Reposted from Computer Business Review

“Organizations are increasingly adopting the zero-trust approach, whereby only trusted users and devices can access sensitive and restricted files and applications”

For the last two decades, most enterprises have relied on an outward-looking approach to security with a strong corporate firewall to prevent external intruders from entering the network. However, with staff increasingly working outside the standard enterprise perimeter, security has become much more complicated: firewall-centric strategies are at risk of being overrun by attackers who can evade defenses without raising the alarm and cause serious damage once they are inside.

The post-perimeter era requires a new approach in which ‘zero-trust’ is the foundation of security.  It’s a model which gives workers more flexibility regarding when and where they log on, but also means that security departments can retain control by verifying everything – and everyone – that tries to connect to systems, before granting access.

Perimeter Security: Gaps in the wall

The boom in remote and more flexible working practices has been powered by increasingly accessible and affordable cloud applications and mobile devices. Even a modest IT budget can incorporate multiple cloud services that will enable workers to access vital files and applications from anywhere in the world and, indeed, it is not unusual for new businesses to be entirely cloud-based.

With staff now potentially just as productive in a coffee-shop between meetings halfway around the world as they are at their desk, the new remote working paradigm is delivering powerful business benefits. However, it has also made perimeter-based security even more untenable; an attacker using stolen login credentials, or a compromised machine, could easily slip through the net and organisations who are unable to differentiate friend from foe will be left wide open to a serious breach.

The degree to which working practices are changing was evident in the 2018 Duo Trusted Access Report, which analysed data from nearly 11m devices and a half a billion logins per month. The report found that 43 percent of requests to access protected apps and data now come from outside the office and network. Between 2017 and 2018 there was a 10 percent increase in the average number of unique networks that customers and enterprise organisations are authenticating from, representing the fact that more work is being conducted from potentially unsecured Wi-Fi networks.

Remote Risks

The threat of a security breach is exacerbated by poor security practices for mobile devices connecting to the corporate network. In particular, our research found that a massive 90 percent of Android devices analysed were running outdated operating systems, followed closely by 85 percent of Chrome OS devices.

A device that has fallen behind on security patches and OS updates represents an easy target for a hacker, who can go on to use a compromised device to spread their attack to the enterprise network. The intruder can also raid the device itself for login credentials, a serious threat as weak and compromised credentials are one of the leading causes of serious security incidents. Any confidential data on the machine, connected corporate network and cloud-based applications can also be stolen or manipulated with impunity.

Trust no One, Verify Everything

With the old perimeter security wall crumbling, it is no longer safe to trust a user simply because they are inside the network. Instead, organisations are increasingly adopting the zero-trust approach, whereby only trusted users and devices can access sensitive and restricted files and applications. Users who cannot prove their identity or the health of their device to a sufficient degree will not be granted access, regardless of whether their request is coming from a presumably trusted location.

Verifying user identity can be achieved through measures such as two-factor authentication, which will prevent an attacker impersonating a legitimate user with stolen credentials. Alongside this, the device must be running current OS updates and security patches and must be free of any malware.

Zero-trust security is best managed with a risk-based approach which revises access requirements based on the potential risk to the business, and external factors that point to suspicious behavior. If a user is logging in from a well-patched, corporate managed device to a work application, they are provided full access without any additional steps. However, if the same user is logging in from an out-of-date personal device, they are required to further prove their identity or are provided limited access.

This process need not be onerous for the user. The flexibility provided by a risk-based approach means an organisation can implement a zero-trust strategy without creating unnecessary barriers for legitimate users that will prevent them from getting on with their jobs as quickly and easily as if they were in the office.

While the age of the traditional perimeter may be at an end, organisations can still protect themselves from attackers by using a zero-trust approach to ensure that only genuine, trusted users are guaranteed access to the network.

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Reposted from the Hill

Two separate studies found a notable increase in anti-Semitic images and other posts on Twitter and Instagram over the past year, despite content policies on both platforms supposedly banning hateful content against minority groups.

