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In recent years, Australian regulators have focussed on the financial crime compliance obligations of banks and other reporting entities, and there is a clear expectation that banks develop effective approaches to the management of non-financial risk. Red teaming is a methodology used in the intelligence and military domains to understand external threats. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of red teaming methods, set out a framework for using them in financial crime compliance and provide practical examples of red teaming exercises, which banks can use to manage financial crime risks.

This paper provides an overview of the financial crime compliance landscape in Australia. It outlines some of the key concepts and techniques used in red teaming, drawing in particular on the framework developed by strategic policy expert Micah Zenko. It explores the benefits of red teaming for financial crime compliance practice, concluding with three example exercises for financial crime teams.

Based on this research, red teaming methods can assist banks in taking a proactive approach to identify and mitigating financial crime risks. Rather than confining red teaming to cybersecurity applications, banks should consider they can use red teaming methods in their financial crime compliance functions.

This paper represents the first assessment of how to apply red teaming methods to risk management in financial crime compliance. It combines a historical and theoretical overview of red teaming methods with example red teaming exercises for money laundering, sanctions and strategic policy scenarios.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a broadened and integrated red team strategy with concrete steps to help companies better deal with the disruptive forces prevalent in the world today and turn disruptions into growth.

This paper synthesizes and builds on previous research and relevant business cases accumulated through our research and executive teaching experience. The authors offer a broadened and integrated red team strategy with practical guidance for business executives

The authors provide four key steps to help companies implement the red team strategy: create a red team culture and encourage diverse perspectives; establish an independent red team to overcome organizational inertia; use the red team to embrace disruption and growth opportunities; and take a milestone approach to red team execution and resource allocation.

More research on red team strategy is needed to delve into the underlying factors and delineate the boundary conditions for specific details in this strategy and implementation.

The red team strategy provides concrete steps to help companies in their efforts to adapt to and capitalize on disruptive forces.

The red team strategy extends the concept and application of red teams and integrates previously fragmented ideas and practices into a systematic model with simple steps, which make it easier for companies to cope with disruption.

Intra and inter-organisational learning holds important consequences for official agencies’ capabilities to reduce harm, particularly in the field of safeguarding children. A range of formal learning mechanisms exist but as these can be limited there is a case for expanding the learning opportunities relied upon. The concepts of “red teaming” and “alternative analysis” though relatively well established in other sectors are under-developed, under-used and under-promoted within policing. They offer flexible conceptual and practical resources that aim to challenge established models, thinking and practices. Policing organisations would benefit from institutionalising alternative forms of analysis though this would involve an attitudinal commitment and shift. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

Documentary analysis and reflection.

Consideration of the red team approach by police and partners offers an alternative approach to effective organisational learning to prevent repeating similar mistakes uncovered by Serious Case Reviews.

This paper will allow practitioners to reflect upon current serious reviews of cases and offers an alternative and effective way of improving partner agencies capabilities to reduce harm.

The emergence of “black swans” represents (according to Taleb) “[…] our misunderstanding of the likelihood of surprises”. The purpose of this paper is to study accidents and disasters and the inherent misunderstanding and absence of awareness associated with the existence of black swans and their complex aetiology. Red teaming and scenario planning provide a methodology to explore the uncertainties and challenge of the mental models associated with accident and disaster aetiology.

The argument draws upon the successful application of red teaming and scenario planning in various domains noted in the literature and lessons learned from the failure to recognize black swans. An analysis of the literature illustrates how the salient characteristics of red teaming and scenario planning can be applied to the illumination of black swans to support risk, crisis and disaster management.

Recognizing the uncertainty resident within the safety and security problem space opens up the notion that more than one future is potentially open. It is argued that the inherent properties of red teaming, within the context of scenario planning, facilitates an effective approach to bring risk, crisis and disaster planners/managers together to discuss their concerns and explore the factors creating uncertainty and the emergence of black swans.

The value of red teaming (scenario planning) to challenge linear thinking and recognize the inherent uncertainty in the space of possibilities is well supported. Applied to the risk, crisis and disaster management domain, red teaming and scenario planning can provide insights into the emergence of black swans and thereby shape mitigation strategies.

Having developed a more nuanced understanding of how entrepreneurship pervades everyday policing systems, practices, and processes and how it imbues ‘Organised Crime’ and ‘Organised Criminals’ with a competitive advantage it is incumbent upon us to consider new methods of implementing entrepreneurial policing. A strength of longstanding systems of policing is that they work because they systematically perpetuate consistent and proven ways of working which achieve measurable results. Such systems operationalise the conventional and maintain the ‘status quo’. Conversely, innovations do not implement themselves and new ways of ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ require to be designed, trialled, and put in place. People innovate and initiate change and it is necessary when seeking to initiate changes such as ‘entrepreneurial policing’ to assess the entrepreneurial propensities and capacities of staff within an organisation because this is the starting place for both change and entrepreneurial action. As a consequence, various possibilities including utilising academic research methodologies as analytic tools are examined.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a gaming approach to making key theoretical ideas accessible, understandable and useful for security practitioners confronting “terrorism” in the real world.

