Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management

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

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…)