Counter Terror Business 43

www.counterterrorbusiness.com | ISSUE 43

RUSSIA REPORT

CYBER CRIME

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

How deeply has the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for effective crisis management planning?

FIGEN MURRAY Q&A

COMMENT

COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS 5

www.counterterrorbusiness.com | ISSUE 43

RUSSIA REPORT

CYBER CRIME

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

How deeply has the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for effective crisis management planning?

FIGEN MURRAY Q&A

OVERDUE REPORTS AND AWARD WINNERS This issue of Counter Terror Business follows the long-overdue publication of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report into Russian interference in British politics.

Whilst the detail may have been lacking, mainly because it was suggested no effort to investigate had been made by politicians or intelligence services, the paper should provoke a new wave of security laws and a tougher stance on our relationship with Putin.

Read the thoughts of Ray Walsh on the Russia Report on page 10.

Meanwhile, as businesses creep back towards pre-lockdown working patterns, we bring you two articles on business continuity from James McAllister and Brian Dillon (pages 18 and 22), discussing creeper incidents and contingency plans. The coronavirus pandemic caught many off guard, but how can we ensure we are better prepared next time?

Follow and interact with us on Twitter:

@CTBNews

And finally, last month we announced the winners of the 2020 Counter Terror Awards. You can read the breakdown of successful organisation on page 26, before special interviews with two of this year’s winners.

Figen Murray chats to us on page 31 about Martyn’s Law and Peace Bears, before the PSHE Association’s Anne Bell shares her thoughts on teaching extremism in the classroom, which you can read on page 34.

I hope that you enjoy the issue.

Michael Lyons, editor

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Counter UAS solutions: Mitigating safety and security threats

If used in accordance with present regulation, unmanned aerial systems or vehicles – UAS/UAVs (i.e. drones) can be a great asset. However, not all drones are here to serve us. As UAV traffic increases, airports, law enforcement, and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) face new safety and security challenges. How do we ensure quick response times and appropriate action when it comes to drone incursions that threaten safety, security, and business continuity?

When a rogue drone disrupted British airport Gatwick, in December 2018, hundreds of flights were cancelled after it refused to cooperate with air traffic control (ATC). German airport, Frankfurt, recently suffered a similar incident, forcing up to 70 aircraft to divert. How could this be avoided and how do we ensure serious harm is prevented?

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A dedicated consulting team creates the concept of operations, including roles, responsibilities, procedures, KPIs, operational requirements and best-fit third party sensor/effector systems and technology, based on best practice, developed with customers, regulators and authorities.

A system that fuses Ait Traffic Management, UAS Traffic Management, Drone Detection, Visual Reports, and Blue Force Tracking into a common air / ground situation, ensures common situational awareness in complex drone incidents.

Thanks to integrated communications and incident management, all organisations can work together on the same goal, focusing on the procedures, and minimising response times in the event of drone incursions.

Watch how organisations and systems are integrated, to enable full visibility and reduced response times in drone incidents.

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COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE | ISSUE 43

www.twitter.com/Frequentis

CONTENTS

CONTENTS CTB 43 10 RUSSIA REPORT Following the long-awaited publication of the Russia Report from the Intelligence and Security Commitee, Ray Walsh, Digital Privacy Expert at ProPrivacy, exploreswhat it says, what it means and where we go next

12 CYBER CRIME Simon Newman, head of Cyber and Business Services at the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, discusses the reporting, or under-reporting, of cyber incidents and reducing the vulnerability of organisations to cyber-crime and fraud

16 CYBER SECURITY Unless an organisation is the direct victim of a cyber attack, they tend to not take much preventative action. Peter Yapp, former NCSC Deputy Director, explains why cyber crime prevention is stronger than the cure

18 BUSINESS CONTINUITY Amid the global health pandemic that continues to disrupt UK businesses, James McAlister, former chairman of the Business Continuity Institute, says that effective business continuity management in a crisis is all about preparation

22 CRISIS MANAGEMENT Counter Terror Business talks to Brian Dillon, managing director of Rubicon Resilience Limited, about the importance of crisis anagement planning and returning to ‘normal working’ post-coronavirus

26 COUNTER TERROR AWARDS The Counter Terror Awards acknowledge excellence in the global fight against terrorism. Since 2018, organisations and individuals from the UK and overseas have been recognised for their contributions to reducing the threat of global terrorism

31 CT AWARDS: INTERVIEW At the start of June, Figen Murray was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Counter Terrorism Award, as part of the 2020 Counter Terror Awards. Here, we get her thoughts on recognition, Martyn’s Law and venue security

34 CT AWARDS: INTERVIEW CTB talks to Anne Bell, a Subject Specialist at the PSHE Association – the national body for PSHE education, winners of a recent Counter Terrorism Education award for their preventative education work under Home Office BSBT funding

38 COUNTER TERRORISM POLICY Following the killing of George Floyd in May, Steven Greer, Professor of Human Rights, University of Bristol Law School, asks whether counter terrorism in Britain, particularly the Prevent programme, is racist and/or Islamophobic

Counter Terror Business magazine // www.counterterrorbusiness.com ISSUE 43 | COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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CTB NEWS RUSSIA

Committee publishes Russia report, after long delay

Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee has published it’s much-anticipated and controversially-delayed ‘Russia report’, following allegations of Russian interference in last year’s General Election.

The report is based on secret intelligence material from the UK’s spy agencies as well as contributions from independent experts, and seeks to question whether the government ‘took its eye off the ball on Russia’.

Presidential Election, where ‘an intelligence community assessment was produced within two months of the vote, with an unclassified summary being made public’.

Effectively, this means that MPs cannot definitively conclude whether the Kremlin had or had not successfully interfered in the Brexit vote because no effort had been made to find out.

The Intelligence and Security Committee has called for ‘immediate action’ to help intelligence services tackle ‘this very capable adversary’, after successive governments were accused of welcoming the country’s oligarchs ‘with open arms’.

CLICK TO READ MORE

RUSSIA

UK SECURITY

Half of voters believe Kremlin interfered in Brexit referendum

UK considering tougher security laws

A new Opinium poll for the Observer has revealed that 49 per cent of voters think there was Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.

Following the long-awaited publication of the report into Russian interference

by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee last week, which found that the government had not attempted to investigate potential Russian interference in the referendum, the poll also shows that 47 per cent of respondents believed Russia interfered in the December General Election.

Asked whether they thought there was any involvement from Russia in the last three General Elections, the EU referendum and the Scottish independence referendum, the public were more likely to think that the Russian government had interfered than that it had not in each.

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The report says that Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal’, with an industry of ‘enablers’ who are, wittingly or unwittingly, de facto agents of the Russian state. Furthermore, the MPs on the committee states that both the British government and British intelligence failed to prepare or conduct any proper assessment of Kremlin attempts to interfere with the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Within the 50-page document, the committee says that ‘we have not been provided with any post-referendum assessment of Russian attempts at interference’, something that is in stark contrast to the US handling of allegations of Russian interference in the 2016

Individually, 40 per cent thought Russia had interfered in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, whilst those who voted Remain in the EU referendum were more likely (63 per cent) to think that the Russian government interfered in 2016 than Leavers (39 per cent).

Meanwhile, asked about the 2019 General Election, 70 per cent of Lib Dem voters and 62 per cent of Labour voters believed the Russian government interfered, compared with 39 per cent of Conservative voters. However, even Conservative voters were more likely to believe that the Russian government interfered in that election than not (33 per cent).

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COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE | ISSUE 43

Following the Russia Report, in which the government was accused of ‘badly underestimating’ the threat of Russian interference to the UK, ministers are now thought to be considering strengthening security laws.

Downing Street sources said a new law requiring foreign agents to register in the UK was being looked at by No 10, although not firm proposals are yet in place. However, reports believe that iy could bear similarities to the new ‘Espionage Act’ suggested by the Intelligence and Security Committee, which would make it explicitly illegal to be a spy in the UK. Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee said that the UK was the main Russian target, after the US and Nato, prompting calls for the government to do far more to counter Russian espionage and subversion. An Act like their proposed action would compel those who represent the interests of foreign powers to register on arrival in the UK. Those who did not - and so operated covertly - would be breaking the law.

Ahead of an Urgent Question in Parliament, Labour’s Nick ThomasSymonds said that ‘on every level’ the government’s response does not appear to be equal to the threat.

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CTB NEWS POLICING

Lockdown sees increased use of stop and search

Despite a fall in crime during lockdown, the Metropolitan police force increased the use of what critics say is the

and searched 1,418 people under section 60, which allow officers to stop and search people with no grounds for suspicion, which is more than double the number stopped in May 2019.

Police are only supposed to authorise the use of section 60 when there has been serious violence or where there is a risk it may occur in a particular area.

Police in London issued 65 such authorisations in May 2020, a sharp rise from 13 times in April and higher than equivalent months in recent years.

most discriminatory form of stop and search during the period.

Data shows that in May 2020, the Metropolitan police stopped

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POLICING

2.5 per cent pay rise for police officers Police pay will rise by 2.5 per cent in 2020 to 2021, providing officers with an increase above inflation for the second year running.

The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB), an independent board set up by the Home Office to make recommendations on pay, took evidence from across the policing sector and the government.

It recommended a 2.5 per cent

rise for 2020 to 2021 based on a variety of factors, including affordability, recruitment and retention, which the government accepted in full. The increase matches the pay rise awarded last year, which gave forces the largest pay increase since 2010.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has also announced that policing continues to be an attractive

career, with the numbers of people joining the police reaching a 10-year high. Figures show that, between October and May, more than 78,000 people applied to forces, as the government makes good on its pledge to put 20,000 additional officers on the streets in three years.

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MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

New compensation scheme for victims of terrorism The Ministry of Justice has announced that victims of terror atrocities, both at home and overseas, are to benefit from a new dedicated compensation scheme under government plans to boost the support offered to people injured by violent crime.

The new proposals, following a commitment to improve the compensation process following the Manchester Arena Terror Attack, aim to better address the particular needs of victims and their families following a terrorist

incident, and ensure applications are processed as rapidly as possible.

Ministers are also launching a consultation which seeks to improve the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS) – making the scheme simpler and

more transparent, while ensuring it keeps pace with the changing nature of crime.

