The Olympic torch, taken objectively, is a marvelously expensive frivolity whose parade through a chain of metropolitan venues hardly offers novelty in the modern age. Until recently, that is, when anti-Chinese fervor made it a target. Whether it is a legitimate protest target is mildly interesting to the security professional. If it is an asset, it needs to be protected. How?
The answer differs little from the steps one would take to defend other assets on the move from hijacking or foul play. The answer is a layered defense. And the chief component is unpredictability. Security measures in such an environment typically include decoys, unannounced schedule changes, and keeping out of the way of where both crowds and antagonists are most likely to appear. Related measures include introducing obstacles and disrupting patterns.
Say what you will about San Francisco's current reputation for extremes. When it came to preventing a nasty scene with the Olympic torch at its only U.S. appearance, this week, San Francisco got it right. Organizers kept the torch in motion, deviated from known and vulnerable routes of travel, and altered all predictable stops well enough to get the Olympic flame in and out of town without missing a beat. That was a vivid demonstration of good security.
– Nick Catrantzos
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Nick Catrantzos + Tom Goff
- All Secure
- NICK CATRANTZOS is the lead author of the All Secure website and is the emeritus security director for a large public organization. He has also managed security aspects of corporate takeovers, response to international hostage situations, and finding and keeping secrets. He has been board certified in security management, licensed as a private investigator, and certified as an incident commander. He worked as a case officer for a discreet branch of public service. He protected stealth technology at Lockheed and, later, as a consulting security director for both Kroll and Control Risks, he assisted executives with workplace violence cases and with protecting VIPs and critical assets globally in volatile areas. Nick's partner, TOM GOFF, was a captain in the Military Police Corps, U.S. Army Reserve and has a law degree from the University of California at Davis. He is a former reporter for Fortune Magazine, was senior editor at New York Magazine and Esquire, and has provided crisis and communications counsel to senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, including Lockheed, ARCO, Microsoft, Nissan, and Sony Pictures.