The soap boxThe virtue of security syndication // by Ilan Meller
In addition to doing everything they can to make themselves more secure, individual organizations may enhance their security by forming a security syndicate with other organizations for the purpose of sharing security-related information; with more organizationas sharing more terror-related “dots,” it may be possible to connect these dots more effectively to form a larger, clearer threat picture
“United we stand” is not just a slogan meant to proclaim social unity but also a vital practical necessity in the war against terror.
Intelligence work requires collecting pieces of information and using them to build the big picture. Seasoned intelligence experts know that a piece of information which did not seem to be important at the time often turns to be a vital piece in the big puzzle.
The private sector faces the same threats as the public sector. Terror does not distinguish between the two, but rather looks for the weakest and most painful spot it can hit. Terror measures its success in terms of disruption of normal life and the impact it has on its victims.
Since terror does not distinguish between targets, the potential victims should stand united in the face of the danger. An old Chinese saying says that one bamboo can be broken by the wind but a bundle of them, tied together, can withstand even the wildest storm. Similarly, businesses ought to stick together in their quest to defend against terror.
One way to do that is by sharing security information among a syndicate of organizations that share the same interest. That interest may be sharing the same geography, sharing the same line of business, or maybe being part of the same organizational structure spread over wide areas, as is the case, for example, of an organization with branch offices.
The power of syndicating the security information can turn out to be a real life saver in cases such as the following:
Imagine a terrorist cell in the Houston area is planning an attack. The cell members are reconnoitering the security weak spots of organizations in the area. The surveillance is performed in the least suspicious American way; by sitting in a parked car outside the potential target campuses while watching the local security procedures. The cell is watching for the most vulnerable and easiest way to attack place by screening the various possibilities in the area.
This is where security syndication comes into play.
—Each security patrol which detects the attended car inputs the car’s details into an appropriate “attended car” reporting form.
—Assuming that the organization belongs to a syndication ring, the information gets disseminated to the syndication server.
—The syndication server, which got similar report previously from a neighboring organization from the Houston area, correlates the two pieces of information, concludes that there might be a problem of stalking terrorists and automatically sets the wheels in motion.
—The activity action list might include notifying the member organizations that this correlation was detected, informing the authorities of the events taking place and so on.
Another example comes from syndication of firms in the same line of business, in which organizations are syndicated for sharing information about fraudulent employees or sabotages.
Each organization can initiate a new syndicate and others can join it freely. The only condition is that each organization has to commit to share the same information that it wishes to get from the other members. The rule of “together we stand” prevails here also.
The company I head, Made4Biz Security Inc., will soon be implementing the security syndication idea when it ships its Security Syndication Solution (SSS).
Ilan Meller, CEO of Made4Biz Security Inc.