The Scheme provides compensation to victims injured by violent crime as public acknowledgement of their suffering, paying out more than £130 million last year. This includes £11 million to victims who were previously barred from accessing compensation under the pre-1979 ‘same roof’ rule after the government scrapped the unfair rule last year.

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ISSUE 43 | COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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CTB NEWS CYBER SECURITY

Cyber attackers take aim at UK sports sector

The National Cyber Security Centre has urged the sports sector to tighten its cyber security after it was revealed that a range of attacks have been made by hackers, including an attempt to sabotage a Premier League transfer deal.

which brought the turnstiles of a football club to a standstill and almost led to the cancellation of a match, while a member of staff at a racecourse lost £15,000 in a scam involving the spoofing of eBay. The NCSC has identified three common tactics used by criminals to assault the sector on a daily basis, which are: business email compromise (BEC), cyber‑enabled fraud, and ransomware being used to shut down critical event systems and stadiums.

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CORONAVIRUS

CYBER SECURITY

Russian hackers target coronavirus vaccine

UK reiterates concern over global cyber attacks

The National Cyber Security Centre has warned that Russian hackers are targeting organisations trying to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

The hackers, who ‘almost certainly’ operated as ‘part of Russian intelligence services’, reported to be ‘APT29’, used malware to try and steal information relating to coronavirus vaccine development.

They exploited software flaws to get access to vulnerable computer systems, and used malware called WellMess and WellMail to upload and download files from infected machines.

As well as the NCSC, the warning was made by Canadian Communication Security Establishment (CSE); the United States Department

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The NCSC’s first ever report on threats to the sports industry has revealed it to be a highvalue target – at least 70 per cent of institutions suffer a cyber incident every 12 months, more than double the average for UK businesses.

The report, The Cyber Threat to Sports Organisations, highlights a number of incidents, including emails of a Premier League club’s managing director being hacked before a transfer negotiation, which could have resulted in the £1 million fee almost fell into the hands of cyber criminals.

Other incidents included an attack

for Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); and the US National Security Agency (NSA).

The joint warning does not specify which organisations were targeted, or whether any information had been stolen, but says that the APT29 group has targeted various organisations involved in vaccine development in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, ‘highly likely with the intention of stealing information and intellectual property relating to the development and testing of Covid-19 vaccines’.

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COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE | ISSUE 43

Dominic Raab has condemned the targeting of those working to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, following the US Department of Justice’s recent announcement of charges relating to cyber attacks against institutions in 11 countries.

The Foreign Secretary joined colleagues from around the world to call for an end to cyber attacks by hostile actors who are using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to carry out malicious cyber activity, including targeting medical facilities around the world.

Raab said: “I am deeply concerned by the evidence announced yesterday that China is engaged in malicious cyber attacks against commercial, medical and academic institutions, including those working to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Our message to governments prepared to enable these activities is clear: the UK will continue to counter those conducting such cyber attacks, and work with our allies to hold perpetrators to account and deter further malicious activity around the world.”

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CTB NEWS 5G

Huawei to be removed from UK 5G networks by 2027 Following new advice produced by the National Cyber Security Centre, the government has announced that Huawei will be completely removed from the UK’s 5G networks by the end of 2027.

There will also be a total ban on the purchase of any new 5G kit after 31 December 2020, in response to new US sanctions. These were imposed on Huawei in May, after the UK’s

initial decision on high risk vendors, and are the first of their kind removing the firm’s access to products which have been built based on US semiconductor technology.

The National Cyber Security Centre reviewed the consequences of the sanctions and concluded the company will need to do a major reconfiguration of its supply chain as it will no longer have access to the

technology on which it currently relies and there are no alternatives which we have sufficient confidence in.

Taking everything into account, the NCSC said that the new restrictions make it impossible to continue to guarantee the security of Huawei equipment in the future.

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DRONES

New funding for Countering Drones Phase 2 competition The Home Office and Department for Transport have announced that an additional £1.5 million of government funding is being allocated to the Defence and Security Accelerator’s (DASA) Countering Drones competition.

This DASA competition provides an immediate opportunity to help the government further develop the critical counter-drone technical capabilities we need at pace, and to support counter-drone exploitation routes in the future.

The additional funding brings the new total to at least £3 million, with the Home Office anticipating that this should more than double the number of proposals that the government will be able to award for this DASA competition.

For this new funding, the government is particularly keen to hear from industry and academia who have innovative solutions to respond to domestic security needs, in

addition to the needs already published.

There is particular interest in C-sUAS solutions that can be static, mobile, portable or temporarily deployable on vehicle(s), to: detect presence of sUAVs; determine location, intent and assess the risk posed; locate operator; and enforce a ‘no-drone’ zone.

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BORDER SECURITY

Government launches 2025 Border Strategy consultation

With the UK transition period with the EU set to end on 31 December, the government has launched a consultation on the 2025 UK Border Strategy.

Although primarily focused on helping businesses take advantage of new trading relationships around the world, the consultations also seeks to gather opinion on how we protect

the UK from those who may pose a risk to us, for example by deterring and disrupting organised crime and terrorism, identifying and preventing biosecurity threats, and preventing abuse of the migration system.

The government aims to work with industry to build a more usercentric border, moving processes away from the border where appropriate and using digital systems to enable the swift clearance of goods and people.

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RUSSIA REPORT

Following the long-awaited publication of the Russia Report, Ray Walsh, Digital Privacy Expert at ProPrivacy, explores what it says, what it means and where we go next

THE RUSSIA REPORT AND CYBER INTERFERENCE E lection hacking has been in the public psyche for a number of years, with widespread rumours of Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential Election, the 2017 French Presidential Election, and most recently, in the UK’s 2019 General Election. The NSA has been forthcoming with allegations about Russian cyber-offenses for years, but now the UK is beginning to formally point the finger too.

Prior to this report, the UK had shied away from formally attributing cyber warfare activities to the Kremlin. Back in 2010, the UK’s Intelligence and Security Committee was asked to redact references to Russia as a leading perpetrator of cyber attacks, for fear of the diplomatic repercussions it might provoke.

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Even in the last few months, it was not clear whether the Russia report would be released. Not just because of international relations, but because of the loss of trust it might create regarding recent elections and the incumbent government.

After months of demand, however, the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has finally brought the report to light. In its pages, Russia is exposed as an active aggressor that seeks to target the uppermost echelons of Britain’s democracy.

The report provides ample evidence that the government has been purposefully keeping schtum about the Kremlin’s threat to Britain’s democracy. The report also reveals that Russia has been engaging in high profile

RUSSIA REPORT attacks on agencies like the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. It also clearly portrays Russia as a highly capable cyber-actor that has been purposefully targeting the UK and its elections using tactical online disinformation campaigns.

The report suggests that the UK government has known about these capabilities since at least 2016. It states that in 2018, the ISC recommended that the government should use diplomatic relationships to begin formally developing international protocols for attributing and reacting to Russian cyber attacks. Those recommendations were ignored, ostensibly because the government was sympathetic towards Russian oligarchs’ exploitation of the UK’s investor Visa scheme for the purposes of using London as a ‘laundromat.’

The fact that the government has been squirreling this information away is worrying and there is no doubt that we need to start asking some very serious questions. If Russia has been hacking democratic processes, we need to know whether this affected the results of the General Election, and, more importantly, the Brexit referendum.

After all, these are tumultuous times.

Even without the pandemic and the recession it will leave in its wake, the repercussions of Brexit are going to be significant. It threatens to remove a vital layer of legislative oversight, lead to higher levels of government surveillance, cause the lowering of food standards, higher prices on imported goods, an increase in air pollution, and potentially the loss of basic human rights.

To find out that a Russian interference campaign influenced the outcome of such an important referendum would be an almost impossible pill to swallow.

The report speaks of the Kremlin’s view towards international relations as a ‘zero-sum game’ in which any actions it can take to ‘damage the West are fundamentally good for Russia’. Chaos and adversity is the aim of the game, and Russia is achieving those ambitions using what the report refers to as heavily

resourced, disproportionately large, and powerful intelligence services.

The reasonable expectation resulting from the Russia report would be to look closely at how we can prevent this type of hacking from occurring in future.

The report states that the UK needs to better coordinate its intelligence agencies, because they are currently failing to properly combat the Russian offensive. The report also suggests that the UK should aim for better working relationships with international allies to clearly attribute cyber blame and force Russia to face repercussions. But what does this all actually mean?

According to the government, despite the overwhelming evidence contained within the report, there is no need to carry out an inquiry regarding Russian interference in the EU referendum. ISC member and member of Parliament, Stewart Hosie, has expressed astonishment that the government is refusing to look into it; but it is hardly surprising, considering that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a passionate Brexiteer accused of lying to the nation to make it happen.

SO, WHAT BENEFITS CAN WE EXPECT? Instead of acting on the skepticism created by the report regarding Brexit, the government seems intent on using the report as justification to roll out even more invasive surveillance powers for British security and intelligence services. So, thanks to Russia, we can expect new and magnificent ways for the government to snoop on everyone.

In addition, the government will almost certainly act on the report’s recommendation for a need to create better and faster ways to compel online social media companies to take down information that has been disseminated as part of covert, hostile, state sponsored operations (or potentially, just anything it disagrees with).

So, to sum it all up, the Russians have been hacking us, fomenting chaos, and potentially leading us towards a Brexit they know will be a disaster for our economy, all while exploiting London to launder their money. And as a result, the Tories are going to ramp up their surveillance capabilities and improve their capacity to enforce censorship on the British public.

And, don’t even try to ignore the fact that the report just happened to be published on the same day that the government elected to vote down an amendment designed to protect the NHS from privatisation that could lead to foreign interference. Incredulous, considering that the documents leaked

by Russian hackers in the run-up to the 2019 General Election centred around post-Brexit trade negotiations with the US in which the Conservatives put the NHS on the table. L

FURTHER INFORMATION

https://proprivacy.com/

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CYBER CRIME Simon Newman, head of Cyber and Business Services at the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, discusses the reporting, or under-reporting, of cyber incidents and reducing the vulnerability of organisations to cyber crime and fraud

HOW CAN WE ADDRESS THE UNDER-REPORTING OF CYBER-CRIME? C yber crime is one of the biggest threats to the security of the UK. Categorised as one of four high priority areas within the government’s National Security Strategy, the threat is constantly evolving, affecting millions of individuals and businesses alike. Yet despite the efforts of government to raise awareness about the importance of good cyber security, the problem continues to grow, accounting for just under half of all crime according to recent data published by the Crime Survey for England and Wales (ONS).

