PAR-SEC CONSULTING

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

WEEKLY ROUND-UP #32 (12 FEBRUARY-18 FEBRUARY)

We will go back to some of our tweets of interest of the past week and expand further on the indicators that we presented as they affect the security situation of a country. When we produce vulnerability assessments for our clients, six threat factors are analyzed and assessed while four hazards are also analyzed and assessed. If gaps are identified they are covered by atmospherics elements. The goal of our tweets is to highlight and provide examples of the research that we do.

From 14 February:

1. "Our analysts still come across travel suggestions for countries that are not safe for tourism. Travelers: use common sense, good judgement".

From 15 February:

2. "Did you know? Most "Travel Assistance" firms offer services for a steep fee that are available for free from other sources. Buyer beware!

Our Comment: Our team of researchers come across many instances of questionable travel suggestions to destinations that are outright hazardous for travelers and that on a regular basis! Many travel destinations either be for leisure of for business prospecting are not recommended at all unless private security firms or travel risk mitigation firms such as us are consulted for a successful trip abroad with risks quantification, threats and hazards mitigation via thorough analysis and a full vulnerability assessment along with recommended courses of actions. Business travelers and tourists may often not be appraised of the many dangers that await them in certain countries.

Thorough due diligence is not always achieved by our competition.

Such is the case when using the word intelligence by them. More recently we also have uncovered that the acronym OSINT is also misused from time to time by others in the travel risk management industry. Not fully grasping what is intelligence and what is OSINT can have serious repercussions for the end user. By simply reporting the news as OSINT is very problematic for many reasons. The same can be equally worrying when these same companies use speculation on a specific matter and twist it as "intelligence".
In order to be well advised prior to traveling to a higher risk country, we recommend at the very least a comprehensive assessment of all potential threats and hazards at the destination accompanied by pertinent risk quantification, analysis and an easy to follow course of action in order to remain safer while abroad. We consider anything less as unacceptable.

We welcome inquiries so we can determine your security needs. Your first consultation is always free. We invite you to review our past twitter posts @parsecconsult as well as this blog's entries. We encourage feedback and questions to our e-mail:parsec.consulting@gmail.com

Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting

Attribution: copies and redistribution of the above material in any medium or format is authorized providing full attribution is credited by using full link of present blog.

Sunday, 21 December 2014

BEST OF 2014

We welcome inquiries so we can determine your security needs. Your first consultation is always free. We invite you to review our past twitter posts @parsecconsult as well as this blog's entries. We encourage feedback and questions to our e-mail:parsec.consulting@gmail.com

Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting

Attribution: copies and redistribution of the above material in any medium or format is authorized providing full attribution is credited by using full link of present blog.

Sunday, 14 December 2014

TRAVEL SECURITY POLL

This is our first formal poll and we welcome your input as we regard the following questions very important and relevant for our research. We thank you all in advance for your assistance.

For the next five questions please submit your answer by posting a comment below and we encourage additional feedback or questions to our e-mail:parsec.consulting@gmail.com

QUESTION #1:

"For you, how important is situational awareness (i.e. adequate, proactive insight) prior to traveling to a country, region or an area that is deemed as riskier?" If not important, why?

QUESTION #2:

"Do you attempt due diligence with regards to the security risks (threats and hazards) before you travel?" If not, why?

QUESTION #3:

"Are you confident in the travel advice that is provided to you by your government when you need to go abroad?" If not, why?

QUESTION #4:

"What are your normal sources of travel security advice?"

QUESTION #5:

"Have you (or your organization) ever retained the services of a travel risk mitigation company before?" Why or why not?

Thank you! We will analyze and publish our findings after we collated appropriate amount of information.

Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting

Attribution: copies and redistribution of the above material in any medium or format is authorized providing full attribution is credited by using full link of present blog.

Saturday, 22 November 2014

ON OUR ACCURATE TRAVEL RISK ASSESSMENTS & HOW OUR CLIENTS STAY SAFER WHILE ABROAD...

On 22 November, BBC reports that "Kenya bus killings claimed by Somali group al-Shabab", and "that Gunmen from the Somali militant group al-Shabab say they have attacked a bus in northern Kenya, killing 28 people. The bus was travelling to the capital, Nairobi, when it was stopped in Mandera county, not far from the Somali border. Gunmen separated out non-Muslims by asking passengers to read from the Koran, officials and witnesses said. Those who failed were then shot in the head".