A study released Friday by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization that tracks anti-Jewish sentiment, reported the existence of “online propaganda offensives” containing anti-Semitic content designed to intimidate Jewish people and Jewish journalists ahead of the 2018 midterms.

The study also names social media platforms such as Twitter as "key facilitators" of "anti-Semitic harassment."

“The themes of this online harassment against the Jewish American community, especially against journalists and prominent members of this group, have been carried from the 2016 presidential election to the 2018 midterm content,” ADL fellow and Harvard scholar Samuel Woodley wrote in the study.

Nearly 30 percent of the more than 7.5 million tweets analyzed were revealed to be from "bots," or automated accounts, designed to push anti-Semitic content which researchers agreed was “worse on Twitter than on Facebook," according to the ADL.

“Online hate is not some idle threat that just lives online and can be ignored. Technology companies need to work harder and faster to curb the vicious violence-inducing harassment on their platforms,” the ADL's CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a news release.

A separate study from Columbia University professor Jonathan Albright found Instagram searches for "George Soros," a Jewish American billionaire Democratic mega-donor turned up impostor accounts often containing anti-Semitic smears of the businessman, according to NBC News. Similar images and posts could be found by searching "#Soros" on the platform.

“What was shocking to me for this Soros tag were the nature of the images and the prevalence of hate speech in the captions,” Albright told NBC News. “Especially this close to the 2018 election, and in spite of what happened last time around.”

On Twitter, Albright suggested solutions the tech platform could follow to cut down on anti-Semitic content.

"My recommendation to @Instagram: shut these hashtags down. Seriously," he wrote. "[A]nd please, for once, stop autofilling and suggesting queries for controversial topics."

In a statement to NBC, Instagram said it was reviewing Albright's findings but said the company had not noticed a noticeable increase in prohibited posts related to Soros.

"We are working closely with Facebook to understand the false content they are seeing, and applying those insights to Instagram to detect any policy-violating behavior. Any content which violates our Community Guidelines, for example hate speech, will be removed," an Instagram spokesperson told NBC.

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Reposted from Metro UK

Works of art by Salvador Dali and Francisco Goya were said to have been damaged as the temporary structure fell. One visitor to the exhibition in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast region can be seen having to jump out of the way.

Museum bosses say a group of four girls taking selfies behind the wall were to blame for the accident. Both paintings have reportedly been sent off to be examined by experts in or to determine how badly they were damaged. Museum workers said the frame and glass on the work by Goya were smashed while Dali’s actual picture suffered damage.

The works were on display in the ‘Caprichos’ exhibition featuring works from surrealist painter Dali and Spanish romantic painter Francisco Goya. A police investigation has been launched into the incident but no arrests have been reported. The names of the pieces and their value has also not yet been released

The startling scene was caught on a security camera, where one female visitor walks up to the wall moments before it falls. A shocked woman can be seen behind the wall. A museum employee told local media that a group of female visitors had not been behaving appropriately and this had caused the damage. They said: ‘A group of girls – there were four of them – behaved inadequately.

‘As a result, they damaged two works of art, which were on display in a tandem: pictures by Francisco Goya and Salvador Dali. ‘Goya’s work had its frame and glass broken. ‘As far as Dali’s artwork is concerned, apart from shattered frame and protective glass, it also suffered damage to the picture itself.’ The exhibition is still open.

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Reposted from Security Management Magazine

​While the events of September 11, 2001, are ingrained in the hearts and minds of people around the world, many may not realize they were the impetus for one of the most wide-ranging security awareness programs ever to be implemented.

Coined by a Manhattan advertising executive, the phrase "See Something, Say Something" would become the tagline of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security awareness campaign. Through various program materials from the U.S. government, the campaign sought to empower everyday citizens to protect their neighbors and communities by recognizing and reporting suspicious behavior.

Today, See Something, Say Something is established throughout much of the United States and even other countries, revealing itself in virtually every public corner, from mass transit systems to sports stadiums.

