2023 in Review: Security Management Editors’ Favorite Stories
Whether you are working, traveling, or relaxing this holiday season, you might be looking for some reading material to keep you informed at the end of 2023. The Security Management staff reflected back on the more than 600 articles we wrote this year to pull together our favorite articles, themes, and packages, now wrapped up with a bow for you to peruse.
What were your favorite articles or topics from Security Management this year? Let us know on social media.
From Editor-in-Chief Teresa Anderson
Because it’s the holiday season to many around the world, my top articles come with bonus content.
We’re in Our Reputation Era
First, check “Redesigning Pandora’s Box: Another Reason to Leave Siloed Security Behind.” This article discusses the modern plague of online conspiracy theories and how companies can quickly find themselves in the crosshairs if they don’t continually monitor their reputations. “This means security must reach out to other departments as part of an organization-wide campaign to create a holistic response against threats to the organization’s reputation,” writes Sara Mosqueda, associate editor for Security Management. Don’t stop there, check out the entire content package for more on protecting your corporate reputation.
Refresh Your Travel Security Memory
After years of stopping and then stuttering, business travel is back. Time for a refresher on travel security. In this article on training for business travelers, “How to Train Travelers for Wrongful Detention Risks,” Managing Editor Claire Meyer outlines the steps U.S. travelers can take to protect themselves from missteps. The entire content package on travel security is worth a read and includes tips for travels around the globe including avoiding espionage threats and other security challenges.
Supply Chain Woes
“What’s old is new again,” writes Senior Editor Megan Gates. “Or at least that’s the sentiment in an annual global survey where basic risks took the highest positions in the index that showed nations are taking an increasingly isolationist approach to address local risks with international consequences.” Her article “The ‘New Normal’ of Risk Goes Back to Basics” anchors a content package on supply chain security that is a must-read for all security professionals who must ensure that their companies thrive while operating in a world beset by crises.
From Security Management Publisher Nello Caramat
“Pipelines’ Digital Defense is on the Line”
I enjoyed SM Associate Editor Sara Mosqueda’s article about pipeline security the most because it was timely and relatable. I remember having issues with finding gas last year and this drew my interest to read it.
“PRAY: A Model to Change Mindsets about Security in Houses of Worship”
This article by Jaime Alejandro Pulido Pardo caught my attention at first by a word in its headline: PRAY. And who doesn’t like a good acronym. Being brought up in religion, articles about houses of worship always interest me. I liked the article because I believe houses of worship should be protected. It reminded me of how security was always part of the Catholic religion.
“Where We Are Now: A Retrospective on Event and Stadium Security”
Event security is always of interest to me, especially when the world is now back to face-to-face. I also enjoy a then versus now type of article. I like how Scott Dunn’s article talked briefly about analytics in how one can protect, deter, and derail malicious threats.
From Content Development Director Scott Briscoe
“Redesigning Pandora’s Box: Another Reason to Leave Siloed Security Behind”
You grabbed me with the headline and reeled me in with JFK conspiracy theories. Trying to understand not only what disinformation is presenting a risk to your organization but also how and why disinformation works has become an important tool in the security toolkit.
“How to Shore Up Personal Resilience Against Vicarious Trauma”
Security focuses mostly on prevention and preparing for action when it is needed. The backside of the story also needs attention. Plus, I loved the meaningful videos embedded in the article, giving it a great multimedia touch.
“Training Pre- and Post-Boston: How the Bombing Affected Event Security Training”
The Boston Marathon bombing was such a terrible and fascinating event. This story goes back further, linking the training from another terrible event—the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008—and shows how lessons from that attack helped improve the response in Boston.
From Managing Editor Claire Meyer
The Hottest Year Ever Recorded
The Security Management team has been covering the threat posed to private organizations by climate change for years, but the major events of 2023—the hottest year ever recorded—pushed it even further to the fore. In a content package for Security Management in May, security practitioners and threat assessment professionals shared their insights about the unique risks and business continuity problems that climate change currently poses. One of my favorites from this set is Steven Crimando’s in-depth look at how climate change—especially heat and weather-driven mass migration—are exacerbating violence and undercutting people’s ability to regulate their reactions to challenges. Read the full article either online or in our special GSX edition in print.
Starting the Clock on Data Breach Notifications
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) surprised industry leaders this summer by launching a new rule about cyber incident notifications much earlier than anticipated. Senior Editor Megan Gates covered the new rule in Today in Security’s “SEC Adopts New Cyber Incident Disclosure, Transparency Requirements for Registrants,” and Security Management followed the adoption and implementation of the rule afterward.