On 20 November we tweeted that recent government raids in Mombasa area were likely to trigger revenge attacks by al-shabaab.

So far this was very generic because most anyone could “predict” this outcome.

We also added that popular tourist areas were at a higher risk. We gave more information, which makes us very different from our competition for which they only tweet about news events (i.e. after an event when it is already too late!).

Yesterday, November 21 we again tweeted that a source of ours indicated that “terrorist attack possible” and that Nairobi was the likely target “in the next few days”. We share this information on twitter because not only other “travel risk mitigation” firms will not tweet this information for free on twitter but, due to the reactive nature of most of our competition they cannot offer insightful intel analysis or make accurate assessments for most threats and hazards to travelers. We also offered for tourists there to contact us for free advice to them on potential events for where they were.

This morning al-Shabaab killed 28 Christians (this is why we articulated on that popular tourist areas would be at a higher risk). We deliberately do not offer all of the sensitive intel that we articulate and the mechanics of our analytical methods (paid for service) because that is what makes us innovative and accurate compared to our competition, the “travel risk management” firms who offer armed escorts and expensive GPS tracking devices because they simply cannot engage successfully in predictive analysis.

We continue to assess that such attacks in Kenya will continue periodically with little or no warning.

We do not recommend travel to Kenya without prior consultation with us for a complete vulnerability assessment as our clients stay safer while abroad.

Biased opinion and other emotional guesstimations from “experts” are to be avoided as dire consequences may transpire.

This recent event in Kenya unfortunately validates our research and what we do for our clients. We invite you to browse our previous blog posts and see for yourselves why we are innovative for travel intelligence and advice for riskier countries and regions.

Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting

Attribution: copies and redistribution of the above material in any medium or format is authorized providing full attribution is credited by using full link of present blog.

Wednesday, 17 September 2014

WEEKLY ROUND-UP #31 (11 SEPTEMBER-17 SEPTEMBER)

Our outlook: Other firms in the travel risk mitigation industry often alert their clients at the very last minute (i.e. when or after an event occurs) as they have limited means to carry out their enterprise and to achieve the expected results for their clients, they also must offer several complementary services that are often complicated to follow and always very expensive such as evacuation services, close escort services, etc. We at PAR-SEC Consulting carefully research, study, analyze and assess what our clients need to know, well before potential events are to occur by using the latest and proven intelligence analysis techniques, to include predictive analysis, human terrain as well as social media monitoring and other expertise. Our clients stay safer while abroad.

Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting

Attribution: copies and redistribution of the above material in any medium or format is authorized providing full attribution is credited by using full link of present blog.

Thursday, 14 August 2014

WEEKLY ROUND-UP #30 (08 AUGUST-14 AUGUST)

We will go back to some of our tweets of interest of the past week and expand further on the indicators that we presented as they affect the security situation of a country. When we produce vulnerability assessments for our clients, six threat factors are analyzed and assessed while four hazards are also analyzed and assessed. If gaps are identified they are covered by atmospherics elements. The goal of our tweets is to highlight and provide examples of the research that we do.

From 11 August:

1. Mexico update: Number of women murdered in Mexico city area since 2011 unusually rising. Consult us on how to remain safer while there.

From 12 August:

2. Travelling across Italy by rail?

Our comment: Travel is never without risk. There are many examples of unforeseen risks to travellers such as diseases, the crime rate at your destination, the difficulty in obtaining a specific visa, sudden strikes that may alter your travel altogether, a natural disaster such as a cyclone, etc. For most seasoned leisure travel enthusiasts necessary preparations are always taken prior to travel and are based on past experiences, good situational awareness concerning their destination as well as sharing travel tips and keeping informed of the latest travel advice. This is particularly true for some riskier countries but sometimes also true for countries that we consider safe such as Canada, Spain, Australia or Italy. For all the planning that can get done inevitably some obstacles will come across at some point. What is the insight about the country you are about to visit? What do you really know about the place? You are usually solely responsible for your personal safety while abroad.
Tourists go on vacation to escape and to experience a great time carefree away from home. They will go night clubbing perhaps. Most crimes occur at night. Vacationers are entitled to have a good time and should not restrict their comings and goings based on the time of day just in case... Somehow and while we take all common sense precautions, someone will inevitably resemble a tourist or a businesswoman and both appear rich. Many countries are usually safe to visit however some specific periods of the year are likely to prove less safe. More examples here. In a nutshell, criminals usually select their victims (tourists, NGOs, expats, etc) based on an appearance of vulnerability, prosperity, or inattentiveness; the innocent bystander at times.
Here are some "safe" countries along with some common risks associated for foreign visitors:

