Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack

Winner of ASIS International’s 2015 Security Book of the Year Award

Terrorist attacks occur daily and are increasingly being aimed at civilian populations around the world. Battlefield lines have been redrawn to include churches, schools, hospitals, and malls. This breach of moral boundary is shocking and invokes fear—two primary goals of terrorism.

Although there is an increase in soft target activity—or attacks on places of worship, study, and leisure—there is hesitation to explore such susceptibility in the United States. Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack starts the national dialogue by providing case studies, best practices, and methodologies for identifying soft target vulnerabilities and reducing risk in the US. Offering deterrence and mitigation techniques from more than 275 sources, this comprehensive book:

• Explores US cultural nuances contributing to the country turning a psychological blind eye toward soft target threats


• Assesses the attractiveness of soft target threats presented by foreign and domestic terror groups and drug trafficking organizations


• Analyzes the unique vulnerabilities of churches, schools, hospitals, malls, sporting and recreational events, and other soft targets


• Gives an overview of soft target hardening tactics from global hotspots, including first-person accounts and photographs


• Introduces the concept of effects-based hardening, derived from the military model of effects-based operations


• Discusses emerging soft target challenges such as insider threats, kidnapping, and use of human shields


• Evaluates the likelihood of the use of weapons of mass destruction against civilian-centric venues

Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack is a must-read for those who secure, own, and operate soft target facilities, and for citizens who want to protect themselves and their families from attack.