While this figure is alarming, of even greater concern however, is the fact that only a fraction of these crimes are reported to the authorities. For example, in 2019, there were approximately 4.6 million incidents of cybercrime and fraud over the previous 12 months but only 338,00 of these were reported to Action Fraud – just seven per cent of the total.

This compares to 17 per cent of sexual

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COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE | ISSUE 43

assaults being reported to the police, 30 per cent of thefts and 60 per cent of burglaries. So why does cyber crime suffer so poorly from under-reporting when compared against other forms of crime?

At the Police Digital Security Centre (PDSC), we regularly speak to victims of cyber crime and ask them about their experience. What we consistently find among the business community in particular, is that speaking to the police about it is not a priority. One of the main reasons for this is that businesses face a number of competing demands for their attention when they suffer an attack or breach. For some, lawyers will be the first people they call, particularly if there is a risk that personal data has been compromised.

Others will prioritise customers, staff and suppliers. Business owners may also have to think about speaking to their insurers, their bank or their Managed Service Provider. As a result, the police are often an afterthought. E

CYBER CRIME

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In addition to the high-level cyber security protocols, Titan CID is also a multi-layer Surveillance Management System.

NVR manager for managing and storage of fully encrypted mirrored paired system recordings; Alarm manager for receiving events or passing commands to connected IDS system’s; Cause and Effect manager for system actions; Communication manager for WAN/ LAN or Cellular correctivity; GPI/O connectors.

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COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE | ISSUE 43

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CYBER CRIME  The global nature of cyber crime is another factor and presents a number of unique challenges for the law enforcement community. Investigations are time-consuming, complex and require specialist skills and knowledge that are in short supply. Despite every force having a dedicated cyber crime unit, the sheer volume of cases means that forces have to triage and prioritise the most serious offences, leading to a lack of confidence in the police being able to deal effectively with the overwhelming majority of cyber crime. When looking at the conviction rate of cyber crime, which currently sits below one per cent, it is entirely understandable that many individuals and businesses affected by cyber crime ask themselves when it comes to reporting it, whether it is worth it.

As an example, I recently took a call from a small business owner who had been the victim of a phishing attack which had resulted in her systems being compromised by an external attacker.

While the owner was reasonably confident that no-one had suffered any financial losses as a result of the breach, she was understandably concerned about the impact it could have on her reputation and future business growth.

Disappointingly, she had decided not to report it to Action Fraud because she felt the chances of bringing the offender to justice were very slim and that her immediate focus was on getting her business back and up running again.

Another reason concerns the perception of the seriousness of the crime by the victim. This is a factor that causes under-reporting in other crime types and is undoubtedly a factor here.

For many victims of cyber crime, the impact may appear to be relatively minor and below what they would consider serious enough to report it to the police. There is also the possibility that some people feel embarrassed by falling victim to certain types of cyber crime, particularly in cases involving romance scams or sextortion.

A sense of shame or fear of being humiliated can lead to victims trying to deal with the fallout themselves, often with a significant impact on their mental health and well-being.

There are also some interesting studies about how demographic factors affect crime reporting. For example, younger people, who are statistically most likely to be a victim of a crime are the least likely age group to report it. Some commentators have even suggested that cyber crime is ‘just one of those things’ that young people expect to become a victim of.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO ADDRESS UNDER-REPORTING? The police and government have worked hard and had some success in addressing this issue in other

FOR MANY VICTIMS OF CYBER CRIME, THE IMPACT MAY APPEAR TO BE RELATIVELY MINOR AND BELOW WHAT THEY WOULD CONSIDER SERIOUS ENOUGH TO REPORT IT TO THE POLICE crime areas and it would be sensible to apply those lessons here. Raising awareness about why reporting is important is a good first step.

The higher the number of incidents we know about, the greater our understanding becomes of the nature and scale of the problem. It can help inform policy makers, enabling them to develop effective responses to new and emerging threats. Higher reporting rates can also help us better understand the effect cyber crime has on victims.

Raising awareness is also important in terms of managing the expectations of the public, particularly in relation to the role of Action Fraud, the centralised reporting centre for fraud across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As a reporting body, it has no investigative capability – yet this distinction is often misunderstood.

Public dissatisfaction with Action Fraud is clearly a factor in the low number of incidents reported to them. A rebranding of Action Fraud to become a ‘National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre’ is one suggestion that might help overcome confusion about its role.

There’s also more we can do about victim care. While the investigation of every allegation of fraud and cyber crime isn’t operationally feasible (which may be due to the complexity of the crime or the location of the offender), there are some big gaps in victim support at a local level, with much of the investigative capacity focused at a regional or national level.

A recent study by the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth, found that

‘computer misuse crime has similar, and in some cases a worse impact, than comparable traditional crimes such as burglary’. A review of the current landscape, including the training given to frontline officers would help build confidence and encourage a greater numbers of victims to report cyber crime to the police.

Finally, the private sector also has an important role in encouraging people to report crime. The banking community and insurance sector in particular have worked hard to promote the importance of good cyber security among their customers. Taking this one stage further in helping their customers understand the importance of reporting incidents would help engender a cultural shift in reporting.

In summary, the growth in cyber crime and the evolving threat from criminals seeking to exploit new technology means that it will continue to be among the top two or three crime types for the foreseeable future.

While much of the focus is rightly on prevention by encouraging individuals and businesses to take responsibility in reducing their vulnerability, the police must be more joined up and work closely in partnership with others to improve the experience for victims of cyber crime. If it doesn’t, to use a phrase from the Home Affairs Select Committee Policing the Future report (2018), ‘Policing is at risk of becoming irrelevant’. L

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.policedsc.com

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CYBER SECURITY Peter Yapp, former Deputy Director of UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, explains why cyber crime prevention is stronger than the cure

PROACTIVITY VERSUS REACTIVITY T he harsh truth of cyber crime is that, unless an organisation is the direct victim of a cyber attack, they tend to not take much preventative action. The ‘it won’t happen to me’ syndrome is a risky attitude to take, particularly considering the increasing scope of cyber criminals. As technology evolves, so do their targets, tools and techniques for exploitation.

It’s why businesses have to establish robust safeguards and defences to halt threat actors in their tracks. It’s why, in the murky and treacherous world of cyber crime, prevention is always better than the cure.

TIME TO TAKE CYBER SECURITY SERIOUSLY For many organisations, the starting point for cyber defence is to examine the potential threats directly facing their company.

Unfortunately, this all-too-common attitude invariably leads to the illusion a false sense of security. So many current cyber breaches are a result of collateral damage from an attack on another organisation or stumbling across a vulnerability in your organisation by chance and exploiting it.

In many cases, cyber attackers start by scanning the internet for known

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vulnerabilities, preying on and exploiting the weak and easiest to access. Every vulnerable organisation can become a target (and there are many out there) and this throws the threat focus on its head.

It means organisations should not only focus on shoring up their immediate vulnerabilities, but should be interrogating the potential ramifications of breaches to vendors, partners, clients and, especially, their supply chain.

SUPPLY CHAIN REMAINS A CYBER SECURITY WEAK LINK The software supply chain has increasingly become an alluring target for cyber criminals, with attacks increasing by 78 per cent in 2019. It has evolved into a global issue that requires an international solution to mitigate.

Every member of the supply chain must play their part. After all, one weak link is enough to break the entire chain. It’s why organisations must not only regularly patch their own software, but also stay firmly on top of their third-party suppliers. Most companies probably know who handles their data processes, but are they aware who has access to their air conditioning units? Do they know how much network access the organisation who handles the physical security of their building has?

CYBER SECURITY

Once organisations begin to build a map of their supply chain, they can begin rating suppliers based on their level of access to your network. It sounds simple, but you’d be shocked at how many companies don’t exercise these basic levels of protection.

With high-risk suppliers (who have greater access to your network), organisations can then begin penetration testing to evaluate the security of their systems. Of course, this depends on whether your contract allows this, so consider including penetration tests in any new agreement with third-party suppliers to ensure this can be easily done in the future.

For both high and lower-risk suppliers, carry out regular vulnerability scans and make sure that all suppliers are, at the very least, contractually obliged to notify you when a breach occurs.

LEARN FROM OTHERS AND ACCEPT THAT MISTAKES HAPPEN Even the most sophisticated IT teams will make mistakes every now and then. It’s exactly the moment cyber criminals yearn for: just one crack in the armour, and they can infiltrate an entire system and do untold damage.

Even if you’re not the direct victim of such an attack, you should be learning from others mistakes and applying those learnings to your own defences.

Organisations should be proactively

protecting against every hacker and every common kind of attack.

And, if a breach occurs and it’s not immediately noticeable what impact it’s had, don’t make the mistake of brushing it under the carpet. Many cyber criminals will covertly infiltrate a system, and lie in wait until a commercial opportunity arises that they can exploit.

Peter Yapp is the former Deputy Director at the UK’s NCSC, currently a Partner at law firm Schillings.

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.schillingspartners.com

PRAY FOR THE BEST, PREPARE FOR THE WORST, AND EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED The biggest misconception about cyber security is that the perfect set of impenetrable defences exists, somewhere out there. Companies must accept that they can’t prepare for everything, but instead should adopt plans that allow for agility and rapid response.

It’s why incident response plans should always be prepared with the worst case scenario in mind, regardless of whether the attack is a direct breach, or an assault against a third-party supplier, vendor, or partner. While many companies run penetration tests every six months (or even just once a year), this only provides a snapshot, so it’s essential to carry out vulnerability scans on a daily basis.

By making these scans and practices a routine part of normal business operations, organisations are infinitely better placed to understand what the attack surface looks like and where potential weaknesses lie. L

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY James McAlister, former chairman of the Business Continuity Institute, says that effective business continuity management in a crisis is all about preparation

UNDERSTANDING EFFECTIVE BUSINESS CONTINUITY MANAGEMENT

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY

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ffective business continuity (BC) management in a crisis is all about preparation. The use of robust research techniques, deployed both inside the organisation and externally, helps to identify any potential threats. Internally, business impact analysis is used to identify which of the organisations products and services are most important and why, based on criteria known as strategic impact factors. These impact factors, which include, legal, regulatory, financial, reputational, contractual and future business objectives, each have threshold limits based on the organisations risk appetite.

