ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - October 9, 2024

ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - October 9, 2024

ZeroFox physical security experts collect, curate, and analyze information derived from open and proprietary sources for comprehensive context of the circumstances surrounding global events. Here is today’s daily roundup of major developments.

Brief Highlights

• Hurricane Milton Approaches Florida with Sustained Wind Speeds of 160 mph
• UK Intelligence Warns of Growing Sabotage, Assassination, and Terror Threats From Iran, Russia, and Islamic State
• Vietnam Upgrades Ties with France to Highest Level

Hurricane Milton Approaches Florida with Sustained Wind Speeds of 160 mph

The life-threatening risk of storm surges, flash flooding, torrential rain, and destructive winds has led to one of the largest ever evacuation efforts in Florida. Disaster-response teams are removing tons of storm debris left behind by Hurricane Helene, which could otherwise cause tremendous damage on being made airborne by the fast-approaching Hurricane Milton. Over 30 Waffle Houses in the path of the hurricane are closed; this is significant considering the “Waffle House Index”—which is an informal metric historically used by local disaster-response teams to determine localized impact of a disaster and allocate supplies and help accordingly.

UK Intelligence Warns of Growing Sabotage, Assassination, and Terror Threats From Iran, Russia, and Islamic State

On October 8, 2024, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said the United Kingdom is facing a growing threat from criminal and terror groups linked to Russia, Iran, and the Islamic State (IS). Russia has been accused of staging acts of sabotage across Europe, particularly targeting supporters of Ukraine or Russian opponents. This includes violent attacks on politicians, harassment, sabotage of critical infrastructure, and assassination attempts on dissidents. Iran is reportedly adopting similar tactics against Israeli and Jewish people across Europe, mainly by hiring assassins or kidnappers. McCallum also said the United Kingdom has disrupted thousands of IS plots since 2017. While some of those may have been orchestrated attacks, most are likely lone actors inspired by IS propaganda or events in the Israel-Hamas war to carry out small-scale attacks like knife attacks on public gatherings or vehicular assaults.

Vietnam Upgrades Ties with France to Highest Level

Vietnam and France have officially upgraded their ties to the highest level—a “comprehensive strategic partnership." Under the ungraded relationships, Vietnam and France will increase security and defense cooperation and strengthen cooperation in new areas such as aerospace, artificial intelligence (AI), and airport transport infrastructure. The move underscored Vietnam’s increasingly important role in global supply chains as an alternative to Chinese manufacturing. The strategic partnership also came as Vietnam reported its strongest economic growth in two years with GDP growth of 7.4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter.