STAFF SERGEANT NICK Lavery wasn’t only the most physically imposing Green Beret on our team, he was the most physically imposing soldier any of us had ever seen. He was 6’5″, approaching 280 pounds, and cut like a linebacker—the position at which he excelled, not coincidentally, as a college football player at the University of…
Category: Tradecraft
Tradecraft: How to Pick Locks and Break Padlocks
The art of picking locks may seem like the stuff of action-movie heroes, rather than a commonly known skill. But with perseverance, an understanding of locks, and the right tools, anyone can become a successful lock pick. Although most advanced and higher-end locks can only be broken with purpose-made picking tools, improvised lock picks can be used to crack low-end…
Tradecraft: 9 Secrets to Reading People
The ability to read others will greatly affect how you deal with them. When you understand how another person is feeling, you can adapt your message and communication style to make sure it is received in the best way possible. But what should you be listening for? And what other signs can tip you…
Giving Thanks to the OSS
As today’s security depends increasingly on intelligence and special operators, Congress should act to honor those who paved their way. What do attorney James Donovan (portrayed by Tom Hanks in “Bridge of Spies”), the “French Chef” Julia Child, Virginia Hall (the only American civilian woman to receive the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II),…
Intel Tradecraft: Geo-Tagging and Identifying a Picture by it’s Background (Similar Image Search)
In the most recent episode of Homeland, Carrie while trying to figure out what direction to go in searching a stolen laptop for intel, is distracted by the computer’s screen saver which is a picture that shows the suspect in a beachfront bar in what appears to be a tropical location. Thinking back, Carrie remembers…
OPSEC and Burner Phones
This was published in several places, but I wanted to re-post it for reference..some good stuff in here. Original Source Article can be found HERE
The Truth about Terrorist and Encryption Technology
Terrorists were using encryption technology to evade detection long before Snowden and the Paris attacks By Natasha Bertrand A wave of coordinated terror attacks that killed at least 130 people in Paris last week have had experts grappling with how French intelligence could have missed an operation that was most likely months in the making….
The Civilian Guide to Fighting ISIS Online
Anonymous Publishes Guide to ‘Fighting ISIS Online’ Since the FBI and CIA Won’t In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, and several high-casualty acts of terrorism from the so-called Islamic State in the past week, Anonymous has come out with a series of guides for getting involved in the hacktivist group’s Operation ISIS…
Where Americans Can Be Tracked Without A Warrant
Since the Paris attacks, there is a growing concern by DHS and the FBI that ISIS are able to communicate via “Dark Comms” or communications that are so highly encrypted they cannot tracked or monitored, common sense would tell you that authorities are going to start casting the “Surveillance” net wider to compensate, meaning more…
Tradecraft: Geo-Locating by Photos
They say photos say a 1,000 words; well in the 21st Century they can also tell your exact location. -SF Russian soldiers geolocated by photos in multiple Syria locations, bloggers say By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) – Three serving or former Russian soldiers have been geolocated by photographs in Syria, including locations near Hama, Aleppo…