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PROJECT UPDATES

What we’ve been doing, where we’ve been travelling, and what’s next.

Contingency Planning

This month, I've been reviewing and updating the Contingency Planning Workspace for Taiwan. I first developed this product in 2022, and it's now in use by multiple global companies with operations in Taiwan.

If Trump does regain power, we're going to face uncertain times. Aside from the likely fall of Ukraine to Russia, the chaotic, unprincipled and transactional nature of a Trump administration will provide a once in a generation opportunity for China to seize Taiwan. Trump has already indicated that he has no interest in protecting Taiwan. Without the strong deterrent factor of the US military being willing to lead the defence of Taiwan, other allied countries (Australia, Canada, Japan and others) would not have sufficient combat power and reach to deter or defeat Chinese forces. Taiwan would be left to their own defences. It's a sobering thought.

Separate to the updates for the Taiwan Contingency Planning Workspace, this month I've also been working on Contingency Plans for South Korea and Japan. The contingency plan for South Korea focuses on the risk of armed conflict. The contingency plan for Japan considers a range of risks, including major earthquake, tsunami, radiation risks, and the risks of conflict on the Korean Peninsula and in Taiwan.

These contingency plans are extremely detailed, covering every aspect of planning. I've also spent a significant amount of effort on decision-making frameworks, ensuring organisations can take the appropriate actions at the appropriate time.

Each plan includes options for evacuation, domestic relocation and shelter in place.

If your organisation has operations in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, I'd be happy to show you what I'm working on. Get in touch and we can set up a time to chat.

Crisis Simulation Exercises

We have no more slots for crisis simulation exercises in 2024. If your organisation is interested in conducting a crisis simulation exercise in Q1 2025, please let me know.

TRAINING

Training workshops and customised training solutions.

Missing Persons Workshop

This month, I provided a missing persons workshop for the regional security team of a global client. The workshop focused on the application of a disciplined methodology to locate missing employees. I also covered approaches for working with local vendors, police and diplomatic missions. Plus, some insights in how to support families during such an incident.

If your organisation would be interested in conducting a missing persons workshop for your own team, please let me know.

View our other training workshops here.

PUBLICATIONS

We’ve published a number of books on crisis management, travel security and security evacuations.

Information Security for Travellers

After a long hiatus, I'm back to work on my book focused on information security for travellers. I'm not willing to provide a firm deadline on the release of this one, as it's far more involved than what I anticipated when I started.

Updates to the Crisis Response Handbook

I'm also working on updates to the Crisis Response Handbook, incorporate lessons I've learned over the last two years.

View all our publications here.

Buy copies for your team

Several highly regarded organisations (and one prestigious university) have purchased copies of our books for their teams. If your team would benefit from the knowledge and experience contained in our books, please reach out. We'd be happy to provide a discount for bulk orders.

STATION XV

Updates on our in-house gear, sharing a behind-the-scenes look at our design and manufacturing processes.

With last month's release of the Travel Duffel, the full range of bags is now available. Sincere thanks to everyone who has already ordered the Travel Duffel. I hope you love using this bag as much as I do.

I've started working with the factory on the product line for 2025. I'm planning to add at least three new bags to the lineup. I'll be pushing the bounderies of design with some of the new products, including several innovative reversible bags.

Check out the full range of bags and accessories here.

The continuation of this project is dependent on people buying our bags. So please help to spread the word about Station XV.

APPLICATIONS

Updates on our applications.

Whistler

Whistler is a simple and secure whistleblowing application that enables organisations to receive and manage confidential reports from whistleblowers. We launched Whistler site.time | date: '%Y' | minus:2015 years ago. We've recently updated the application to version 2.0, increasing the level of encryption and adding case management tools, amongst a host of other improvements.

Pricing for organisations starts at $19 a month.

If you're looking for a simple and secure whistleblowing solution for your organisation, you can learn more here.

Incident Manager

Incident Manager is the first application that's focused on team performance during an incident. Major incidents are already inherently challenging. There's no point in adding an additional layer of complexity by forcing teams to use software that increases cognitive load and only serves to make the situation more difficult to manage. Incident Manager doesn't get in the way of teams. Instead, it makes them more effective at managing complex incidents.

Please reach out if you'd like a demo.

Exercise Manager

Exercise Manager is a unique application that makes it easy to plan and deliver crisis exercises and monitor team performance across your organisation. After using this application for our own exercises, we're making Exercise Manager available to our clients as well.

Please reach out if you'd like a demo.

Tenacio

Tenacio is a project management application designed for people like me who are juggling a diverse range of projects. Tenacio cuts through the myriad of projects and tasks and tells you what you need to work on next. It does this based on the deadlines you set and your preferences for when you like to work on different activities.

I've been using Tenacio to manage my own projects for the last 4 months and it's already bringing some much-needed order to the chaos. If you'd like to try Tenacio, get in touch.

READING LIST

Links to interesting articles worth your time.

A Network of AI ‘Nudify’ Sites Are a Front for Notorious Russian Hackers. Fin7 has made multiple ‘nudify’ sites that promise to use AI to undress photos of people but which are actually vehicles for malware, according to researchers. 404 Media found one advertised on one of the web's biggest porn aggregators.. (404 Media). Read here.

Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta's Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers. The technology, which marries Meta’s smart Ray Ban glasses with the facial recognition service Pimeyes and some other tools, lets someone automatically go from face, to name, to phone number, and home address.. (404 Media). Read here.

Russia Tracking Foreign Faces on Dating Apps in Ukraine. A Telegram channel has been found to be collecting, and publishing within the group, names and faces of foreigners in Ukraine who have used Dating Apps. (Inherent Risks). Read here.

Off Leash: Inside the Secret, Global, Far-Right Group Chat. Military contractor Erik Prince started a private WhatsApp group for his close associates that includes a menagerie of right-wing government officials, intelligence operatives, arms traffickers, and journalists. We got their messages. (The New Republic). Read here.

Vladimir Putin’s spies are plotting global chaos. Russia is enacting a revolutionary plan of sabotage, arson and assassination. (The Economist). Read here.

How Beijing is closing surveillance gaps in the South China Sea. The discovery of a new radar system on China’s Triton Island military base shows that Beijing is rapidly developing its intelligence capacities in contested waters, write John Pollock and Damien Symon. (Chatham House). Read here.

Assessing Russian Firepower Strikes in Ukraine. CSIS published an interactive dashboard that explores the daily and cumulative trends of Russian missile attacks, including the number of missiles launched, types of missiles used, and the success of Ukrainian intercepts. (CSIS). Read here.

Taiwan Has a Trump Problem. The former president’s recent rhetoric shows how his reelection could undo the central promise sustaining today’s international order. (The Atlantic). Read here.

DPRK Aggression: Near-Term Concerns, Longer-Term Challenges. (CSIS). Read here.

That’s it for this month, folks.

Thanks for reading and stay safe out there.

Grant Rayner

Spartan9