“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
1 comment so far
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…)
Chris Speaking at Piracy Week Hamburg- April 23-26, 2012 April 17, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy, Piracy & Maritime Security.Tags: Anti Piracy, Chris Mark, combating piracy week, cybersecurity, hanson wade, InfoSec
2 comments
I am off to Hamburg, Germany next week to speak at the 11th Annual Combating Piracy event sponsored by Hanson Wade. If you are in Germany, come by. Hanson Wade puts on some great events. I am speaking for Guardian Maritime Security on the topic of CyberSecurity in the Maritime Industry. Last year I spoke on deterrence theory and the Value of armed guards in the protection of vessels. Protection Vessels International (PVI) will be giving an update on the Evolving and Complex Tactics of Pirates.
As usual, some company will speak on “selecting a security vendor” in an attempt to win business. I would think for 4K Euros people would expect to hear more than a sales pitch from a struggling company…but…I digress.
I am actually excited about attending to catch up with some friends, talk to new clients and most importantly…eat at Subway. That’s right..there is a Subway sandwich store in Hamburg, Germany! Many people are unaware that Marine Corps Snipers and Subway have a long history together.
I may be taking a short hiatus while in Germany but will get back to writing as soon as I return.
Chris Mark Speaking at Combating Piracy Week in Hamburg February 2, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy, Piracy & Maritime Security, Risk & Risk Management.Tags: Chris Mark, combating piracy week, cyberpiracy, hanson wade, InfoSec, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, risk management, security
add a comment
I will be speaking at the Combating Piracy Week in Hamburg, Germany on the topic of CyberSecurity & CyberEspionage The topic will discuss the topics with a focus on who is trying to steal your data and why. It will also cover the technologies and tactics of how they can steal your corporate data and what the uses of such data. You can get a preview of the topic by reading the Maritime Executive article in which I was interviewed.
If you have not attended one of the Hanson Wade Piracy events, it is worth attending. Hanson Wade’ personnel do a great job of coordinating networking and the speakers are all very professional and very adept. I have had opportunity to speak at nearly 100 events in the past 12 years or so and I would put the Hanson Wade events in the top 5 in terms of value for the money. I highly recommend this event for security companies that want to meet decision makers and speak with the people who influence the industry from a security perspective.
CyberSecurity & Piracy December 17, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized.Tags: Chris Mark, combating piracy week, hanson wade, InfoSec, maritime piracy, Maritime Security, mark consulting group, risk management, security, somali pirates
add a comment
This past summer I was interviewed by Maritime Executive on the topic of CyberPiracy. The article discussed the need for increased information assurance practices among shipping companies. As shipping companies increasingly turn to armed guards and ships increasingly adopt BMP4, hijackings have decreased. In response the pirates, and those who fund and support the pirates, are looking for new ways to increase their likelihood of successfully hijacking a ship while minimizing the risk to the pirates. Increasingly, pirates are turning to high tech, and not so high tech, solutions. It is an established fact that pirates are using information found on the AIS system as well as GPS and satellite phones to locate and coordinate attacks. Now information is coming forward that the pirates groups are using sources within ports, and shipping companies to identify those vessels that they want to attack. It has been reported that hackers are being employed to steal data related to cargo as well as the user of armed guards. While this topic is too broad to discuss in a blog post, I will begin posting a series of articles on cyber security and steps shipping companies can take to minimize the risk of their data being compromised.
This past Fall, I had the opportunity to speak at Hanson Wade anti-piracy event in London. If you have not attended a Hanson Wade event, they are very worthwhile. I have spoken at literally scores of events over the past 10 years and few, if any, were as well organized. The next event is scheduled for April, 2012 in Hamburg Germany. As luck would have it they have a section on CyberSecurity. Take a look and see if it is worth attending..
Cyber Piracy- Clear and Present Danger (in Maritime Executive) November 2, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized.Tags: Chris Mark, hanson wade, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, somali pirates
add a comment
Maritime Executive’s Jack O’Connell published a very good article on cybercrime and its impact on the shipping industry. Recently, Lloyds list also published an article on the same topic. With the shipping industry taking steps to prevent piracy, pirates are turning to technology to gain advantage over the shipping companies. Read the article here.
Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management 