Once the company understands what may be internally at risk and defines their BC management scope, further research can be undertaken to establish what processes and activities enable the in-scope products and service to be delivered.

External threats can be identified using horizon scanning which aims to systematically explore the exterior environment to better understand challenges relevant to the organisation. Horizon Scanning has three primary objectives. One, Detecting: important economic, social, cultural, environmental, technological and political trends.

Two, Identifying: potential threats for the organisation implied by the trends and carrying out risk assessment to gauge the impact and likelihood of those threats being realised to the organisation. Three, Determining: an accurate understanding of the organisations capability and capacity to deal with the threat.

Having compiled a list of tangible risks, such as potential crisis causational scenarios and BC requirements which are, the residual gap between the organisation’s aspirational

resilience level, as outlined within their BC policy, and their true level, it’s time to start planning.

I have a very simplistic view of planning. Causational scenarios will stimulate contingency plans. BC requirements generate generic BC plans. BC plans focus on impact and not cause, because causes are infinite.

BC plans may have to deal with very diverse incidents ranging from simple frozen pipes to the aftermath of terrorist attacks. BC plans are therefore generic and cater for the loss of the enabling components of the organisations most important products or services. These include people, workspace, utilities, E

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY

IF CRISES HAVE TAUGHT THE WORLD ANYTHING, IT IS THAT A CRISIS IN BUSINESS CAN OCCUR TODAY WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANY COMPANY, LARGE OR SMALL, PUBLIC OR PRIVATE. THE SAFEST ASSUMPTION IS THAT A CRISIS LOOMS ON YOUR HORIZON  equipment, consumables, IT, communications, logistics, suppliers etc.

By dealing with the loss of the enabling components, a collection of generic rich data plans can be developed that can cope with a much wider range of previously unidentified risks. I find most organisations understand contingency plans but very few truly appreciate the theory behind BC planning including many resilience managers.

Both sets of plans require skilled response teams to manage the crisis utilising the appropriate plans, and this is an area where some organisations are doomed to fail even before the crisis strikes. Without response team training and exercising at strategic, tactical and operational levels, the organisation

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cannot possibly recover successfully.

The company might have the most gifted business minds on the planet, but crisis management is not business, it challenges people’s hard and soft skills simultaneously, at very fast pace, whilst suffering from unusual amounts of stress.

Training and exercising from crisis management experts is essential if the organisation wishes to prepare itself for when the inevitable crisis happens. I find many BC managers have little or no crisis management experience, therefore struggle to build good response teams within their organisations. The company may have amazing plans but without a dynamic fully prepared response team the chances of effective, timely recovery are limited.

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CREEPER INCIDENTS Unfortunately, most organisations still think that crises are large sudden impact events and forget the ‘creepers’, as I call them. The rising tide events that start small, are managed poorly and then escalate to crisis status. One of the most recent examples of a ‘creeper’, is the Harvey Weinstein scandal (for scandal read crisis), where allegedly he had been sexually harassing company staff and film stars for decades. It is claimed that many people knew of his unacceptable behaviour but due to his power, position and Hollywood culture it went unchallenged.

When it was finally exposed by the New York Times and the ‘Me Too’ movement it was all too late, and no plan was going to save The Weinstein Company. 21st century organisations all have appropriate behaviour and whistleblower polices, but how many have skeletons in their cupboards just waiting to be exposed.

Crises are by definition unpredictable and this is where an organisation wide decision model is critical for success. As Helmeth von Moltke the Elder said, ‘no plan survives first contact with the enemy’, meaning

BUSINESS CONTINUITY

plans are created with best intentions but in a sterile environment and the real world isn’t either.

Plans should be treated as a basic framework for recovery, not as the ultimate beginners guide. I use a decision model which I developed when writing UK policing’s BC plans back in 2004 and now revised as the JESIP Joint Decision Model. It is, however, critical to embed which ever model is used within the fabric of the organisation and ensure it is practiced and used regularly.

One of the most misunderstood areas of crisis management is the transition from crisis back to business as usual or the ‘new normal’ as it has become trendy to call it during the current Covid-19 crisis. Many organisations seem to think that there will be one magical moment when the crisis just stops, and everything gets back to how it was before. In reality, responders need to start thinking about the recovery phase early in the crisis timeline as the response and recover stages need to overlap and then dovetail, with the first transitioning out as the later gains momentum. If however, the crisis has caused loss of life, reputational damage,

INTERNALLY, BUSINESS IMPACT ANALYSIS IS USED TO IDENTIFY WHICH OF THE ORGANISATIONS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE MOST IMPORTANT AND WHY, BASED ON CRITERIA KNOWN AS STRATEGIC IMPACT FACTORS or impending legal / insurance claims the recovery phase may well morph into the aftermath phase which also needs to be careful considered and planned for.

An often neglected activity when crises are coming to an end is the debrief.

Often response teams are tired and just want to stand down. But without mandatory debriefs at critical stages in the crisis to recovery and beyond stages, important intelligence will be lost forever.

Quick and dirty ‘hot debriefs’ can be used at all levels of the organisation to collect vital evidence of crisis management performance using the simple three question model; ‘what did we do well’, ‘what didn’t we do well’ and ‘what would we do differently next time’. This hot data can then be collated and when things have calmed down, analysed to establish what really happened during

the crisis chaos. Following the analysis a report should be written capturing a summary of the feelings of the participants accompanied by an action plan including recommendations with an attempt to continually improve the organisations crisis response procedures.

In conclusion, I want to quote Steven Fink who said: ‘If crises have taught the world anything, it is that a crisis in business can occur today with little or no warning, anywhere, anytime. It can happen to any company, large or small, public or private. The safest assumption is that a crisis looms on your horizon’.

So you better start preparing! L

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.thebci.org

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT

CORONAVIRUS RECOVERY Counter Terror Business (CTB) talks to Brian Dillon (BD), managing director of Rubicon Resilience Limited, about the importance of crisis management planning and returning to ‘normal working’ post-coronavirus

CTB INTERVIEW: CORONAVIRUS AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT B

rian Dillon is director of Rubicon Resilience Limited, a Londonbased international consultancy that builds strategic capability in the private and public sector with an emphasis on crisis management, contingency planning, exercising and embedding organisational learning.

Brian is also the former operational head of New Scotland Yard’s Specialist Firearms Command with responsibilities that included counter-terrorism and contingency planning. This included developing strategies to deal with armed attacks and multi-agency interoperability.

Here, he talks to us about stability and recovery post-coronavirus, as well as the role of resilience professionals in business continuity.

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CTB: AS BUSINESSES BEGIN TO RETURN TO THE ‘NORMAL’ WAYS OF WORKING, HOW EASY DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE TO RECOVER? BD: Although recovery should be a consideration in the early stages of any disruption the reality is that for many the scale of challenge in facing the pandemic has forced an emphasis simply on stabilisation. Obviously there has been variation between sectors, global reach and the reliance on dependencies, such as supply chains. Some businesses have been able to adapt swiftly, for example by home working, so they’re in a different place to those that rely on direct public engagement, such as the hospitality and entertainment sector. Although the government have E

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT  started to ease the lockdown, the regulations may be tightened if the infection rate rises and even if that doesn’t happen Covid19 isn’t going away and some changes will last indefinitely.

There are also significant concerns about the economic consequences, particularly when financial support deceases and market forces prevail. In this context there’s a need to remain agile and adapt as circumstances develop. So, overall I think that recovery isn’t a destination that will be easily reached but rather it’s a continual process because of the transformational nature of the period we’re in.

CTB: HOW DO YOU THINK SECURITY AND RESILIENCE PROFESSIONALS CAN INFLUENCE BUSINESSES TO PREPARE FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE? BD: It’s imperative as we travel through continued uncertainty that companies plan ahead and take time to consider how multiple futures impact on achieving their strategic goals.

According to research by the Business Continuity Institute less than a quarter of companies believe they will return to their old business model and the truth for many is that their future state is unknown. So, contingency plans need to be continually thought through with various options considered, exercised and then revised. This applies not just in terms of the pandemic but rather on the basis of an all hazards approach because other threats haven’t gone away, they too have adapted and evolved.

1Obviously, seasoned security professionals can add significant value owing to skills in threat identification, mitigation and resolution but I think their value is wider than these

ORGANISATIONS THAT HAD BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS IN PLACE HAVE GENERALLY FARED REASONABLY WELL. THIS INCREASES EVEN MORE SO FOR THOSE THAT HAD REHEARSED THEIR PLAN traditional areas. In the early stages of the pandemic there was a sense that security and resilience was recognised as a discipline necessary to negotiate the initial rocky period.

But now things have settled somewhat I’m not convinced that is still the case. However, experience shows that innovation, foresight and agility are enablers of success. I think the best executive committees will recognise that security and resilience can make a broader contribution and as companies chart a course for the future they should leverage security professionals’ expertise because the challenges ahead really do require an ‘all hands on deck’ approach.

CTB: IT IS ALWAYS SAID AFTER A MAJOR INCIDENT THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO LEARN FROM MISTAKES AND BE BETTER PREPARED FOR ANY FUTURE INCIDENTS. WHAT DO YOU THINK BUSINESSES WILL HAVE LEARNT FROM THIS CURRENT CRISIS, IN TERMS OF READINESS AND MANAGEMENT? BD: Organisations that had business continuity plans in place have generally fared reasonably well. This increases even more so for those that had rehearsed their plan. Of course few will have planned for a pandemic on the scale of Covid-19 but the critical point is the evidence shows that a plan that had been exercised provided

some assurance of its utility. Without doubt the pandemic has provided an opportunity to identify learning but this is different to actually ensuring that organisational learning has taken place. I’m slightly cautious about the term ‘learning lessons’ because it’s an easy expression to throw around but harder to achieve in practice.

That said, there’s also been some very positive developments in terms of agility and innovation. A number of companies have been pleasantly surprised with how people and systems have adapted under pressure. There are reports of organisational change which previously were thought to be years in development suddenly coming online through necessity. Of course, not all change is necessarily good and time will tell whether some innovations will ultimately prove to be successful.

