Open AccessSoft Targets: Definition and Identification
Author(s) -
Tomáš Zeman
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
academic and applied research in military and public management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2786-0744
pISSN - 2498-5392
DOI - 10.32565/aarms.2020.1.10
Subject(s) - identification (biology) , terrorism , vulnerability (computing) , computer science , european union , computer security , business , political science , international trade , law , botany , biology
Available definitions describe a soft target as a location with high vulnerability, but a low level of protection. However, such general definitions can hardly be used in the process of soft targets identification. The aim of the article is to create a temporary specific definition that could be utilised for this purpose. The suggested definition of a soft target is based on performed statistical analysis of 275 cases of terrorist attacks aimed against soft targets in the European Union from 2000 to 2015. In the definition, a soft target is characterised based on the probability of a terrorist attack occurrence and the expected number of casualties caused by the attack.