SPARTAN9 | Newsletter 03/2021

Dear <<First Name>>

My name is Grant Rayner, and I'm the founder of Spartan9. We provide consulting and training services designed to enable you and your organisation to operate safely, securely, and successfully in complex and higher-risk environments.

This is our monthly newsletter for March 2021, which we use to keep our clients, partners and friends updated on what we're up to. If this isn't your thing and you'd like to unsubscribe, you can click on the link at the bottom of the email.

This month, we've released The Security Evacuation Handbook Volume II: Decision-Making & Execution.

PROJECT UPDATES

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

New publications

Last month, I published The Crisis Response Handbook.

This month, I've (finally) completed Volume II of The Security Evacuation Handbook, focused on evacuation decision-making & execution. This volume is the follow up to Volume I, published last December, which focuses on fundamentals and planning.

The Security Evacuation Handbook is a unique reference. As far as I'm aware, it's the only commercially available guide on the subject of security evacuations. Both volumes of this handbook provide a great resource for security professionals responsible for planning and executing security evacuations.
 

I'm done with writing for now

Since last July, I've published a total of 10 books. It's been an enormously difficult but rewarding challenge, and I'm quietly proud of what I've been able to achieve.

The writing process has allowed me to dive deeper into the fields I'm most passionate about, enabling me to build my knowledge along the way. I've really enjoyed the opportunity to explore, poke and prod different aspects of the work.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased one or more books–your support is sincerely appreciated. A special thanks to those people close to me for your ongoing support and encouragement. And, of course, thanks to my editors for fixing my poor grammar and for generally improving my work.

I'll certainly be writing more. I've received a lot of interest in a fifth Field Guide, focused on information security in the field.  I've started writing a draft of this guide and will work on it more intensively later in the year. I have a few other writing projects in mind, including one on operating in semi-permissive environments. More later.
 

What's next?

I've started working on a series of pre-recorded video training courses based on the content of some of the books. Honestly, it's been slow going–there's a lot of decisions to make and it's a steep learning curve. Nonetheless, I'll push on with the same level of discipline and determination that I've applied to my writing.

I've also gone back to some product design work. More to follow on that one.

Hopefully, I'll have something to show for my labour next month.

TRAINING UPDATES

Training workshops, retreats and customised training solutions.

Crisis Simulation Exercises

As we slowly emerge from the pandemic, it's time to start considering other risks. When you're ready to conduct crisis simulation exercises, please get in touch. We have many years of experience conducting crisis simulation exercises, across a host of different scenarios and locations. In fact, we've literally written the book on crisis simulation exercises.

We can also conduct crisis simulation exercises remotely. If you're interested to learn more, we've written an article describing how we conduct remote simulation exercises. Read here.

If you have specific training needs, please get in touch.

GEAR AND TECH

Links to useful gear and technology.

While writing several of my books, I've needed to consider the contents of personal first aid kits for individuals operating in higher-risk environments. Along the way, I got in touch with Adam Gent from REAL First Aid. These folks provide medical training for people operating in higher-risk environments. 

In addition to gauze, tape, bandages, shears and nitrile gloves, consider packing the following when out and about:

Gen 7 CAT Tourniquet. Purchase here.

Celox Rapid Z-Folded Gauze. Purchase here.

Halo Chest Seal. Purchase here.

Adam has recently updated his article on the recommended contents of first aid kits. This article is worth reading and bookmarking. While you're at it, take a look at his other articles. The REAL First Aid website is a great resource.

READING LIST

Links to topical and interesting articles and information sources.

'When the internet goes down the night raids start': Inside the deadly phenomenon of web shutdowns. Governments are increasingly cutting the internet in a clumsy attempt to stifle dissent. Read here.

Hourly black market exchange rates and gold prices in Syria by city. View here.

Hackers Breach Thousands of Security Cameras, Exposing Tesla, Jails, Hospitals. A group of hackers say they breached security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup Verkada Inc., gaining access to live feeds of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside hospitals, companies, police departments, prisons and schools. Read here.

Westerners are increasingly scared of traveling to China as threat of detention rises. Read here.

The Declining Market for Secrets. US spy agencies must adapt to an open-source world. Read here.

Predicting Personality from Book Preferences with User-Generated Content Labels. This study that explores the relationship between personality and book content preferences. Read here.

How Orbán’s Eastern Opening brought Chinese spy games to Budapest. This research describes how China’s influence in Hungary has strengthened over the past ten years supported by the Hungarian government itself, and what the unexpected consequences have been. Read here.

How the Syrian Revolution was Organized — And How it Unraveled. After a decade of conflict, what happened to the pioneering revolutionary bodies that led the early revolution in Syria? Read here.

Hackers are making a killing off the pandemic. The head of the UN’s anti-cybercrime unit talks to Rest of World about how bad actors have managed to exploit the pandemic. Read here.

What happens when our faces are tracked everywhere we go? Read here.

The Science of Making Americans Hurt Their Own Country. A report from the National Intelligence Council lays bare why Russian disinformation succeeds. Read here.

This Surveillance Company Claims It Can Track Nearly Any Car in Real-Time. A defense contractor that claims to have access to motor vehicle location data on a global scale says it wants to use that data to help U.S. federal agencies conduct more efficient spying and military operations. Read here.

American Special Ops Forces Are Everywhere. They’ve become a major military player—and maybe a substitute for strategic thinking. Read here.

BLACK GOLD - Exposing North Korea’s Oil Procurement Networks. A joint investigation by C4ADS and RUSI’s Project Sandstone that lifts the veil on the networks providing oil to North Korea in violation of UNSC resolutions. Read here.

The Architecture of War. How 20 years of conflict have reshaped Afghanistan’s capital and life in it. Read here.

Dark web bursting with COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine passports. Researchers saw listings increase 300% in the last three months. Read here.

The hidden fingerprint inside your photos. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Actually, according to researcher Jerone Andrews, there's a great deal more hidden inside the modern digital image. Read here.

Mapping major protests around the world. Using data from the Mass Mobilization Project, this article explains some of the biggest protests around the world in five graphics. Read here.

That's it for this month folks.

Thanks for reading.

Grant Rayner
Spartan9

View this email in your browser