A social networking site (SNS) is a web-based service that allows communities of people to share common interests and/or experiences. Rather than using direct point-to-point communication to stay in touch (e.g., face-toface, phone, text/video messages), SNSs allow users to publish information that can be read later by other users (a one-to-many form of communication) and follow their friend’s postings and provide comments. SNSs provide innovative methods for interacting with friends through third-part applications, such as simple games (tic-tac-toe, paper-rock-scissors), interactive maps to show places visited across the world, and quiz/trivia games which allow for score comparison with others. Many SNSs also allow users to logon from mobile devices that have web browser access to the Internet, allowing them to check and update their accounts from virtually any location with a Wi-Fi or cellular signal.
Tag Archive for For Official Use Only
National Security Agency
(U//FOUO) NSA BlackBerry and iPhone/iPad Security Guides
Two pamphlets produced by the NSA on “Using Your BlackBerry Securely” and “Security Tips for Personally Managed Apple iPhones and iPads” from March 2011.
U.S. Army
(U//FOUO) U.S. Army Battle Staff Operations in a Counterinsurgency Environment
IED and Sniper Defeat: The Battle Staff Operations Process in a COIN Environment briefing from April 13, 2007.
U.S. Coast Guard
(U//FOUO) U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Homeland Threat Summary June 2011
The Maritime Threat Summary is a monthly product the Maritime Homeland Threat Analysis Branch (MHTAB) of the US Coast Guard (USCG) Intelligence Coordination Center produces for USCG Homeport. It highlights suspicious maritime activities and security incidents associated with the US Maritime Transportation System (MTS).
U.S. Army
(U//FOUO) US Army Company Intelligence Support Team (COIST) Handbook
The mission of COISTs is to describe the effects of the weather, enemy, terrain, and local population on friendly operations to reduce uncertainty and aid in decision making. This is a simple and clear mission with a powerful purpose. However, the operation of the company COIST is far from simple. Company leaders must review and interpret huge volumes of data on a daily basis to determine their relevance and relationships. A few examples of this data include weapons intelligence team reports, patrol debriefs, intelligence summaries (INTSUMs), link diagrams, and be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) lists. Although the commander will determine and direct the exact requirements for the COIST, specified and implied tasks usually include targeting; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); patrol briefings and debriefings; detainee operations; and site exploitation.
U.S. Army
(U//FOUO) U.S. Army Biometric Automated Toolset (BAT) Smart Card
U.S. Army Biometric Automated Toolset (BAT) Smart Card from February 2007.
Intelligence Fusion Centers, Michigan
(U//FOUO) Michigan Fusion Center Restaurant Inspection Scam Warning
Restaurants in multiple states, including Michigan, are reporting phone calls from individuals claiming to be from the Health Department. Throughout Michigan, the scammers are requesting to schedule an inspection at the food establishment, as well as sensitive information about the business. According to the Better Business Bureau, this was a widespread occurrence in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2010.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) US-CERT Advisory Increased Threats to Authentication Services
Authentication establishes the trusted relationship between the user and a system or service and validates their identities to each other. Organizations rely on authentication services to protect important data by limiting access to trusted users. Malicious actors are increasingly interested in exploiting authentication services because organizations rely on them to ensure system integrity and limit access to sensitive data by trusted users. US-CERT is providing this advisory to warn organizations about increased threats and interest in authentication services and provide recommended best practices to strengthen system integrity.
Colorado, Intelligence Fusion Centers
(U//FOUO) Colorado Information Analysis Center Chemical Sector Threat Report
The Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC) has no current information indicating an imminent threat to Colorado chemical sector critical infrastructure. However, both within the United States and abroad, recent attempts to perpetrate attacks utilizing the Postal and Shipping and Transportation Sectors has created a need for heightened awareness. The CIAC has produced this assessment to provide situational awareness on the current critical infrastructure threat environment, sector incidents and trends, as well as pertinent updates. Information contained in this report originates from CIAC cases, unclassified local, state, and federal databases, and open source reporting.
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//FOUO) DHS-FBI Unsubstantiated “Electronic Jihad” Warning November 2007
According to Debkafile, an Israeli electronic news website, a group claiming to be al-Qa‘ida has declared 11 November 2007 as the first day of a campaign of “electronic jihad” on the Internet. According to Debkafile, unspecified “al-Qa‘ida electronic experts” allegedly would begin attacking “Western, Jewish, Israeli, Muslim apostate and Shiite Web sites on that date with many more jihadist hackers joining in the attacks later [sic].” DHS and the FBI have no specific or credible information corroborating these cyber attack claims, or intelligence indicating this group is tied to al-Qa‘ida.
U.S. Marine Corps
(U//FOUO) USMC Ammunition Logistics Manual
Marine Corps Warfighting Publication (MCWP) 4-11.9, Ammunition Logistics, provides guidance for commanders, staffs, logisticians, ammunition and aviation ordnance officers, supply officers, and ammunition and aviation ordnance Marines. This publication discusses the Marine Corps ammunition and aviation ordnance communities’ organization and support structure, the general responsibilities of ammunition and aviation ordnance personnel, the systems used in support of ammunition logistics, planning considerations, safety issues, training, and the regulatory environment in which Marine Corps ammunition logistic operations are planned and executed. Various elements of Navy supporting establishments with ammunition responsibilities that have not been addressed in other USMC Service doctrine are introduced in the MCWP 4-11.9.