Much like this campaign, corporate security officers should establish a security awareness program within their organizations as part of a holistic physical security model. These programs are designed to promote a secure work setting and protect the company's assets.

But whereas See Something, Say Something was born out of a national sense of purpose following a grave tragedy—ultimately garnering significant financial support and public enthusiasm—security executives who want to build a security awareness program must do so organically. ​

BUILDING BLOCKS

The successful implementation of a security awareness program is, by nature, a complex process that encompasses many aspects of program development, collaboration, communications, and branding, all with the goal of instilling and sustaining a security consciousness within the organization.

So how do security leaders use company culture and existing security policies and procedures to organically develop a security awareness program? Examples of program models at General Motors Financial Company (GM Financial), ESPN, and Capital One, established with the help of the author, demonstrate the success of a corporate security awareness model through effective marketing and messaging, employee recognition, leveraging of partnerships, and buy-in from company executives.

Program scope. Clearly defining the scope and purpose of the security awareness program is the first step towards effectively shaping it. At GM Financial, this process began by promoting the concept that security is a shared responsibility, and that each team member, regardless of title or position, had an important role to play in keeping GM Financial facilities safe and secure.

The scope of the program—branded as "Ready.Set.Safe!"—sought to create a culture of awareness and preparedness that transcended the more common security concerns, and included several aspects of emergency preparedness—fire and life safety, active shooter awareness, severe weather response, and more—to drive both a heightened readiness for emergent events and a strong safety culture.

Communications and marketing. A successful messaging strategy for a security awareness program is essential, as is providing frequent campaign reminders for employees. This requires leveraging the expertise of the corporate communications and marketing group within the organization. These departments can lend invaluable support towards messaging development and branding components, and they can employ a variety of creative messaging tools to promote security awareness programming in a strategic and effective way.

At GM Financial, a variety of messaging platforms were developed that could be embedded into the natural flow of the employees' workday. This included use of the company intranet (articles, banners, and rotating message carousels); digital message display boards throughout employee work areas; static signage at facility entrances, cafeterias and high-traffic areas; and pop-up banners. Portable signs can also be deployed at company events, town halls, and other outside events.

Branded giveaway items with useful business applications, such as mouse pads or pens, ensure that the Ready.Set.Safe! messaging is within view throughout the day. These giveaways have proven popular at HR fairs and other company events where corporate security representatives want to promote security awareness.​

EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Raising security awareness among team members often requires a cultural shift in organizational thinking and employee behavior. An effective security awareness program must be supported by an equally effective company security model that team members are confident in.

This confidence must exist within all tiers of the organization—from the executive boardroom to the individual contributor level—for a true security culture to take root. At GM Financial, it is this alignment that enabled an effective and comprehensive security awareness program to become embedded within the organizational mindset. 

New hires are exposed to the company's security and safety culture on their first day during orientation, as corporate security team members present an overview of the department's responsibilities and introduce new employees to the Ready.Set.Safe! program. The issuance of the employee photo ID/access badge during the onboarding process gives the corporate security team an additional opportunity to promote a safe facility culture by interfacing directly with the new hire.

A joint launch. At ESPN, a global multimedia sports entertainment programming company where the author served as director of facility security, a similar approach was used to develop and successfully launch its security awareness program, "Community Watch." This program, part of a larger enterprise-wide security awareness effort by parent-organization The Walt Disney Company, is a successful example of a contemporary security awareness platform with clear value proposition throughout the organization. The company's security organization successfully partnered with its creative designers, corporate communications team, human resources, and other business units to develop a multifaceted security awareness program.

ESPN sponsored a "Security and Safety Awareness Day" at its headquarters campus, which featured public safety partners from law enforcement, fire, and paramedic agencies on hand to promote security and safety best practices. The annual event was attended by hundreds of company employees and received positive feedback.

