Yet again this week, the news reported that the personal and private details of a number of high profile female UK athletes, had been stolen and revealed via the Dark Web.In this instance they were apparently compromising personal photographs and videos. It is difficult to imagine the anxiety and harm caused by this act of theft. Some will deflect the issue and talk about the subject of personal images, irrelevant and frankly none of anyone’s business. They were ‘secured’ on ...
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This articles was recently featured by Risk Coalition a network of not-for-profit professional bodies and membership organisations committed to raising the standards of risk management in the UK With daily reports of redundancies and loss of bonuses, Defuse predicts an escalation of personal threats. In this climate, how do you mitigate the escalating risks for the C-Suit? Most targeted campaigns are by fixated persons, such as those suffering from deteriorating mental health or activists, and they usually start from a ...
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To many the headline ‘Bodyguards hired to protect Jordan Pickford and his family after Everton goalkeeper receives death threats’ would appear to be a sensible approach to the abuse and threats that Jordan Pickford has received. The problem is that it is deeply flawed and will do very little to keep either him or his family safe and nothing to help them feel safer. Jordan Pickford is the goalkeeper for Everton Football Club. During a recent derby with their neighbours ...
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A worrying theme of recent media news has been the number of stalking cases where a high-profile person or their partner has been the victim of a targeted campaign. Those responsible for these campaigns are termed fixated persons. Another trend of fixated persons has been the attacks on the US Governor, the Parisian teacher and the British lawyer, all of whom have been the subject of a targeted fixated attack, with the Parisian teacher being fatal. Defuse specialise in identifying ...
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There is rarely a day when the subject of tackling online abuse isn’t mentioned in our news. I launched Defuse to combat online abuse having been brought into Parliament following the murder of Jo Cox MP and spent the next 3 years leading a team investigating the abuse, threats and intimidation targeted at politicians during the Brexit debates. In that time, I had the privilege of engaging with and learning best practices from many of the world’s experts, including those ...
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There is generally a good deal of confusion about the difference between harassment and stalking, including by law enforcement and lawyers. This report will provide some clarity, based on UK legislation, on the differences with some greater details focussed on stalking which generally poses the greater risk. Both harassment and stalking are criminal offences in the UK and are covered by The Protection of Harassment Act 1997. The fact is that the Stalking offence was added to this Act and ...
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From the US Department of Justice looking to prevent targeted violent attacks to tackling online abuse against high profile people or identifying intervention points when a CEO is threatened, the Pathway to Violence is a model that identifies the journey an individual takes. The decision to attack and harm an identified person at work, on an educational campus or in public life is now referred to as targeted or intended violence. This is quite different to an impulsive emotive action ...
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Around one in six women and one in fifteen men have been stalked. The question many ask is “What is Stalking?” and “How do I know if I am being stalked?” Stalking is repeated communications that are unwanted and intrusive. A stalker can be a complete stranger, someone you met online, a workmate, a client, or an acquaintance. Around half of all stalkers are former partners. Stalking often evolves from domestic and family violence. Stalking takes many forms and common ...
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The private security industry includes a variety of different services, and with that comes a wide variety of security costs. The services available varied from providing a static guard or installing CCTV to a private detective or a full armed close protection team. Very often the security costs are not publicly disclosed or provided. There are often good reasons for this and yet sometimes reasons that don’t really stack up. What factors influence security costs being published? There are many ...
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Targeted attacks are among the greatest threat to people and organisations that require protection face. Targeted attacks are predatory and pre planned and hence provide opportunities to disrupt and prevent them being successful. The Science Behind Stopping Targeted Attacks discusses the methodology that seeks to identify and stop those destined to attack. The MP Jo Cox was the victim of such an attack. Philip Grindell was the person brought in to stop another successful attack, which he successfully did along ...
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Former Scotland Yard Detective & current CEO of Defuse Global, Philip Grindell talks about threat assessment & investigation & the difference in helping clients feel safer versus being physical safe. Philip had a unique entry into the protective arena where he was thrust into it as an investigator looking into the assassination of a member of the British Parliament. This is a great discussion on threat assessment as well as educating those around you on exactly what it is that ...
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Covid19 has been unprecedented and its legacy may include grievance driven threats. It has had a global impact, thousands of people have died, many are still suffering. The world has changed. We are embracing new technologies and rethinking how we will engage as we move towards a new reality. Online meetings are now the norm and the idea of travelling into the cities for a short meeting, when we can now jump online and have the same meeting, saving time, ...
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One definition of Cyber security is the application of technologies, processes and controls to protect systems, networks, programs, devices and data from cyber-attacks.[1] Defuse provides the Missing Component of the Cyber Security Solution!-- /wp:paragraph --> Companies can have the very best cyber solutions available to them, but whether by an insider threat, poor personal management or other means, increasingly the threat evolves from the targeting of key individuals. Whilst we continue to hear accounts of systematic attacks and data being ...
