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Twice in the last week, I’ve gotten company emails about security in the face of protests. The advice is not surprising: subscribe to company alerts. Report harassment to security. Do not talk to protestors or try to get past a barricade.
I have naturally seen no signs of any protests at our quiet, suburban office. Presumably the same message was broadcast to employees in, say, Boston. But that’s the only story I could find about an actual protest targeting my industry. I’m left wondering—if this response is due to caution from the higher-ups, do they perceive more of a threat? Or are they playing into a narrative where the rank and file assume there will be a threat?
This is pre-emptive risk management and generally good security governance.
Protests can spring out of the air with little warning, so they are educating staff before they arrive at work one day and come across protestors blocking the entry of their facility. It may never happen, but if it does they are minimising the risk to their staff (and also possible compensation claims for not doing everything they reasonably can to provide a safe workspace)
Large organisations often have security advisors (either internal or consulting on retainer) that serve as early warning for this kind of thing.
Edit:
If you ever find yourself confronting protestors, that advice is pretty good. Don't engage or talk to them; a career protestor has likely been arrested before and has little reputation to lose, unlike yourself. They can do all sorts of dirty tricks like spit on you and then have their friends record your reaction for a nice little propaganda video to go up on Twitter/Youtube. Talking to protestors without media training and authorisation from the organisation can embarrass the company and lead to consequences for you. Basically any interaction in a situation like that would possibly be recorded, (edited in the worst possible way) and signal boosted on social media. The play book for issue motivated groups has been refined and shared since the 60's.
In the worst case, just turn around and go home. Email your boss that you couldn't make it to work due to the protest. They will be happy for you to work from home or even just take the day off. Chances are you'd find an email directing you to do this anyway if you checked your inbox.
Chances are you'd find an email directing you to do this anyway if you checked your inbox.
I have some friends in defense, and often they can't access their email on personal devices. For some, quite literally the pre-pandemic policy was that nothing work-related left the building. That has changed somewhat, but expecting folks to check email before coming to the office isn't universally possible even today.
In those cases there would be some other method of communication available which would be used, such as sms to personal devices.
Defense departments in western countries are usually very good with their security risk management, so I can't see them having no way of warning staff outside of work.
In finance during Occupy (before my time) banks apparently told workers not to wear corporate merch in public for fear people would be harassed or attacked. I don’t know if there were ever gangs of anarchists going around beating up bankers with Citigroup backpacks in 2011, but it seems funny now.
I knew some folks that worked in Big Oil, and around that time similar guidance appeared there to stop advertising corporate logos due to worries about climate activists. I don't know of any particular incidents, but the same sort of cautious guidance.
While Collin and tarrant counties may not be hotspots for left wing mass protests, it’s reasonable for defense contractors to expect some level of protest at their facilities during a war, and it seems reasonable to have a company wide email about it.
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Notes -
Twice in the last week, I’ve gotten company emails about security in the face of protests. The advice is not surprising: subscribe to company alerts. Report harassment to security. Do not talk to protestors or try to get past a barricade.
I have naturally seen no signs of any protests at our quiet, suburban office. Presumably the same message was broadcast to employees in, say, Boston. But that’s the only story I could find about an actual protest targeting my industry. I’m left wondering—if this response is due to caution from the higher-ups, do they perceive more of a threat? Or are they playing into a narrative where the rank and file assume there will be a threat?
This is pre-emptive risk management and generally good security governance.
Protests can spring out of the air with little warning, so they are educating staff before they arrive at work one day and come across protestors blocking the entry of their facility. It may never happen, but if it does they are minimising the risk to their staff (and also possible compensation claims for not doing everything they reasonably can to provide a safe workspace)
Large organisations often have security advisors (either internal or consulting on retainer) that serve as early warning for this kind of thing.
Edit: If you ever find yourself confronting protestors, that advice is pretty good. Don't engage or talk to them; a career protestor has likely been arrested before and has little reputation to lose, unlike yourself. They can do all sorts of dirty tricks like spit on you and then have their friends record your reaction for a nice little propaganda video to go up on Twitter/Youtube. Talking to protestors without media training and authorisation from the organisation can embarrass the company and lead to consequences for you. Basically any interaction in a situation like that would possibly be recorded, (edited in the worst possible way) and signal boosted on social media. The play book for issue motivated groups has been refined and shared since the 60's.
In the worst case, just turn around and go home. Email your boss that you couldn't make it to work due to the protest. They will be happy for you to work from home or even just take the day off. Chances are you'd find an email directing you to do this anyway if you checked your inbox.
I have some friends in defense, and often they can't access their email on personal devices. For some, quite literally the pre-pandemic policy was that nothing work-related left the building. That has changed somewhat, but expecting folks to check email before coming to the office isn't universally possible even today.
In those cases there would be some other method of communication available which would be used, such as sms to personal devices.
Defense departments in western countries are usually very good with their security risk management, so I can't see them having no way of warning staff outside of work.
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In finance during Occupy (before my time) banks apparently told workers not to wear corporate merch in public for fear people would be harassed or attacked. I don’t know if there were ever gangs of anarchists going around beating up bankers with Citigroup backpacks in 2011, but it seems funny now.
I knew some folks that worked in Big Oil, and around that time similar guidance appeared there to stop advertising corporate logos due to worries about climate activists. I don't know of any particular incidents, but the same sort of cautious guidance.
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There were not. My coworkers and I would pass by Zucotti park a lot to get lunch looking very bankery and it was all quite peaceful.
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Don’t you work in the defense industry?
While Collin and tarrant counties may not be hotspots for left wing mass protests, it’s reasonable for defense contractors to expect some level of protest at their facilities during a war, and it seems reasonable to have a company wide email about it.
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It’s likely a request from their insurance company, a request sent out in response to rising claim payouts.
Bigwigs ignore politics, but listen to insurance underwriters.
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