Even a Gut Feeling
Israel,
Israel -
Jan 4, 2010 -
The following article is comprised of excerpts from an interview with Brigadier General (rtd), Dani Issacharof. Mr. Issacharof is a senior consultant at the Personal School of Security (PSOS) inIsrael. He has advised more than 240 hotels around 22 different countries around the world, for the past 20 years, on how to prepare, avert and repel terrorist attacks, and here is what he has to say:
The first thing to note, is that terrorists often gather a great deal of information prior to conducting their attack; for instance, 9/11 was carried out four years of gathering vast amounts of information and finally concluded with much precision that the security checkpoints were lax enough to strike.
The second thing to understand is the mindset of a terrorist. At the Mombasa attack, Kenya in 2002, a suicide bomber attacked an Israeli-owned hotel. Initially, an explosive-laden vehicle blew up outside the hotel, killing 13 innocent civilians and the two suicide attackers. Almost simultaneously, two surface-to-air missiles, were fired while an Arkia Airline Boeing Charter departing from Mombasa to Tel Aviv, yet missed their target. This demonstrates 3 important clues: these terrorists were educated militarily, they are willing to harm innocent civilians, and they are not afraid to die. This is today's reality.
So, why did these terrorist choose to target hotels? Well, simply because hotels are an easy target. Unlike office buildings the hotel space is not enclosed, there is a constant flow of people coming in and out. Moreover, hotels are naturally welcoming to all; their first concern is satisfying their customers- basically anyone who works into the hotel is immediately pampered with service. Finally, hotels serve as a popular target because not only do they injure the population physically, and economically, but also psychologically. As people come from all around the world, they often stay in hotels, and therefore the terrorist attacks has a global effect: hearing on BBC news that a deafening terrorist attack occurred in Kenya and involved the death of a British citizen, the event will receive media coverage on all levels of the British media, and most likely will warrant its citizens from flying to Kenya. Now, not only did the hotel lose its business, but the country will suffer from a tourist decline, while the terrorist enjoy global coverage, and an increase in recruits for their successful performance.
What's next you ask? First we must research then plan. Take a list of hotel attacks and examine them. By doing so, you can compare how your security has gone wrong. Furthermore, conduct routine background checks on your employees; very often terrorists have spent several days examining their target or they have an insider who helps them. A good example is Park Hotel in Israel, where a former employee was involved in the 2002 attack, and only after the attack did security officials realize that the man was carrying forged Israeli identification papers. Thirdly, a security force should be maintained for a deterring effect, in hope to make the bomber have second thoughts and call the operation off. Finally, and most importantly, a 'human factor' should be trained. Human factor refers to the idea that any employee can aid in preventing or averting terrorist attacks; who can better tell you that a guest is behaving strangely then the bellboy? Or the housekeeping cleaner informing that the visitor has strange or lethal items in his room? The list goes on.
The most common threats for hotels include the following: first, that terrorist will place a bomb either in the parking lot, hotel conference room, or underneath a restaurant's table. Secondly, he may try to ram though the hotel with a suicide car bomb, or shoot his way through. The key then, it simply keeping those terrorists outside the hotel! In order to achieve this goal, you need planning and mock drills; in Israel, before a hotel may be granted its operational license, he must first inform the government on how many rooms the hotel will include, and the government reciprocates by listing their demands that cover minimum security. Next, the hotel should re-enact emergency situation, holding mock drills, at least every 6 months to ensure that employees are kept on their toes at all times. Security should never just become a routine.
Unfortunately, all the above cannot secure you 100%. Because terrorist do not leave a trial, you must have constant surveillance and good cognitive receptive decision makers- some factors should make you suspicious. For example, check their car license plates, there is a software that is available today whether the car has been stolen or not; be wary of guests wandering around the hotel asking many questions; and finally, be wary of guests who pay in cash. All these factors, are a cause for suspicion, or simply enough, the guard at the gate just got a bad feeling in his stomach about a guest. These factors can be crucial in deterring a terror attack.
Published in: March 10th, 2009 Fhrai Magazine
The first thing to note, is that terrorists often gather a great deal of information prior to conducting their attack; for instance, 9/11 was carried out four years of gathering vast amounts of information and finally concluded with much precision that the security checkpoints were lax enough to strike.
The second thing to understand is the mindset of a terrorist. At the Mombasa attack, Kenya in 2002, a suicide bomber attacked an Israeli-owned hotel. Initially, an explosive-laden vehicle blew up outside the hotel, killing 13 innocent civilians and the two suicide attackers. Almost simultaneously, two surface-to-air missiles, were fired while an Arkia Airline Boeing Charter departing from Mombasa to Tel Aviv, yet missed their target. This demonstrates 3 important clues: these terrorists were educated militarily, they are willing to harm innocent civilians, and they are not afraid to die. This is today's reality.
So, why did these terrorist choose to target hotels? Well, simply because hotels are an easy target. Unlike office buildings the hotel space is not enclosed, there is a constant flow of people coming in and out. Moreover, hotels are naturally welcoming to all; their first concern is satisfying their customers- basically anyone who works into the hotel is immediately pampered with service. Finally, hotels serve as a popular target because not only do they injure the population physically, and economically, but also psychologically. As people come from all around the world, they often stay in hotels, and therefore the terrorist attacks has a global effect: hearing on BBC news that a deafening terrorist attack occurred in Kenya and involved the death of a British citizen, the event will receive media coverage on all levels of the British media, and most likely will warrant its citizens from flying to Kenya. Now, not only did the hotel lose its business, but the country will suffer from a tourist decline, while the terrorist enjoy global coverage, and an increase in recruits for their successful performance.
What's next you ask? First we must research then plan. Take a list of hotel attacks and examine them. By doing so, you can compare how your security has gone wrong. Furthermore, conduct routine background checks on your employees; very often terrorists have spent several days examining their target or they have an insider who helps them. A good example is Park Hotel in Israel, where a former employee was involved in the 2002 attack, and only after the attack did security officials realize that the man was carrying forged Israeli identification papers. Thirdly, a security force should be maintained for a deterring effect, in hope to make the bomber have second thoughts and call the operation off. Finally, and most importantly, a 'human factor' should be trained. Human factor refers to the idea that any employee can aid in preventing or averting terrorist attacks; who can better tell you that a guest is behaving strangely then the bellboy? Or the housekeeping cleaner informing that the visitor has strange or lethal items in his room? The list goes on.
The most common threats for hotels include the following: first, that terrorist will place a bomb either in the parking lot, hotel conference room, or underneath a restaurant's table. Secondly, he may try to ram though the hotel with a suicide car bomb, or shoot his way through. The key then, it simply keeping those terrorists outside the hotel! In order to achieve this goal, you need planning and mock drills; in Israel, before a hotel may be granted its operational license, he must first inform the government on how many rooms the hotel will include, and the government reciprocates by listing their demands that cover minimum security. Next, the hotel should re-enact emergency situation, holding mock drills, at least every 6 months to ensure that employees are kept on their toes at all times. Security should never just become a routine.
Unfortunately, all the above cannot secure you 100%. Because terrorist do not leave a trial, you must have constant surveillance and good cognitive receptive decision makers- some factors should make you suspicious. For example, check their car license plates, there is a software that is available today whether the car has been stolen or not; be wary of guests wandering around the hotel asking many questions; and finally, be wary of guests who pay in cash. All these factors, are a cause for suspicion, or simply enough, the guard at the gate just got a bad feeling in his stomach about a guest. These factors can be crucial in deterring a terror attack.
Published in: March 10th, 2009 Fhrai Magazine
Company Center: P.S.O.S.