France: crime: pick pockets
Morocco: kidnappings: increasing risk
Ecuador: crime targeting businesses: organized crime
Vietnam: hazard: flooding

Our outlook: Unfortunately it is fair to state that travel has a risk component, depending on where you travel to, when and why. For 99% of tourists and business travelers risks are mitigated following sound advice, good judgement, to follow local laws and peer recommendations. For the remaining 1%, or approximately 10 000 000 travellers yearly, there are definite unknowns for them. From the risk of getting hospitalized after falling ill, to being a victim of a pick pocket in a popular tourist area, to being illegally detained, unforeseen eventualities can happen. Some incidents can be directly attributed to the destination - to the travellers' possible dismay - and professional advice from a reputed travel risk mitigation firm such as ours is required at times prior to travel. Nobody plans to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Ever. But daily, the eventuality occurs still. Your government's travel advice website rarely can assess the likelihood of all threats and hazards to you, besides generic recommendations based on past events. Information gaps remain for some travellers and we strive to keep those travellers and our clients alike fully appraised for what is important to them: their personal safety and the memories of a great visit abroad.

Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting

Attribution: copies and redistribution of the above material in any medium or format is authorized providing full attribution is credited by using full link of present blog.

Friday, 8 August 2014

WEEKLY ROUND-UP #29 (01 AUGUST-07 AUGUST)

We will go back to some of our tweets of interest of the past week and expand further on the indicators that we presented as they affect the security situation of a country. When we produce vulnerability assessments for our clients, six threat factors are analyzed and assessed while four hazards are also analyzed and assessed. If gaps are identified they are covered by atmospherics elements. The goal of our tweets is to highlight and provide examples of the research that we do.

From 05 August:

1. Soon traveling to Lebanon, Tunisia, Russia, Bahrain, Kenya or Honduras? Know that these countries have deteriorating security situation. You need comprehensive insight & situational awareness prior to travel.

Our comment: There are many countries for which travel is not recommended for many different reasons but often the socio-economics are common factors to most destinations. More often than not the security situation to those regions is degraded and violent crimes and/or civil unrest dominate the concerns for travellers. Thousands of travellers make the decision to travel despite of the relevance of their government travel advice (which remain reactive). For many, some of them are frequent business travellers , NGOs or dual citizens who should have the proper insight to act in ways that eliminate many unfortunate eventualities to their persons. Not so for the first time visitor or for foreigners. Foreigners have different cultures, often from a different ethnic background, they may dress abnormally to local inhabitants, behave slightly contrarily but often all appear affluent to the locals.
This is very much so for countries such as the ones we tweeted, which were mere samples of the bigger picture: probably over 60% of the world's countries are risky to varying degrees from a threat and hazard standpoint to visitors, tourists and business people alike. This is also true for Haiti. We all know that Haiti was hit by a catastrophic earthquake in January 2010. Since then the country also experiences with bouts of cholera and chykungunya and other health aggravations. A vastly unemployed citizenry that somewhat disenfranchised a large segment of the population, malnutrition and a very fragile and already inadequate infrastructure add to a serious situation.
There are some positives to highlight of late. By doing a google news search of "Haiti tourism" many interesting results pertaining to important projects such as a tourism port on the island of Latortue or added airline flights do constitute potential "come back" opportunities for its tourist industry.

Our outlook: We consider Haiti to be a diamond in the rough and many opportunities are available for the once Pearl of the Caribbean. Investments into business ventures and a stimulated tourism sector would do wonders for the economy, resulting in meaningful employment for many and the necessary funds to rebuild Haiti's infrastructure along as to relieve its bruised national pride. For now, there are many obstacles to circumvent prior to declaring the country a haven for visitors. The potential threats along with the hazards present country wide warrant serious consideration prior to travelling to Haiti and visitors need to know what await them and we recommend that travellers seek consultation from a risk management firm such as us, in addition to monitoring the news and referring to your government travel advice.

Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting

Attribution: copies and redistribution of the above material in any medium or format is authorized providing full attribution is credited by using full link of present blog.