My WAIS is a unique intelligence dashboard that allows users to create custom intelligence feeds by setting up a custom search and then saving the search parameters under a unique name.

The most relevant results will then be continuously updated on your "My WAIS" page. You can access your custom intelligence feeds by clicking on the "My WAIS" navigation button at the top of the screen.

To create a My WAIS feed, click on the My WAIS tab on the navigation bar at the top of the screen. When the My WAIS page loads, enter a name for your new My WAIS feed, then click submit. Next, click on the "edit" link next to the empty intelligence feed. You can then then select from the list of topics and locations that you would like to search. Click on the "+" button to see more topic and location choices. You can enter specific keywords in order to narrow your results. For example, by entering "Al-Qaida" or "Russian Mafia" you would limit your results to WAIS intelligence containing those words.

To edit an existing My WAIS feed, click on the My WAIS tab at the top of the screen, then click on the "Edit" link next to the title of the feed that you would like to modify.

You can then modify the keywords or location / topic selections for that feed, or delete the feed entirely.

If you are not receiving emails from WAIS, please check with your IT Security department to ensure that the "kroll.com" domain is on your company's email "Safe List," sometimes called a White List or a trusted domain list. Our reports contain many keywords, such as "terrorism" and "bomb," that may cause an email to be blocked by commercial anti-SPAM and IT security software. Also, check your email program's junk mail settings, and add @kroll.com to your "safe-sender" list.

If you continue to experience difficulties, please contact us at 703-860-0190.

To add members to a corporate account, login to WAIS and click on the "My Account" link in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Next, click on the "Corporate Account" link on the left-hand side of the screen, then enter the e-mail address for each member you would like to add into the "Add New Members" box, and then click "Invite".

An invitation e-mail with a registration link will be sent to each of the entered addresses. Once the user has completed their registration for WAIS, they will show up in the Corporate Account Members section of the Corporate Account page.

To remove account members from a corporate account, login to WAIS and click on the "My Account" link in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Next, click on the "Corporate Account" link under "Account Management," then click on "Delete" link next to the account member you would like to remove. Click "OK" when the system prompts you to confirm your request.

Please note that while deleted account members will no longer be able to access the WAIS website, their information will be saved for future reference. If you would like to restore a deleted corporate account member, login to WAIS and click on the "My Account" link in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Next, click on the "Corporate Account" link under "Account Management," scroll down to "Deleted Account Members," then click on "Restore" link next to the deleted account member you would like to remove. Deleted corporate account members can only be restored if there are enough open member spots on your account. To add more member spots to your account, please contact us, or call 703-860-0190.

To modify an account member's information, login to WAIS and click on the "My Account" link in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Next, click on the "Corporate Account" link under "Account Management," then click on the name of the account member you would like to modify. To modify the company information for your individual account, please see "Modify Contact Information" below.

To change your e-mail address, username, password, and other information, login to WAIS and click on the "My Account" link in the top left-hand corner of the screen. You can modify any of the information under "Contact Information." If you have forgotten your username / password, click here and enter the e-mail address that is linked to your account. We will send you an e-mail with a secure link to your account information, where you can change your username and password.

To modify your email preferences, login to WAIS and click on the "My Account" link in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Next, select which WAIS reports and publications you would like to receive from the available list.

To search the WAIS Intelligence Database, click on the "Advanced Search" link in the top-left hand corner of the screen.

Entering Keyword: You can enter specific keywords in order to narrow your results; however, you don't need to enter keywords for the Advanced Search feature to work. For example, by entering "Russian Mafia" you would limit your results to WAIS intelligence containing those words.

Selecting Topics: You can limit your search to certain topics by clicking on the "+" symbol next to "Topics", and clicking on the available options. Please note that there are a number of sub-topics under the main categories that you can access by clicking on the "+" symbols next to the topic category. If you don't select any topics, the system will search intelligence from every topic category.

If you select more than one topic, the system will search for intelligence that matches either category, so a search for "Political Risk" and "Organized Crime" will return results from either category. To remove a topic from your search, just click on the topic name again.

Selecting Locations: You can limit your search to certain locations by clicking on the "+" symbol next to "Locations". You can select an entire region, such as the Middle East, or click on the "+" next to each region to select from a list of countries within that region.

If you select more than one country or region, the system will search for intelligence that matches either country or region, so a search for "Spain" and "Middle East and N. Africa" will return results from either location.

Entering Date Range: For your convenience, you can select a specific date range to search. You can choose from five pre-defined date ranges (in the last day, in the last week, in the last two weeks, in the last month, and all dates), or use the date picker to select an exact date range.

