OSAC Nordic Summit: Balancing security and personal integrity in the Nordic countries

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On September 4-5, the third annual OSAC Nordic Summit was held in Stockholm  at Konferens Strandvägen 7A. This two day conference gathered OSAC representatives and various law enforcement agencies for best practices and information sharing.


OSAC Executive Director Todd Brown welcome participants.

Day one started with a closed session for OSAC country councils to discuss global security & financial markets, brand protection in a complex security environment, and protecting your supply chain from counterfeiting. Day one ended with a cruise through the pristine Swedish archipelago and a traditional crayfish dinner at Vaxholms Castle.

Day two featured an open breakfast seminar, entitled “Personal Integrity vs. Global Security” which covered a range of topics, from preventative security to protection of supply chains.

The conference was opened by Todd J. Brown, OSAC Executive Director, and moderated by Mary Hackman, Senior Regional Coordinator, Middle East and Africa for the OSAC Research and Information Support Center (RISC) – both from Washington D.C. 

“I commend the Nordic councils for their energy,” said Brown.


Anja Dalgaard-Nielsen, Director of the Preventative Security Department at the Danish Security and Intelligence Service together with OSAC Regional Analyst Mary Hackman.

The first speaker of the day was Anja Dalgaard-Nielsen, Director of the Preventative Security Department at the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET).

“A new area for many security services is early preventative security,” she said. “We try to establish a first line of defense by forming partnerships with local authorities.” 

She said that in Denmark, the security situation is mixed, with examples of homegrown threats and increased activity among international networks, in particular after a Danish newspaper published the infamous Mohammed cartoon.  

“The core principle is that the local authorities assess the situation, because frequently they will know the particular individuals and they will decide the most appropriate intervention. Another component is what we call community engagement with Muslim minority communities to diffuse distrust towards authorities,” Dalgaard-Nielsen said.  

Robert Silverman, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Sweden, then discussed different attitudes towards security and personal integrity in the US and Sweden.  

“In the United States, people don't like all of the security requirements, but they recognize the necessity,” he said.  

He said that Sweden and the other Nordic countries place more of an emphasis on personal integrity. “It's a nice place to live in that it has those kinds of rights for the individual, but it poses an additional challenge. Sweden, Norway and Denmark do have significant security threats, but Sweden, in particular, is not focused on it,” Silverman said.  

He said the US Embassy's activities in Sweden include engagement with the local Muslim community and an internship program with AmCham, to help place young Muslims in local businesses. 

Peter Viinapuu, Vice President of Scandinavian Airlines in Sweden, then discussed aviation security. He said that while most people associate airline security with bag scans and other visible security measures, a number of things happen behind the scenes through a multi-layered security quality management and risk assessment system. “The objective is to minimize the risk for customers and employees,” he said. 

He said that the challenge is to maintain higher security levels at the same time they ensure a positive passenger experience. One of the most frequent sources of passenger dissatisfaction, he said, is what they perceive to be inconsistencies in security procedures at different airports.

One measure that has been implemented in the Nordic countries is a baggage reconciliation process that verifies that the passenger who checked the bag is the same individual who boards the plane. “Fingerprints are the most acceptable biometric solution,” said Viinapuu. “Customer attitudes are positive.” 

 
Ron op de Beke, Manager of Brand Integrity at Phillip Morris

Ron op de Beke, Manager of Brand Integrity at Phillip Morris, then discussed securing the supply chain within the cigarette industry, which faces major challenges with counterfeiting. “It is very difficult for the consumer to tell the difference,” he said.  

Two PMI security initiatives are a ports program, which focuses on human intelligence provided by informants, and a shipping liaison program, which develops and maintains relationships with the shipping industry in order to track and trace suspect containers around the globe. 

Erik Lewin, COO of 2Secure, discussed how they work to create a safer environment for companies and executive personnel who might be exposed to organized crime. Their services include screening, background checks during recruitment, threat analysis and increased measures against organized crime.

 “We are seeing at the moment that organized crime is putting more and more focus on soft targets – in other words, people,” he said. “They are focusing their attention on people who are wealthy, or who are perceived to be wealthy, and those who are exposed to media.”


Denmark's Regional Security Officers (RSO) Jeff Howard, OSAC Executive Director Todd Brown, Norway's RSO Eric Carlson, Sweden's RSO Al Santos and Finland's RSO Bruce Warren.

Kenny Norberg, Market Manager for Nordic & Baltic Region, Saab Security, talked about the major transformation of the Swedish defense market. There has been an increased focus on civil security due to relocation of national defense budgets, and Saab has gone from one dominating customer – the Swedish state – to multiple clients.  

Their market segments include sea transport and port security, air transport and airport, land transport and urban, energy production and infrastructure, guard and event, police and rescue and field facility solutions. One of Saab's major areas of expertise is critical infrastructure protection, which includes the implementation of service oriented architecture, such as video, alarm systems, access control, screening, GPS and a geodatabase. 

The day ended with a security briefing at Arland airport. The OSAC Nordic Summit is an annual event and will be held in Helsinki, Finland in 2009.


Chairman of OSAC Committee Stockholm Pål Jebsen

Charlotte West, Battison & Partners

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