How Monitoring Current Events Like the 2020 US Election Can Increase Organizational Security

There are numerous threats that could evolve to seriously impact an organization, from natural disasters, to acts of terror, to targeted attacks on executives. Currently though, tensions around the US election are high on both ends of the political spectrum. There has been an increase in polarization of political views and even militarization of the public in recent months, and many Signal customers have expressed concern.

For many American’s this is seen as the most important election of their lives so far. Fears of voter fraud and voter suppression are rife, which is reflected by an unprecedented number of early votes being cast with more than 90 million votes already cast a week before the election, more than two-thirds of all the votes cast in 2016.

This, paired with a deadly pandemic and a summer of protests, many of which became violent, and one can see the potential for civil unrest around a contentious presidency. To mitigate this risk organizations need relevant intelligence as events unfold to ensure they take the necessary precautions to protect their employees and assets.

As such, we have created advanced tools to enable Organizations to be alerted as early as possible to issues and current events, such as the Election, where the possible fallout could have an impact on their employees and assets.

Monitoring Election Threats in Real-Time Using Signal OSINT

Using Signal security teams can learn of events as they are happening or even before they happen, allowing effective response plans to be enacted, effectively neutralising potential threats. 

To do this users can create custom searches using Boolean Logic to filter intel from key web sources such as social media, the open web, and the dark web. Intel from these sources often acts as an early indicator alerting Signal customer to potential issues in real-time. The data can also be reviewed by our emotional analysis solution for increased data analysis efficiency.

Signal has real-time SMS and email alerting for high-risk threats so that companies can maximise available response time. Once alerted to potential risks the security team can form a final judgement on the threat level and decide whether action needs to be taken.

Final Words on Threat Monitoring with Signal

Threat monitoring isn’t just for events such as a contentious election. COVID-19, earthquakes, storms and other extreme weather events, and even threats of violence against specific executives, can all affect an organization. Signal OSINT software enables security teams to scan a vast number of surface, deep, and dark web channels and sources to gain real-time data on a broad array of emerging threats. 

Anonymous social media forums like 4chan or dark web forums are often where threat actors go to communicate and organize. And social media is often where you can learn of current events as they unfold. So whether it’s customer data for sale online, or an active shooter situation in-store, security teams armed with OSINT can quickly assess and respond appropriately to mitigate risks and damages.

Only when an organisation has a complete picture that incorporates the variety of potential risks and has invested in specific responses and contingency plans can it adapt as needed to mitigate the impact of extreme events.

The Pivotal Role of OSINT for Effective Emergency Management

An emergency incident can happen at any time, often with very little warning. If an organization wants to prepare an effective response to an evolving threat landscape and better protect both their assets and employees they need to have efficient mitigation and response measures in place. 

Data and intelligence form a pivotal role in emergency management. They allow security and event management teams to discover threats and accurately assess the associated risk levels. With this knowledge, they can enact an appropriate response to remove employees from harm’s way and prevent potential damages to the organization.

Data Performs a Vital Role in Emergency Management 

Some of the ways data and intelligence gathered using Signal OSINT can be used include:

• Better Situational Awareness. Save time and lives by rounding out your situational awareness with commentary, photos and videos posted online by the public and media.

• Misinformation Management. Catch and manage the spread of misinformation in real-time before it spreads to the public and puts lives at risk, wasting precious time and resource.

• Improved Agency Collaboration. Get a better view of what other agencies are doing during an emergency to ensure you allocate people effectively.

• Geo-targeted Risk Assessment. Keep an eye on areas of interest, such as near a location of an event you’re hosting, and watch for disruptions such as extreme weather or terrorist threats near your offices.

Threats, Hazards, and Risks.

There are three main types of threats and hazards. First, natural hazards. This includes extreme weather such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. These can cause extensive disruptions to a business. Such events are often seasonal and organizations should monitor for them during high risk months. 

Secondly, technological hazards. These include power outages and infrastructure failures. For example, your business might be affected by your internet provider going down temporarily, or transport links might be disrupted meaning employees are unable to get to work. 

And thirdly, man-made hazards. These include cyber-attacks and data breaches, terrorist threats or threats against assets or executives. These can happen at any time, however, often you can find indications on data sources such as darknet forums before the event.

The Importance of Assessing Risks Appropriately

The more data and information you have the more accurately you can assess the risk level of an emerging threat. For example, you might use Signal to set up real-time alerts on an evolving threat like spreading wildfires. This allows you to continually reassess and determine in a timely manner when or if you need to take action to ensure your staff are removed from harms way. However, there is a fine balance between under and over protection. 

The Risk of Over-protection

Over-protection is when you initiate responses either too early or too extreme. Erring on the side of caution is always a good idea when it come to protecting employees, however, it can be costly and inefficient. 

Over-protection is often caused by the following:

• Personal interpretation of the threat level.

• Not having enough data to form an accurate assessment.

• Not having enough alert levels to allow a staged escalation of measures appropriate for the evolving risk level.

The Risk of Under-protection

Just as with over-protection, under-protection will inhibit the effectiveness of your emergency management response. This can place employees unnecessarily in harms way and means you will be unable to appropriately respond to a threat. The end result of under-protection is invariably higher than necessary associated costs.

To prevent under-protection there are several things that an organization can do:

• Provide clear guidance on risk levels of certain threats and make the response increase easy to implement.

• Continually assess and reassess the evolving threat landscape and update your alert level guidance accordingly.

Other Emergency Risk Management Considerations

We have already mentioned alert levels a couple of times in this article. This is because having clear guidelines and properly gradated alert levels will allow you to respond effectively and efficiently to crises. 

Additionally, your employees should be aware of your response plans, especially to common threats. For example, if your officers are located in an earthquake prone area, have regular earthquake drills. 

Finally, should an emergency happen you need an efficient way to communicate the danger to your employees and instigate the appropriate response.

Signal and Emergency Management

Up to the Minute Intel

Emergencies happen without warning. Signal is flexible and fast allowing you to react effectively to the situation.

Prevent Misinformation

Misinformation and media can cause havoc in an emergency. Stay ahead of the noise with a real-time feed of targeted data.

Email and SMS Alerts

Signal has email and SMS alerts which allow you to stay updated on key evolving threats in real-time.

Signal provides hyper-relevant intelligence on evolving threats as or even before they happen. This allows security teams to maximize warning times and enact mitigating measures.

Immediately, this means better protection for staff. This also has additional longer term upsides. For example, it might allow a security team to detect negative sentiment around the brand which allows them to identify and monitor potential threat actors and prevent a threat from evolving. Or, it could allow for a team to have early detection of a data breach, which according to IBM could save an organisation over $600,000.