Interview: Donna Hopkins, U.S. State Department Coordinator on Counter Piracy and Maritime Security
Piracy Daily  |  26 June 2013
> In their nearly hour-long discussion, Coordinator Hopkins talked about recent developments in disrupting Somali pirates' business model, and how some of those lessons might be brought to bear in West Africa. She underscored that the three most important characteristics of Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) are "the quality of standards and training; clear guidance on the rules for the use of force, and accountability to the clients, to their employers."

DU professor says private companies supply government with secret information
9News Denver  |  25 June 2013
> A local international security expert says that while the government may be amalgamating information - it's the private sector that collects most of it. "The fact that all this information is collected by the private sector about us is not something that people are talking about and that's something that's really concerning to me," Deborah Avant, Director of the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy.

Battle for control of security industry
BDLive  |  25 June 2013
> THE private security industry is at a watershed. In the midst of unprecedented parliamentary and regulatory upheaval, the sprawling array of more than 1-million security guards, less than half of them registered, await the outcomes of battles being fought in Parliament and the courts over how the sector is to be controlled.

Unleashing dogs of war in Iraq has changed rules of engagement
BDLive  |  25 June 2013
> NON-military security support is growing worldwide and the privatisation of war is becoming a popular theme after the Iraq conflict

Russia and "Elastic Power": Will the Burgeoning Private Security Industry Lead to Private Military Companies, Too?
ISN Blog  |  25 June 2013
> I've just written a short piece for Blouin News on the news that already-relaxed restrictions on the security forces of gas giant Gazprom and oil pipeline corporation Transneft are to be lifted, allowing them increased access to lethal weapons and rules of engagement for their use.

NSCDC closes 25 illegal private security companies in Lagos
The Premium Times  |  21 June 2013
> The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Lagos State has closed down 25 private security companies in the last three weeks.

German-flag ships closer to getting armed security
MarineLog  |  21 June 2013
> The German Shipowners' Association (VDR) says that, starting immediately, private security firms operating in Germany and abroad can apply for approval with the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) to be commissioned on board merchant ships flying the German flag under a new Maritime Ship Surveillance Regulation that entered into force today.

South Africans Urged to Make Inputs Into the Green Paper On Policing
All Africa  |  21 June 2013
> South Africans are urged to contribute and share their views and suggestions around the policy formulation process on the kind of policing they aspire and expect in future.

Malta introduces licensing for anti-piracy guards
The Times of Malta  |  20 June 2013
> Malta has introduced licensing for the armed guards used on ships to ward off piracy, with maritime lawyer Ann Fenech saying other countries should follow suit so the industry can grow in quality and professionalism, as well as size.

Prying Private Eyes
The New York Times  |  19 June 2013
> Whatever one thinks about Edward Snowden and his revelations about government snooping, the case has been a useful reminder of the extent to which the government has outsourced intelligence work to the private sector and the risks in doing so.

Russian Oil Giants Set To Spearhead Sharp Rise In Private Paramilitary Armies
Business Insider Australia  |  18 June 2013
> Already-relaxed restrictions on the security forces of gas giant Gazprom and oil pipeline corporation Transneft are to be lifted, allowing them increased access to lethal weapons and rules of engagement for their use.

Dyncorp Accused of Being a Deadbeat
POGO  |  18 June 2013
> Large federal contractor DynCorp International was recently hit with a breach of contract lawsuit, filed by a Turkish construction firm that worked for DynCorp in Afghanistan

When Will the Contractors Contract
POGO  |  13 June 2013
> Neoliberal economics has been an ideological mantra of Republicans and Democrats alike since President Jimmy Carter began the wave of privatization...mercenaries in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the contracting-out of intelligence analysis

We might have to bar contractors from top secrets, says leading senator
Foreign Policy  |  13 June 2013
> Senate intelligence committee chair Dianne Feinstein today told reporters she is considering drafting legislation that would limit the Intelligence Community's virtual army of private contractors' access to "highly classified technical data."

German Legislation Regarding PMSCs: The Accreditation Process Is Not Yet Clear
Maritime Executive  |  12 June 2013
> Germany has become the latest Flag State to implement a new PMSC licensing structure for ships flying its flag. In April 2013 the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology presented the Regulation on licensing of security companies on sea

Syrian group urges foreign fighters to leave
Al Jazeera English  |  10 June 2013
> A Syrian opposition group has urged all foreign fighters involved in the country's conflict to leave, regardless of whether they are pro- or anti-government. The move came as rebels claimed Lebanese Hezbollah fighters have arrived in Aleppo to fight alongside forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Our Privatized National Security State
National Journal  |  10 June 2013
> The government's massive data collection and surveillance system was largely built not by professional spies or Washington bureaucrats but by Silicon Valley and private defense contractors.

Colombia worries as troops join Arab mercenary force
UPI  |  07 June 2013
> Colombia's defense ministry is alarmed about an exodus of top soldiers to the United Arab Emirates to join a highly paid U.S.-led mercenary force organized by Erik Prince, billionaire founder of the security firm Blackwater.

Uncertain future for soldiers of fortune in volatile East Africa
Mail & Guardian  |  07 June 2013
> A contingent of mercenaries has managed to carve out a niche for itself in the failed state of Somalia. Initially brought in on an internationally controversial mission to combat pirates terrorising Somalia's coastal waters, the mostly South African corps has now turned to fighting Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked terrorist menace, al-Shabab.

Pragmatic Action Is the Key to Governing Private Security Services
Foreign Policy Journal  |  06 June 2013
> In February of this year, stakeholders reached agreement on the charter for a governing body for the International Code of Conduct for private security providers (ICoC) and are now working toward launching the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) in September. The creation of this body promises to institutionalize an overlapping set of initiatives that, together, represent a significant step toward the effective governance of the global private military and security industry.

The Regulation of Private Military and Security Companies
NZZ (German)  |  04 June 2013
> Im Februar erzielten eine Reihe von Staaten, zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen und privaten Sicherheitsfirmen ein Abkommen, dem Internationalen Verhaltenskodex für private Sicherheitsunternehmen ein Aufsichtsgremium zur Seite zu stellen.

Vietnam private security firms flout laws to escort 'VIPs'
Than Hien News  |  03 June 2013
> Guards from Titan Security Company raised hell while escorting an Australian motivational speaker's vehicle through Ho Chi Minh City two weeks ago. They did it mostly because they could.