CTB: CAN THE ABOVE TRANSLATE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF A TERRORIST ATTACK? BD: Absolutely. In the current climate terrorists and bad actors haven’t gone away and will be looking to exploit any perceived vulnerabilities.

For example, lockdown has altered the risk to crowded places because the public are not gathering in numbers in the usual locations. But as we enter a new period, with the economy starting to reopen, we will see more people traveling and as hospitality venues cautiously reopen we may well see a different type of congestion as new oneway routes and distancing measures are implemented. So, safety and security needs to evolve accordingly to ensure they meet contemporary threats.

Equally, there are reports of increased hostile online activity. At one level this amounts to extremist or conspiracy messaging designed to sow hate, fear and division which could directly or indirectly inspire violence. Less obvious, but similarly damaging, are cyber attacks designed to exploit organisations at a time of potential weakness, for example because of the large numbers home working.

In short, security and resilience professionals need to constantly think ahead to consider how the threat will change and adapt accordingly. L

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.rubires.com

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COUNTER TERROR AWARDS The Counter Terror Awards acknowledge excellence in the global fight against terrorism. Since 2018, organisations and individuals from the UK and overseas have been recognised across 20 categories for their contributions to reducing the threat of global terrorism

THE 2020 COUNTER TERROR AWARD WINNERS T

his year, in a shorter category list, Counter Terror Business, organisers of the Awards, again looks to share appreciation and celebrate the people and organisations who are making the country and safer place to live. From communications and cyber security efforts, to policing on the front line and educating pupils against radicalisation, the shortlisted entries have been chosen for their actions in the 12-18 months, where the threat of terrorism has again grown.

Despite the threat level in the UK having been reduced to substantial in November 2019, meaning an attack is likely, and the recent coronavirus pandemic appearing to disrupt the actions of criminals somewhat, incidents have been witnessed across the country. In the same month that the terrorism threat level was downgraded to ‘Substantial’, London Bridge played scene to another incident when 28-year-old Usman Khan

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started attacking people with a knife and was then shot by police. A few months ago, Sudesh Amman stabbed people in Streatham a week after being released from prison after serving half of his sentence of three years and four months for terror offences.

The 2019 Global Terrorism Index revealed that deaths from terrorism have halved in the last four years, but the number of countries affected by terrorism continues to grow, and, in the UK, the Home Office has announced that funding for counter terrorism policing will grow to £906 million in 2020 to 2021 - highlighting the scale of problem and resources needed to ebb the terrorist flow.

In spite of the challenges, policies, practices and solutions are being created to counter the threat - something our shortlisted entries can all be proud of.

So, with no further ado, we provide our 2020 Counter Terror Awards winners. E

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COUNTER TERROR AWARDS  COMMUNICATIONS AWARD This Communications Award recognises communication systems and their potential to assist organisations in both threat detection and postterrorism communication between governmental and emergency service organisations. In previous years, this award has recognised the use of Body Worn Video technology and real-time footage from UAVs, and this year will be won by one of three organisations.

The 2020 Communications Award has been jointly awarded to Counter Terrorism Policing and Pool Re. Alongside the Joint Security and Resilience Centre, the two organisations have been working towards providing businesses holistic access to timely and accurate information in the event of an attack, by using an interactive online platform to provide secure expert counter terrorism advice.

The £10 million project, funded by Pool Re, is being and led by Counter Terrorism Policing, in partnership with the Joint Security and Resilience Centre, part of the Home Office. The project, first announced last year, remains in development stage.

The Metropolitan Police and Counter Terrorism Policing’s ACT Awareness eLearning package were shortlisted for this award.

CYBER SECURITY AWARD The Cyber Security Award is presented to an organisation which has developed effective technologies to protect against the threat of cyber terrorism.

The 2020 winner of the Cyber Security Award is the National Police Chiefs Council for their efforts to ensure that every police force in England and Wales have a dedicated cyber crime unit in place. Starting last year, police

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forces have been able to access £7 million worth of funding to build the cyber crime units - including recruiting specialist officers and staff to the units and investing in technology, equipment and training. Prior to the roll out of the force units by the National Police Chiefs Council, only 31 per cent of forces had a dedicated cyber capability.

The move ensures that all forces will have specialist officers and staff in place to investigate cyber crime and ensure victims receive a consistent response and receive contact and prevention advice from police following a report.

The Cyber Threats Research Centre at Swansea University and the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit were also shortlisted for the Cyber Security Award.

EDUCATION PROJECT AWARD The Education Award recognises a governmental organisation or public/private partnership which has developed and implemented an effective counter terrorism strategy or awareness campaign.

The 2020 winner of the Counter Terrorism Education Award is the PSHE Association. Recognised for its counter extremism training programme, aimed at providing teachers with the confidence and skills to address key extremism-related topics in the classroom to bring into PSHE lessons, the programme also helps equip pupils with better awareness and understanding of extremist behaviour. A bespoke evaluation survey, carried out by the Home Office’s Building a Stronger Britain Together programme, found that the training and supporting resources led to significantly increased levels of confidence and improved skills in covering extremism-related topics in the

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classroom among teacher participants.

You can read our interview with the PSHE Association on page 34.

EMERGENCY SERVICES AWARD The work that the emergency services do to keep our nation safe often goes unrecognised. It is for that reason that categories like the Emergency Services Award are presented, acknowledging how the police, fire and ambulance services have implemented and tested a strategy to cope with terrorist attack.

The 2020 winner of the Emergency Services Award is the London Ambulance Service. On several occasions over the last few years, London Ambulance staff have attended some of the worst terrorism scenes this country has seen in the last few decades. Although some scrutiny was highlighted in the London Bridge attack inquest, the work that was achieved, and the speed in which it was carried out, is remarkable, especially give the array of confused information from hundreds of unverified reports.

London has unfortunately fallen victim to numerous terrorist attacks in the last few years, and while the police have successfully prevented many, on the occasions that assailants have caused harm, London Ambulance Service have responded and performed exceptionally.

West Midlands Police and Northumbria University were also shortlisted in the Emergency Services category.

PERIMETER SECURITY AWARD The Perimeter Security Award recognises an organisation, public or private, which has designed and/or installed physical security measures to protect buildings and individuals from terrorist attack.

The 2020 winner of the Perimeter Security Award is Manchester City

COUNTER TERROR AWARDS Council, who earlier this year announced that it will act on proposals that will enshrine the principles of Martyn’s Law into future regulations to ensure the safety of all Manchester residents. A terrorist bomb attack at the Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017 claimed the lives of 22 people, and seriously injured dozens more. Martyn Hett was one of those who died. Since his death, Martyn’s mother Figen Murray has campaigned to have the government introduce legislation to improve security at all public venues, calling it ‘Martyn’s Law’. This is something that the Home Office has said it will do, although the current coronavirus pandemic has halted plans until later in the year.

Manchester City Council has confirmed that it will review the way in which it licences venues in order to ensure high safety standards are in place across the whole of the city. Initially this will have to be voluntary changes made by the owners of licensed premises. However, given the significance of the terror attack on Manchester, and the depth of feeling in the wake of the attack, the authority says that it hopes that the practices which underlie Martyn’s Law would be taken up with enthusiasm.

The shortlisted organisations in this award were KrowdThink, for The Krowd App, and Thames Water.

POLICING AWARD The Counter Terror Policing Award category recognises the efforts of the police sector in combatting domestic terrorism through prevention strategies and operational excellence.

The winner of the 2020 Policing Award is City of London Police. Under Project Servator, an initiative launched by the City of London Police in 2014,

37 per cent of stop and searches carried out in 2018/19 resulted in a positive outcome, such as weapons or illegal drugs being found or an arrest. This is compared to a national average positive outcome rate of 17 per cent across UK police forces in 2018/19.

The tactics involve the use of highly visible but unpredictable deployments of specially trained officers (both uniformed and plain clothed) in operations to disrupt would-be criminals and terrorists, whilst encouraging vigilance and acting as a deterrent. Its success also relies on the support of businesses and the wider community to create a network of vigilance.

Leicestershire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing were also shortlisted in this category, for Project Servator at East Midlands Airport and the ‘Summer Security’ initiative respectively.

TRANSPORT SECURITY AWARD The winner of the 2020 Transport Security Award is Heathrow Airport.

Europe’s busiest travel hub, Heathrow Airport deployed a ‘bespoke set of antidrone systems’ last year, designed to block unmanned aerial vehicles from entering its airspace following a string of recent attempts. Designed by UKbased firm Operational Solutions, the system detects and tracks drones in surrounding airspace, with the ability to locate the drone pilot and show their location, using technology from several manufacturers. The airport has said the fast and accurate detention of drones would keep passengers and staff safe, and minimise delays.

The British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association (BVRLA) was also shortlisted in this category along with Gatwick Airport.

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD Recognising an organisation or individual from either the private or government sector whose contribution to worldwide anti-terrorism efforts has been outstanding, the Outstanding Contribution to Counter Terrorism Award is considered the stand-out category. In the inaugural Counter Terror Awards, Mark Rowley, then the Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, was the recipient, and last year the award was split between public sector contribution, won

by Chief Superintendent Keith Gilert, Senior Police Adviser at the Defence Science and Research Laboratory, and private sector contribution, won

by SecuriGroup’s Allan Burnett.

The 2020 winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award is Figen Murray.

The mother of Manchester Arena attack victim Martyn Hett, Figen has created a platform to speak to government ministers, local leader, business executives and security experts to explain the devastating personal consequences of the attack at the Arianna Grande concert - providing a heart-wrenching reminder why the Step Change Programme is so important. In December, Figen introduced Martyn’s Law and has since grown into a vocal advocate for better security measures across UK event venues.

You can read our interview with Figen Murray on page 31.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D’Orsi and Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu were also shortlisted in this category. L

FURTHER INFORMATION

awards.counterterrorbusiness.com

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Secure home working – Working to improve cyber security for home workers As many organisations face the realities of home working for the majority of staff, cyber security best practice for mobile comms becomes a serious issue. Staff need the most appropriate tools for the job, even if using their own devices. However, the use of unmanaged devices opens up the business to a whole range of security risks and unsafe or unregulated working practices including contraventions of GDPR. Here are five immediate benefits of using a specialist app to ensure that confidential conversations stay that way.