The tool is instrumental “red-team” matrix gaming: a structured way to first build and then wargame instrumental “terrorist” attack plans. The working assumption is that “terrorist” violence is designed with purpose, and that it reflects Fromkin’s understanding that terrorism is a form of jujitsu to manipulate more powerful opponents into politically and ideologically self-destructive behaviours. By designing and gaming attack plans with political objectives as the focus, practitioners quickly gain a deeper understanding of the processes of violent influence and the role of responders and decision makers. The paper is structured to, first, provide a theoretical explanation of contemporary conflict, focussing on the public support and how violence can be differently designed to political ends. On this foundation, the methods for learning are explained. A “playing-card” technique for setting students objectives in terms of psychological levers, vulnerabilities, political purposes and influence targets is described and options for participants generating scenarios outlined. Then the matrix-gaming approach, where play progresses according to the result of a dice roll applied to a probability based on the merit of participants’ competing arguments is explained with an example.

The described method of creating and wargaming terrorist attack plans offers a new and engaging method of exploring and understanding the processes of terrorism while preparing practitioners by potentially developing both their decision making and resilience.

The method described has potential value for teaching about terrorism by generally improving student engagement, preparing practitioners to respond to terrorism and wider application (of matrix gaming) to other topics.

This is a novel application of matrix gaming in a simplified format suited for classrooms.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential of cyber-testing techniques in assessing the effectiveness of cyber-security controls and obtaining audit evidence.

The paper starts with an identification of the applicable cyber-testing techniques and evaluates their applicability to generally accepted assurance schemes and cyber-security guidelines.

Cyber-testing techniques are providing insight in the effectiveness of the actual implementation of cyber-security controls, which may significantly deviate from the conceptual designs of these controls. Furthermore, cyber-testing techniques could provide concise input for cyber-risk management and improvement recommendations.

The presented cyber-testing techniques could complement traditional process-oriented assurance techniques with specialized technical analyses of real-world implementations that focus on the adversaries’ viewpoint.

A decade after Powell et al.’s (2011) seminal article on behavioral strategy, which called for models to solve real-world problems, the authors revisit the field to ask whether behavioral strategy is coming of age. The purpose of this paper is to explain how behavioral strategy can and has been used in real-world settings.

This study presents a conceptual review with case study examples of the impact of behavioral strategy on real-world problems.

This study illustrates several examples where behavioral strategy debiasing has been effective. Although no causal claims can be made, with the stark contrast between the negative impact of biased strategies and the positive results emerging from debiasing techniques, this study argues that there is evidence of the benefits of a behavioral strategy mindset, and that this should be the mindset of a responsible strategic leader.

This study presents a demonstration of analytical, debate and organizational debiasing techniques and how they are being used in real-world settings, specifically military intelligence, Mergers and acquisitions deal-making, resource allocation and capital projects.

Behavioral strategy has broad application in private and public sectors. It has proven practical value in various settings, for example, the application of reference class forecasting in large infrastructure projects.

A conceptual review of behavioral strategy in the wild.

The purpose of this paper is to examine appreciative inquiry (AI) as an organizational development approach that aligns with Arab cultural factors to address the issue of employee morale in an Arab‐led organization.

A brief literature review establishes AI's foundational theories and links with Arab cultural factors. An overview of the AI 4D model is then followed by critiques of the AI approach. The paper presents an application of AI to address the issue of low employee morale in a large oil refinery.

A literature review of AI and Arab cultural factors and initial findings of an AI application in a Middle Eastern Arab‐led organization indicates an increase in employee satisfaction and initially confirms a complementary link of the AI approach to Arab cultural factors.

Critiques of AI center on appropriateness, repression of negative images, and unexpressed resentment. Despite critiques, a lack of dialogic discourse, and support from scientific research for this relatively new approach, AI presents a promising alternative to traditional problem solving and its inherent, often negative effects.

The sharing of stories as part of the AI approach served to bond employees to each other and served to instill a shared sense of ownership for the past and future success of the organization. The use of AI builds on the cultural attributes of Arab culture including high collectivism, strong family and relationship orientation, high context and narrative communication, low risk tolerance, prevalence of positive intentions, and homogeneity of the Islamic society.

This paper provides insight and support for using AI as an organizational development approach that complements existing Arab cultural factors for practicality and benefit.