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  • MATS 2026 – Strategies for Cargo Theft

    MATS 2026 – Strategies for Cargo Theft

    We presented at MATS 2026“Strategies for Cargo Theft: Beyond Visibility,” a session focused on the structural causes behind rising cargo theft and fraud in modern freight operations.

    The talk challenges a widely held assumption in the industry that improved visibility alone can reduce loss. Despite widespread adoption of GPS tracking, cameras, and real-time alerts, cargo theft continues to increase. The session outlines why: most losses do not occur due to lack of information, but during moments of execution where decisions are made under pressure and without enforceable authorization.

    The session introduces a practical framework for addressing this gap by moving authorization earlier in the workflow and making it enforceable during execution. This includes verifying not just identity, but whether a specific action such as pickup, movement, or delivery – is authorized at a given time and place, and ensuring that only authorized parties can carry it out.

    The approach combines authorization verification with on-asset enforcement, enabling equipment itself to control access and execution. This shifts freight security from monitoring and recovery to prevention, while also reducing operational friction, improving yard flow, and supporting more consistent execution across distributed operations.

    The full talk is available here:

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  • In the News

    In the News

    Supply & Demand Chain Executive – March 2026
    Level5Fleet’s trailer security platform to prevent cargo theft

    Level5Fleet’s Trailer Security Platform to Prevent Cargo Theft | Supply & Demand Chain Executive

    SEN 1 Media – Feb 2026
    Level 5 Fleet Targets a Growing Logistics Crisis | Cargo Theft

    Level 5 Fleet Targets a Growing Logistics Crisis | Cargo Theft

  • Cargo Theft Isn’t One Problem

    Cargo Theft Isn’t One Problem

    FreightWaves hosted a cargo theft hackathon at F3 last year, where one concept that emerged was the idea of a “kill chain” — the sequence of points where freight can be exploited, from tendering through delivery.

    SEN 1 media spoke with us at Manifest 2026 about how these incidents are evolving.

    When you look at the problem through that lens, a pattern starts to emerge.

    At the beginning of the chain, the industry has made real progress. There are now effective ways to reduce exposure before a load is ever accepted. Screening tools help identify risky actors, and most operations have strengthened their onboarding and vetting processes.

    At the other end, visibility has improved response. Tracking, alerts, and recovery workflows make it easier to react when something has already gone wrong.

    But between those two points lies the part of the chain where execution actually happens. Where loads are picked up, handed off, and moved under real-world conditions. That is also where most incidents take shape.

    What happens in that middle is often treated as a single problem, but in practice there are two distinct failure modes.

    The first is unauthorized execution. In these cases, actors do not break into the system from the outside. They insert themselves into it. Decisions are pushed through under time pressure — a last-minute change, a rescheduled appointment, a substituted driver or piece of equipment. Due diligence is performed, but in the moment, under operational pressure, it becomes easier to accept ambiguity or rely on incomplete information. The exploit is not bypassing the process. It is operating within it.

    The second is straight theft. Here, the exploit is not in the decision but in access. Once someone reaches the asset, there is often nothing that physically prevents movement or cargo access. The system may know something is wrong, but that knowledge does not translate into control.

    These are different mechanisms, and they fail in different ways. One exploits how decisions are made. The other exploits what happens after access is gained. What they share is where they occur. It is in the middle of the chain, where execution is dynamic, time-constrained, and difficult to control.

    Over time, the industry has become better at deciding who should be allowed to act, and better at responding when something goes wrong. But the moment where actions actually take place remains largely unconstrained.

    That is where the next shift is starting to emerge.

    It is not about adding more checks or more visibility. It is about how execution itself is handled: whether authorization can be clearly defined at the moment an action is taken, whether that authorization can be proven rather than inferred, and whether it can be enforced rather than simply observed.

    This is the part of the system that has historically been left to procedures and judgment. It is also where most incidents take shape.

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  • Level5Fleet Extends Admiral Its Trailer Security Platform, Beyond Asset Owners

    Level5Fleet Extends Admiral Its Trailer Security Platform, Beyond Asset Owners

    Verify who’s requesting pickup or changes — and enforce what you approve

    Las Vegas, NV — Manifest 2026 — Level5Fleet today announced an expansion of its Admiral platform, enabling every participant in the freight ecosystem to prevent modern cargo theft, whether or not they control physical equipment.

    Admiral is known for physical enforcement on trailers and containers, where authorization rules are embedded directly on the asset: who is authorized, where access is permitted, and when access is valid. If authorization is valid, access works. If it isn’t, doors remain locked and brakes remain engaged. This has proven effective for asset owners in preventing pilferage, strategic theft, and straight theft.

    The expansion extends Admiral’s enforcement model to non-asset owners. Many cargo theft incidents occur after someone is allowed to pick up a load, access a trailer, or make an in-transit change — without a reliable way to verify who is making the request or to enforce what was approved.