Protect all sensitive data – including metadata - Enterprise-grade apps have more sophisticated security features than simply encrypting your messages. Metadata (details of who you called, where you made the call, how long you talked, for example) is also protected, and remains under your complete control (either on your premises or in a secure cloud).

Secure collaboration and increased productivity – Enterprise apps have many more features that enable secure

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and documents are not saved or stored inappropriately.

Optional Audit – For regulated industries, conversations can be recorded for audit purposes, so even when using their own devices, staff are still compliant for business operations.

Fast One-click Provisioning – When assessing enterprise apps it is important to find a solution that is easy for end users to install and for central IT to commission and control. To maintain security best practice, it should also be equally quick and easy to decommission should a device be lost or compromised, or a staff member leave the organisation.

Having a special app to use for business communications reminds staff that even though they are working from home, they still need to be professional, and their employer cares enough to provide them with the right tools for the job – even when they are using their own devices.

collaborative working. Elements such as voice, video, conference, attachments and group messaging. Features that business people need to communicate and share information, enabling colleagues to collaborate productivity, knowing that sensitive corporate data is fully secured, even when on the device.

Limit the life of time sensitive information – some enterprise apps provide features where the lifespan of messages, documents, videos can be timed to self-delete (burn) after a set time. The time is chosen by the sender and can be a certain time after the FURTHER INFORMATION ISSUE 43 COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE message has been sent, or after it has| been read. This ensures that sensitive information www.armourcomms.com

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COUNTER TERROR AWARDS

At the start of June, Figen Murray was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Counter Terrorism Award, as part of the 2020 Counter Terror Awards. Here, we get her thoughts on recognition, Martyn’s Law and venue security

COUNTER TERROR AWARDS Q&A: FIGEN MURRAY O n 22 May 2017, Figen Murray’s son, Martyn Hett, was one of the 22 people killed in the devastating Manchester Arena bombing attack.

Following the events of that evening, Figen has made it her mission to promote peace and positive change in Martyn’s name.

Following the decision to no longer continue her work as a counsellor, Figen is now committed to her mission of promoting peace, kindness and tolerance in Martyn’s memory, while also working towards tangible changes that can help ensure no other family has to go through what hers did.

By visiting schools, universities and conferences, she is dedicated to helping stop attacks like the Manchester Arena one from happening in the future. She has so far spoken to more than 7,500 secondary school pupils across England, urging them to confront the

terrible impact of the Manchester bombing, and raising awareness of the extremism behind it. Her talks also aim to show young people how they can positively influence and shape their own world, encouraging those in attendance to think about acts of kindness whilst at school and outside of it.

Figen is also the force behind Martyn’s Law, a legislation requiring entertainment venues to improve security against the threat of terrorism, and one that requires that all venues in the city have a counter-terrorism plan. Her petition to make Martyn’s Law mandatory received over 23,000 signatures and is now on its way to becoming a reality.

She has just been presented with the Outstanding Contribution award at the 2020 Counter Terror Awards for her efforts in stopping terrorism. Here we get her thoughts on a number of topics. E

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COUNTER TERROR AWARDS

TERRORISTS HAD TIME TO PLOT AND PLAN DURING LOCKDOWN AND TO RECRUIT MANY PEOPLE. THEY ALSO KNOW THAT THE GENERAL POPULATION IS DESPERATE TO GO OUT AND ABOUT AND THAT SECURITY WILL BE THE LAST THING ON ANYONE’S MIND.  THE OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO COUNTER TERRORISM AWARD, WHICH YOU WON THIS YEAR, RECOGNISES AN ORGANISATION OR INDIVIDUAL WHOSE CONTRIBUTION TO WORLDWIDE COUNTER TERRORISM EFFORTS HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF OUTSTANDING. WHILST NONE OF YOUR CONTEMPORARIES WOULD ARGUE AGAINST THAT DESCRIPTION FOR YOU, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE WON THE AWARD? Winning the award was incredibly humbling and it was an honour to be nominated alongside two people I have the utmost respect for: Neil Basu and Lucy D’Orsi. For me, winning this award made me realise that people actually listen to what I have to say and genuinely care about Martyn’s Law. It also confirmed to me that I definitely wish to continue working in the field of counter terrorism. I feel strangely at home in this field now and am very passionate about contributing in some way to help make a difference.

AT THE INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EXPO IN DECEMBER, YOU INTRODUCED MARTYN’S LAW IN MEMORY OF YOUR SON. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT MARTYN’S LAW GETS GOVERNMENT BACKING AND MINISTERIAL SUPPORT? Getting government backing for Martyn’s Law and getting this law into the Statute Book is very important to me. Whilst we can never stop terror attacks from happening I am convinced that Martyn’s Law will act as a strong deterrent and ultimately save lives. It does simply not make sense that there are laws in place regarding the temperature of food in a canteen or the number of toilets needed at venues, yet there is no consideration given to possible attacks.

This simply has to change.Terrorists have shifted the goalposts and as a society we have to move ours to protect ourselves. I am in discussion with the security minister and his team to discuss next steps in bringing this law into reality.

MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL, ANOTHER AWARD WINNER THIS YEAR, ANNOUNCED IN JANUARY THAT IT WILL ACT ON PROPOSALS THAT WILL ENSHRINE THE PRINCIPLES OF MARTYN’S

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LAW INTO FUTURE REGULATIONS. IN MANCHESTER SPECIFICALLY, WHERE DO YOU SEE THIS COMMITMENT GOING NEXT? AND DO YOU CONTINUE TO SEE YOURSELF BEING INVOLVED? I was delighted to see that Manchester City Council also won an award and it was in connection with Martyn’s Law. The council already invited me to some of their meetings to discuss the implementation of this law and it would be amazing if they continue to let me be involved.

As the attack where Martyn died was in Manchester it is great to see that the council initiated steps to implement Martyn’s Law ahead of the government.

I would love to see physical evidence of this once we are out of lockdown.

I am very grateful to the council.

ONE OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU HAVE BECOME QUITE PROMINENT IN OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO IS SPEAKING TO SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS ABOUT THE EXTREMISM BEHIND ATTACKS, LIKE IN MANCHESTER. GIVEN HOW DIFFICULT A TOPIC IT CAN BE TO PRESENT, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS ARE TAUGHT AND INVOLVED IN DISCUSSIONS ON EXTREMISM? When I realised how young the Manchester attack bomber was I was quite shocked that someone so young would do something so terrible and drastic. I was more or less in shock for the first year after my son died but I instinctively knew that I wanted to address teenagers and young adults and tell them about the dangers of online radicalisation. I talk to them about Martyn, who he was and what his death did to us as a family. I talk to them about some of the signs of someone being radicalised and what to do if they suspect someone is heading in that direction.

I also tell them that I have faith that they as young people are the answer to a more peaceful future as they will be future decision makers, educators and parents and that therefore it is up to them to embrace difference as an enrichment to their lives, they become tolerant and kind people who pass these important values on to future generations.

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COUNTER TERROR AWARDS AS LOCKDOWN EASES AND PEOPLE RETURN TO MORE ’NORMAL’ ROUTINES, WHAT MUST VENUES DO TO ENSURE THAT THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE SAFE FROM TERRORIST DANGERS? This is a tricky one. In my view there is now a bigger risk of attacks. Terrorists had time to plot and plan during lockdown and to recruit many people. They also know that the general population is desperate to go out and about and that security will be the last thing on anyone’s mind. Cafe and restaurant owners, venues in general are encouraged to use outside space to keep customers safe from Covid-19, however, this means that people sitting at tables in more open spaces will be more vulnerable to attacks.

I urge venues to do a risk assessment and act accordingly. I would also ask all venues, however big or small to train all their staff with the free of charge ACT E-Learning training so that everyone’s awareness is heightened and very current.

The training takes less than an hour and could potentially save lives of staff know what to do in case something happens.

LASTLY, I’D LOVE TO ASK ABOUT YOUR PEACE BEARS. AMID THE NEGATIVE HEADLINES, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE BENEFITS OF SHOWCASING PEACE, KINDNESS AND UNITY, AND HOW THE BEARS ARE ACHIEVING THAT? I have made these knitted bears before Martyn died. I started knitting the bears as being creative helped me through a sudden significant hearing loss which made me head towards depression. Thankfully, making the bears prevented things to go that far but I started to sell the bears online with a background story each. People could relate to the bears as their issues connected with the stories I gave them.

After Martyn died I decided to make the bears in the name of peace, kindness, unity and love. Martyn’s love always goes with them. So when I hear of someone having had a bereavement I will give them a bear.

I also took four bears to New Zealand last year to give one bear each to the two mosques that were subjected to a terrorist attack in Christchurch. The other two were given to their Prime Minister and to the Mayoress of Christchurch as a thank you for looking after the victims. I also gave one bear to someone who was injured at the Boston Marathon. Some of the Manchester arena victims’ families have bears, too.

My bears go all over the world and I often hear back from them as people like to tell me what the bears get up to. The bears are for grown ups only as I really want to bring a smile back to their faces. I feel that we grow up far too fast and often forget how to play. But the bears are also very healing to so many people. L

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.figenmurray.co.uk

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COUNTER TERROR AWARDS

Counter Terror Business talks to Anne Bell, a Subject Specialist at the PSHE Association – the national body for PSHE education, winners of a recent Counter Terrorism Education award for their preventative education work under Home Office BSBT funding

ADDRESSING EXTREMISM IN PSHE EDUCATION T

he topic of extremism and the radicialisation of children and young adults has taken on new importance during lockdown. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D’Orsi warned a few months ago that the coronavirus lockdown may have led more individuals to become radicalised as they spend more time online. Counter Terrorism Policing itself warned in April that the impact of coronavirus and social isolation could make some of society’s most vulnerable people more susceptible to radicalisation, as the number of people referred to the Prevent programme has fallen.

Merging two previous awards, the Counter Terrorism Project Award and the Education Project Award, the Counter Terrorism Education Award aims to recognise a governmental organisation or public/private partnership which has developed and implemented an effective counter terrorism strategy or awareness campaign.

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The 2020 winner of the Counter Terrorism Education Award is the PSHE Association.

Recognised for its counter extremism training programme, aimed at providing teachers with the confidence and skills to address key extremism-related topics in the classroom to bring into PSHE lessons, the programme also helps equip pupils with better awareness and understanding of extremist behaviour.

