Author Archive for Public Intelligence

Archistrategos.

United States

Combating Online Infringement And Counterfeits Act

Few things are more important to the future of the American economy and job creation than protecting our intellectual property. The Chamber of Commerce estimates that American intellectual property accounts for more than $5 trillion of the country’s gross domestic product, and IP-intensive industries employ more than 18 million workers. Each year, online piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods cost American businesses billions of dollars, and result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs. Studies recently cited by the AFL-CIO estimate that digital theft of movies and music alone costs more than 200,000 jobs. This is unacceptable in any economic climate. It is devastating today. The severity of the problem continues to increase and businesses of all types and sizes – and their employees – are the victims. In Vermont, companies like Burton Snowboards and the Vermont Teddy Bear Company are well recognized brands that depend on the enforcement of our intellectual property laws to keep their businesses thriving.

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Corporate, Pennsylvania

Complete Pennsylvania Homeland Security Intelligence Bulletins October 2009-September 2010

This archive file contains 137 bulletins that were produced by the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, an American-Israeli company under contract to the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security, from October 2009-Setember 2010. We believe this represents the complete collection of reports produced by the company for the State of Pennsylvania.

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United Nations

UNODC Corruption in Afghanistan Report

Stability in Afghanistan – where it exists – is terribly fragile. Security is a daily concern for Afghan people, and even those living in more secure areas of the country face a fluid and volatile security situation that sees rapid changes, often for the worse. Central government control is tenuous, especially in rural areas and parts of the country that are the scene of conflict with insurgents. Access to even the most basic of government services – health, education, electricity – is tenuous at best and often unavailable. Complicating matter exponentially is the extreme poverty of Afghanistan – a country struggling with some of the most daunting statistics in the world for literacy, maternal mortality, food security, and life expectancy. In this context, simply to survive from one day to the next is a terrible challenge for many people.

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Afghanistan, Congressional Research Service

Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians

This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.

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Congressional Research Service

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2002-2009

This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world.

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Intelligence Fusion Centers, New York

(U//FOUO) New York CrossFIRE Radio Theft Report

Fire Departments in Warren and Washington County have recently reported thefts of communications equipment
• Thefts include portable and mobile radios, along with software capable of programming this equipment.
• Only newer model, VHF radios have been stolen. Low‐band and older model radios (which aren’t capable of narrowband) have been left untouched.
• Of particular concern: programming software has been stolen. This software could potentially be used to reprogram radios with frequencies of law enforcement agencies, Fire and EMS services, and other public and private sector organizations/businesses.

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Department of Transportation

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Gas Distribution Pipeline Safety Report

PHMSA made an adjustment to the expected value of property damage occurring from 2001 through 2005, since some of the property damage was caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (an outlier), which skewed the damages above expectations and which this rule was not designed to mitigate. A more accurate expected value of benefits, perhaps reflective of a longer timeline and taking into account risks and consequences not experienced from 2001 through 2005, would show a higher expected benefit of this rule} It is possible for high-consequence accidents to occur, in which there are a disproportionately large number of casualties (Le., deaths and serious injuries), since a portion of gas distribution piping is located in densely populated areas with schools and businesses containing a large number of people.

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Afghanistan, Department of Defense

(U//FOUO) US Forces-Afghanistan Private Security Contractor Management

OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN REQUIRE ARMED CONTRACTORS (ACS) AND PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES (PSCS) TO FULFILL A VARIETY OF IMPORTANT SECURITY FUNCTIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, AND OTHER ENTITIES OPERATING IN THE COMBINED JOINT OPERATIONS AREA – AFGHANISTAN (CJOA-A). INCLUDED IN THESE ARMED CONTRACTORS AND PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES ARE TRADITIONAL PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES, THE AFGHAN SECURITY GUARDS AND DOD CONTRACTORS WHO ARE ARMED FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION. TRADITIONAL PSC’S PERFORM CONVOY ESCORT, STATIC SECURITY AND PERSONAL SECURITY DETAILS. AFGHAN SECURITY GUARDS (ASG’S) PROVIDE LOCAL STATIC SECURITY TO FOB’S, COP’S AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE WITH LOCAL AFGHAN COMPANIES. DOD CONTRACTORS MAY BE ARMED EITHER AS A FUNCTION THE SERVICE THEY PROVIDE OR THEIR OPERATING LOCATION. THESE AC/PSC’S ARE NOT COMBATANTS; THEY EXECUTE SERVICES TO PROTECT PERSONNEL, SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT AND FIXED FACILITIES. WEAPONS EMPLOYED BY AC/PSCS ARE FOR PURELY DEFENSIVE PURPOSES ONLY.

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United States

Bipartisan Policy Center Report on Assessing Threat of Radicalization and Domestic Terrorism

Al-Qaeda and allied groups continue to pose a threat to the United States. Although it is less severe than the catastrophic proportions of a 9/11-like attack, the threat today is more complex and more diverse than at any time over the past nine years. Al-Qaeda or its allies continue to have the capacity to kill dozens, or even hundreds, of Americans in a single attack. A key shift in the past couple of years is the increasingly prominent role in planning and operations that U.S. citizens and residents have played in the leadership of al-Qaeda and aligned groups, and the higher numbers of Americans attaching themselves to these groups. Another development is the increasing diversification of the types of U.S.-based jihadist militants, and the groups with which those militants have affiliated. Indeed, these jihadists do not fit any particular ethnic, economic, educational, or social profile.

