THREAT REPORTS
SAFETY OF 2018 SUMMER / HOLIDAY TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
Globalization has both decreased the costs of travel and increased the scale of operations for terrorist groups. Individuals can now easily and relatively affordably (at least individuals in developed countries) travel to various areas of the world for short holidays; however, the same ease of travel – along with the growth of open societies – has allowed extremist groups to target travelers in either less secure countries or in more open ones. This has created, for some, caution when traveling abroad as individuals are reticent to leave the known security infrastructure of their home country for the unknown infrastructure in another country. Nevertheless, people do and will continue to travel abroad extensively and, therefore, individuals must be cognizant of the relative risk present in their destinations. Some regions have no known or publicly disclosed terror threat; others are known to receive threats constantly.
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FIGHTING AGAINST CYBER HACKS AND SECURITY BREACHES
Anyone that has so much as glanced at the news headlines over the last two years is aware that cybersecurity and the prevention and mitigation of harm caused by cyberattacks is a major concern for both industry and the government, and with continued concerns about election integrity and external influence campaigns on elections, the government’s interest in enhancing cybersecurity will only continue. Compounding this concern is the continued growth in smart infrastructure that is internet enabled (e.g., the number of devices connected to the internet via sensors and the push for a smart electrical grid).
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Stochastic Terrorism
` Most initial thoughts about terrorism involve envisioning - at least for individuals in the developed world - a small cell of mostly foreign individuals collaborating with masterminds in a chaotic or war-torn country to plan large scale, ghastly attacks on civilian populations. Those not envisioning such images, likely think of local radicalized groups planning attacks against a government or civilian target (e.g., right-wing militias or anarchist groups). Such terrorism strategies - i.e., the distributed cell model - have been responsible for horrendous attacks; a perfect example would be the September 11th attacks which involved cells of Al Qaeda receiving inspiration and support from Al Qaeda's then headquarters in Afghanistan.
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