Many people might find it surprising but much of the field-craft that goes into such things as surveillance detection and special protective operations—even some of the sexier stuff—can be applied in your own life as well. For example, the three-part article series about Circles of Security (part 1, part 2, part 3) I wrote a… Read More Applying Covert Field-craft in Your Daily Life
Since I occasionally get requests from people who want me to train them in surveillance detection, I thought it’ll be a good idea to explain why I very rarely teach SD courses anymore. I want to make it very clear that what follows are my own personal opinions about the SD marketplace. It stands to… Read More The Difficulties of Teaching Surveillance Detection
The following article is taken from Chapter 3 of my book Surveillance Zone. The book gives you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into the mysterious world of private-sector espionage, surveillance detection and covert protective operations. Back when I was living in Tokyo, I met a fellow Israeli named Danny who became my closest friend during my years in… Read More Inductive Observation – Watching & Understanding People
What makes covert operations so interesting, and even funny at times, is that things are purposely not what they seem. I often find myself explaining to people that despite its ‘cool factor’, a covert operation isn’t just conducted for fun. It’s a tactical method for achieving very specific goals, and it can be expensive, risky… Read More Covert Operations – Stories From The Field
This article will cover some of the more common misconceptions I’ve encountered among non-practitioners of covert operations (mainly those who want to employ covert operators). For those interested in getting tips for field operators, please check out my previous articles, Tips & Suggestions for Covert Operators and Tips & Suggestions for SD Operators. Overt—Low-Profile—Covert I… Read More Covert Operations – Common Misconceptions
I have two important recommendations to make today. The first one is easy. If you haven’t done so yet, stop what you’re doing and go get Chasing Shadows by Fred Burton. Fred is the Chief Security Officer and Vice President of Intelligence for Stratfor. He was kind enough to send me a signed copy of… Read More Chasing Shadows
What follows is Chapter 12 of my new book Surveillance Zone. The book gives you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into the mysterious world of private-sector espionage, surveillance detection and covert protective operations. By this point in the book, some of you are bound to start asking how you, too, can get in on the action and become… Read More So You Want To Be a Covert Operator
Are there any overlaps between the physical and cyber security fields? Are there certain corners of cyber security that can best be reached by physical security experts, and vice versa? Can the two fields benefit from more cross-pollination and professional cooperation? The answer to all three questions turns out to be a resounding Yes, and… Read More Patrolling The Cyber-Physical Security Border
I had a great time on SOFREP Radio recently. For those of you who haven’t heard of SOFREP, check it out. These guys do lots of good and provide great content, insights and commentary. It was a true honor to be invited on.
I’ll admit it, I have an annoying pet peeve about the security field being described as an art rather than a science. The sentiment in question is that security, protection, intelligence, surveillance detection, etc., can’t be reduced to formulas, equations and lab experiments. There are some general principles, but there aren’t any one-size-fits-all solutions. It… Read More It’s Not An Art, It’s A Science