A bespoke evaluation survey, carried out by the Home Office’s Building a Stronger Britain Together programme, found that the training and supporting resources led to significantly increased levels of confidence and improved skills in covering extremism-related topics in the classroom among teacher participants.

Here, we speak to Anne Bell of the PSHE Association about preventative education and a school-wide approach to incorporating radicalisation into teaching. E

COUNTER TERROR AWARDS

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COUNTER TERROR AWARDS  JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO ADDRESS TOPICS SUCH AS EXTREMISM AND RADICALISATION IN PSHE EDUCATION? Schools have a moral and legal duty to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and attributes to resist radicalisation and prevent extremism. Recruiters often target young people – particularly those already more vulnerable due to truancy or unstable living situations – so schools must provide opportunities to counter extremist messaging and offer support to prevent radicalisation.

Inspectors from Ofsted and the Independent School Inspectorate (ISI) expect schools to address this as a safeguarding issue and Government ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance states that schools should ensure pupils are taught to safeguard themselves, including online.

PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) education is the school curriculum subject ideally placed to address this learning in a planned, safe, maturity-appropriate way. PSHE can teach young people about diversity, foster a sense of inclusion, and develop strategies to recognise and resist persuasive messaging promoted by

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extremist materials or recruiters.

Well-taught PSHE lessons provide a safe environment in which to challenge stereotypes and myths while fostering protective factors such as high self-esteem and positive relationships. PSHE cannot stop exposure to extremist ideologies, but it can equip young people with the qualities and abilities to help them recognise and resist such influences.

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT/ CAN IT MAKE FOR PSHE EDUCATION TO BE TAUGHT AS PREVENTATIVE EDUCATION, RATHER THAN SIMPLY REACTIVE? There is a limit to what reactive PSHE learning can achieve. After a terrorist attack or extremist incident, emotions are heightened which makes it very difficult to deal with some of the more sensitive aspects of relevant PSHE topics.

As discussed in the PSHE Association’s Discussion framework to be used in the event of a terrorist attack, the aim of learning at this stage would be to calm anxieties and challenge unhelpful stereotypes. At this time, non-curricular pastoral support would be a better context than PSHE lessons for any bereavement work, for example.

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In contrast, a preventative programme can tackle discrimination before it has the opportunity to arise by promoting inclusion and teaching about the wider impacts of stereotyping and prejudice.

It can teach young people strategies for managing feelings and emotions – including those related to grief and anxiety – and signpost relevant support networks, should they be required.

PSHE also has a role to play in reducing the likelihood that pupils will become involved in extremist activities in the future. This includes teaching how to resist influence and ensuring young people are aware of ways that adults and older teens can manipulate others – particularly online. This learning also has the benefit of being relevant to other grooming contexts. And such learning encourages pupils to fact-check and assess others’ statements – and motives – before acting; this includes developing an understanding of the media landscape, the power of peer influence and how social media can amplify falsehoods or dangerous rhetoric.

PSHE can also deliver extremismspecific learning on exiting difficult situations and on reporting concerns.

All these aspects and more can contribute to reducing the possibility of involvement in extremism, and therefore the likelihood of an extremist incident.

COUNTER TERROR AWARDS IN WHAT WAYS CAN SCHOOLS HELP INCORPORATE TEACHING AND ADVICE ON EXTREMISM AND RADICALISATION AS A SCHOOL-WIDE APPROACH? A 2011 evidence review by the Department for Education recommends a ‘multi-modal approach’ to tackling extremism, where schools work in tandem with youth services and families.

PSHE education is only one part of a wider school strategy on extremism and radicalisation. The most effective schools have a school-wide ethos that promotes inclusion and a sense of belonging to a community. Schools can help young people to develop a sense of purpose and direction which may have a protective effect.

A whole-school approach includes the development of policies (e.g. on antibullying, equalities and safeguarding) which promote diversity and address how a school keeps pupils safe, alongside appropriate pastoral support that encourages social inclusion and reduces vulnerability to radicalisation.

There are a number of subject areas that provide relevant curriculum opportunities including Citizenship and Religious Education, so a joined up approach to curriculum planning is beneficial.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE AN AWARENESS OF POTENTIAL RADICALISATION-RELATED RISKS AND RELATED FACTS, BUT KNOWLEDGE ALONE IS INSUFFICIENT TO SAFEGUARD YOUNG PEOPLE HOW CAN OTHER SKILLS, OFTEN TAUGHT THROUGH PSHE, SUCH AS FLEXIBLE THINKING, EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING AND SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION, HELP EQUIP STUDENTS TO BETTER IDENTIFY AND PREVENT BEING RADICALISED? It is important that young people have an awareness of potential radicalisation-related risks and related facts, but knowledge alone is insufficient to safeguard young people.

As recommended by UNESCO in its publication ‘A teacher’s guide on the prevention of violent extremism (2016)’, learning must include development of the interpersonal skills to manage disagreements constructively, critical thinking skills to navigate misinformation and assess the validity of extremist beliefs, and the skills to constructively engage in civic society.

Misinformation and conspiracy theories can now spread more easily than ever before. For example, a recent Europol report highlighted increased cybercriminal activity and deliberate spreading of disinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic .

It is therefore important that young people are taught to critically analyse the information they come across – both online and in person. The ability to assess reliability – both of a source and related reporting – can help protect and safeguard young people.

HOW IS THE PSHE ASSOCIATION HELPING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE HOW TO RECOGNISE AND PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM RADICALISATION? As part of our involvement in the Building a Stronger Britain Together Home Office initiative on challenging extremism and radicalisation, the PSHE Association delivered a range of training days for PSHE education leads and related staff members – aimed at both primary and secondary phases.

The training updated teachers on the current prevention education landscape and focused on how to embed learning on inclusion and extremism within a broader PSHE education curriculum.

An independent Ipsos MORI evaluation found that this work ’led to significantly increased levels of confidence and improved skills in covering extremism-related topics’.

A key contributory factor to the success of the training was the signposting of quality-assured resources. The PSHE Association, following detailed research and collation of pupil voice, wrote a set of lesson materials aimed at both primary and secondary phases.

Project funding also allowed materials from other organisations to go through the rigorous quality assurance process to provide additional high quality resources to help teachers address this potentially sensitive topic area safely.

Further details of these and related resources can be found on their website at www.pshe-association.org.uk or get in touch at info@pshe-association.org.uk

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.pshe-association.org.uk

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COUNTER TERRORISM POLICY

Steven Greer, Professor of Human Rights, University of Bristol Law School, asks whether counter terrorism in Britain, particularly the Prevent programme, is racist and/or Islamophobic

IS COUNTER TERRORISM IN BRITAIN RACIST AND/OR ISLAMOPHOBIC?

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COUNTER TERRORISM POLICY

T

he killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May has once again graphically illustrated the problem of racism and the excessive use of force in US policing.

Careful, evidence-based analysis is, however, a key prerequisite in determining its scale and scope, both there and in other places.

This is no less true with respect to the claim, which dominates the relevant literature and campaigning worlds, that counter terrorism in Britain, particularly the Prevent programme, is racist and/or Islamophobic.

If true, something urgently needs to be done about it. But, if not, the allegation itself should be challenged. Otherwise cooperation with counter terrorism could be undermined and community relations damaged. But, in order to test it in a scientific manner with legally significant implications, it needs to be reframed in terms of official discrimination – the direct or indirect official allocation of goods or benefits on an unequal basis without adequate justification by reference to the rights and freedoms of others or legitimate public interests.

manner as a result of prejudice, either by the particular agencies involved, or more randomly, on the part of specific officials.

A distinction also needs to be drawn between, on the one hand, subjective perceptions that a law/policy is discriminatory, and on the other, independent evidence that this is the case. The trouble with subjective perceptions is, that no matter how firmly or honestly held, the extent to which they are based on rumour, myth, or prejudice, rather than upon direct experience, objective fact, or reliable judgment, is difficult to determine.

British counter terrorist law and policy cannot credibly be deemed discriminatory by design because it is expressly neutral with respect to the forms of terrorism to which, and the racial and other characteristics of those to whom, it applies. And apart from anecdotes, which may or may not be true, there is also no reliable evidence that it is being regularly and intentionally implemented in a discriminatory manner. Indeed, the evidence either fails to substantiate such claims or points in the opposite direction.

OFFICIAL DISCRIMINATION Official discrimination can occur in several ways. A law or public policy is ‘discriminatory by design’ if it expressly targets a social group, particularly one with a ‘protected characteristic’, without justification. However, even if not guilty of this charge, it may, nevertheless, be discriminatory for other reasons. Well-intentioned implementation may indirectly, and inadvertently, have this effect. A non-discriminatory law or policy may also be implemented in a discriminatory

TERRORISM AND COUNTER TERRORISM IN BRITAIN From the beginning of the millennium to the end of 2019, terrorism in Britain killed over 100 people. Jihadis were responsible for over 90 per cent of these deaths and just under 100 per cent of the total casualties. By 2003 annual fatalities due to the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland had declined to single figures.

Since then, although the risk from ‘dissident Republicans’ has remained deadly, this type of terrorism has caused no death or injury in E

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COUNTER TERRORISM POLICY  mainland Britain. Terrorism in pursuit of other causes has also waxed and waned over the past few decades. And, while the risk from the far-right has increased significantly recently, it has not yet accounted for more than a dozen or so casualties including a handful of fatalities.

The two, putatively integrated, principal pillars of the UK’s domestic counter terrorist law and policy are the Terrorism Act 2000 – which consolidated, streamlined and reformed relevant legislation prompted by the conflict in Northern Ireland – and the four Ps of the post-9/11 CONTEST strategy: Prepare, Pursue, Protect and Prevent.

PREPARE AND PURSUE The Prepare stream of CONTEST – which seeks to mitigate the impact of terrorist attacks by bringing them to an end as swiftly and effectively as possible, and by increasing capacity to recover in the aftermath (‘resilience’) – has, quite rightly, not been denounced as racist or Islamophobic. The majority of those arrested, charged, prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned in Britain for terrorism-related offences over the past few years, core Pursue objectives,

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have been young, male, non-white, British, Muslims. Since this is entirely consistent with those likely to be involved in the dominant terrorist threat, this CONTEST stream cannot credibly be considered discriminatory either.

