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SAMI Accredidation?…Check before you believe… April 30, 2012

Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, Laws and Leglslation, Piracy & Maritime Security.
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I am recently back from speaking an an anti-piracy event in Hamburg, Germany.  Overall, it was a good conference but I was struck by one particular company that was strongly advertising that they were SAMI Accredited.  I thought this claim merited some investigation and it would allow me to understand what, exactly, it means to be SAMI Accredited. First…here is the list of accredited PSMCs through SAMI. The Security Administration for the Maritime Industry or SAMI is a: “a global organisation representing companies working in maritime security and related industries. SAMI has introduced a level of compliance and scrutiny to ensure that the maritime industry can easily identify reputable private maritime security companies. SAMI provides reassurance, guidance, and minimum quality and standards in the delivery of maritime security where none has existed before. The SAMI Standard has been established as the international benchmark for standards within the industry. The Association is an international non -governmental organisation (NGO), which exists to facilitate clear dialogue and a common standards framework in the delivery of maritime security products to the shipping community.”  As a membership organization anyone that is a signatory on the ICOC can join SAMI as a ‘member’.  This does not mean you are accredited.  After joining SAMI a company may then volunteer to participate in the 3 step SAMI Accreditation Programme.  According to the SAMI website: (more…)

UPDATE: “Fast & Furious”; Remember Brian Terry – Killed December 15, 2010 April 27, 2012

Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News.
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UPDATE: Fox news is reporting that “House GOP leaders said Friday they are pursuing a plan to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and the Justice Department in contempt for “stonewalling” them over information regarding the administration’s failed Fast and Furious gun-tracking program.” 

Brian Terry and I served together in the US Marines in the early 1990’s.  He was a good friend, a good Marine and a good person.  After the Marines Brian went on to be a police officer and Border Patrol Agent and member of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC). On December 15th, 2010 he was killed by border bandits armed with AK 47s.  Brian was armed only with ‘less than lethal’ weapons.  The weapons used to kill Agent Terry were later confirmed to be part of the ATF Fast & Furious program in which weapons were allowed by the ATF to be purchased and smuggled into Mexico.   This program was endorsed by current Atty General Eric Holder.  This is not a political post.  Please remember Agent Brian Terry and, if possible, purchase a bumper sticker or t-shirt in remembrance of him.  www.RememberBrianTerry.com

UPDATE: Copying of GlobalRiskInfo Blog (and others) April 24, 2012

Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy, Piracy & Maritime Security.
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2nd UPDATE: lT appears that the company  read my blog and has now (after April 24th) included sources to a few of their posts. Interestingly, the AKE post still does not have AKE’ information included.  I also welcome them to add my own blog to their list of references.  Here is a link to Dr. Heather Mark’s post on her experience with plagiarism.

UPDATE: Curiosity got the best of me so I started checking the other blog posts.  I should be grateful that the company did not simply cut and past my content.  Here are other “borrowed items”.  It is a disgrace when a company cannot do their own work.  At a minimum, writers are required to cite their sources and give attribution.  The absence of even a mention of where the content originated is, in my opinion, intended to cause the reader to assume it is original work.

April 11th, 2012 Post- “Pirates Demand Dh11M to Free Hostages” is a direct cut and paste of The National.ae post of the same name.

April 9th, 2012 Post- “Somali Pirates hijack Vessel with 17 on Board” is a direct cut and paste of an MSNBC.com article of the same name that originally was published on Indiatoday.

The most glaring of these actions can be seen in the post titled: “Somali Pirate Activity Reaches 15 Month High”.  This was originally an article of the same name published by Bloomberg where the information was provided by Intelligence Company AKE who also provides Maritime Security.  The article was copied verbatim with all references to AKE removed.  The intent is clear.

It is pointless to review any further.

 ORIGINAL Few things frustrate a writer more than someone using their work without attribution.  Today a company introduced new blog with numerous posts dated from Jan 2012-April 2012 .  In reviewing the blog, it certainly appears that the company has done little more than “borrow” my own work and not provide attribution to me..the originating author.

Of 15 posts, fully 1/3 appear to be  summaries of my own work.   Maybe I should be flattered?  Maybe the company is simply acknowledging my expertise over their own. Feel free to read the articles and decide…(each of the GlobalRiskInfo posts predate the summarized posts) (more…)

“Lipstick and Eyeshadow on a Pig” + “Nail Polish” April 21, 2012

Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News.
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Since I am heading to the Piracy event in Hamburg, Germany this week and (here is a plug…will be speaking on Cybersecurity), I thought it appropriate to re-post this particular post with some added commentary. You can read the previous posts on vetting armed security here.  I have added four techniques used by companies to project a skewed image.  I call them: “Sitting With Cool Kids” ; “Wining and Dining”; “Bravado Impresario”; and “Rambo-ing a Client”.

This is a bit off topic but I think it is interesting.   In a previous life I used to manage number of competitive intelligence projects for clients. It is field I find fascinating and very interesting and I put quite a bit of time into learning about CI and it’s application.  Today I was reminded of a CI signal and thought I would pass on.  When I was a younger man I liked to race my motorcycle around the streets and highways of Texas.  I remember my friend told me once: “Never race a car or bike that has a primer paint job.”  I asked why and he said: “Because they don’t care about looks and they put all their money into motor.”  It makes perfect sense in street racing and in business.  One of the trends that I look for is companies suddenly “painting their car” or announcing that they are about to “paint their car” for no real reason.  While companies should always be focused on improving their marketability, often a radical change like a total re-branding or a shiny new website suggests something more sinister.   Often these changes are calculated to occur at an opportune time like right before a major industry event.   (more…)

Nexus Security Calls for Investigation into Maritime Pirate Shooting April 20, 2012

Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized, weapons and tactics.
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In a recent press release, Nexus Consulting Group’s Founder and President calls for the recently released video of armed security firing on pirates to be investigated.   You can view the video here.  It appears to be an American company firing on a Somali boat.  As stated by Mr. Doherty:  “As president of Nexus Consulting, a leading provider of armed security teams in the defense of mariners against Somali pirates, I would like to personally note that though we are operating quite regularly conducting anti-piracy missions, the team in this video is not a Nexus team,”  Nexus also provides some valuable vetting questions for those considering maritime security. (more…)