Posts by Chesley Brown
Dell Spry Promoted to Vice President Emeritus
Dell Spry is an attorney by education a investigator by passion. He has been in law enforcement for over 30 years. In that time he served in the FBI as a Supervisory Special Agent and was lead investigator on some of the most high-profile cases in the country, including the infamous Aldrich AmesCIA Spy case.Through…
Read MoreWhy your business may need an asset search
Written By: James Hart Linda Daly didn’t know exactly what was wrong, but something was off about her latest business deal. A month earlier, Daly – the owner of a midsize retail chain in the upper Midwest — had been excited about investing in an up-and-coming manufacturer that lined up perfectly with her own mission. …
Read MoreHow to Secure Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets
Anything that has value is at risk of being stolen, and unfortunately, that includes your company’s ideas and information. After all, intellectual property generates tremendous value in today’s economy. In 2019, American industries that rely on IP generated more than $7.8 trillion in gross domestic product, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office. Those…
Read MoreHow to Respond to a Whistleblower’s Report
In theory, it should be a good thing when employees come forward with a whistleblower report. They’ve spotted a threat to your organization and are giving you the insight you need to address the problem before it becomes even more serious. Unfortunately, even in the best-case scenario, whistleblower complaints can still be stressful for employees,…
Read MoreThe First Steps for Conducting Internal Investigations
Written by: James Hart When the call finally came, Raquel Henderson lunged for the phone on her desk. Henderson was less than three months into her job as the HR director for a midsize family business in a rural part of the state. The company was the community’s largest employer and a point of pride…
Read MoreTheft of Trade Secrets: How to Prevent the Loss of Key Intellectual Property
Written by: James Hart The names have been changed, but the following story is a compilation of real situations faced by real businesses. Doug Medford had never considered himself paranoid. But there were too many coincidences to merely be coincidental. Medford, the CEO of a small Midwestern manufacturer, learned that an up-and-coming competitor from China…
Read MoreHow to Prepare for a Cyberwar
Written by: Dell Spry At Chesley Brown, nothing is more sacrosanct than the safety and security of our clients. It is our intention to keep you educated, updated, and informed as world events continue to unfold and keep you aware of what the potential consequences of those events to your company might be. We are…
Read MoreHow the Events of September 11th Have Impacted National Security
How Has National Security Evolved Since September 11th, 2001? Written by: Dell Spry As I sit and write this paper, Afghanistan is collapsing. It is not my intention to point the finger at anyone and make politics a central theme of this paper, but it would be hypocritically pointless to not involve politics in a…
Read MoreA Nation Under Attack: The Colonial Pipeline Attack
Written by: Dell Spry Introduction: Before the Colonial Pipeline Attack In earlier centuries wars were fought between nation states to acquire water and fertile land. Then came the quest for natural resources; gold, silver, oil. These wars were fought utilizing large armies requiring massive supplies to achieve their goal of conquest and colonization and probably,…
Read MoreReasons to Hire an Outside Security Risk Firm
The security services industry is one of the fastest growing industries in America today. With so many disruptive technologies, emerging threats, and the growing frequency of natural disasters, its easy to understand why — It can be exceedingly difficult to keep up with the myriad risks facing your organization. So how do you bring order…
Read MoreThe Ultimate Guide for Small Businesses to Combat Economic Espionage
For decades, the US has been a victim of economic espionage — a foe that is now costing American companies billions of dollars in lost revenue. From hacking government websites to infiltrating research institutions with spies, competitors and foreign governments are pulling out all the stops to steal trade secrets. This scourge is no longer…
Read MorePreventing Civil Unrest
We’ve all recoiled in disbelief and horror as we watched scenes of violence stream across our TVs. The violent insurrection we saw in the U.S. capitol was unprecedented. That is to say nothing of the collapse in security measures and barriers that allowed rioters to breach our nation’s capitol. Deservedly so, leaders are alarmed about…
Read MoreWhat Achilles can Teach us About Threat Management
By: Dell Spry There are numerous similar, seemingly inconsequential, soft targets scattered across our country unprotected by a single surveillance camera or even a strand of barbed wire. Is this issue getting the attention it deserves? Just whose responsibility is it to make that determination? Have you included threat planning in your risk management strategy?…
Read MoreThe SolarWinds Supply Chain Attack: What Businesses Need to Know
What is the SolarWinds Supply Chain Attack? SolarWinds, the Austin-based cybersecurity firm, found itself in the middle of a catastrophe due to internal security lapses. The firm recently earned headlines for making it to the list of unsuspecting service providers targeted for its elite supply chain. A week ago, the popular Cybersecurity firm confirmed falling…
Read MoreLessons Businesses Must Learn from the Nashville Bombing
The sound of gunfire punctuated the peaceful hush of Christmas morning. According to one witness, “It sounded like an automatic weapon.” About 10 minutes later she heard a second round of gunfire, then a third. When police arrived at the scene a little after 5:30am they found an RV parked in front of a nondescript…
Read More3 Simple Practices to Optimize School Safety During Covid-19
Maximizing safety for students and employees If you’re anything like me, keeping your family safe is your number one priority. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this means minimizing social contact to reduce the chances of infection. If you are a school administrator, your family extends beyond the bounds of your home. It includes the students, teachers,…
Read More4 Crucial Things To Know About Business Impact Analysis
Risk is not optional. If you own a business, chances are, you will confront risks at some point. What’s more, as your business grows, potential business disruptions will increase in both frequency and harm potential. It’s not possible to foresee every risk. Nonetheless, a business impact analysis can help you plan for and mitigate the…
Read More2 Painless Ways to Transition Your Retail Business to Touchless Technology
Why your business should be transitioning to touchless tech right now As a business owner in the retail industry, adjusting to the Covid-19 pandemic is a huge challenge. Nevertheless, you’ve crossed your t’s and dotted your i’s. You’ve worked hard so that customers feel as safe as possible while in your store: You require masks…
Read More3 Overlooked Tips to Destress During the Holidays
Bring home holiday gifts without the baggage It’s that time of the year. Some would say the most wonderful time. But for others, the lights and tinsel of the holidays evoke strong memories of the ghosts of holidays past. The holidays offer a chance to reconnect with family and friends, take that much needed R&R,…
Read MoreTop 5 Problems Facing the Retail Industry
And the best ways to solve them We’ve all heard the Black Friday stories of fist fights breaking out in aisles of the local big-box retailer. To the average person, such stories are humorous. But to retail business owners, they are a cause for concern. Yet, such glaring examples hardly scratch the surface of the…
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