The information promoted at this event—including fire safety, cybersecurity, severe weather safety, driving safety, and several other safety-related topics—could also be used by team members in their homes and personal environments.

Ease of reporting. When security incidents occur, or suspicious activity arises, it must be reported in a timely manner. Providing an easy means by which team members can communicate and report these threats and potential threats is essential. At GM Financial, the global security operations center (GSOC) serves as the central communications hub and primary reporting point for team member security concerns on a 24/7 basis.

Working with the telecommunications group, corporate security acquired a unique, easy-to-remember telephone number for employees to use to contact the GSOC. All employees can dial 4-GSOC from their desk phones for direct connection to a GSOC specialist from any U.S.-based GM Financial location. Employees are also encouraged to program the seven-digit GSOC telephone number into their personal phones to contact the GSOC directly, should the need arise, when they are in company parking areas or on company property.

Recognition programs. Acknowledging team members who help promote the security awareness program helps reinforce the importance of a security culture. At Capital One Financial Corporation (where the author served as director of regional security operations for the company's northeast U.S. and Canadian markets), the organization's "Be Safe" program formally recognized team members for their actions and reporting to help protect company assets. These team members were presented with a plaque by the regional director of security and their local business leadership team. The award presentations were published in an article on the company's intranet site, further demonstrating the value placed on workplace safety and security by the company.

One unique program component at ESPN featured an interactive sports-themed contest where employees demonstrated how well they knew their coworkers. Participation in the contest, which was possible via the company's intranet, required the employee to first review a security awareness message. Winners were selected monthly, presented with Community Watch branded giveaway items by the director of security, and featured in the following month's contest, posted as an article link on the company's intranet site.

Company initiatives. The growth and sustainability of any program relies upon leveraging existing security initiatives within the organization. At GM Financial, the corporate security organization also oversees the company's emergency response team. Approximately 900 team members from across the enterprise are trained to serve as volunteer first responders to medical and other workplace emergencies. 

These dedicated team members are natural stakeholders of the security awareness program and demonstrate the company's commitment to employee safety. Their work aligns with the "Secure Facility" initiative, the most recently launched component of the Ready.Set.Safe! program. 

GM Financial has certain security policies it has chosen to highlight with colorful posters. An anti-piggybacking initiative was established to ensure that unauthorized individuals do not follow employees into the workplace after they introduce their credentials at the door. A billboard-like poster that reminds team members of this campaign marks another examp​le where effective communications strategies have been developed and employed.

Another component of GM Financial's security awareness program is the company's active shooter awareness training. Each year, all team members complete a structured learning module via the company's learning management platform. The module includes a video that presents options for consideration during an active shooter event, as well as a knowledge assessment. The learning module is supplemented by awareness messaging material, displayed in common areas such as employee break rooms, and a virtual quick reference guide. Tabletop exercises and train-the-trainer sessions for emergency preparedness coordinators have also been developed. These sessions include awareness tips on how to recognize and report potential workplace violence situations.

Cultural differences. While there are best practices that should be considered when implementing a security awareness program, each company has a unique organizational culture and operating environments that play a central role in determining how the program can be effectively established. Corporations that operate internationally can be presented with additional cultural factors that should be thoughtfully considered before implementing a security awareness program in these environments.

For example, some countries may experience low crime rates within their societies and may view security awareness programming as unnecessary, while others may view the reporting of suspicious behavior to be socially improper for their culture, akin to snitching. It is important that senior security executives understand and appreciate cultural differences, and that proposed security awareness programming is discussed with business leadership in these operating environments.

When developing messaging materials and translating them, language differences should be considered. Use of phrases that are common or well understood in one language may translate awkwardly into another language, causing confusion or alarm. The company's communications group can help to ensure that messaging is culturally appropriate in its translated form.

Holistic model. Creating and implementing an effective security awareness program in a large corporation requires a holistic approach that must complement the company's security model and align with the company's culture. Colorful posters and creative messaging materials will do little to engender security awareness if they are not supported by the security organization's ability to respond to and address security concerns in a professional, timely, effective manner. The security organization must enjoy the confidence of employees at all levels to ensure that the awareness program achieves credibility and its intended purpose.

