To Be Forewarned Is To Be Forearmed - The Rise of Web Intelligence

Several weeks ago I was participating in local 10k run made even more challenging by the wind howling off of the Solent! Much of the talk amongst the crowd and runners afterwards was of the storm that was forecast for later in the evening. Sure enough the winds gathered strength and the next morning there was the obligatory news item on fallen trees.

Weather predictions have come on leaps and bounds since the infamous forecast by Michael Fish way back in 1987. Meteorologists now have access to more data, have become better at interpreting it and in turn are able to give us more accurate forecasts, which in turn enable us to plan our day better. Today, the security industry is going through a similar cycle.

In recent years I have been extolling the virtues of PSIM (Physical Security Information Management) technology, explaining how it enables the control room to integrate their existing and new on-site safety and security systems, and better respond to incidents in accordance to best practise and regulation. However, the missing piece of the puzzle is how to get better at ‘forecasting' potential incidents. This is where the emergence of a new area known as Web Intelligence (also known as Open Source Intelligence) is starting to have an impact.

Security professionals tend to have very good instincts and judgements, enabling them to observe even the slightest differences that most other people would ignore. This is why people are still such a vital link in the security process. They are also adept at using their experience to make assumptions about what is likely to happen. Of course, you know that if a football match is happening at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, or a protest march through central London is planned, there is a likelihood that some form of incident will occur. But, think about a terrorist attack such as the Boston Marathon bombing, or the siege in Kenya late last year. It is unlikely that the security team at the shopping centre ever expected, or were prepared for such an event.

Yes, it may sound like something out of an episode of 24 or Homeland but Web Intelligence is no longer the preserve of the secret services and it is accessible for security professionals in the control room, whether in a power station, airport, railways, docks, or even urban areas. Put simply this technology enables you to take what is referred to as Big Data (unstructured data that is available in open sources across the web, such as websites, online newspapers, social networks, forums, chat rooms, blogs and virtual databases) and monitor and analyse the ‘chatter' in order to gather intelligence and in turn identify a specific threat, target, or trend. Using this insight you can then put in place the necessary preventative and/or counter measures to mitigate or eliminate the risk.

Of course, many people are still getting to grips with the potential of the PSIM solutions that they have invested in, but by adding Web Intelligence it really does provide that continuous closed circuit (a phrase we rarely hear these days) of incident detection and management, post event reporting, scenario reconstruction and process improvement.

There are many adages such as ‘fail to prepare, then prepare to fail', or ‘to be forewarned is to be forearmed', but the simple truth is if you know something is going to happen, then you have a far greater chance of managing the situation more effectively, migrating its impact, or even preventing it.

Sadly, though we still can't prevent the weather!