U.S. Navy
(U//FOUO) U.S. Navy Strategic Foreign Language List
The intent of the Navy SLL is to inform the Navy total force of Navy’s foreign language requirements. The list is used to shape foreign language capability and capacity in the force, prioritize development of related training, and facilitate administration of Navy’s Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus (FLPB) Program.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS Hotels Threat Assessment
This assessment is intended to support the activities of DHS and to assist federal, state, and local government counterterrorism and law enforcement officials, and the private sector in deterring, preventing, preempting, or responding to terrorist attacks against soft targets such as hotels in the United States. It is intended to support the national “See Something, Say Something” campaign.
California
(U//FOUO/LES) L.A. County Sheriff Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Presentation
FOUO/LES Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Presentation from June 2010.
Department of State
(U//FOUO) State Department Visa Cancellation Stamps Bulletin February 2003
Consular Affairs has developed a highly penetrative security ink to be used exclusively for cancelling nonimmigrant visas. This unique formulation, designated security ink #297, is specially designed to penetrate TESLIN, the synthetic material used as the basis of visa foils issued since late 1993 until the recent introduction of the Lincoln Visa. The ink finally selected was chosen after extensive laboratory testing undertaken by both the U.S. Secret Service and INS/FDL. Up to now, there existed no genuinely effective means for cancelling a visa permanently short of destructive methods that risked damaging the underlying passport page. To remedy this, CA commissioned the manufacture of two types of visa cancellation stamps in conjunction with the new security ink, and they are being distributed to visa issuing posts worldwide.
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.
Intelligence Fusion Centers, New Jersey
(U//FOUO) New Jersey Fusion Center Mephedrone or Bath Salts Warning
“Designer drugs,” substances that have been developed especially to avoid existing drug control measures, are becoming a major concern across the nation and in New Jersey. One widely publicized “designer drug,” mephedrone, has been reported in an increasing number of countries and regions, and many countries have placed it under national control.
Intelligence Fusion Centers, Washington D.C.
(U//FOUO) Washington D.C. Fusion Center White Powder Letters Warning
A series of “white powder letters” have been received this afternoon at several District of Columbia schools. First responders are responding to the locations and taking appropriate action. Three of the locations have already been cleared. The letters are identical to white powder letters received by District schools in October 2010 and are believed to contain a harmless white power.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS Possible Implications of the Death of Osama bin Laden
The Intelligence Community (IC) assesses the death of al-Qa‘ida leader Usama Bin Ladin could result in retaliatory attacks in the Homeland and against US and Western interests overseas. Attacks might originate with al-Qa‘ida Core elements in the tribal areas of Pakistan, with one of their affiliates overseas, and/or with individuals in the homeland sympathetic to the cause but lacking a formal group association. We have no indications of advanced al-Qa‘ida Core plotting efforts in the Homeland, but the case of now-detained al-Qa‘ida operative Najibullah Zazi—who, along with two associates, planned to attack the New York City subway in 2009 using homemade explosives—demonstrates that unidentified operatives could advance plotting in the homeland.
Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization
(U//FOUO) JIEDDO Report: Water-borne IED Threats and the Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway that allows maritime access into and out of the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified the Strait of Hormuz as one of six critical chokepoints in the global distribution and trade of oil. The concentration of valuable maritime traffic passing through such a relatively small area makes the Strait of Hormuz a strategic area for the targeting of maritime objectives by groups or nations looking to threaten or disrupt global trade. Iran, located on the north bank of the strait, has made repeated threats to strangle maritime traffic passing through the strait in retaliation for any strike against its nuclear program. In addition, al-Qaeda has reportedly been planning strikes at critical maritime chokepoints over the past decade, including the Strait of Hormuz. Al-Qaeda continues to plan maritime attacks, copying successful tactics from other militant groups such as the LTTE. The Strait of Hormuz would be an ideal target for al-Qaeda’s maritime campaign, either through the use of WBIEDs or conventional maritime weapons.
Intelligence Fusion Centers, Washington D.C.
Washington, D.C. Fusion Center: Officer Safety Issues, March 2008
FOUO/LES Washington, D.C. Fusion Center: Officer Safety Issues from March 2008.
Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS “Red Cell” Report: How Terrorists Might Use a Dirty Bomb
An independent, unclassified analytic Red Cell session, sponsored jointly by the U.S. Departments of Energy and Homeland Security, found a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) attack on the U.S. homeland to be highly appealing from a terrorist standpoint. The Red Cell group, which simulated two different terrorist cells, believed an RDD attack would be relatively easy to prepare and mount and could have wide-ranging physical, psychological, political, and economic impacts. The group believed radioactive materials would be easy to procure, especially from abroad, and found a variety of potential targets across the country. Participants expected that public distrust of official guidance would heighten fear and panic.
U.S. Navy
(U//FOUO/LES) NCIS Synthetic Drug Awareness Briefing
FOUO/LES Naval Criminal Investigative Service Synthetic Drug Awareness from April 2011.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBI Identification Division Fingerprint Training Manual July 1987
FOUO FBI Identification Division Fingerprint Training Manual from July 1987.