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 This short article discusses a common concept shared by Executive Protection (EP) and Travel Security (TS) domains in the protection of the most important asset: persons.

The protection of your Principal (EP) or your employees travelling abroad on a duty trip (TS) requires due diligence. Part of this process is to conduct a Risk Assessment ahead of their trip with the main objective of identifying points of interests (e.g. local threats, route characteristics, vulnerabilities in transit, healthcare facilities, safe heavens, etc.). Risk mitigation solutions can only be developed afterwards.

In terms of healthcare facilities, identifying the exact location of hospitals or ambulance stations is crucial in case a Principal in transit would require immediate medical assistance. The link included in this article shows the ambulance stations in Geneva, Switzerland. Say you are transiting your Principal and his family to Geneva Airport when suddenly one family member falls ill or even worse, an attack occurs and the Principal gets hit. Time is crucial so having this map included in your documentation would allow you to get to the nearest facility.

Likewise, let’s consider another exercise from a Travel Security perspective. A C-suite executive or any type of employee is currently on a business trip in a foreign country. The individual suddenly calls in requiring advice on how to get local medical assistance (assuming he/she has not already been briefed on departure). Knowing in advance the locations of medical facilities will allow you to direct the individual in a right direction, saving time and maybe his/her life. Arguably, such an incident could easily fall under a Safety perspective but most probably, a Security Manager will still have to handle such emergency situations.

The map here shows how easily Security Professionals can use Data Visualization to take advantage of a huge amount of data publicly available. Whether identifying ambulance stations, hospitals or social unrest locations, having them in an interactive map will give an upper hand in the protection of our principals, executives, employees and even in the protection of ourselves, our family or friends. Such knowledge can be of use in our personal life as well.