Cover and evacuate: Security expert explains celebrity protection, after foiled Taylor Swift terror plot

In the wake of the recent foiled terror attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Austria, there is renewed interest in the protection of high profile individuals.

Mike Zimet is the owner of the New York firm Mike Zimet Protective Services, works with high level sports and entertainment figures, as well as diplomats. He said 90 percent of protection is situational awareness and readiness.

"I always think when we go into a crowd, whether it's a politician or whether it's talent, that the worst is going to happen. The most innocent looking person is the one that could yank something out of nowhere," said Zimet.

READ: Taylor Swift's Vienna shows cancelled after IS sympathizer arrest

Zimet, who has worked with numerous celebrities including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alec Baldwin and Catherine and Michael Douglas, explained to Reuters the type of security team Swift is likely to have.

"I would think that she has a very solid footprint of security around her. And we're not talking about just one person… they seem well coordinated from what I've seen, everybody has their role. So again, when you have a shift around a person versus just one agent or maybe two, it makes it much easier because there's coordination from the car to the carpet, the carpets of the building."

In Zimet’s experience, the approach to protection does not change depending on the potential threat, be it a deranged fan or a terrorist. The standard procedure is to "cover and evacuate" the celebrity, moving them away from the problem as quickly as possible.

Swift is scheduled to resume her concert tour in London on August 15th at Wembley Stadium, London, for her five final shows in Europe. Zimet shed light on the importance of strategic positioning during stage performances, and why being offstage behind the stage is often more beneficial than being on either side.

"When it comes to stage protection, you have a choice depending on the footprint, to either be stage left or right, or behind the stage that you can get to people as quickly as possible... When you're side stage, oftentimes it could take three, five, six seconds to go up the stairs, middle of the stage to the problem, and that can be too late."

Planning, he emphasized, is another crucial aspect of personal protection. This includes understanding the layout of a venue and assessing potential threats.

"You have to have a plan of the advance going to the sight if possible beforehand that you know where the person is going in, going out. Stage left, stage right. Restroom and hard room. If you do a good sight advance, the chance of something happening becomes greatly reduced."

Swift's three planned concerts were cancelled after Austrian authorities discovered a plot allegedly led by a 19-year-old to carry out an ISIS-inspired suicide attack at a soccer stadium where tens of thousands of fans were planning to attend the shows.

Austrian investigators said the youth had recently sworn a pledge to ISIS and had made a full confession after police raided his house, seizing chemicals, machetes and other devices the plotters planned to use in a bomb attack.

(Production: Aleksandra Michalska, Alicia Powell)