SAMI Accredidation?…Check before you believe… April 30, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, Laws and Leglslation, Piracy & Maritime Security.Tags: Accredidation, Chris Mark, Maritime Security, membership, Piracy Europe, SAMI
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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.Tags: ATF, BORTAC, Brian Terry, Chris Mark, fast and furious, RememberBrianTerry.com, security, USMC
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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.Tags: Chris Mark, Dr. Heather Mark, geopolitical context of piracy, plagerism
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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.Tags: Chris Mark, competitive intelligence, cybersecurity, hanson wade, Maritime Security, mark consulting group, piracy, Piracy Europe, Scout/Sniper
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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…)
Warriors4Charity- Get Involved & Help Ryan! April 19, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News.Tags: aspergers, autism, charity, Chris Mark, ryan rajczi, warriors4charity
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A couple of months ago a few friends and I started an informal organization (no formal) called Warriors4Charity (website still being built) to help a young girl get a service dog she desperately needed. The effort was much more effective than we could have imagined and a number of other great folks (not military) joined the effort and really kicked butt in helping raise money and awareness. Due to the success, we have moved on to help another young man who needs a service dog. (that is Ryan in the picture). If you have an interest in becoming a Warrior4Charity then here is what to expect…you will work, donate time, money, blood, sweat, & tears and get nothing in return except the satisfaction and pride of knowing you helped someone like Ryan 😉 If you want to take the lead in your city, please send me an email. If you want to help Ryan directly, please visit his website: www.4Paws4Ryan.org Here is his dog Yankee..(already picked out…hint, hint 😉