PROTECT Domestically, Protect is intended to reduce vulnerability to terrorism, particularly as far as national border security, transport systems, national infrastructure, and crowded places are concerned. Its most controversial feature concerns stop and search.

The Terrorism Act provides two principal street-related stop and search provisions. Section 43 requires reasonable suspicion of involvement in terrorism on the part of the police officer exercising this power. The other is provided by s. 47A (as amended).

This authorises a senior police officer to designate, for up to 14 days, an area for random stops and searches, where there is reasonable suspicion, based upon intelligence, that a terrorist incident will occur there. Within such an area, uniformed officers can stop and search people and vehicles for evidence of involvement in terrorism without

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themselves having reasonable suspicion.

But s. 47A also provides that, unless the officer has a description of a specific suspect, a person’s physical appearance cannot be used alone or in combination with any other factor as justification.

Exercise of both powers is governed by a code of practice. Amongst other things, this provides that reasonable suspicion cannot be based on generalizations or stereotypes of certain groups or categories of people deemed more likely to be involved in terrorism than others.

It also requires officers to take care to avoid any form of racial or religious profiling when selecting people to search. They must also take ‘great care’ to ensure their judgment is ‘not based solely on ethnic background, perceived religion’ or any other characteristic protected by the Equality Act 2010.

No official figures appear to be available about the racial or religious impact of s. 47A which has been rarely used. There are no figures either for the religion of those stopped and searched under s. 43. However, since some 14 per cent of the population of England and Wales is non-white, the hit rate for s. 43 is 400 per million for non-whites and 40 per million for

COUNTER TERRORISM POLICY whites. One possible interpretation is that this is discriminatory and that the ‘reasonable suspicion’ requirement and the Code are being ignored. But official discrimination is not simply a matter of numbers. It critically depends upon context and justification. The s. 47A power is expressly location-specific. And while this is not a formal characteristic of s. 43, it may also be applied more in certain places than others. Therefore, while it cannot be ruled out that counterterrorist stops and searches on the streets are racially discriminatory, the lack of vital data renders this unproven.

The amended Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which is also subject to a code of practice, permits ‘examining officers’ designated by the Secretary of State (usually the police) to stop and question, detain and search individuals, and to examine and seize possessions and goods, with respect to anyone transiting through ports, airports, international rail stations, or the border area between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The purpose is to determine whether those concerned appear to be, or have been, involved in terrorism. While ‘some reasoned basis, proportionality … and good faith’ are necessary, no specific suspicion about any given traveller is required.

Official statistics reveal several things about how these powers have been exercised. First, they are also very rarely used. An average of only 0.006 per cent of the 300 million or so transiting through British airports every year are subject to such examinations. And this has also been steadily declining yearon-year, from over 61,000 in 2012 to just over 10,000 in 2019. Ninety-four per cent last less than an hour and, of those examined, 35 per cent are white and 57 per cent non-white. Four per cent are detained, 75 per cent of whom are non-white. There is no information on the religion of those stopped and searched under Schedule 7.

Here again the overrepresentation of non-whites, particularly among those detained, might suggest racial discrimination. But it can also be explained in other terms. Since 92 per cent of Muslims in England and Wales are non-white, and all jihadis are Muslim, the majority of jihadis in Britain are likely to be non-white. This is also likely to be the case globally. On the basis of intelligence assessments, Schedule 7 is also likely to be used significantly more in relation to certain flights than others.

For obvious reasons, these have not been officially identified. But it is, nevertheless, well-known that the countries most afflicted by jihadi terrorism are Nigeria, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, all of which have almost entirely non-white populations.

The majority of those visiting them is also likely to be non-white.

The manner in which stop and search

AN AVERAGE OF JUST OVER 6,500 PEOPLE ARE REFERRED TO PREVENT EVERY YEAR: 50 PER CENT CONCERN ISLAMIST EXTREMISM, 17 PER CENT, ‘RIGHT WING EXTREMISM’, AND 33 PER CENT, ‘OTHER EXTREMISM’ powers are exercised is also critical. If most are of limited duration, applied infrequently to any given individual, and conducted respectfully, there can be little cause for complaint. Here again the lack of relevant systematic evidence makes it impossible to draw reliable conclusions about racial discrimination either way.

PREVENT Prevent, the most controversial of the four Ps, aims to stop people from becoming terrorists, or from supporting terrorism, by countering terrorist ideology and challenging those who promote it (‘counterradicalisation’), supporting cooperative individuals who are particularly vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism (‘de-radicalisation’), and working with sectors and institutions where the risk of radicalization in these senses is considered high.

Although the religion of those referred is not recorded, to an extent this can be inferred from the type of extremism concerned. And, while non-whites are overrepresented in the statistics, this is more plausibly attributable to the demography of those likely to be involved in jihadi terrorism than to discrimination. An average of just over 6,500 people are referred to Prevent every year: 50 per cent concern Islamist extremism, 17 per cent, ‘right wing extremism’, and 33 per cent, ‘other extremism’, ‘mixed, unstable or unclear ideology’. It is, however, significant that concerns about Islamist extremism account for only half the total number. Indeed, the referral figure for right wing extremism has also almost doubled from 750 in 2015/16 to just under 1,400 in 2018/19, the

steepest increase of any category.

The police select those deemed worthy of a decision by local authority ‘Channel panels’ (18 per cent) which then schedule suitable cases for official support (34 per cent of those considered by Channel, six per cent of initial referrals), acceptance of which is voluntary. Of these: 84 per cent are aged 30 or under, 91 per cent are male, 50 per cent involve Islamist extremism (37 per cent in 2018/19), 39 per cent the extreme right (45 per cent in 2018/19), and 11 per cent other and mixed etc.

Ninety-four per cent of initial referrals are filtered out of the programme or diverted to other services without receiving Channel support and 81 per cent leave Channel without further official concern. The cases of those who have left Channel are officially reviewed. Typically, only five per cent are re-referred where concerns have arisen that the risk of radicalization has again materialized. The Prevent programme is scheduled for independent review.

But the identity of the reviewer, and the timetable, are yet to be decided.

ONE FINAL CHALLENGE Those who maintain that counter terrorism in Britain is racist and/or Islamophobic face one final challenge – explaining how jihadi terrorism can be tackled without impacting more upon Muslims and non-whites than upon anyone else, and how right wing terrorism can be tackled without the same effect upon white, non-Muslims. L

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.legalresearch.blogs.bris.ac.uk

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CROWDED PLACES

Mark Lester explores the key issues and the solutions available to help mitigate against potential terrorist threats, without altering the overall landscape.

THE SUCCESSFUL SPECIFICATION OF ANTITERRORISM SOLUTIONS A

s crowded places remain an attractive target for terrorists, architects and specifiers have an increasing challenge to successfully blend counter-terrorism protective security measures with the urban design principles of the public space they’re creating.

Within the government’s ‘Protecting Crowded Places: Design and Technical Issues’ guide, it provides those involved in the development and maintenance of the built environment with a comprehensive basis for the appropriate specification of anti-terrorism solutions. The document offers advice and guidance on how high design quality can be upheld throughout the commissioning and planning of new development schemes,

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without impacting on the overall style and intention of the place in question.

Using this guide as a basis, professionals should first understand the varying circumstances and associated degrees of risk that each project presents, before looking to specify solutions that aim to reduce the vulnerability of the location from a terrorism perspective.

For many public spaces, its crowd density may be temporary. In this instance, a specifier will be responsible for locations housing concerts or events that do not have a constant level of visitors, rather one that is concentrated at peak times. Here, the specification of temporary anti-terrorism solutions present an appealing approach as the desired

CROWDED PLACES attraction of the space can easily be retained, without compromising the safety and security of the environment during high footfall periods.

One of the main benefits of temporary anti-terrorism systems that are designed to specifically manage hostile vehicle mitigation is that they offer the potential for continued flexibility, particularly when compared to fixed systems that must be permanently installed. As the very nature of temporary systems lends their application to a wide range of configurations that can be transported to different areas of the location, the evolving requirements of the environment can continue to be met, without impacting on the level of security and safety provided.

By first assessing the potential levels of security risk the space presents, professionals can then understand the integrity of the protective technologies required. Here temporary systems, such as certified single units, enable professionals to successfully meet the exact levels of integrity needed, as the quantity and configuration is tailored to the individual project and its level of risk.

For example, mobile vehicle blockers that are certified as a single unit can provide effective protection against unauthorised vehicles, without restricting pedestrian access or altering the intention and accessibility of the urban public space. As the solutions are temporary, consideration of the subsurface and the materials specified do not need to be addressed, as no physical fixings are required to keep the blockers in place.

This also offers significant cost and resource savings throughout the lifetime of the project, whilst ensuring the continued adaptability of the systems to best meet the specified requirements and intentions of the environment as it evolves.

The benefit of a solution that can be arranged individually, in rows or offset, offers a completely flexible system that does not require any compromises to be made to the initial design plans and can adapt to meet the specific needs of the space. For example, narrow pavements or cycle paths can be effectively secured with a single blocker unit, whilst a sluice or slalom arrangement can create defined passage points for emergency and rescue vehicles.

retrofitting of anti-terrorism systems at historical or sensitive sites, such as conservation areas, where fixed solutions would impact the physical design and integrity of the site.

To ensure compliance with all relevant legislations and provide a clear audit trail of due diligence, professionals must specify hostile vehicle mitigation solutions that have been certified according to internationally recognised standards and standardised crash tests. This will evidence the products can withstand the force of a specific test weight and speed, enabling

architects to specify solutions that are tailored to meet the integrity requirements of each specific project.

By taking a proactive approach from the initial concept stages and working closely with manufacturers, individuals can ensure the anti-terrorism solutions they specify are not only fit for purpose, but have minimal impact on the overall design intentions of the project. L

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.hormann.co.uk

PROVIDING THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF SECURITY Professionals should also look to explore blockers that feature axisymmetric geometry as they have no predefined impact side. This means the angle of the collision is inconsequential, providing the highest levels of security, regardless of the direction the vehicle is travelling from.

Temporary solutions may also be an effective consideration for the

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FURTHER INFORMATION

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COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE | ISSUE 43

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