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…
Category: Tradecraft
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…
“Homebrew Guns” & the Cartel Guerilla Gunsmiths that Make Them
It was usually evening when the three men arrived at the shop. They would roll up in a Volkswagen Beetle, and come to a halt at a nondescript, garage-sized warehouse in a strip of shops in a residential neighborhood in Guadalajara, in Southwestern Mexico’s Jalisco state. They would park the Bug, and proceed to drink…
Crypsis and Mimesis: The Future of Camoflauge and Cloaking
“Berkeley Lab Researchers Create Ultrathin Invisibility Cloak.” So reads a news release from the US Department of Energy’s venerated lab at the University of California, Berkeley. The cloak is too small for even the tiniest of boy wizards — it can cover no more than a few human cells — but it’s a neat accomplishment. It is not, however,…
Time to Get out in the Woods and go PRIMAL
As a whole, most Civilian Operators devote a majority of their time (and budgets) to self-defense training. They see the world around them going to shit at an accelerated pace and want to be ready should the wolf come knocking. And while this is admirable and NEVER should be discouraged in any way, as…
Primitive Skills Checkup
The Civilian Operator must NEVER neglect training on the skills which would enable him to survive and be self-sufficient from modern society. Going back and learning and training on Primitive Skills is the only way you can ensure the future of yourself and loved ones when the world goes down the proverbial sewer pipe.-SF …
Use Espionage to Destroy ISIS
By William A. Levinson Sun Tzu’s Art of War admonished more than 2500 years ago, “Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy’s condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces…
The OODA Loop, Revisited
John Boyd’s OODA loop teaches troops how to make the right decision with little time and scant info. By Mike Grice You make decisions every day. Dozens and dozens of them. Some are easy — coffee or latte? — and some are more complex. Regardless of what kind of decision you need to make, you…