tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83335012008-06-25T10:10:46.953-07:00redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1134064657300468172005-12-08T09:57:00.000-08:002005-12-08T11:49:29.223-08:00

The National Journal's Shane Harris provides a remarkably complete account of ABLE DANGER and its predecessor programs. (As I would guess most readers of this blog already know, ABLE DANGER was an Army intelligence program, based around data-mining methods, that reportedly identified Mohammed Atta as early as winter 2000.) As it happens, ABLE DANGER was not part of the "mainstream" IC, but was

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1133944239475610792005-12-07T00:18:00.000-08:002005-12-07T00:32:57.456-08:00

Christopher Bellavita at the Naval Postgraduate School pens a short article (PDF link) on homeland security and the "issue attention cycle," a public policy phenomenon that will be instantly familiar to anyone engaged in long-term crisis management: More than 30 years ago, Anthony Downs wrote about a cycle that affects many domestic public policy problems. Downs argued that certain issues

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1133821127270566502005-12-05T14:08:00.000-08:002005-12-05T14:24:18.776-08:00

Security maven Bruce Schneier believes that an emphasis on "cyberterrorism" (presumably, cyber-based threats to critical infrastructure for the purpose of direct terrorism) is diverting resources from "ordinary" cybercrime: "I think that the terrorist threat is overhyped, and the criminal threat is underhyped," Schneier said Tuesday. "I hear people talk about the risks to critical infrastructure

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1133796328733053462005-12-05T07:25:00.000-08:002005-12-05T07:29:20.406-08:00

Intrepid reader G notes that group of MIT researchers have released the results of their empirical study of the effects of aluminum foil headgear, long favored by the paranoid community as a protective mechanism against government mind-control rays. Their conclusions are startling! The helmets amplify frequency bands that coincide with those allocated to the US government between 1.2 Ghz and

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1133369328161179462005-11-30T08:33:00.000-08:002005-11-30T09:20:11.043-08:00

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, has proposed a novel approach to the translation backlog for the mountains of Saddam-era official documents seized in Iraq: declassify the entire lot and make it available on the Internet for translation by non-government resources. Hoekstra said he would like to see the documents posted online, where people would

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1133286755686179902005-11-29T09:47:00.000-08:002005-11-29T09:54:36.226-08:00

USNews.com's David Kaplan reports on an emerging pattern for terrorist-financing, now that the state sponsorship of decades past is on the decline. The solution for a growing number of groups: self-funding through organized crime. Back at home, U.S. officials are looking warily at the growing rackets of terrorist groups overseas and voice concern that the trend will grow here. "We see a lot of

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1133041321593773932005-11-26T13:41:00.000-08:002005-11-26T13:45:52.510-08:00

In case you missed the press release from earlier this month, the IC has opened the doors of the new national OSINT center: Based at the CIA, the Center will advance the Intelligence Community’s exploitation of openly available information to include the Internet, databases, press, radio, television, video, geospatial data, photos and commercial imagery. The Center’s functions will include

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1124247669209924662005-08-16T19:53:00.000-07:002005-08-16T20:09:47.826-07:00

The local ABC affiliate is reporting on a foiled prison jihadist plot to conduct terror attacks in Southern California on the coming anniversary of 9/11. The targets, in Santa Monica, California, were to be a number of local synagogues in addition to a military recruitment center. The plot, which called for dozens of casualties as part of a holy war against the United States, was foiled after

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1124244734942635412005-08-16T18:53:00.000-07:002005-08-16T19:19:55.233-07:00

Yesterday's coordinated series of prison riots in Guatemala, which involved rival criminal gangs Mara Salvatrucha/MS-13 and Mara 18 and left thirty-one dead, apparently were orchestrated by cell phone. "The gangs maintain constant communication," [Guatemalan Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann] said. "They have a Web page and not only synchronize in Guatemala, they synchronize with El Salvador,

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1124134617094852292005-08-15T12:27:00.000-07:002005-08-15T12:46:32.916-07:00

The City of Santa Monica is enhancing security measures at the Santa Monica Pier after receiving a series of photographs taken over the July 4 weekend by an observant private citizen: The photographs show three men videotaping around the pier, [Santa Monica Police Chief James] Butts said. The photographer snapped the pictures after noticing that the men -- who were of “Middle Eastern descent

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1124057600209659122005-08-14T15:03:00.000-07:002005-08-15T00:11:44.353-07:00

The failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks was due not to their being unimaginable -- for they were imaginable and imagined -- but to the fact that the imaginable covers too broad a surface, which is one reason for focusing on things that have happened before; the set of bad things that have never happened but may happen in the future is well-nigh infinite. And the more information, including

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1124035866362851102005-08-14T08:58:00.000-07:002005-08-14T09:20:55.716-07:00

Via the Counterterrorism Blog, the (London) Independent is reporting that British counterterrorism authorities have so far concluded that there is no common operational link between the terrorist cells that executed the 7/7 and 7/21 bombings, respectively. The alleged plotters behind the July 21 bomb incidents in London are thought to have been "copycats", targeting Tube trains and a bus. A "

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1124009283271000222005-08-14T01:39:00.000-07:002005-08-14T01:52:57.856-07:00

An article by Jose Docobo in the inaugural issue of the Naval Postgraduate School's Homeland Security Affairs examines the application of "community policing" principles to homeland security. The argument is interesting -- typically, when it comes to counterterrorism at the state and local level, one thinks of "response" rather than "prevention." But it's not clear that it has to be that way.

