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My colleagues:
I realize that the subject of espionage/counterespionage/OPSEC is rarely taught in basic officer training, but should be. These facts are indisputable:
1. Industrial espionage is alive and well in the USA. A newspaper article just the other day reported that Soviet spying, which is targeted against much more than just the military-industrial complex, has returned to Cold War levels.
2. The security officer is the first line of defense against some of the "black-bag" operations employed by industrial spies. Such operations typically involve the actual physical penetration of the site by the spy, or the carrying out of confidential information by a trusted employee.
3. Competitive domestic spying is as dangerous as spying by foreign governments, and can be conducted against virtually any target. No company can afford the luxury of assuming that it would not be targeted because spying is conducted against companies in virtually every industry. There have even been organized operations conducted by one church against another, and by one educational institution against another. Wherever there's MONEY, POWER or INFLUENCE, you can bet there's someone else who wants it and who might not be overly scrupulous about how they get it.
Here's an article that will raise your awareness level and give you some things to be looking for other than fires and car-thefts when you're patrolling: The Perpetrators. For instance, a car is parked adjacent to your venue where you hadn't noticed one before...you approach from the rear and notice the occupant is using a laptop computer. He might well be hooking up with your company's Wi-Fi network. Or...new janitor on the contract cleaning crew. What happened to the old one? Might be worth keeping an eye on.
You'll think of other scenarios from reading this article.
I realize that the subject of espionage/counterespionage/OPSEC is rarely taught in basic officer training, but should be. These facts are indisputable:
1. Industrial espionage is alive and well in the USA. A newspaper article just the other day reported that Soviet spying, which is targeted against much more than just the military-industrial complex, has returned to Cold War levels.
2. The security officer is the first line of defense against some of the "black-bag" operations employed by industrial spies. Such operations typically involve the actual physical penetration of the site by the spy, or the carrying out of confidential information by a trusted employee.
3. Competitive domestic spying is as dangerous as spying by foreign governments, and can be conducted against virtually any target. No company can afford the luxury of assuming that it would not be targeted because spying is conducted against companies in virtually every industry. There have even been organized operations conducted by one church against another, and by one educational institution against another. Wherever there's MONEY, POWER or INFLUENCE, you can bet there's someone else who wants it and who might not be overly scrupulous about how they get it.
Here's an article that will raise your awareness level and give you some things to be looking for other than fires and car-thefts when you're patrolling: The Perpetrators. For instance, a car is parked adjacent to your venue where you hadn't noticed one before...you approach from the rear and notice the occupant is using a laptop computer. He might well be hooking up with your company's Wi-Fi network. Or...new janitor on the contract cleaning crew. What happened to the old one? Might be worth keeping an eye on.
You'll think of other scenarios from reading this article.