“Bruce any real protection against this sort of attack?”

Not much, I think. Systems like this need trusted people to operate, and trusted people can be fooled, bribed, or threatened (as happened in this case). The trick is to design security so that one person can’t subvert it. Time locks on bank vaults, for example, are a security countermeasure that protects the families of bank managers.

Posted by: Bruce Schneier at February 27, 2006 02:11 PM

I will have to disagree with Mr. Schneier on this point. There is plenty a person can do to protect him or her self and family beyond the protections that their businesses provide. There is an article on Self-Defender.net titled Personal Survival Strategy. It provides a walk through of the considerations a person should have about their personal safety . The key point to take away from this article is the comment about the levels of awareness as detail by “Jeff Cooper the founder of the Gunsight training facility, Arizona.” Being aware of your surroundings is essential to survival. Taking a few extra seconds to look around, lock your doors, roll up your windows, make eye contact, say hello, can keep you from getting hurt (at the least) or even save your life (at the most).

The mistake that depot manager Colin Dixon made was not accepting the risk of his position to his life and his family. There is no way that this event happened without proper planning. This means that the criminals had to have stalked Mr. Dixon and his family for several days if not weeks and months. This was the case in the kidnapping of US General Dozier by the Red Brigades in Italy back in 1981. Although the article “The Dozier Kidnapping: Confronting the Red Brigades” by Col Thomas D. Phillips, USAF, Retired outlines the incident, one part that he leaves out is that in an after action report General Dozier reported that his wife had informed him that she had seen the same vehicle parked across the street from their home on multiple occasions. Mr. Dixon and General Dozier both could have benefited from a little situational awareness and a healthy bit of paranoia. Luckily, in both cases, the results were that the victims were not seriously injured or killed. If you do decide to read Col. Phillips’ article you’ll see that it’s main focus is not on the General Dozier incident itself, but rather, it addresses the security considerations that the US military implemented as a result of the terrorist activities of the Red Brigades. All good things to consider from a person and organizational standpoint.

The gist is simple: terrorism and crime are NOT new threats. The world has been dealing with these threats forever and there are plenty of people who have studied and released details about how to protect yourself, your family, your loved ones, your organization, and your community. Put your cellphone down and look around. Stop walking through life in condition “White” and start paying attention to the world around you.