In January Alice Blondel joins Vesper as Business Area Manager of its Analyses and Assessments and Travel Security Services. She possesses an extensive background in risks-mitigation, trade-related security issues and organisational management. Alice is experienced in providing expertise in a wide variety of sectors and has developed and led numerous successful international investigations and campaigns. Previous assignments have included work for UNHCR, IOM, UNDP, and Resource Extraction Monitoring (REM). She has also held post as Senior Manager of Tactics at Global Witness.

A new edition of Vesper Group’s Travel Safe book will be out on the 15th of December with enhanced layout and pictures. The book is distributed during our Travel Safe Travel Smart courses.

As of 1st December 2011 Vesper Group has become a Signatory Company to the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC). The aim of the ICoC is to develop private security industry principles and standards based on international human rights and humanitarian law. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative including representatives from civil society, governments and signatory companies. Read more about the ICoC at: www.icoc-psp.org

Swedish daily business newspaper “Dagens Industri” each year awards the fastest growing companies in Sweden with the “Gasell award”. Vesper Group this year ranked as the 77th fastest growing company in Stockholm municipality and attended the annual award ceremony on 28th of November at Stockholm Concert Hall.

Vesper has worked hard to establish a presence in the Eastern African region and is very pleased to announce that as of the 11th of November 2011 Vesper Group has acquired the Tanzanian security company Mint Master Technologies Ltd. Mint Master has been operating in Tanzania since 1999 and has an excellent track record. We already have a handful of potential projects for 2012 in the pipeline for Vesper Tanzania.

Vesper Group regrets the loss of lives and the injuries inflicted on innocent victims in connection with the terrorist attacks outside the Indian High Court of Justice in the Indian capital on the 7th September and in Mumbai on the 13th of July. India provides a complex security setting that is being continuously monitored by Vesper Analyses and Assessments Division. In last month's assessment we alerted the reader as to the possibility of renewed terrorist attacks in the country. While we have no indications of further such misdeeds, we still advice vigilance.

In its quest to providing situational and environment awareness, Vesper Group in the Spring of 2011 introduced an Open Sources Intelligence (OSINT) service to existing and potential clients. In doing so, Vesper reinforced its position as provider of timely and relevant information about developments in different spheres and parts of the world. For example, Vesper on a weekly basis provided OSINT to one of our clients based in Iraq and offers to extend this kind of service to customers active in all parts of the world on a daily or weekly basis.