ASIAL Security Insider

As we head into the holiday season, retail sales, increased travel, live events and social engagements can all make for a busy and sometimes hostile environment for security personnel.In this episode of the ASIAL Security Insider podcast, we speak with Trevor Lawson, Director - Asia Pacific Region, Verbal Judo Australia. I have over 20 years of experience in frontline security in the health sector and as an instructor in strategies for managing aggression and customer service skills, Trevor walks us through some strategies for managing hostile encounters and preventing incidents through verbal de-escalation.Trevor was mentored and trained by the former Australian Director of Verbal Judo, Will King, who worked with and was trained by the late George J Thompson, PHD, the original founder and director of Verbal Judo.Verbal Judo has been the go-to tactical communication system for law enforcement departments across the globe for over twenty years.

In this episode of the Security Insider podcast, we speak with Neil Fergus, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Intelligent Risks Pty Ltd. Neil founded Intelligent Risks in 2001 following a 20-year career in the Australian Government; including roles as a senior diplomat, as Manager Middle East and as the Principal Operations Adviser. He has since led IR’s growth into becoming a pre-eminent international management services firm. He is an internationally recognised speaker and author on risk management, security, KRE and terrorism; and is a co-author of Security Risk Management (HB167 – 2006). He has been a senior adviser to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) since 2004, on six Commonwealth Games. He has also been engaged in the planning and delivery of security for 11 Olympic Games, including several reviews for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Neil has conducted numerous complex reviews for governments, such as the ‘Layers of Aviation Security Review’ for the Australian Government and several projects for the US State Department’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, including in the Middle East, East Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. He has led IR security teams delivering projects for several other governments including Argentina, Brazil, Brunei, China, Colombia, France, Greece, India, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UAE and the UK. He has also advised on security planning for several international political summits including APECs, ASEAN, CHOGMs, G20s and NATO. Neil has been directly involved in the response to over 50 international kidnap or forced detention cases. Most of IRs work in this field is under contract to international underwriters. Similarly the IR team are first responders for international underwriters supporting insured entities affected by product contamination and malicious product tampering events. The International Olympic Committee bestowed the Award of the Golden Olympic Rings on Neil for his contribution to the security of Olympics and international sport. The Governor General of Australia awarded Neil the Australian Sports Medal in 2022. He was also awarded the Outstanding Security Professional Award (OSPA) in 2022 as the leading Australian security consultant. 

In this episode of the Security Insider podcast, we explore the issues surrounding the challenges of social media and artificial intelligence, specifically in the context of online radicalisation. How are these tools being used by extremist groups to target and radicalise at-risk individuals? Why has online radicalisation risen in recent years? What can be done to prevent this type of activity, and how might we recognise and address potential victims of online radicalisation in our own organisations?  We are joined by Paul Ash, chief executive of the Christchurch Call Foundation, and Dr Nicole Matejic to help us better understand these challenges. Paul has extensive experience in public policy, including the cyber, digital, and security sectors. In addition to his role as Chief Executive of the Christchurch Call Foundation, he serves as a member of the Aspen Global Cybersecurity Group with the Aspen Institute, one of the world’s leading think tanks on a wide range of topics, including security and global affairs. He was the New Zealand Government representative on the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism and has had a long and illustrious career in government, including 21 years with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, where he served as a Diplomat, Deputy Director of the International Security Disarmament Division and a Senior Policy officer, amongst other roles, before becoming the director of National Cyber Policy, Director, National Security Policy and then the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Cyber and Digital security.  In addition to being an Author & National Security focused Behavioural Economist, Dr Nicole Matejic is the Principal Strategic Advisor at The Christchurch Call Foundation. She is also an adjunct Lecturer on Terrorism and National Security at Charles Sturt University and a partner at Immuto Group, where she focuses on National Security and Sovereign Risk. Her books include Social Media, Rules of Engagement, and The Hate Economy - The Lies People Sell That Lead to Violence. 

In this episode of the ASIAL Security Insider Podcast, we speak with Matthew Curtis, one of the authors and a principal driver of the new ISO 22340 Security and Resilience — Protective Security — Guidelines for an Enterprise Protective Security Architecture and Framework, the first-ever standard providing guidance on protective security. This new standard has been developed and completed within the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization. The draft has now passed the final ballot – the process of resolving final editorial matters, conducting the final edit, and, ultimately, publication will then follow.In this podcast, we discuss how the standard is designed to meet a pressing need for organisations to adopt enterprise governance arrangements, enabling formulation implementation of all security controls coordinated within a single framework and strategically aligned with the business of the organisation.ISO 22340 is the first international standard on protective security and following its planned adoption as an Australian standard, the first of its kind here in Australia as well.Matthew went to great lengths to ensure that he explained the development and deployment of this standard was a team effort, stating, “I owe a great debt of gratitude to the team of professionals who have given so much of their time, knowledge and intellectual rigour to the project. These include Jason Brown, Head of Delegation for Australia to ISO/TC 292, Anna Harris, Chair of the Standards Australia committee MB-025 Security and Resilience, Alex Webling, Julian Talbot, Adam Incher, Matt Warmington, David Harding and Robert Gore, and more latterly, Vern Amey. Also of great value were the contributions and support of colleagues on the project team representing France, United States of America, Norway, Japan, Sweden, Republic of Korea and United Kingdom.”