The purpose of this assessment is to assist members of the law enforcement and public safety communities in differentiating among four types of clandestine laboratories: biological, chemical, explosives, and methamphetamine. It provides descriptions, distinguishing features, and hazards of each type of laboratory and includes four reference guides for distribution to public safety personnel. This assessment expands on a related product—Distinguishing a Biological Agent Production Laboratory from a Methamphetamine Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 22 January 2008—by including indicators and warning signs associated with clandestine chemical and explosives laboratories.
Tag Archive for Domestic Terrorism
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//FOUO/LES) FBI Improvised Chemical and Biological Agent Production Indicators
The Technical Support Working Group’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Countermeasures (CBRNC) Subgroup, in cooperation with law enforcement and intelligence agencies, conducts comprehensive assessments of chemical and biological materials, devices, and countermeasures. As part of their efforts, they evaluated the potential effectiveness of production methods found in the form of recipes from open-source improvised production handbooks that may be used by extremists groups. They assessed the skill level required to follow the instructions and determined the availability of the necessary equipment and ingredients.
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//FOUO) DHS-FBI Potential for Retaliatory Attacks Following the Death of Osama bin Laden
This Joint Intelligence Bulletin provides law enforcement and public and private sector officials with information for consideration in the wake of the death of Usama bin Ladin. This information is provided to support the activities of DHS and FBI and to help federal, state, and local government counterterrorism and law enforcement officials deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks directed against the United States.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability and Terrorist Activity Indicator Reports
Over the next two weeks, Public Intelligence will be publishing several dozen reports from the Department of Homeland Security’s Protective Security Division concerning vulnerabilities and the detection of terrorist activity at critical infrastructure locations. This information was inadvertently disseminated by a non-profit organization that is concerned with domestic preparedness. Due to flaws in their website’s construction, a members area for sharing documentation was openly accessible to anyone and had been largely indexed in Google’s search results. The documents range in date from 2003-2004 and provide early background on critical infrastructure security activities, including known vulnerabilities that often have not been fixed and tenuous listings of so-called “suspicious activity” indicators. The documents also provide background on a number of “critical infrastructure” categories about which there has previously been a lack of publicly-available information. Some of these categories include railroad yards, wastewater treatment facilities, undersea cable landings and milk processing plants. For easier browsing, reports will be added to the list below as they are published.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//LES) DHS Banking Repositories Vulnerabilities and Terrorist Indicators Reports
One of the key roles of the government is to maintain the stability of the nation’s financial system and to address and contain systematic risk that may arise in the financial markets. The financial repositories play an important role in market stability. Several agencies of the government (U.S. Treasury, U.S. Mint, Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Secret Service, FBI) are involved in the supply, distribution, storage, and security of U.S. currency, coins, and other market transactions and clearing transactions.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS Dams Sector Security Awareness Handbook
The Nation has more than 100,000 dams. Of this number, approximately 82,000 are listed in the National Inventory of Dams (NID), which generally includes dams greater than 25 feet in height or reservoirs having more than 50 acre-feet in storage capacity. In the NID, the downstream hazard potential (e.g., the amount of risk or damage a dam can pose because of failure or negligent operation) is classified as high, significant, or low. In the current NID database, approximately 12,000 dams are classified as high hazard potential from a dam safety perspective. However, only a very small percentage of high-hazard dams represent a potential for causing mass casualties.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS Strategy for Improving Improvised Nuclear Device Attack Response
The mission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes acting as a focal point regarding natural and manmade crises and emergency planning. In support of the Department’s mission, the primary mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation. Consistent with these missions, the Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex to the National Response Framework (June 2008) sets forth DHS as the coordinating agency for all deliberate attacks involving nuclear/radiological materials, including radiological dispersal devices (RDDs) and improvised nuclear devices (INDs).
Texas
(U//FOUO/LES) Arlington Police Department Khalid Ali‐M Aldawsari Saudi IED Plot Advisory
On 02/23/2011 Khalid Ali‐M Aldawsari (pictured left), a Saudi national currently attending college at South Plains College, near Lubbock, Texas, was arrested on federal terrorism charges. Aldawsari was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), in connection with the alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device (IED), in addition to research into possible U.S. based targets. Court documents advise that Aldawsari had performed internet research on how to construct an IED, using chemical components. It has also been alleged he had acquired/taken major steps in acquiring the necessary components and equipment needed to build such a device. According to court documents, on 02/01/2011 a chemical supplier reported to the FBI a suspicious purchase of concentrated phenol, by a man named Khalid Aldawsari. Although the toxic chemical phenol can have legitimate uses; it can also be used to make explosives. Concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids, beakers, flasks, clocks, wiring, and a Hazmat suit were found during 2 FBI searches of Aldawsari’s apartment.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//FOUO) FBI Terrorist Training and Recruitment of CONUS Subjects: Lackawanna, Portland, and Northern Virginia
This assessment addresses the central role of terrorist training in three significant post-9/11 continental United States (CONUS) terrorism investigations: Lackawanna, Portland, and Northern Virginia. This assessment does not address other individuals who may have sought training independently, nor does it address groups of individuals who sought training in regions outside of South or Central Asia.
