The information and scenarios in the preceding self-assessment presentation were all true.
The characters and the vulnerability were the only fiction.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
1 “I am no one they care about?”
That may be true for now, but you never know when one on-line posting will bring YOU to their attention.
Chris was just another name in a file until they needed some inside information about his program. It never occurred to him that an intelligence agency would target him for a piece of information, but they did.
Some things to think about.
Chris had no idea that just confirming that the Clariden DSP chip was in use would be enough to hurt or kill. But that one small piece of information was the last piece in the puzzle that the enemy was putting together.
While Chris thought he was careful, it is difficult to know exactly what an adversary is looking for, and if what you have may be of benefit.
2 “I don’t have ANY adversaries!”
Feel like all of this “war” and “terrorist” or “adversary” talk is about someone else?
Take a quick look at some other groups that use these exact same on-line information gathering techniques.
Some things to think about.
Former girlfriends, boyfriends, divorced spouses.
Angry neighbors, people you only knew casually.
Disgruntled co-workers, employees, temporary workers.
Identity thieves. (Try a Google search on your name.)
Pedophiles seeking information to convince your children that they should be trusted
Anyone else who might want a little information about you, even just to know you better than you want them to.
3 “I’m smarter than the enemy!”
It’s a common feeling. People interviewed often say they know they are smarter than “some guy who is now just sitting in a cave hiding from us.”
Chris knew he was smarter than any adversary when he used careful expressions like, “I can’t say how I know.”
Some things to think about.
In addition to small radical groups, our adversaries are some of the largest nations in the world, who are willing to spend BILLIONS of dollars to gain an economic advantage. Information theft is a good investment for them, even if they just trade it for something they want.
Some of the world’s best intelligence agencies are training young people as experts to go and gather information for them. You are up against the experts!
4 “I don’t post on the Internet”
Not posting may help you somewhat, but it is just one example of how you can come to the attention of someone with bad intentions.
Another source is unencrypted email messages which are either misrouted, intercepted, or gathered by adversaries on discarded or poorly protected backup tapes. Stealing backup tapes is a common occurrence.
Some things to think about.
Remember that Chris did not know about all of the information sources that had information about him. He only thought about the sites he dealt with. Most of the others you don’t have control over, but you do have control to encrypt email and post as little “account” information as you can on web sites.
5 “What about the Coffee Shop?”
The coffee shop was a reminder that while there are good business reasons to target defense contractors, etc., as customers, those methods are also good ways to gather sensitive information.
Most front businesses will not be called “Terrorist Coffee” so you need to pay attention to the less obvious.
Some things to think about.
Free Internet also provides a way to capture network traffic, including personal email passwords that are often similar to work passwords. Every puzzle piece helps them.
Free Quiet Rooms encourage “sensitive” conversations in rooms that may have listening devices.
By showing a badge, “bad guys” know any time a facility changes its badge, and when new security like “smart chips” are rolled out. If they have infiltrated a facility, they know to update their fake badges by the next day.
Now..........
Do you really feel safe after you post on the Internet?
Don’t feel hopeless
Increasing your awareness that you really are a potential target,
remembering that being “clever” in a conversation or email is very likely to fail,
limiting what you can on the Internet, and encrypting all email and drive storage you are able to – Really can make the difference!
