Honored and humbled to be identified by Security Magazine as one of the Top Ten Most Influential People in Security in 2021.
Ripples of Sept. 11: Afghanistan, counterterrorism, and concerns for corporate America
A few thoughts on the 9/11 Anniversary for The Hill.
The attack cycle, mass shootings and lone wolves: What companies should know
Here’s an article on the attack cycle and what it means to businesses.
Fred Burton on KVUE Discussing the Suicide Bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan
With decades of experience in security and counter-terrorism intelligence work, Burton said the mission to evacuate is one of the most complex he has seen.
"The logistics behind this is something that I don't think I've seen in my career at this scope in such a deteriorating environment," Burton said.
He calls it "deteriorating" because of the scramble to get so many people out of the country before Aug. 31, while the intelligence community warns of threats of violence.
Fred Burton in the New Tom Clancy Thriller Target Acquired
Amazing and surreal to stumble upon your name and book Beirut Rules inside a Tom Clancy thriller. As a special agent, I read all of Clancy’s books, to include Patriot Games, The Hunt for Red October, Red Rabbit, et al. I want to thank Don Bentley for the kindness in including me in his new best-seller! Humbled and honored.
Fred Talks with Security Magazine about Corporate Intelligence Failures
A discussion on how intelligence failures regularly occur at large US companies, resulting in physical threats.
Fred Discusses Corporate Security Threats in Total Security Advisor
“Pent-up economic and political frustrations marked January 6 by the Capitol riot are being unleashed after months of limited in-person interactions, mass shootings have skyrocketed, and companies are experiencing an increase in physical threats as compared to the beginning of 2021,” says Fred Burton, Executive Director of the Ontic Center for Protective Intelligence. “And yet, as our study found, even as physical threats increasingly originate in the cyber world, CEOs are reluctant to believe their companies could be targets.”
Burton continues, “As the crippling of critical supply chains and infrastructure by cybercriminals earlier this year demonstrated, to keep all aspects of their business safe, with great urgency, companies must fund, integrate, and unify cybersecurity and physical security intelligence, assessment, mitigation, and operations across the enterprise.”
AP Interviews Fred about a KKK Murder Plot
Domestic terrorism experts have been calling for better screening to help identify extremists before they’re hired. Some states, such as California and Minnesota, have tried to pass new screening laws, only to be prevented by police unions, whose legal challenges argued successfully that such queries violate free speech rights.
Without screening, white supremacists who get inside can operate with impunity, targeting Black and other people of color, and recruiting others who share their views.
“Unless your name ends up in an FBI wiretap” an officer will go undetected, said Fred Burton, a former special agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. “There are loopholes in the background investigative process.”