Examples of how such programs at GM Financial, ESPN, and Capital One were successfully implemented show that the model works across various types of enterprises. Obtaining executive support and partnership with key business stakeholders will help achieve buy-in for the programming. Creativity should be added into awareness efforts, and the security culture must be engaging for team members, because most will want to participate in an environment that is both enjoyable and purposeful. Fostering an environment where the concept of security is viewed as a shared responsibility is central to achieving the cultural shift, one in which employees view themselves as owners and stakeholders in the security program.  

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Reposted from Ruidoso News

The Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association, ATADA, the nation’s largest tribal art dealer organization, announced its support of House Resolution 7075, the Native American and Native Hawaiian Cultural Heritage Protection Act of 2018, introduced last week by Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico’s 2nd congressional district.

The release stated that association officials appreciate the spirit of cooperation and compromise shown by all parties throughout this process. Pearce demonstrated exceptional leadership and judgement in listening to the concerns of all and crafting legislation that is balanced and properly addresses the tribes’ valid claims while recognizing the importance of a vibrant art market to New Mexico’s economy, they said. 

The bill reaffirms the law and places the focus on stopping illegal trade. It will require accurate documentation of exports and provide assurance to tribes that objects obtained in violation of United States law will not cross the nation's borders, or if they do, they will be recoverable under U.S. and foreign law. The bill also puts in place a system to facilitate legal exports.

"We are proud that the principles of ATADA’s Voluntary Returns program, which brings important items of religious and ceremonial use back to the tribes, have inspired a similar federal program, and that this bill enables tax deductible donations to broaden its appeal," the release stated.

The bill recognizes that Native American art has been collected for over a century, and that it holds pride of place in American museums and private collections. The bill also recognizes that tens of thousands of small U.S. businesses and tribal enterprises are dependent on the legal trade in Native American art and antiques. A lawful trade will continue to encourage international and domestic cultural tourism to the New Mexico and the Southwest, which supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and makes up at least 10 percent of New Mexico’s economy, the release stated

Association officials said they look forward to participating in the working groups established by the bill to ensure that its provisions are fairly and reasonably applied.

ATADA is an association of tribal arts dealers and collectors dedicated to establishing and maintaining the highest standards of ethics, integrity and responsible collecting practices.

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Reposted from Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project

Interpol called on Wednesday for more global cooperation in stemming theft, forgery, and illicit trafficking of cultural heritage after a symposium in Hanoi with Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security.

Over a hundred experts gathered from 80 countries to discuss the protection of cultural property during conflict. They focused on how art theft can contribute to financing terrorism and what needs to be done to curb the use of cultural property by criminal organizations. The agency is seeking to decrease the stealing of cultural property by helping countries increase their capacities, Interpol said in a statement.

Transnational crime groups often see art theft as a low-risk, high-profit endeavor, the agency said while urging countries to develop specialized units to investigate such crimes.

“The global nature of cultural heritage theft, and its growing connection with transnational organized crime groups, requires a multi-sector, multi-region approach,” Interpol said.

The agency demonstrated to attendees how their stolen works of art database could help identify crimes and how the agency’s training could improve investigations into art theft and other associated illegal activities.  

Attendees also discussed best practices concerning forgeries and finding counterfeit work, again with the focus on collaboration between countries but also police, the art world, and universities.

“With stolen works of art fast becoming as lucrative as drugs, weapons and counterfeit goods trafficking, the crime area is increasingly attractive for organized crime groups,” Interpol’s Works of Art Unit coordinator, Corrado Catesi, said.

“The illicit traffic of cultural property is a transnational crime that affects every single country on the planet – either as a source, transit or destination,” explained Catesi.

The symposium is part of a push by Interpol to crack down on art theft around the world. In August, a similar conference was held in South Africa with similar goals.

