Better Security through Penetration Testing My book, Red Team: How to Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy, provides the first in-depth investigation into the work of red teams in the military, intelligence, homeland security and private sectors, revealing the best practices, most common pitfalls, and most effective applications of their work. Below is an adaptation….
Category: Tradecraft
Tradecraft Notes: The Use of Clothing Disguises and the Manipulation of “Perceived Authority”
By Hammerhead While watching the new series “Sherlock” on Netflix the other day with my better half, I had an epiphany, well, more like a “fantasy ideal” I guess; I realized that if the average person had the heightened awareness of both his surroundings and other people that the borderline autistic savant Sherlock Holmes has,…
Technology and Privacy: Signal, the Crypto App Comes to Android
SINCE IT FIRST appeared in Apple’s App Store last year, the free encrypted calling and texting app Signal has become the darling of the privacy community, recommended—and apparently used daily—by no less than Edward Snowden himself. Now its creator is bringing that same form of ultra-simple smartphone encryption to Android. On Monday the privacy-focused non-profit…
“Hamland” Security: Amateur Radio’s Place in Securing the Homeland
During times of disaster, homeland security resources at all levels of government are often stretched to capacity. The whole-of-government approach involving local, county, state and federal agencies is sometimes not enough, especially in the realm of communications. That is where a dedicated group of private hobbyists, known as amateur radio operators, or “hams” as they…
The Ignorance of Intelligence Agencies
This is a very short article, but worthy of your time nonetheless. It points out one of the glaring inadequacies of the current state of our Foreign Intelligence apparatus in this country. All of the sentences in italics are of my doing for emphasis on these points. -SF By Williamson Murray At the start of…
Being Anonymous in Public Just got a Little Harder
I would like to think my friend Mr. A for sending me this link and picture; he is always on the lookout for interesting “security” issues for the CO and I am grateful for his diligence!-SF This photo was taken in Canada and shows about 700,000 people. Pick on a small part of the …
If You’re not Paranoid, You’re Crazy
As government agencies and tech companies develop more and more intrusive means of watching and influencing people, how can we live free lives? By Walter Kirn I knew we’d bought walnuts at the store that week, and I wanted to add some to my oatmeal. I called to my wife and asked her where she’d…
Learning from Terrorist Tactics: Exploiting islamic Garb and Male Cross-Dressing
I know it sounds hilarious when you first hear it, but this is actually a fairly standard tactic among terrorist overseas. Consider this most recent incident as reported by Jihad Watch. The underlying principles for this tactic are quite simple, regardless if it is a man or woman in the garb: A fully clothed…
Cold War Espionage: How Soviets used IBM Selectric keyloggers to spy on US diplomats
How Highly sophisticated bugs went undetected for 8 years during the Cold War. By Dan Goodin A National Security Agency memo that recently resurfaced a few years after it was first published contains a detailed analysis of what very possibly was the world’s first keylogger—a 1970s bug that Soviet spies implanted in US diplomats’ IBM…
Iran’s Cyber-Espionage Tricks
A group of suspected Iranian hackers are using a sophisticated network of fake LinkedIn profiles to spy on unsuspecting targets worldwide — including the U.S. — according to a new report. The fake personas fell into two groups: one set that were fully developed profiles posing as recruiters for major worldwide government contractors and international…