Sort Options: You can choose to sort your results by the most recent first or by the oldest first.

Edit Search Option: Once you have run a search, you can modify your search criteria by clicking on the "+" button next to ""Search Options" at the top of the screen. When you are satisfied with your changes, click on the "Search" button. Please note that you will lose any search results that you have previously selected.

Print / Share / Save Search Results: To print, share, or save search results, click on the checkbox next to the results that you would like to keep, then click on the Print, Share, or Save button.

To zoom in on the map, click on any country (the map cursor will change to a magnifying glass whenever you can zoom). You can also select an area to zoom in on by clicking and dragging the mouse over that area, then releasing the mouse.

To go to a country page from the map, click on the country that you would like to see, then click on the document image for that country.

To zoom out, point the cursor to any ocean area on the map (colored blue) and click. The cursor will change to a "-" magnifying glass. Alternatively, right click anywhere over the map and then select "Zoom Out!"

To scroll around the map when zoomed in, move your cursor to either of the four edges or four corners of the map. The cursor will change into an arrow. Click and hold the mouse to scroll in that direction.

The Risk Maps require the Macromedia Flash plugin to function. If the map is not working in your browser, you can try to install the latest version of Flash.

To quickly jump to a city or country page, click on the "Select Country" or "Select City" drop down menu in the location navigator. The location navigator appears on most pages within the website, but can always be accessed from the Home Page.

Country and City Risk Ratings are based on the analysis of eight categories of risk in a given location. These risks are:

Civil Unrest: The risk of civil disturbances, strikes, protests, and riots

Crime: The risk of crime as a result of organized criminal networks, corruption, kidnapping and extortion, violent crime, and non-violent crime

Emergency Services: The effectiveness of police, medical, and fire services in responding to and preventing security incidents, medical emergencies, and fires

Environment: This risk of natural disasters and disease

Infrastructure: The risks posed by the current and near-term state of transportation, utility, and telecommunications infrastructure

Political Risk: The overall level of political stability, the risk of political-related violence, and the risk of government actions adverse to foreign investments

Terrorism & Insurgency: The risk of attacks by insurgent groups and terrorist organizations

War & International Conflict: The risk of international conflict with another country

In calculating a category's risk score, each risk factor is weighted according to its relative effect on business operations and personal security. Thus, non-violent crime is perceived as less important that kidnapping and extortion in calculating the risk score for crime in a given location. Likewise, the risk of terrorism and insurgency is treated as somewhat more important than the risk of crime.

Risk scores are divided into five major groups, which are a reflection of the relative level of effort, safeguards, and security measures that a business or traveler would need to implement in order to operate or travel safely in a given location during the course of normal operations, which we define as doing business and conducting routine travel in a given location over the course of a year:

0-1.49: Low Risk: Businesses and individuals face a low likelihood of encountering risks that may affect their operations. Even a low level of effort, safeguards, and security measures is likely to prevent a business or traveler from being adversely affected by the few risks that they may encounter.

1.5-2.49: Moderate Risk: A high level of effort, safeguards, and security measures is likely to prevent a business or traveler from being adversely affected by the risks that they may encounter. Businesses and individuals may be exposed to a number of risks during the course of normal operations.

2.5-3.49: Medium Risk: Businesses and individuals are likely to encounter several risks during the course of normal operations. A high level of effort, safeguards, and security measures is likely to prevent a business or individual from being adversely affected by these risks.

3.5-4.49: High Risk: The highest level of effort, safeguards, and security measures may prevent a business or individual from being adversely affected by some of the risks that they will encounter. There is a very high likelihood that businesses or individuals will encounter most risks during the course of normal operations.

4.5-5.0: Severe Risk: Severe Risk: Businesses and individuals are very likely to encounter most risks, and even the highest level of effort, safeguards, and security measures is unlikely to prevent a business or individual from being adversely affected by some of these risks during the course of normal operations.

Each category and sub-category or risk is evaluated according to these criteria. Thus, in looking at the risk of kidnapping and extortion as part of the calculation for Crime Risk, a "High Risk" location would be one where the highest level of effort may prevent a business from being adversely affected by kidnapping and extortion, but there is a very high likelihood that businesses or individuals will encounter this risk during the course of normal operations. In comparison, a "Severe Risk" location would be one where the highest level of effort is unlikely to prevent businesses or individuals from being adversely affected by kidnapping and extortion, and businesses or individuals are very likely to encounter this risk during the course of normal operations.