Preparing for Extremism in the Workplace

Extremism is nothing new for seasoned security leaders, but with the violence by both left- and right-wing extremists this past year, it’s on everyone’s radar now more than ever. “As a career FBI agent with exposure to jurisdictions across the country, I can say with some degree of credibility that (extremism) has gotten worse in recent years,” says Adam S. Lee, Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Dominion Energy Services in Richmond, Va.

The United States and other countries have a history of political unrest and extremist acts, but Lee says the difference now is that society is more divided than he’s ever seen it. “Perhaps most concerning to me, our leaders—federal, state and local—too often excuse or even encourage lawlessness in pursuit of political ends,” he says. “After a quarter-century working these issues, that, in my assessment, is a new and dangerous dynamic.”

“I think (extremism) is going to be a bigger focus for security departments,” says Matt Hollandsworth, Director of Corporate Security, Facilities, and Safety at AMERICAN SYSTEMS in Chantilly, Va. “How do we prevent it? How do we detect it? And how do we train our staff appropriately to respond? I think, from that perspective, it’s going to affect us more.”

Extremism and Private Sector Organizations

Whether it’s a company’s people, property or shareholder value, extremist groups from either side of the spectrum can be a threat, says Tim Gallagher, Managing Director of Business Intelligence and Investigations at Kroll in New York City. “It doesn’t make a difference as to what the ideology is of the extremist group, if you’re running a company, you could be targeted,” he says.

Extremism has the potential to impact private sector organizations in multiple ways. For one, company employees could become involved. Companies like AMERICAN SYSTEMS who have government and private contracts may have staff members inadvertently caught up in extremist acts at government or other notable buildings, Hollandsworth explains.

If employees engage in extremist activities, this can reflect unfavorably on the company brand, says Greg Wurm, Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Anthem, Inc., Indianapolis.

Even worse, staff members could be associated with a foreign terrorist organization or be a member of a hate or anarchist group looking to carry out their goals through illegal means, Lee says. At least in these situations, Lee notes, company policies usually give security and human resource departments the ability to take action.

The more difficult circumstance, Lee believes, is employees who are expressing extreme views at work, looking at extremist material on company devices, and perhaps even exhibiting concerning behaviors, but are not members of an extremist group and haven’t made a declaration of extremist beliefs. In these cases, security leaders have the complicated task of figuring out how to manage and/or monitor these individuals more closely before any potential damage to the enterprise occurs.

Enterprises can also become the target of extremist acts due to factors such as their business model or their political affiliations, says Casey Johnston, Director of Global Security, Risk, and Intelligence at Anthem, Inc., Indianapolis. “Whether it’s environmental extremists upset at a company due to its impact on the environment or religious extremists targeting a company based on its support of a foreign government, those threats could be external or internal,” Johnston says.

Outside Threats

Experts say that a large part of mitigating risk from extremism involves trolling social media for external threats. Because Dominion Energy powers intelligence community elements and Department of Defense facilities, its close connection to the government makes it a target. “Many extremist groups that are adversarial to the business operations of the energy sector are active and often threatening on social media platforms,” Lee says.

The summer of 2020 saw riots that affected downtown Richmond, including destruction of Dominion Energy property. Since then, the company has acquired new technology solutions to protect its people and assets from any type of outside threats, including extremism. The organization also recently completed active threat/workplace violence training with their staff to prepare them for potential threats.

Johnston says that most of Anthem’s security programs monitor and handle both internal and external threats. “Externally, we look at industry activism and the activity of those activist groups, as well as any decisions made by our company that could potentially increase negative sentiment or animosity toward us and put us into the cross hairs of one of these activist groups,” he says.

Boosting Extremism Planning

Many companies already have good programs in place when it comes to planning for extremism, Hollandsworth says. He advises looking at your existing programs through the lens of an extremist. “Maybe there are some additional things that you can do or some adjustments you can make,” he says.

Having a formal threat assessment team and program is useful, Wurm says. “They can weed through the true threats versus the white noise out there amongst all the disinformation campaigns,” he says. Wurm also believes that having a good working relationship with different departments within the company, such as HR and legal, are beneficial. These holistic relationships enable feedback that can help enhance your own program, he says.

Johnston says relationships with corporate communications and those in charge of the enterprise’s social media are important too, “since they’re the ones that are out there every day, looking at what’s being said about the company. They really are a force multiplier to assist with intelligence gathering.”

Perhaps most importantly when it comes to radicalism and extremism in terms of threats, is to have a strong handle on your organization’s risk profile. “There are so many different risks and threats out there, it’d be difficult to allocate the same level of resources across the board, so really understanding what your risk profile is helps to focus your efforts on those areas that present the greatest risk to the company,” Johnston advises.

In addition, Gallagher recommends developing a robust reporting program within the organization. “Have a system in place and encourage people to use it,” he says. Make sure employees know they can report anonymously. “People don’t want to come forward because they don’t want to risk someone’s reputation if they’re wrong,” he says.