By Luke Bencie As today’s business environment has become globally interconnected, foreign intelligence activities have extended beyond traditional targets in the U.S. intelligence community and other national security structures. Hostile intelligence services, as well as “private collectors”, now target a wide variety of corporate executives, which has compounded the risk of foreign economic collection and […]
By Luke Bencie For most international business travellers, overseas hotel accommodations can conjure up an array of images. Depending on the region of the world they travel, frequent fliers know that lodging is never consistent. For example, Southeast Asian hotels deliver a personal attention to detail that can only be found in the Orient, while […]
By Luke Bencie and Leo West It should come as no surprise that the aspect of the terrorist attack planning cycle in which the terrorist is most easily detected, is that during the pre-operational surveillance of intended targets. This “exposed” phase has been the downfall of many would-be terrorists and is usually credited as a […]
By Luke Bencie and Josh Tallis – Security Management International, LLC The contemporary business tie has a long and unexpected history behind it. Tracing its way back through Victorian fashion and 15th-century Parisian fancies, it seems as if the necktie originated as a cravat worn by Croatian warriors. So, modern businessmen—wear your armour boldly. Corporate […]
By Luke Bencie Elicitation. A ploy where a seemingly normal conversation is contrived to extract information about the individual, their work, or their colleagues that is not readily available to the public. “So, what do you do?” How often have you been asked this seemingly innocent question on an aeroplane, at a dinner party, or some […]
By Luke Bencie Recently the senior associates at Security Management International decided to see how many countries in Africa they had collectively travelled to. The answer, we’re proud to say, was all of them – 55 countries in total. That is a highly diverse array of nations. This number includes North Africa (the Middle Eastern […]
By Luke Bencie In Joseph Conrad’s classic novel Heart of Darkness, the unexplored and unmapped jungles of the African Congo in the 1890s are referred to as “one of the last dark places of the earth.” Today, with international travel accessible to virtually anywhere, along with the advent of on-line satellite mapping programs, one would […]
By Luke Bencie Today’s business environment is fast-paced, ever-changing and highly competitive. Global interconnectivity, coupled with competitive geopolitical realities, has created a new corporate dynamic that allows for few allies. Being one step ahead of the competition is no longer a matter of securing a holiday bonus; it is vital to a company’s survival. For […]
By Luke Bencie Let’s cut right to the chase. You have a deep desire to be your own boss, and your goal is to make a million dollars over the next twelve months… and why shouldn’t you? Your impressive resume includes decades’ worth of professional experience in the field of security. You probably were – or maybe still […]