In a December 2023 content package, we examined cyber incident response, how the SEC rule changes response requirements, and how security leaders can prepare for more involvement from boards and CEOs…even if they aren’t terribly cyber-savvy.
From Senior Editor Megan Gates
“An Explosive Situation: Strategies to Prevent Youth Radicalization”
As 2023 wore on and hateful rhetoric continued to be posted and promoted on social media, I kept thinking back to a conversation I had with Cynthia Miller-Idriss, director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL), about youth radicalization online.
“We might need to ask a different set of questions—not just how and why this happens, but also where it happens,” she told me. “Once you look at it from a question of where, you can start thinking about interventions in a different way.”
Her comment reiterated the need for security practitioners to continue to be critical thinkers and creative problem solvers to create safer communities for everyone—but especially the young people in our lives. The toolsets shared in this article give practitioners the building blocks to begin this important work.
“Mapping the Blaze: How the U.S. Forest Service Uses Drones for Fire Management”
Firefighting is a dangerous business. In 2021, 70 firefighters died in the line of duty—including two who were killed when their aircraft crashed on a wildland fire, according to an annual study by the National Fire Protection Association.
To change that dynamic, the U.S. Forest Service has embarked on an ambitious journey to create an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) that will help with land management, fire monitoring, and firefighter safety.
“The real benefit of these types of systems is to reduce the exposure, to normalize hazardous risk that employees face on a daily basis,” says Dirk Giles, national uncrewed aircraft systems program manager for the Forest Service, who shared in this article how the service has built its program from the ground up.
“Training Pre- and Post-Boston: How the Bombing Affected Event Security Training”
There are certain dates that stand out as turning points in security history. 15 April 2013, the day of the Boston Marathon bombing, is one of those. The blasts and subsequent manhunt to find the perpetrators changed the way that security teams prepared for major events and carried out investigations.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the incident, Daniel Linskey—former superintendent-chief-of-police for the Boston Police Department—shared with us his experience in responding to the tragedy and how the leadership style in place in Boston set security practitioners up to successfully respond to it.
“Part of being a boss is building a transition plan that’s just as good if not better than you,” Linskey says. “You owe it to your team that when that bomb goes off they don’t ask, ‘who’s in charge?’”
From Associate Editor Sara Mosqueda
“How Sleep Loss Costs Lives and Costs Companies”
I approached this content package on road safety initially assuming that it would be largely a look at security drivers and drivers whose office is largely behind the wheel of a vehicle. But one interview with Mark Rosekind changed everything. Rosekind, who I spoke with for more than an hour via Zoom, was possibly one of the most interesting and engaging interviews I had all year—ironic since the topic was about sleep. But to paraphrase Rosekind, getting enough sleep (especially when those around you or those you’re competing against are not) can work like a superpower, and it’s something that impacts everyone. And for those not getting enough ZZZs—from security guards to CSOs—they can expect to see negative impacts in reaction times, decision making, and vigilance. So, if you missed this article the first time around, don’t sleep on it.
“So, You Want to Know About Money Laundering”
Funnily enough, I was working on an earlier article about how cartels were diversifying their revenue streams when I came across a source I wanted to highlight in this content package on cryptocurrency.
Celina Realuyo was fascinating to chat with and was patient in explaining how money laundering works, especially for people and groups involved in organized crime. And while the articles largely focused on cryptocurrency, I thought it was useful for our readers to understand the basics of money laundering beyond what they might see on Netflix’s Ozark. Because at the end of the day, digital assets are laundered the same way that cash might get washed, and because as a beginner-level DIYer I love a good how-to article, I thought this might be an engaging way to get the information across.
“How to Look Out for Potential Attacker Red Flags”
If you’ve a fan of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, you might have read Gone Tomorrow, where the traveling hero must run down a mental list of red flags that a fellow passenger on the subway is exhibiting. But those red flags can be hard to spot unless you know what you’re looking for.
I was fortunate enough to snag a spot in a very crowded GSX 2023 session, “Behavioral Threat Assessment—The Eight Proximal Warning Behaviors.” Joshua Shelton, CPP, offered fantastic information on these eight warning signs, or red flags.
One of the reasons I love working in the news industry is because I believe that information should be shared and that shared information can make for a better and smarter society. Shelton, and the dozens of other presenters at GSX, seem to agree. I also love finding real-world security tactics in fiction, so recommendations for future reading are welcome!