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Department of Homeland Security

Janet Napolitano Speech to the Council on Foreign Relations on “Refocusing” Homeland Security

So if 9/11 happened in a Web 1.0 world, terrorists are certainly in a Web 2.0 world now. And many of the technological tools that expedite communication today were in their infancy or didn’t even exist in 2001. So therefore, more than just hardware, we need new thinking. When we add a prominent former computer hacker to our Homeland Security Advisory Council, as I just did, it helps us understand our own weaknesses that could be exploited by our adversaries. And the threats we face are by their very nature asymmetrical. Terrorism more often has become privatized violence—does not rely on links, links to an army or to a sovereign state. We often hear that this is what our globalized era looks like, but what is most salient about today’s environment is that it is also networked. And in a networked world, information true and false moves everywhere all the time. And in that networked world, everyone who is part of the network, meaning all of us, can enjoy the tremendous benefits, but also must be ready and willing to learn about and help address the vulnerabilities that come with these benefits. So the team we put on the field needs to be bigger, better networked and better trained. What are the implications for this network world for the Department of Homeland Security? It means that we must continue to take an all-hazards approach to preparedness, meaning we prepare for natural disasters as well as terrorist attacks. We need to comprehend and anticipate an expanding range of threats.

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Department of Homeland Security

Janet Napolitano Speech to New York First Responders on “Rebuilding” Homeland Security

At the heart of this are fusion centers. Starting with just one in 2006, there are now 72 fusion centers nationwide, serving as focal points for information-sharing among federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners. By the end of this year, all 72 fusion centers should be able to analyze information and spot trends in order to effectively share timely intelligence – with local law enforcement, and with DHS, so the information can also be used by others within the Intelligence Community. To support this vision: we’re prioritizing fusion centers in our FY2011 grants, and looking for ways to support them through additional technology and personnel, including the deployment of highly-trained experts in critical infrastructure; we’re deploying experienced DHS analysts to every one of these centers – 64 at last count – and we won’t stop until we have them in every one; and we’re linking them together, and with DHS headquarters, through the classified Homeland Security Data Network.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation

(U//FOUO) FBI Warning: Controversies in Muslim Communities Raise Potential for Violence

THE FBI ASSESSES THAT MULTIPLE ONGOING CONTROVERSIES IMPACTING US MUSLIM COMMUNITIES MAY SERVE TO POLARIZE PUBLIC OPINION AND FUEL ISLAMIC EXTREMIST RHETORIC, BOTH IN THE SHORT- AND LONG-TERM. THE FBI CURRENTLY HAS NO SPECIFIC CREDIBLE INFORMATION THAT INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS ARE PLANNING ACTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE OF THESE EVENTS, ALTHOUGH THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THESE CONTROVERSIES NECESSITATES CONTINUED VIGILANCE FROM STATE, LOCAL, TRIBAL, AND PRIVATE SECURITY ENTITIES. MULTIPLE CONTROVERSIES GENERATING HEATED RHETORIC OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS, OPEN SOURCE REPORTING HAS DRAWN ATTENTION TO SEVERAL CONTROVERSIAL EVENTS IMPACTING MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. WHILE EACH BEGAN AS A SEEMINGLY LOCAL DISPUTE, ALL ARE NOW RAISING NATIONAL-LEVEL QUESTIONS REGARDING CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED FREEDOMS AND ISLAMS ROLE IN AMERICA. THE PLANNED BURNING OF QURANS BY A NONDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA IN RECOGNITION OF THE NINTH ANNIVERSARY OF 11 SEPTEMBER CONTINUES TO ATTRACT ATTENTION. THE CHURCHS LEADER HAS STATED HE DOES NOT THINK THIS EVENT IF IT OCCURS WILL PRECIPITATE VIOLENCE AGAINST HIM OR HIS FOLLOWERS, DESPITE NUMEROUS DEATH THREATS, WARNINGS FROM OTHERS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, INTERNATIONAL MUSLIM COMMUNITY PROTESTS, AND PROTESTS FROM FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida

(U//FOUO) FBI Warning: Extremists Likely to Retaliate Against Florida Group’s Planned “International Burn A Koran Day”

(U//FOUO) While the FBI has no information to indicate a specific attack has been planned against the United States or US assets in response to the “International Burn a Koran Day” event, the FBI assesses with high confidencea that, as with past incidents perceived as acts of desecration against Islam, extremist actors will continue to threaten or attempt to harm the leaders, organizers, or attendees the event, scheduled for 6:00-9:00pm on 11 September 2010 in Gainesville, Florida. Depending on the continued national and international publicity the event receives, it may also inspire retaliatory attacks against US facilities overseas.

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Intelligence Fusion Centers, Virginia

(U//LES) Virginia Fusion Center Mara Salvatrucha 13 Report

Mara Salvatrucha 13, or MS-13, is a transnational, mainly Hispanic, street gang notorious for its adherence to a methodology of extreme violence to enforce fear and establish street credibility. MS-13 diverges from the traditional American street gang model in that it maintains cross border organizational ties, and currently poses a serious threat throughout Central America, Mexico, and Canada, as well as domestically in the United States. In Virginia, the influx of Salvadoran immigrants to the Washington. DC metro area has created the second domestic center for the gang’s American presence. Membership has been documented across the National Capitol Region and in central Virginia, making it the major gang threat to Northern Virginia and a major concern for the Commonwealth as a whole. Demographic change in the Commonwealth, combined with the potential expansion of MS-13 membership to non-Hispanic individuals, constitutes a serious potential threat to public safety.

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