One of yesterday’s sessions at this year’s ASIS International European Security Conference dealt with how to manage an intelligence gathering operation in a corporate security management setting. Dr Christoph Rojahn, a former German government BND intelligence officer now working in corporate security, cited the traditional security/business relationship in which a company buys an overseas asset and then instructs the security manager reactively to “put a fence around it”.
Much better, he argued, is a situation in which the security manager is proactively involved in gathering intelligence to ensure the success of all future organisational plans and activities. The business case for this is convincing, as new ventures can run into a range of costly obstacles if risks aren’t adequately mapped beforehand, with intelligence gathering a key source of input into the risk analysis process. Examples include:
- Unforeseen changes to the regulatory environment and revocation of licences
- Companies becoming the target of adversity
- Aggressively hostile competitive environment
- Potentially corrupt suppliers or distributors
- Endemic corruption
- Criminality or human rights abuses within guarding sector
There are numerous examples in which companies could have avoiding vast losses had they gathered the necessary intelligence prior to commencing a new operation or entry into a new market.
Both Intelligence Gathering and Business Expansion – Security Considerations (for example entry into a new market) are two new subjects added to the syllabus of the Security Management Stage 3 Course for 2008. The course takes place in the UK 12-23 May 2008. Contact Janet for more information or to reserve a place, or visit the ARC Training website at www.arc-tc.com.
