnerabilities which could be exploited by the attacker.”
These key principles are something which Termini is keen to exercise across the whole business, which has recently expanded into events, CNI, corporate and cyber security fields. Of course, within each sector, some threats are graver than others, and Termini advises there are a number of dangers we should look out for across each one of them.
“For aviation security, the biggest threat is the insider threat – someone who has passed background checks but later becomes radicalised. There are behavioural markers which can be used to great effect to mitigate this.”
Meanwhile, for the corporate and CNI sectors, Termini identifies the ‘lone wolf’ or copycat attacker as the biggest threat. “The recent attack at Leytonstone station was a good example of that – someone who may or may not be known to the authorities, who has become radicalised.
“We cannot stop that from happening, but we can use robust procedures to deal with it effectively.”
With large events coming up such as UEFA Euro 2016 next year, Termini advises that overt security is the best way to deter an attacker. “Armed police, bag and body searches and CCTV are all good deterrents. If you think back to the Olympics, there were even soldiers being used for security.”
While Redline Assured Security are still working on their cyber security offering, the team have already begun expanding their product range in line with recent attacks. “When we had the alleged bomb plan from Sharm el-Sheikh, we updated our training products, so that in the event of copycat use, operators and screeners would have a better chance of recognising a potentially dangerous device.”
Termini acknowledged that financial constraints have slowed the development of some threat-mitigating technology. “As an example, we’re only now getting to grips with effective technology that can deal with liquid explosives. The liquid bomb plot was in 2006.”
So how can Redline Assured Security keep us assured with increasingly-advancing technological threats? “Our operation is designed to bring in quality assurance activities, which uncover deficiencies in training, equipment, policies or procedures. We can also provide consultancy on these procedures.
“Our training can detect deficiencies in training and technology through robust supervision and strong management. Whatever part of the process is brought in, we’ve got a solution.”
