I put this up as a PMC 2.0, because I believe we will see more of this type of thing, but at larger and possibly more dangerous scales. Think in terms of a PMC or PSC that can offer to protect (both electronically and physically) a country’s cyber affairs? Someone has to protect the cell towers, the server farms, the cables, and the online presence of that country.
Not to mention all of that country’s infrastructure or finance that is tied into computers and the internet. Countries like Georgia were attacked by Russia, physically and online. Cyber warfare is a huge topic in the U.S. right now, and it scares the crap out of today’s planners. For smaller countries, a PMC or PSC that could offer full spectrum services like what I am talking about, could be essential for their survival and future stability. –Matt
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Cyber Bodyguards Set Up in Switzerland
Michael Cheek
Monday, April 5, 2010
In an effort to meet the growing needs of business people, the Electronic Bodyguards Group has formed in Switzerland to help protect business people from privacy and security threats in the electronic sphere. The group, formed by Peter Houppermans, a security consultant who helped build the UK’s Government Secure Intranet, brings together a variety of experts to address the threats.
The group markets its offerings to companies but also to senior executives and VIPs and is centered on the top end of the spectrum.
“VIPs typically walk into a less secure setup as soon as they leave their office,” Houppermans said. “Bodyguards only look at perimeter, but the guy in the carpark with a laptop can pose a threat as can a lost BlackBerry that cannot be remotely killed.”
The group is also willing to perform investigative work.
“In security there are various networks and groups, I am part of a few of them,” Houppermans said. “That means I can cross check someone quickly.”
“The deal is collaborative marketing with a carefully selected set of people, all of whom I have to know personally before they become part of the group. I act as the client interface because I can quickly see which combination would be the perfect fit for the work, which also comes in handy to handle emergencies,” he said.
Each member of the team is highly experienced, with at least 10 years of experience in their field.
“I try to avoid too much capability conflicts, but I have a company of ex-police people who do very good anti-fraud and physical surveillance, a one group of white hat hackers, a business continuity firm who work for casinos and even Israeli banks,” Houppermans said. “If a company needs a combination of skills, I generally coordinate the work myself.”
Story here.
Companies offering services like the one above have been around for a wile now – I worked on a Tiger Team for a Corporate Intel firm in the US back the 90s
Watch the movie “Sneakers” (with Robert Redford) and “Bad Company” (the one with Laurence Fishburne) to give you an idea what these firms do
~James G
Comment by James G - Death Vall — Wednesday, April 7, 2010 @ 12:54 AM
We've gone one better since – as the Electronic Bodyguards have now matured we set up the Private & Confidential Group which offers a route to better integrate E-security with the traditional bodyguard approach. Your "PMC 2.0" seems to have been right on the button: we have been contacted by a number of security companies across the globe who want to branch out in this area and want to license what we do – we're now working on the best way to help them.
I would like to stress, however, that we're not another "tame hackers" outfit – I developed EB exactly because the *human* issues are left unaddressed. Since we started this we discovered it is often more efficient to go sideways into behaviour and psychology, and clients like the fact that we actually listen to them.
One of our current successes is the addressing of voicemail privacy issues (the most famous case of this is the 2006 News of the World "hacking" which is again in the news)- we have come up with a totally non-tech approach that isn't just effective, it also turns the tables by *relying* on disclosure.
The bottom line is that we are simply a bit more creative, and that takes special people. Getting those people remains a challenge..
Comment by Peter Houppermans — Sunday, February 6, 2011 @ 8:08 PM