Al-Nusrah Front, ISIS, and other terrorist groups have notoriously taken artifacts from various Middle Eastern countries and regions. Not much is known about the smuggling routes these groups take. ISIS was rumored to rely on trafficking artifacts as its second main source of income for its operations, according to United States legislators.

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from Allied Universal

In light of the recent shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue involving multiple fatalities, we want to remind you of some best practices on how to prepare and respond.

Always be vigilant and aware of your environment. Identify any suspicious-looking individuals or situations that are out of the norm, and alert authorities, local law enforcement or a nearby security professional.

Here are some standard tips to handle an armed assailant in your vicinity:

• Protect yourself first by quickly determining the best action to take.
• Evacuate. Escape via the quickest exit.
• Hide. If evacuation is not possible, look for a secure door, office or barrier out of  the shooter’s view. Call 911 to report the incident when safe to do so.
• Take action against the shooter as a last option.
• When law enforcement arrives, try to remain calm and follow officers’ instructions.

We know that every facility likely has an emergency response plan, but this is a good opportunity to revisit it to make updates and familiarize your staff with emergency procedures.

Consider these additional precautions: Conduct training on threat assessments; test your emergency notification systems and decision making process; review any memorandums of understanding with area first responders; lead ongoing drills and assess your facility’s layout and design for security tightening. Also, consider installing metal detectors, bullet-proof glass, closed-circuit cameras or entrance controls in certain parts of a building. Remember to include post-incident planning.

Customers and guests will generally follow the lead of employees and managers, who are more familiar with the layout of a building. Therefore, it is critical that these individuals work together to prepare for any violence that can occur on and around your property.

Read More from Allied Universal's blog.

Reposted from Safety & Health Magazine

Workplace violence is a “growing concern for employers and employees,” OSHA states. In 2016, workplace homicides increased by 83 cases to 500, the highest homicide figure since 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

So, what constitutes workplace violence? According to OSHA, it’s violence or the threat of violence against co-workers, and it can happen at or outside the workplace. It can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicides. About 2 million workers are victims of workplace violence each year, the agency claims.

What can be done

“The employer should establish a workplace violence prevention program or incorporate the information into an existing accident prevention program, employee handbook or manual of standard operating procedures,” OSHA states. All employees should thoroughly understand the policy and know any claims of violence will be investigated promptly.

Other steps employers can take:

• Educate employees on what to do if they witness or are victims of workplace violence, as well as how they can best protect themselves.
• Keep the workplace secure by installing video surveillance, alarm systems and extra lighting. Minimize outsiders’ access by using identification badges, electronic keys and even security guards.
• Ensure field workers have access to cellphones and handheld alarms to use in an emergency, and require them to check in throughout the day.
• Let workers know they should never enter a location if they feel unsafe, and encourage them to use the buddy system at night when walking to their vehicles.

OSHA recommends workers:

• Attend safety training programs, which can help with recognizing a situation.
• Let a supervisor know you have concerns about the safety or security of your workplace, and report any incidents in writing.
• Refrain from traveling alone into unfamiliar situations or locations.

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Reposted from Australian Broadcast Company

When authorities seized a diplomatic pouch at the port in Naples, they weren't expecting to unearth a plot more suited to an Indiana Jones movie.

The pouch — which was discovered in March last year — hid an eclectic assortment of Egyptian antiquities: colorful Pharaonic mummy masks, nearly 200 small artifacts and more than 20,000 coins.

The loot had been stolen from Egypt and it was clear that powerful and connected individuals were involved.

Smuggling of antiquities is a trade nearly as old as the artefacts themselves.

But for Egypt, the trade has escalated since the Arab Spring and social media made it easier to access hidden treasures.

The crisis is so bad it can be seen from space. Satellite imagery of archaeology sites before and after they were looted show massive craters in the ground where artifacts have been stolen.

And there is big money involved: the US-based Antiquities Coalition has estimated that since 2011, US$3 billion worth of Egyptian antiquities has been illegally smuggled abroad.

