With a decade passed since the September 11th attacks – are we any safer than we were on September 10, 2001? The answer is complex.

Yes we are safer from a larger scale terrorist attack because the Al Qaeda infrastructure that threatened us pre-9-11 is gone. Ongoing risks remain from the likes of ‘lone wolves,’ or loosely organized groups of jihadist attackers (i.e. July 7^th bombings in London) and clumsy conspiracies (i.e. the Richard Reid shoe bomb attempt and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab – the “underwear bomber” and the more recent Times Square car bombing attempt). These types of threats are still around but attacks are poorly organized and not well supplied.

I believe we are beyond the point of large scale attacks and there is a limitation on the amount of harm that perpetrators can inflict on their victims, due to lack of organization and access to materials. Poisoning the water source and biological factors are far less likely because we have a network of people preventing the “wrong” people getting equipment to facilitate a successful attack.

Take for example the case of Faisal Shahzad, the man behind the Times Square car bomb attempt – the best thing he could get his hands on was barbeque propane and fireworks. If that’s the best lone wolf attackers can do, it’s an indication we are safer.

We also need to remember that our safety has come at a tremendous cost in terms of individuals’ time / privacy and expenses for organizations like the TSA.  The cost of the inconvenience and time spent by the vast majority of non criminals who have to wait in long security lines and be subject to random searches is a huge waste and this lost time has a financial effect.

We know first hand from conversations with our clients that the global political and economic climate has had an enormous impact on the high-net-worth community.

The wealthy have taken a hard look at how they are living their lives. They have taken active measures to change the way they are viewed by the rest of the world, with some even changing their extravagant spending behaviors and business travel practices.

In order to further understand and serve our clientele in a new age of increased security concerns, Insite Security commissioned a study from IBOPE Zogby International to gauge the influence and impact global unrest has had on the high-net-worth community.

We encourage you to take a moment to read our white paper and study the findings. Should you have any questions about the survey – or to inquire further about our security offering – please contact us at info@insitesecurity.com or 212.362.5700.

Over the holiday weekend thousands of people will be traveling via car, trains and planes to their respective destinations, without taking the necessary security precautions for themselves and their families.

Remember the following risk preparedness and travel safety tips to stay safe this 4^TH of July:

• Departure Precautions
  • Never post travel plans on social media sites
  • Double check alarms and have a trusted emergency contact at home who knows your travel schedule
• Packing / Preparation
  • In event of an emergency – communication, water, and air are all key to survival, pack a satellite phone, LED flashlight, iodine tablets & water filters to prepare
  • Leave the high-end luggage at home to decrease attraction from thieves
• Emergency Planning
  • Write a family reunification plan (where will you meet? who will be contacting family back home, etc)
  • Have an “emergency mindset” and be cognizant of best escape options at all times
  • Be extra cautions of highly trafficked areas like train stations & airports – perpetrators look for confused and vulnerable travelers and use that to their advantage.