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The term ‘mansplaining’ has become increasingly common and can be defined as the explanation of something by a man, typically to a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing. Together with this term is a recognition of a threat towards women that whilst not new, is now subject to greater recognition and accompanying research. Terms such as ‘Incels’ ‘Red Pill’ and ‘Chad and Stacey’ are gaining recognition, and where once they might have been dismissed, they are now ...
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Habit number 5 of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of High Successful People is ‘Seek First to Understand, and Then be Understood’. This habit is about communication, and you may wonder what this has to do with reduce threat, risk and vulnerability. The answer is this; do you really understand what is meant by these terms in the security context? Do you understand how they fit together, and therefore how to dismantle them and reduce each one? Rather like my recruit ...
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Podcast Link Featured on the Digital Culture Change Podcast, Philip and host Larry Anderson discuss various topics such as the typical (but not exclusive) demographic of online trolls, the current cultural norms of acceptable online behaviour; working from home during lockdown; young girls exploited by gangs and how to report trolls ...
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The 1997 Exceptional Case Study Project, which investigated every assassination or attempt since 1949 failed the make a connection between those who threaten and those who attack. This was further corroborated by David James and others in 2007 when the Fixated Research Group investigated serious attacks on European politicians. Whilst they evidenced that in nearly 50% of the cases warning behaviours were evident, they could find no evidence of directly communicated threats. If further corroboration was required, it was provided ...
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A good friend of mine who is incredibly highly trained in martial arts used to talk of the test he had to take in Japan. He was required to kneel in a hall, along with others taking the same test. Behind them was a person armed with a staff, whose job it was to strike the kneeling student at any point during the allotted time. The student’s test was to move at the appropriate time to avoid being struck. Move ...
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I recently had an interview with a journalist from The Express, which covered the subject of online abuse, misogyny as a hate crime and such matters. When the article was published the headline was ‘Ex-top cop is demanding online abuse of women becomes a hate crime’ So, two issues become immediately apparent, firstly I was not and have never declared myself to be a top cop in any manner and secondly, I have not demanded, I’ve suggested. The headline is ...
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1. Don’t feed the Trolls;In essence what this means, is don’t respond. Trolls and those that chose to be abusive do it to get a response, so don’t give them one.You will rarely if ever persuade them of the error of their ways, nor will you win the argument and are unlikely to leave feeling better. They often have a small following, so by responding, sharing etc you are exposing them to a far wider audience and to some degree ...
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“I’m terrified to even leave my home.” There I sat across from one of England’s highest-profile individuals, watching them sob while they shared how overwhelmed they were with fear. Publicly, they held it all together. Strong. Confident. Composed. But behind closed doors, their life was being turned upside down by someone, or rather something, that’s become more and more common in the lives of today’s celebrity: Online abuse. As an advisor on national and personal security issues, I’ve watched fearless ...
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Whoever said ‘Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but Words will never hurt me’…was wrong! The origins of the rhyme which persuades children to ignore unpleasant taunts, to refrain from physical retaliation, and to remain calm and good-living, dates back to a very different era, well before social media and the internet, way back to 1830 according to some records. The recent documentary featuring Jesy Nelson from Little Mix fame, demonstrated that words, including in the written form can ...
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The new football season is now back into full swing and with-it racism and vile abuse has returned. Having spent the last few years dealing with vile abuse, including racism and anti Semitism targeted towards Politicians, I believe that the blaming of Social Media platforms achieves very little. When I became a Scotland Yard Detective, one of my mentors drilled into me the importance of fully understanding the issue I was dealing with before considering how to solve it. Unfortunately, ...
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For many people the quest is to amass as many followers on Social Media as possible. The lucky ones monetise their profiles making a profession from it whilst for others it just boosts their egos. But how many understand the consequences and risks that go with it. Whilst I can’t prove this, it is likely that… If you have hundreds of followers, you are likely to have someone odd following you If you have thousands of followers, you are likely ...
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Now this may come as a surprise, but my wife had me watching Love Island…not sure if she is trying to tell me something or because she sees the connection to what Defuse does…dealing with abuse not solving dating issues!When I saw the following headline my heart sank, as it really just isn’t that simple! Love Island's Harley breaks silence on "horrible" trolling she received while in the villa, stating that "I'm going to take everything with a pinch of ...
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According to the 2019 Sunday Times Rich list, one the of greatest concerns of the UHNW community is privacy, which to some may seem somewhat ironic as every time you go online or open the paper they are there apparently flaunting their fabulous life, and herein lies the issue for people in public life….is less really more? From a personal safety and security perspective this presents issues, however having been focussed on keeping politicians safe for the past few years ...
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The Times on Saturday ran an excellent article with the above headline, Burglars scour Hello! to target homes of rich. The article supports and follows on from my previous blog about privacy. A subject that is clearly worth re-visiting. In 2017 former Chelsea and England captain John Terry’s home was burgled whilst he was away on holiday. Terry's home was targeted after he posted pictures from the French Alps and told 3.4 million Instagram followers he was having "a great ...
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