Exactly how much has been stolen remains largely unknown. Some Egyptologists, including the divisive and flamboyant former antiquities minister Dr Zahi Hawass, believe that only about 30 per cent of ancient Egypt has been unearthed, which means that many items were never officially registered.

Even today, digging turns up previously undetected millennia-old antiquities. 

Unrest in Egypt in the past seven years has brought an uptick in illicit trading.

When the Arab Spring protests of 2011 unseated president Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years of dictatorial rule, the police state crumbled too.

Hundreds of antiquities sites from the Pharaonic, Coptic and Islamic eras and museums were left largely unguarded, and raiders swooped in to loot them.

The treasures were passed to the lucrative international antiquities black market through Egypt's international ports or porous borders.

Many of the antiquities end up in Europe and the United States with private collectors — by far the largest market for Egyptian goods — but also elsewhere in the Middle East, Asia and even Australia, according to Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, the head of the repatriation department at the Ministry of Antiquities.

"It's a global trade across the whole world," he says. 

Washington DC-based anthropologist Katie A Paul recently conducted a six-year study on the illegal antiquities trade in Egypt.

Her analysis of government reports as well as social and traditional media revealed there have been about 2000 seizures of Egyptian antiquities in ports globally.

Traffickers range from the large and well-armed gangs in organised trafficking networks who overrun guards at antiquities sites, to individuals in villages who make a lucky find on their property and sell to a middleman or the local mafia.

Social media has also played a significant role in resurgence of the illegal trade.

A Facebook page created in 2016 to crowdsource information on how to do your own illegal excavation has attracted more than 50,000 members in a year, according to Ms Paul.

Egyptian authorities have also been accused of having a hand in the smuggling process, including Dr Hawass. He was taken to court in relation to smuggling and corruption in 2013, but cleared of the charges.

"This is what weak people say, that officials were involved. There is no official involved in smuggling," he says.

A foreign archaeologist, who spoke to the ABC on condition of anonymity, said they suspected inspectors were involved. 

In the past, there were far fewer barriers to looting and smuggling.

Many antiquities were gifted to countries during the colonial era — such as the Luxor Obelisk that now stands in Paris — or simply taken out of the country because there were no laws in place.

But that has changed in the past few decades. In 1970, a UNESCO Convention was signed to prevent the smuggling of cultural property. In Egypt specifically, the Protection of Antiquities Law was passed in 1983.

Today, the law stipulates mandatory jail time as well as fines between 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($3900) and 500,000 Egyptian pounds.

But that doesn't help with many past removals. There is often little legal recourse when it comes to antiquities taken decades ago.

Perth woman Joan Howard caused a stir in Egypt last year, when she showed off her enormous antiquities collection to Australian media.

As the wife of a UN diplomat based in the Middle East in the 1960s and '70s, Mrs Howard spent much of her time collecting antiquities all over the region, including Egypt. With diplomatic privileges and lax local laws, she was able to take them back to her suburban Perth home.

The Egyptian authorities were not impressed.

Egypt's beefed-up antiquities ministry made an official complaint to the Australian embassy in Cairo.

However, the Australian Department of Communications said in a statement that since Mrs Howard's collection was imported before the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 came into force, there is no legislative basis for the Australian Government to take any action.

Joan Howard's daughter told the ABC her mother had been completely cleared, vehemently denying she had done anything illegal.

It seems like almost every week there are celebratory headlines in Egypt of another batch of antiquities being returned.

Mr Abdel-Gawad says 1600 pieces have been repatriated since 2011, including 1000 just in 2016, thanks to a slew of agreements with other countries. 

The loot discovered in the diplomatic pouch in Naples was repatriated in June and briefly displayed in the Egyptian Museum. Mr Abdel-Gawad told Egypt Today it seemed likely the artifacts were stolen from excavation sites.

But, like most of the pieces being returned, they are small and less likely to draw in big crowds to museums than some of the more high-profile lost treasures. 

