Published on: September 26, 2024
SafetyDetectives recently interviewed Aaron Richman, CEO of TAM-C, a leading global geopolitical consultancy and protective intelligence firm. TAM-C provides highly customized security solutions to corporations and government institutions, combining advanced intelligence collection, enhanced background checks, and threat monitoring. With headquarters in both the US and Israel, TAM-C has expanded from a boutique firm to a major player in the industry, boasting over 100 subject matter experts and operating one of the world’s largest insider threat programs.
In the interview, Richman highlighted TAM-C’s unique approach to integrating physical security and cybersecurity, along with their AI-powered tools like Argo™. This technology helps the firm cut through information overload, transforming vast amounts of data into actionable intelligence. TAM-C remains committed to evolving its strategies to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensure clients are fully protected in an ever-changing security landscape.
Can you introduce TAM-C and what are its core services?
TAM-C is one of the world’s leading geopolitical consultancy and protective intelligence firms, specializing in servicing corporations and government institutions. We began as a boutique intelligence firm with one office and only a handful of clients, but we have successfully expanded our global footprint to two continental headquarters in the US and Israel, along with offices in multiple countries. In line with our philosophy of working with the most talented professionals in our industry worldwide, TAM-C employs over one hundred subject matter expert (SME) analysts, researchers, and field operations personnel. Among the proudest achievements of our leadership team, in my view, has been the recruitment of talented professionals from the world’s leading corporations.
We provide security and intelligence solutions that are one hundred percent customizable, with a dynamic priority intelligence requirements (PIR) structure. In other words, TAM-C’s intelligence collection and analysis model is built on analytical products that adapt to the dynamically changing needs of our clients and the evolving global security landscape.
That’s probably where most of our competitors stop, but not us. TAM-C also runs what is possibly the world’s largest insider threat program, with the number of persons of interest (POI) monitored by our teams exceeding one hundred thousand. Through the enhanced background checks we conduct for our clients, we look beyond standard criminal records and help corporations understand the overall risk factors of individuals. This not only sets us apart from the rest of the industry, but also makes us the largest private intelligence firm in our field.
What are the key challenges you face when gathering real-time intelligence in a world that’s constantly changing?
Intelligence is an old term in a brand-new threat environment. The biggest challenge corporations face today is the categorization of information in a world filled with what we call ‘information pollution.’ The only way to properly tackle this challenge is through analysis. We believe information can only become intelligence after it is analyzed by professionals, and intelligence is only meaningful when it suits the dynamic needs of its audience.
With the rise of state-sponsored cyberattacks, how is TAM-C adjusting its strategies to support clients in these situations?
We need to be one step ahead of the adversary on all fronts to be prepared. This includes cyber risks as much as physical threats. TAM-C monitors cyber threat actors and risk phenomena around the clock to stay ahead of these actors, safeguarding itself and its multinational clientele.
Physical and cybersecurity are becoming more intertwined. How does TAM-C integrate these aspects to provide comprehensive security solutions?
This is a significant question touching upon a matter that’s often neglected by many: physical security cannot be guaranteed without properly addressing the cybersecurity element. That’s the main reason, for instance, that all physical security assessments TAM-C conducts in various parts of the world and for a diverse range of industries always include cybersecurity evaluations. TAM-C’s physical security, cybersecurity, and intelligence analyst teams work as one group in all intelligence programs we run, and no decision is made without the approval of all teams. The intelligence reports our clients receive always include a section addressing physical security risks stemming from activities traditionally associated with cybersecurity.
What do you think are the biggest cybersecurity challenges corporations will face in the next five years, and how is TAM-C preparing to tackle them?
Many new cybersecurity challenges will emerge in the next several years, especially with the advancement of artificial intelligence models. We do not know of these threats yet, and some of them will only become clear when the relationship between AI and corporations becomes unbreakably intertwined. However, there will always be human actors behind these future cyber threats—at least in the foreseeable future—and effective security measures will require the proper tracking of these human actors. TAM-C is one of the world’s leading intelligence vendors, with a particular focus on monitoring human threat actors. Our expertise will be even more in demand when these future challenges materialize, and we will be there to support our clients.
How does TAM-C’s AI-infused technology, such as Argo™, improve the accuracy and timeliness of threat detection compared to traditional methods?
Our patented AI-infused tools within ARGO enhance our human analysts’ capabilities by scales that would not have been possible without the technological advancements of the past five years. At TAM-C, we focus on accurately collecting targeted intelligence from a world overwhelmed with nonstop information from countless sources in all languages. The AI-infused tools within ARGO have been proven effective in researching and collecting the right intelligence from the right sources by following the same collection and verification methodologies as our subject matter experts. In other words, AI does not replace our intelligence collection model; it enhances our capabilities beyond human levels, while we remain an intelligence provider whose programs are run solely by subject matter experts and tailored to the specific needs of our clients. We can now process an expanded amount of data, as our AI platform is fully integrated, while keeping our human-centered protective intelligence portfolio intact. This was a significant challenge to design, plan, and execute, and I am proud to say that we have succeeded.