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123967548247916622005-08-13T13:54:00.000-07:002005-08-13T14:51:42.890-07:00

The home of what a "senior counter-terrorism official at the FBI" described as "the best database on Islamic terrorism in the world" is not in a government intelligence fusion center or a federally-funded thinktank. It's in the offices of an American plaintiff's lawyer. The database is the pivotal tool in what those involved say will be the biggest class action in history: a $1 trillion lawsuit

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123964590164544952005-08-13T13:09:00.000-07:002005-08-13T13:37:07.886-07:00

The federal government will begin enforcing security standards against electric utilities and independent service operators, under a new bill signed into law at the beginning of the month. Under the new law, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has the authority to establish a national electric reliability organization with the power to oversee and audit reliability standards. Instead

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123864733518794482005-08-12T09:20:00.000-07:002005-08-13T13:27:48.300-07:00

Reader "blueland" sends along an article published in this morning's Der Spiegel, describing Jordanian journalist Fouad Hussein's new book on al Qaeda. Hussein has the unique distinction of having served time in prison with al-Zarqawi and has interviewed several individuals described as being in "al Qaeda's inner circle." Hussein's book outlines a seven-phase plan that allegedly forms the

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123703668729444032005-08-10T12:48:00.000-07:002005-08-10T12:55:32.883-07:00

Internet Haganah has a report of (and images from) a suicide bombing on a bus in Fujian province, China, two days ago. More here from China Daily.

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123684865323577872005-08-10T07:00:00.000-07:002005-08-10T07:43:00.006-07:00

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation recently became concerned about overhead imagery of the Lucas Heights HIFAR reactor on Google Earth, and on Sunday called upon Google to censor the imagery. (This is something that Google has already done for certain sensitive sites, such as the White House.) Curiously, a few days later, presumably after consultations with Australian

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123604093619601152005-08-09T08:54:00.000-07:002005-08-09T09:14:53.663-07:00

This morning's items: A Washington Post article on cyber-jihad. [Hat tip: Winds of Change] And a followup: "The Web as Weapon." [Hat tip: the Counterterrorism Blog] A copy of the unsealed criminal complaint against Aswat Haroon Rashid, with the investigating special agent's affidavit. [Hat tip: the Counterterrorism Blog] More proliferating security intelligence initiatives,

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123227435544807132005-08-05T00:36:00.000-07:002005-08-05T00:39:27.746-07:00

Only have time to post a grab-bag of links this morning, rather than a more fully-formed post. More bumps in the information-sharing road, this time involving local police chiefs expressing frustration with what they're getting from the federal agencies and vowing to form their own parallel network for real-time, raw intelligence. This is consistent with the trend of intelligence consumers

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123175620817632832005-08-04T09:53:00.000-07:002005-08-04T21:00:17.933-07:00

An assortment of interesting items this morning: Mike Cutler at the Counterterrorism Blog discusses what he sees as a major vulnerability in U.S. border security -- the visa waiver program, which allows aliens from 28 countries to enter the United States on a temporary basis without a visa. Apparently there are a lot of stolen/forged passports from those 28 countries circulating out there,

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123089717352934792005-08-03T09:39:00.000-07:002005-08-03T10:25:00.340-07:00

The latest unclassified edition of Studies in Intelligence contains another thoughtful article by Stephen Mercado on the subject of open-source intelligence (OSINT), which is worth a read. OSINT, put simply, is "non-secret intelligence" drawn from open or "gray" sources, such as media reports, conference proceedings, commercial literature, press releases, and the like. Although "secrets" remain

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123086765239761402005-08-03T09:17:00.000-07:002005-08-03T09:32:45.246-07:00

The Defense Department's Information Assurance Technology Analysis Center (IATAC) is the DoD's "central authoritative source for Information Assurance vulnerability data, information, methodologies, models, and analyses of emerging technologies relating to the survivability, authenticity, and continuity of information systems critical to the nation's defense." IATAC publishes a valuable quarterly

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1123000844243879442005-08-02T09:31:00.000-07:002005-08-02T09:44:06.110-07:00

Two short items this morning: English translation of an item apparently circulating on jihadist websites, providing advice for Salafist fighters seeking to cross the Syrian-Iraqi frontier. [via the Counterterrorism Blog] The Sun (of all sources) reports that MI5 has refocused on jihadist websites in the wake of the 7/7 bombings. [via the Computer Crime Research Center] As always,

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333501.post-1100670447061051192005-08-01T14:10:00.000-07:002005-08-01T14:27:10.436-07:00

"Geospatial intelligence" is the security neologism for satellite imagery, topographical surveys, environmental data, and other similar geographical information that traditionally has been of critical military value. Today, much of this information (including private-sector high-resolution satellite imagery) is conveniently available to the public through the web. RAND, under contract with the

redlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14577678504819257477noreply@blogger.com