Fred Burton, executive director of protective intelligence at Ontic, says security practitioners traveling to certain countries—like Russia and China—can be viewed as intelligence personnel of the West and draw untoward surveillance.
“As someone who has debriefed many hostages held captive, none of the victims ever believed they could have been taken hostage,” Burton says. “Sadly, in today’s challenging security environment, Westerners—specifically Americans—can find themselves as hostages or political prisoners and used solely as political tools of foreign policy.”