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//FOUO) DHS-FBI Cyanide Production Indicators Guide
FOUO DHS-FBI Cyanide Production Indicators Reference Guide from November 2010.
Intelligence Fusion Centers, New York
(U//LES) New York State Intelligence Center “Vigilance Project”: Domestic Terrorism Analysis
The Vigilance Project is a comprehensive, analytic report that examines major terrorism cases that have taken place against the Homeland since September 11, 2001. The report serves as a historical compilation of acts or attempted acts of terrorism against the United States, or its interests, and as a tool to identify trends and commonalities among the cases and the subjects involved. It is recognized that the threat environment is dynamic and potential threats are not limited to the findings contained in this report. As the title suggests, it is the duty of every citizen to remain vigilant in the face of terrorism. The findings of this report allow readers to gain an understanding of terrorism participants, their tactics and procedures, and become aware of similarities among the cases, in order to draw useful conclusions. The ultimate goal of the Vigilance Project is to provide useful information to law enforcement partners to support their role in preventing the next attack.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Secretary Napolitano Testimony on “Homeland Threat Landscape”
As the President said in his State of the Union address, in the face of violent extremism, “we are responding with the strength of our communities.” A vast majority of people in every American community resoundingly reject violence, and this certainly includes the violent, al-Qaeda-style ideology that claims to launch attacks in the name of their widely rejected version of Islam. We must use these facts as a tool against the threat of homegrown violent extremism. In conjunction with these communities and with the Department of Justice and the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment, we have published guidance on best practices for community partnerships, which has been distributed to local law enforcement across the country. DHS also holds regular regional meetings – which include state and local law enforcement, state and local governments, and community organizations – in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. These regional meetings have enabled participants to provide and receive feedback on successful community-oriented policing and other programs aimed at preventing violence.
News
You May Be a Terrorist
Did you know? You might be a terrorist. You probably didn’t know that. In fact, you probably don’t think about terrorism much. However, there are a large amount of people at the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a variety of law enforcement agencies all around the country that do think about it, a lot. It is, in many respects, their job to think about it. Yet, the ever-expanding search for potential activities and indicators of terrorist activity has become emblematic of the overreaching and obsessive nature of efforts to combat terrorism in the United States. Departing more and more from rational depictions of truly suspicious activity, the criteria listed in law enforcement reports as indicating criminal or terrorist activity have become so expansive as to include many ubiquitous, everyday activities. The following list demonstrates the extent of “suspicious activity reporting” by listing a number of criteria which are said to indicate criminal or terrorist activity.
Federal Bureau of Prisons
(U//FOUO/LES) Federal Bureau of Prisons Counter-Terrorism Unit Inmate Spying Reports
The following documents contain analysis of the monitoring of communications made by inmates convicted of offenses related to domestic and international terrorism. Many of the inmates are housed at the Communications Management Units in Terre Haute, Indiana (THA CMU) or Marion, Illinois (MAR CMU). These secretive units have been described by inmates as “Little Guantanamo” due to their unusual construction and treatment of detainees, severely restricting access to the public and media. For background information, see the June 25, 2009 Democracy Now interview with Andrew Stepanian, an animal rights activist imprisoned at one of the Communications Management Units.
Colorado, Intelligence Fusion Centers
(U//FOUO) Colorado Information Analysis Center Chemical Sector Signs of Terrorism
Terrorist operations are most likely to be disrupted during the extensive planning phase. You can help prevent terrorism and other types of crime by watching for these signs of terrorism.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO//LES) DHS Terrorist Use of Social Networking Facebook Case Study
Terrorists have traditionally sought to exploit new and alternative media, particularly on the Internet, to spread their propaganda and to a lesser extent, operational and tactical guidance to prospective supporters through websites, forums, blogs, chat rooms etc. In recent years, Islamic terrorists have expanded the purview of their online endeavors into social networking sites, websites that create and foster online communities organized around shared affinities and affiliations that connect people based on interests and relationships. In most cases, social networking sites are openly viewable to any participant on the site.
