FORT KNOX, Ky. — Keeping your head on a swivel is not only important downrange but also vital here at home to protect the community from possible threats and acts of terror.
August serves as Antiterrorism Awareness Month, but with the threats at hand and new threats emerging as often as they do, antiterrorism awareness is critical every day throughout the year, according to Michael Morrison, Garrison Antiterrorism officer.
“I always tell people, ‘When you go to large events, look around,’” said Morrison. “I understand we have a lot of law enforcement out there, but there’s still always one individual out there than can mess it up for everybody.”
With over 30-years of experience working in antiterrorism, Morrison said the two most current threats people should be aware of are active shooters and cyber threats.
Morrison said that Fort Knox has plenty of systems in place to prevent these threats from even getting through the gates, to include random vehicle searches and vetting all visitors.
“We do [things] more stringent,” Morrison said. “This is why we have minimal crime on our installation.”
However, with so much technology around, there are more places than ever for bad actors to reach their intended targets.
Morrison said artificial intelligence has become the next big concern.
“Right now, we’re looking into AI as a possible threat,” he said. “I don’t think people understand that if you go into a virtual world, you put those glasses on, you sit there and you start playing games — that can be hacked.”
Morrison suggests a few things when it comes to protecting cyberspace: make sure devices and computers are always up to date to keep them as strong as possible, and make sure some version of a trusted computer security program actively running on all devices.
Another rule of thumb: Morrison said if he doesn’t recognize a phone number and is not expecting an unknown number to call, he ignores the call. If the caller is someone he knows or something important, it is safe to assume they will leave a message.
In hopes to educate the community on protection from these emerging threats during Antiterrorism Awareness Month, Morrison said he will be setting up information tables at a couple of locations throughout the month of August. He will be handing out iWATCH brochures and other antiterrorism awareness information from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 7 and 21 at the Exchange, and Aug. 8 and 28 at the commissary.
Visit Fort Knox News at www.army.mil/knox for all of Central Kentucky's latest military news and information.
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Editor’s Note: For more information on the Army Antiterrorism Program, visit the Stand-To website at https://www.army.mil/standto/archive/2018/08/01/.
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