    Before authorizing a pickup, access, or change, Admiral now enables teams to:

    • verify who is making the request
    • see what they are allowed to do
    • record what is approved

    This prevents impersonation and authorization abuse, giving shippers, 3PLs, brokers, and intermediaries a practical way to prevent advanced strategic theft.

    When working with Admiral-enabled carriers, those authorization decisions propagate directly to the asset — extending protection to prevent traditional theft as well.

    Admiral now operates as three interoperable layers, each giving participants control at their point of responsibility:

    • Admiral Resolve lets shippers, carriers, and brokers verify requesters, confirm authorization, and record approvals before freight moves.
    • Admiral Enforce propagates approved decisions to the asset, embedding authorization rules directly on equipment so doors stay locked and movement is immobilized unless access is valid.
    • Admiral Execute automates operational workflows on top of enforced decisions — so check-ins, appointments, and handoffs happen automatically and supervision becomes audit, not action.

    Why enforcement must start at the decision becomes clear when looking at how strategic theft actually occurs.

    “In freight operations, strategic theft refers to cargo theft that occurs after access, pickup, or routing changes are approved — often through impersonation or manipulated exceptions rather than forced entry,” said Peter Stroud, COO of Level5Fleet.

    “The industry already has tools to assess whether a company is legitimate and reputable. The gap appears at execution. Admiral Resolve helps teams verify that the person making a request is who they claim to be, is acting on behalf of the expected company, and has authorization to make that specific change to that specific load.”

    “Resolve decides. Enforce makes it real. Execute scales it.”

    Each layer can be used independently, removing collaboration bottlenecks without requiring full-stack adoption.

    Admiral Resolve is available to use immediately at no cost — no hardware, contract, or rollout required. For asset owners, Admiral Enforce pilot programs are available.

    About Level5Fleet

    Level5Fleet builds trust infrastructure for freight execution. Its Admiral platform ties identity, authority, and physical enforcement directly to freight movement, so access decisions are verifiable and enforceable in the real world.

    Use Admiral Resolve

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  • What the Windsor Whisky Theft Reveals About Asset-Level Security

    What the Windsor Whisky Theft Reveals About Asset-Level Security

    On a quiet night in Windsor, Ontario, thieves slipped into a secured freight yard by cutting through a perimeter fence. Within minutes, they hooked up a tractor, drove off with a trailer loaded with $500,000 worth of Crown Royal whisky, and disappeared into the night.

    No elaborate schemes, no forged paperwork. Just brute force and speed. It happened so quickly, the theft was discovered only after the thieves had long vanished.

    Breaking Down the Incident

    The facility relied on physical barriers, a solid fence around the yard. This was its primary security measure. While fences are essential deterrents, this incident revealed a critical weakness: once breached, there was no additional line of defense to stop the thieves from simply driving away with valuable cargo.

    This theft wasn’t sophisticated. And that’s precisely the point.

    Once the perimeter was breached, the trailer itself had no agency. There was no mechanism left to question movement, verify authorization, or resist removal. From that moment on, the outcome was predetermined.

    Why Perimeter Security Alone Isn’t Sufficient

    Fences, surveillance cameras, and yard guards offer layers of deterrence. Yet, once a thief bypasses these defenses, the cargo itself often offers minimal resistance:

    • The trailer was easily connected to an unauthorized tractor.
    • Doors provided no real barrier once the trailer was removed from the yard.

    These vulnerabilities create an inviting target, particularly for high-value freight. Preventing this kind of theft requires a control that lives with the asset, one that can distinguish authorized from unauthorized movement, even after perimeter defenses fail. Admiral Enforce is one implementation of this approach.

    Automated enforcement

    An asset-level enforcement system would have changed the outcome in two ways:

    • Movement enforcement: The trailer would have refused to move an inch without explicit authorization, verifying tractor identity, location, and timing.
    • Cargo access enforcement: Even if thieves didn’t attempt to isolate the trailer, internal lock system would ensure the doors remained sealed. With nothing external to pry, cut, or bypass, thieves would face a practically impossible task.

    Emotional Cost of Cargo Theft

    Beyond the immediate loss, incidents like this carry a quieter cost. Cargo theft isn’t just about financial loss; it damages reputation, erodes trust with customers, and impacts employee morale. Security breaches generate stress, anxiety, and feelings of vulnerability among those responsible for logistics.

    With asset-level enforcement in place, freight managers and owners gain back their peace of mind:

    • They trust the process, knowing cargo is secure at every step.
    • They maintain control over their shipments, significantly reducing operational anxieties.

    Conclusion: Moving Beyond Fences

    The Windsor whisky heist wasn’t just a failure of perimeter security, it was a wake-up call. Physical barriers alone cannot guarantee freight safety. True security comes from layers of intelligent, automated protection.

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