Transportation Security Administration
(U//FOUO) TSA Pipeline Threat Assessment
(U//FOUO) The Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) mission includes enhancing the security preparedness of our nation’s hazardous liquid and natural gas pipeline systems. This 2008 threat assessment addresses terrorist attacks against oil and gas pipeline facilities overseas and considers the potential for attacks against the oil and gas pipeline industry in the United States. Pipelines are a mode of transportation with distinct characteristics and security requirements. Pipelines operate in all 50 states and transport more than two-thirds of all petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, home heating oil, kerosene, and propane. Natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines transport natural gas from sources to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Hazardous liquid pipelines transport crude oil to refineries and refined oil products to product terminals and airports. America depends daily on its pipelines to meet its oil and gas requirements.
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//FOUO) DHS Mubtakar Improvised Cyanide Gas Device Warning
(U//FOUO) Terrorists have shown considerable interest in an improvised chemical device called the mubtakar, which is designed to release lethal quantities of hydrogen cyanide, cyanogen chloride, and chlorine gases. One or more devices could be used in attacks in enclosed spaces, such as restaurants, theaters, or train cars. The mubtakar is small and could be transported in a bag or box, or assembled at the attack site. DHS and FBI encourage recipients of this document to report information about suspicious devices and the acquisition or possession of mubtakar precursor chemicals or components (see figures for details) to the nearest state and local fusion center and to the local FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS Report: Small Unit Tactics in Terrorist Attacks
The DHS/Office for Bombing Prevention TRIPwire team is providing this Information Product to private sector owners and operators and law enforcement to alert them to small unit tactics used by terrorists throughout the world. This report is derived from a variety of open sources and government reports. At this time, there is no credible or specific information that terrorists are planning operations against public buildings in the United States, but it is important for Federal, State, and Local authorities, and private sector owners and operators to be aware of potential terrorist tactics.
California
California State Terrorism Threat Assessment System (STTAS) Concept of Operations
This Concept of Operations (CONOPS) provides California law enforcement and other agencies ensuring the security of our state, a primer on the State Terrorism Threat Assessment System (STTAS). This includes an overview of the California Joint Regional Information Exchange System (CAL JRIES), the state’s principal, real-time information sharing communication platform. Homeland security stakeholders will substantively influence the ongoing evolution of this CONOPS as enhancement cycles inevitably refine California’s response to terrorist and other homeland security threats.
United States
Homeland Security Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation
The purpose of this guidance is to provide emergency planners with nuclear detonation specific response recommendations to maximize the preservation of life in the event of an urban nuclear detonation. This guidance addresses the unique effects and impacts of a nuclear detonation such as scale of destruction, shelter and evacuation strategies, unparalleled medical demands, management of nuclear casualties, and radiation dose management concepts. The guidance is aimed at response activities in an environment with a severely compromised infrastructure for the first few days (e.g., 24 – 72 hours) when it is likely that many Federal resources will still be en route to the incident.
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.
Intelligence Fusion Centers, New Jersey
(U//FOUO) New Jersey ROIC 2009 Threat Information
(U//FOUO) The NJ ROIC Analysis Element has no information regarding any specific, credible threat to New Jersey or the U.S. Homeland at this time. Due to an active, federal counterterror investigation, the NJ ROIC Analysis Element produced this overview of potential targets of terrorist activity and the tactics, techniques, and procedures that extremists may use. It was produced with information from FBI and DHS, based on analysis of police investigations, thwarted plots, and past terrorist attacks.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS Attacks on Drinking Water Systems
(U//FOUO) Drinking water systems, especially treatment, distribution, and chemical storage facilities, may be targets for physical destruction, intentional contamination (possibly with chemical, biological or radiological materials), or cyber attack because the infrastructure is highly visible, less hardened, and more accessible than some other critical infrastructure. Terrorists have shown interest in biological agents that could be used for water contamination and, prior to 2003, planned surveillance of U.S. dams, reservoirs, and water supply systems to assess their potential as targets. Even a small-scale or thwarted attack could disrupt or deny service to businesses, households, and emergency responders or inspire public fear.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS Homeland Terrorist Threat Reporting Guide
This Terrorist Threats to the U.S. Homeland Reporting Guide (TTRG) was jointly produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The purpose of this document is to leverage the vast information collection and reporting resources of our state, local and tribal law enforcement partners, as well as other first responder partners, in recognizing activities or conditions that may be indicative of terrorist activity. State and local organizations are on the front line in the war against terror and therefore have a critical role as primary sources of information. Timely and relevant information from the “front lines” is critical to the identification of terrorists and their supporters, development of insights into their plans and intentions, and subsequent disruption of their operations.