Earlier this year Pool Re’s Senior Risk Consultant, Mark Susca, provided an interview to Counter Terror Business to discuss ‘Pool Re and Security in the aviation industry’.
Mark, you recently joined Pool Re as a Senior Risk Consultant. Tell us a little about your background, your previous role and why you were attracted to Pool Re.
I recently joined Pool Re as part of the growing Solutions team, offering bespoke support to our members after moving from Manchester Airport where I held the position as Head of Operational Resilience, responsible for emergency planning, business continuity and crisis management. Whilst gaining invaluable and broad experience, I’ve also formalised that knowledge through various qualifications, not least the MSc in Counter-Terrorism, Risk and Resilience at Cranfield University, supported by Pool Re. Prior to all this, I spent eleven years as an airline pilot, flying both regional and long-haul routes, including VIP operations before diversifying into areas of preparedness, response and recovery.
How would you say your previous experience feeds into your new role at Pool Re?
The challenges faced by risk, security or resilience managers in an organisation is a constant battle with the balances of commercial business, regulation, and operations. There is a need to understand and build on relationship at all levels within an organisation, so that resilience against terrorism is within the culture, much like health and safety or conventional crime prevention. Having previously come from a very operational background where I was responsible for resilience. I feel that I can bring a unique insight into those challenges in such a way as being able to shape what we do at Pool Re, to support our members and their clients in a way they understand.
Often the biggest challenge is understanding the risk and being able to articulate that in a manner which can then be recognised by the wider business. There is often a belief that ‘it won’t happen to us’ but following the attacks at Brussels Airport and closer to home the foiled ink cartridge plot at East Midlands and the Manchester Arena attack, it became very clear that wasn’t the case. In my new role and the work of Pool Re Solutions we are able to support that process of understanding and communication through a range of different and complementing techniques.
One of the biggest lessons I quickly became to appreciate is that so much of what we do for terrorism risk mitigation can have additional benefits across an organisation, from improving crisis management and an ability to respond to an incident – irrespective of the causal factor, improving general health, safety and crime prevention, through to improving ways of operational working and efficiency. Thus ensuring that resilience truly is there to not only protect the business but to support growth too.
Recent terrorist attacks in the UK have favoured lower complexity methodologies, for example the bladed weapon attacks at Borough Market, London Bridge and the murder of David Amess. Is aviation a realistic target for terrorism given this shift in methodology?
Yes, aviation will sadly always remain a target for terrorists as it provides so many attractive opportunities. Later this year we’ll be publishing our sector specific report, so I won’t give too much away but terrorists groups will always want to go for what see as a spectacular. Airport’s offer that opportunity no matter the scale of that spectacular, they are considered a safe and secure site, so offer the ability to show capability on a grand and complex scale but also attract large volumes of people, providing the opportunity to the less complex and simple methodologies. Any attack on aviation will always attract the attention of the media either nationally or internationally and offer that exposure for terrorists and expression of capability. Aviation also offers opportunities or need for innovation amongst terrorists to try and defeat the mitigation and thus being creative in methodology. We have seen the attempts non-conventional attacks too, as we saw with the plots to use chemicals on board aircraft in Australia or even the use of drones, as seen with effectiveness at Gatwick – albeit that wasn’t terrorism.
The aviation industry has clearly been very heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Do you think that the aviation sector is more vulnerable to terrorism as a result of the pandemic?
It goes without saying that Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on aviation but two years on we are seeing a return to growth and almost pre-covid levels of travel. This, however, presents the next challenge and whilst airports have thankfully survived the pandemic, the challenge will be managing the risk which come with rapid and unprecedented growth – far beyond previous expansion rates which have increased steadily year on year, to now almost coming back in an instant.
Many airports, like so many businesses had to reconsider their resourcing requirements during those lockdown periods. This will have an effect in so many unintended ways, experience will be lost, skill fade will be apparent, and inexperience will dominate as resourcing is increased to meet the demand. All of which will create an increased exposure to vulnerability, whilst many were furloughed, out of work and airports closed, terrorists were not sat idly by.
Terrorists may seek to capitalise on the short-term vulnerability, they will also look to benefit from medium to long term vulnerabilities posed by Covid-19. One of the biggest risks for aviation is the insider threat and with the increased life challenges faced by all during the pandemic and current events, the insider threat has never been greater. The ability for people to be manipulated or radicalised is a very real prospect and one which the aviation industry is acutely aware off and working hard to manage.
Whilst I’m pleased to say aviation has an extremely positive counter-terrorism culture it would be easy for this to slip as the priority of business survival and recovery becomes the focus for managers and leadership teams. The need to remain aware, cognisant and vigilant has never been greater.
And finally, from your experience, what are the fundamental risk management principles you would recommend to any risk manager?
Having previously worked on embedding resilience and risk management within an organisation, with all the benefits and experience that brings. I found that working to six key principles helped focus not only the work but also the stakeholders, who are fundamental to any risk management.
The six principles of resilience work to strengthen the business through supporting growth, identifying risk and opportunities, and enhancing the ability to respond to disruptive events
- Anticipate – this is about horizon scanning and looking at the what if’s
- Assess – understand the business, what is its appetite and approach to risk
- Prevent – implementation of mitigation measures, minimum standards, processes etc.
- Prepare – have plans in place for the events you can’t prevent or mitigate against
- Respond – ensure you can respond to incidents and events, e.g., crisis management teams
- Recover – have recovery and business continuity plans in place which are practical