METROJET FLIGHT KGL9268: HIGHLIGHTING THE INSIDER THREAT

摘要

I had the privilege of chairing the session on the 'Insider Threat' at AVSEC World 2015 (the annual global aviation security conference, nowadays co-hosted by the International Air Transport Association, Airports Council International and International Civil Aviation Organisation) held in Dublin. During the Q&A session, one airport delegate questioned whether we were placing excessive focus on the insider threat, and asking why, if we were as vulnerable to attack as so many of us were intimating, the industry had not suffered a significant attack as a result. Well, perhaps, we now have. One month on from the loss of Metrojet flight KGL9268, 23 minutes after its departure from Sharm el-Sheikh bound for St. Petersburg, all the indicators suggest that the explosion that took place was caused by an improvised explosive device. If it is eventually confirmed that it was a bomb, Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsular/Province are the most likely perpetrators of the attack.