Geopolitics Magazine January - February 2016 | Page 83

This wave of attacks launched by single persons with small and concealed weapons is also an emerging trend and maybe the most hard to prevent. Last but not less probable is attack against multiple targets, in coordination by attackers while using conventional methods of communication. E.g. a person who is watching TV at public place, uses a “burner phone” and communicates with attackers, or even by using RF radios which are very hard to jam or locate. Multiple attacks at the same time are very hard to deal with since it requires authorities to divide personnel and strength to respond. Which might become even harder as recent reports talk about many findings relevant to possible attacks at school buses and elderly houses. School buses especially is a great concern since they can be used as VBIED (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices) against any other target by exploiting the presence of children on board. The previous mentioned methods and tactics are already known to authorities who now are in a tough spot to transfer this knowledge to the public and make everyone aware of the possibility they might become the target of terrorism. Citizens in the past might be the last ones becoming targets but now they fall under the “soft target” category and only thing that can save someone is the level of awareness and preparedness he is skilled with. Terrorism is not going away and every short period of time, attackers will be developing new ways to accomplish their goals in the future. Authorities may be able to stop them,but at some point they might not be. Being able to recognize patterns and being aware of the kind of methods they use, it literally save lives. Alexandros Niklan works as a Sr. Security Consultant at the Private Se ctor. He has vast experience with many years on information field and specializes on cyberterrorism, international security cases and InfoSec. Contact email: [email protected] Geopolitics.com.gr all rights reserved 2016 Page 81