How Will AI Affect Your Job as a Protector?

Author

Circuit Magazine
August 27, 2022

Lately, there has been a trend of developing news stories about the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), including Deep Fakes, Google's LAMDA, and DALL-E. Despite the controversy around the use of this new technology, what seems clear is as AI gets better at generating realistic content, it's becoming more and more difficult to tell what's real and what's fake. So how will this affect your job as a protector? Will this take away jobs from skilled human operators as some fear? Or will it just make our jobs that much harder?

If nothing else what is clear is that protectors should know the use of AI poses a serious threat to our ability to distinguish between reliable information and disinformation. Therefore, learning to protect your client from the threats of AI will be a crucial and emerging topic for all EPs to stay abreast of.

This week we’re going to cover some needed skills that will be key to your success on this new front line of protection.

So, let’s get into it!

**NEW MAGAZINE RELEASE**

Circuit Magazine - Issue 63 - Get Your Copy

In the latest edition of the Circuit Magazine, we hear how the fear of Artificial Intelligence Impersonating Humans is no longer science fiction. From election rigging to affecting the course of war, it's a real threat being played out on the world stage right now.

The Circuit Magazine Podcast

Regular columnist to the Circuit Magazine and Cybersecurity expert James Bore discusses the importance of information security in the EP world, in a language we can all understand.

This week, we're serving up an episode from the archives; in fact, we're going all the way back to only our second-ever episode, so be ready for a raw, rough round the edges discussion.

If you enjoy listening to the Circuit Podcast and can spare a minute, please rate/review us. Your rating will help us to rank higher making it easier for others to find the podcast.

The Need to Know

A month-long meeting on nuclear disarmament ended in failure at the United Nations Friday night when Russia refused to accept the final draft of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

South Korea's president Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday ordered an update of the military's operational plans to address North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, his office said.

The Biden administration has not publicly identified the bomber — despite numerous reports and officials saying the attack was carried out by Abdul Rahman al Logari, who had been freed from prison at the abandoned Bagram Airfield in August 2021 

China's military is engaged in a large-scale expansion of both nuclear and conventional missiles described by an Air Force Air University report as "incredibly" large and rapidly increasing.

The U.S. announced on Friday it will step up its presence in the Arctic with a new ambassador amid warnings that Russia is militarizing the region with a slew of airbases.

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant is under Russian control. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said Russian shelling almost brought about a nuclear crisis.

The package includes more surface-to-air missiles, artillery, drones, radar and air defenses, but much of it is unlikely to reach the battlefield quickly.

For more timely global updates like this, get the Circuit Daily Briefing delivered to your inbox... daily! Get on the list >

From the Pages of the Circuit Magazine

The fear of artificial intelligence impersonating humans is no longer science fiction. From election rigging to affecting the course of war, it's a real threat being played out on the world stage right now.

In this article, which is also the featured cover story for the latest issue, James Bore warns how Deep Fake technologies are getting better and better. They are a genuine threat on both individual and societal levels through misinformation, potential extortion, impersonation, and myriad other attack vectors that we haven't even conceived of yet.

James provides some stalk real-world examples and poses some serious questions for security professionals.

If you enjoyed this article and want more great content from across the industry then subscribe to the Circuit Magazine >

Latest Issue of the Circuit Magazine

Issue 63 - See What's Inside >

"Very informative publication covering all aspects of the Security Industry. If you're not a subscriber-what are you waiting for? Utterly fantastic."

- Dave Warren

Geopolitical Analysis by RANE

Although the Taliban have fared better than initially expected at managing certain aspects of governance since seizing power last August, the group continues to face a diverse array of challenges that it appears poorly equipped to resolve amid persistent disunity and the dominance of hard-liners in the movement.

The Taliban's Relative Successes

1. Securing overall political control

The Taliban have been able to successfully secure and maintain broad political control over Afghanistan by implementing the strategic lessons learned from their previous rule and by capitalizing on the current lack of strong resistance. 

2. Launching a sophisticated diplomatic campaign

Amid regional countries' interest in stabilizing Afghanistan, the Taliban have sought to legitimize their rule internationally by engaging in more sophisticated diplomacy, which has resulted in more meaningful and productive relations — at least with certain key countries.

3. Keeping the economy afloat and maintaining civil services

The Taliban have also been successful in some aspects of economic management, despite the withdrawal of budgetary aid from the West that had previously comprised 75%-80% of the Afghan government's budget.

4. Creating relative security

The security situation in Afghanistan has generally improved over the past year, largely because the violence that previously plagued the country was driven by the Taliban themselves. But since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban have also effectively countered attempts by the National Resistance Front and several other armed groups to challenge its territorial control.

Special Offer for On the Circuit Readers

From the Community

How did you first break into the business?

One single straightforward question this week. But with a hugely diverse range of answers.

Started out teaching legislators, judges and business executives how to shoot for personal protection. Then at campaign timing they started asking me to travel with them to keep them safe. - MJ

Ask questions, get advice, and find industry resources from an active and thriving community of professional, working operators:

🇺🇸 NABA Protector >

🇬🇧 BBA Connect >

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Upcoming Events

Taking place at Olympia London on 27 - 28 September 2022, no other event delivers such a high-level of buyers, specifiers and decision-makers, making it the perfect platform for launching new products, showcasing the latest innovations and generating new leads.

Meanwhile...

The consequences of credential-related cyber crime could prove to be very expensive for organizations if the spate of reported incidents is anything to go by. 

Rising Cyber Crime Could Be Driving Companies’ Focus Toward Identity And Access Management.

User credentials are the entry point to an organization’s data, and securing the network and access to data has become a top priority for businesses in the highly digital world.

More organizations are moving away from password-based solutions to biometric authentication.  

While this makes sense for corporates that want to protect their assets and intellectual property, it will prove a big challenge for protectors. Especially if the carefree attitude adopted by many large corporations towards password protection is replicated with customers' biometrics.

Elsewhere on the Circuit

For decades, international relations theory provided reasons for optimism—that the major powers could enjoy mostly cooperative relations and resolve their differences short of armed conflict.

Realist IR theories focus on power, and for decades, they maintained that the bipolar world of the Cold War and the unipolar post-Cold War world dominated by the United States were relatively simple systems not prone to wars of miscalculation. They also held that nuclear weapons raised the cost of conflict and made war among the major powers unthinkable.

Unfortunately, nearly all of these pacifying forces appear to be unraveling before our eyes. The major driving forces of international politics, according to IR theory, suggest that the new Cold War among the United States, China, and Russia is unlikely to be peaceful.

Are we entering a multi-polar world? Read now >

Final Thoughts with William (Bill) James

After 20+ years working in executive protection I know this. Guns are overrated and those that think they are a primary tool are wrong. Not once have I used my weapon while conducting executive protection operations.

When you look into attempted assassinations or attacks, you will find that by the time the bad guys start shooting, the protection team is already behind them.

This is something you will notice when you do your research. It is now a race between the shooter and the response of the protection team, which can only be to "cover and evacuate" the client or to remove them from harm's way. The winner of this competition will be determined based on three factors: their time, their speed, and their distance covered.

It is not possible for a Special Agent to draw his weapon from its holster, fire at the aggressor, and still come out on top in this fight.

In order for This Plan to be Successful, the Execution of Preparatory Work will be Absolutely Necessary.

An Executive Protection Agent is able to know the game plan regarding where they will go to quickly and safely escape the kill zone because of the planning that takes place before the security detail arrives. This planning occurs before the security operation is carried out.

Until next week...

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