"One of my dreams is to repatriate back the head of Nefertiti, as well as the Hemiunu, the engineer of the Great Pyramid, and the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum," Mr Abdel-Gawad says.

But that might not be easy considering that many of the most famous pieces were taken from Egypt legally under the laws of the day and foreign museums have often been unwilling to give back some of their biggest draw cards.

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Reposted from The Telegraph

A former Gulf War tank commander is recruiting experts to form a specialist unit that will protect cultural heritage in war zones, similar to the role carried out by the famed Monuments Men who saved artistic treasures from the Nazis during the Second World War.

Lt Colonel Tim Purbrick, who took part in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 as a 26-year-old subaltern, has just taken up command of the newly-created Cultural Property Protection Unit.

So far he is commander of one soldier – himself – but has identified a number of specialists, including an Arabic-speaking archaeologist and an underwater archaeologist, and will start interviewing potential recruits next week.

The new unit will draw on members of the Army, Navy, RAF and Royal Marines. Civilians who want to join will have to enlist in the Army Reserves.

Once up and running, the 15-strong unit will be sent into war zones where art and archaeological sites are at risk from fighting.

The creation of the unit is a response, in part, to the desecration of ancient sites such as Palmyra and Nimrud in Syria and Iraq by Islamic State.

“It’s a revival of the Monuments Men, which was disbanded at the end of the Second World War,” Lt Col Purbrick, 54, of the Royal Lancers, said.

“We’re looking for experts in the fields of art, archaeology and art crime investigation.”

The British team also draws inspiration from the Art Looting Investigation Unit, set up in 1944 by the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, to try to recover paintings and artifacts plundered by the Germans.

The CPPU will be tasked with protecting art and archaeology, investigating looting, bringing smuggling gangs to justice and informing allied forces about the location of cultural heritage sites.

“The idea will be to identify sites so that we don’t drop bombs on them or park tanks on top of them,” said Lt Col Purbrick, who left the regular army after 10 years to become a reservist.

The unit will be a direct descendant of the Anglo-American outfit made famous by the 2014 film The Monuments Men, starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Hugh Bonneville.

The formation of the successor unit is also a response to Britain’s decision, last year, to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention on protecting cultural property during military conflict.

At the time of the ratification, John Glen, the minister for arts, heritage and tourism, said that the world had “watched with dismay and horror in recent years the wanton destruction of priceless historic artifacts and sites in war.”

The new British unit is seeking advice from similar organisations in other countries, including a specialist cultural heritage protection unit of the Carabinieri, Italy’s paramilitary police force, which is a world leader in recovering art and artifacts.

Experts from the 10th Mountain Division of the US Army, based in Fort Drum, New York State, have also been consulted.

The British team will be based in Hermitage, near Newbury, Berks, at the headquarters of the 77^th Brigade, which draws its name from the Chindits, the British unit that fought the Japanese in Burma.

Lt Col Purbrick was speaking at the British embassy in Rome, where two Etruscan artifacts were officially handed back to Italy after being recovered by the Metropolitan Police.

One was a delicate bronze figurine of a deity while the other was a terracotta drinking vessel in the shape of a winged sphinx, in which liquid poured out of one of the creature’s breasts.

The bronze statue was stolen in 1988 from an archaeological museum in Siena, Tuscany. It was recently offered for sale online by a British dealer but was identified as being stolen and seized by the police. The online auction guide price for the object was £3,000.

The terracotta vessel, worth around £10,000, was also put up for sale at auction but identified by Sotherby’s as having been stolen by Giacomo Medici, a notorious Italian antiquities smuggler who was jailed in 2005 and fined €10 million for dealing in stolen artifacts.

“Ninety per cent of everything he dealt with was looted,” said Det Sgt Rob Upham from the Metropolitan Police’s Arts and Antiques Unit. “Buyers often keep these items for long periods of time and it is only decades later that they emerge on the market.”

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