GPS At Risk of Jamming… February 23, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, weapons and tactics.Tags: Chris Mark, GPS, jamming, mark consulting group, privacy, security
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There is a good article on Foxnews about the risk of the GPS network. Our GPS network is a series of satellites that are geosynchronous orbit about 12,000 above Earth. Basically your GPS receiver receives a time code from three or more satellites and calculates the position by simple triangulation. The civilian satellites are ‘open’ and require not authentication and have no encryption although the military GPS can use encryption. According to Todd Humphries of the University of Texas: “The civil GPS signal’s completely open and vulnerable to a spoofing attack, because they have no authentication and no encryption,” … “It’s almost trivial to mimic those signals to imitate them and fool a GPS receiver into tracking your signals instead of the authentic ones.” If you consider how prevalent GPS has become it could clearly be a target for terrorists or others with bad intentions. In doing some basic research I found a number of GPS jammers on sale over the Internet for between $100US and $500US. It should be noted that GPS jammers are illegal in the US.
Playing in Mogadishu – The Dangers of False Security and the Value of Situational Awareness February 23, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Risk & Risk Management, weapons and tactics.Tags: Chris Mark, cybersecurity, mark consulting group, security, situational awareness, USMC, weapons
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UPDATE: This is a great video that shows the difficulty in reacting with a concealed weapon. Let me be clear, I am a proponent of the 2nd Amendment but I think that people place too much trust in their firearms without proper training.
Recently, I was discussing gun laws and other issues with some gentlemen with whom I used to work. I live in a state (Utah) that has very liberal gun laws and a LOT of people who carry concealed firearms. A short 4 hour class with no proficiency testing any adult that is a US Citizen without a felony can carry a concealed weapon in Utah. This is a scary proposition to many (including me). The men were talking with full confidence about how they feel more safe with their guns. They referenced a few situations in which some woman had been assaulted and stated with full confidence that if the women had been armed, the assault would not have occurred. I explained to them that it is more important to have situational awareness than it is to have a weapon. (more…)
Egypt States Position on Armed Guards and Weapons February 22, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, Piracy & Maritime Security, weapons and tactics.Tags: armed security, Chris Mark, Egypt, Maritime Security, mark consulting group, markconsultinggroup.com, Piracy & Maritime Security, UK P&I
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UK P&I Club released a bulletin that outlines Egypt’s position on armed guards and weapons within Egypt and its waters. Below are the salient points of the letter received from the Egyptian Government:
“1) The Egyptian Government forbids the presence of any Weapons / Armed Guards on
board of commercial vessels as per the rules and regulations of the International Maritime Organization. (more…)
Security 101: “You don’t have to out run a bear…just your friends” February 22, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, Piracy & Maritime Security, Risk & Risk Management, weapons and tactics.Tags: armed security, arms race, Chris Mark, cybersecurity, InfoSec, Piracy & Maritime Security, risk, risk management, security
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Yesterday MSNBC had a story that discussed the “arms race” between Somali pirates and shipping companies. The article discussed the increasing violence of the pirates. While this should come as no surprise to anyone, it is a single statement that caught my attention. “Greater use of private armed security guards on ships and a much tougher approach by international navies is beginning to work, some… say. (more…)
“Lipstick on a Pig”- Vetting Armed Security Part 3 February 21, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Risk & Risk Management.Tags: Anti Piracy, armed security, Chris Mark, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, risk management, security, vetting security
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The recent event where Italian military personnel killed “suspected pirates” off the coast of India should provide an exclamation point to shipping companies on the need to carefully evaluate the armed security protecting their vessels. While military personnel were involved in this particular incident, it is simply a matter of time before private military contractors make the same mistake. This post is part 3 of a series of posts on vetting companies. You can read the previous posts here and here.
One of the tactics being employed by many companies within the maritime security arena, and especially those with little experience, is to promote the fact that they are “ICOC signatories” as evidence of their professionalism and expertise. While there is little debate that the ICOC is a step in the right direction toward gaining some form of control over a growing industry, the ICOC is NOT and should NOT be viewed as anything more than what it is. Using the ICOC as any basis of evaluation of a security company is both dangerous and short sighted. All companies should be signatories of the ICOC. That being said, the ICOC is not intended to be a governance document or standard. The purpose of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Companies (ICOC PSC) is to: (more…)
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