A flyer designed by the FBI and the Department of Justice to promote suspicious activity reporting in internet cafes lists basic tools used for online privacy as potential signs of terrorist activity. The document, part of a program called “Communities Against Terrorism”, lists the use of “anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address” as a sign that a person could be engaged in or supporting terrorist activity. The use of encryption is also listed as a suspicious activity along with steganography, the practice of using “software to hide encrypted data in digital photos” or other media. In fact, the flyer recommends that anyone “overly concerned about privacy” or attempting to “shield the screen from view of others” should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities.
Tag Archive for Suspicious Activity Reporting
Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBI “Communities Against Terrorism” Suspicious Activity Reporting Flyers
A collection of 25 flyers produced by the FBI and the Department of Justice are distributed to local businesses in a variety of industries to promote suspicious activity reporting. The fliers are not released publicly, though several have been published in the past by news media and various law enforcement agencies around the country. We have compiled this collection from a number of online sources.
Transportation Security Administration
(U//FOUO) TSA Flood Water Sensors Are Not Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)
TSA informational poster from October 2011 explaining that flood water sensors often resemble improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Indiana, Intelligence Fusion Centers
(U//FOUO) Indiana Fusion Center: Suspicious Activity Involving Emergency Services and Hospitals
The purpose of this assessment is to provide situational awareness of suspicious incidents involving the ESS, as reported by local public safety officials and State and Local Fusion Centers in Indiana, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, and Illinois.
Transportation Security Administration
(U//FOUO) TSA Possible Suicide Bomber Indicators Poster
TSA poster reminding you to “Be Vigilant” and providing a list of indicators that an individual may be a suicide bomber.
News
iSALUTE: The U.S. Army’s Solution to the Next Bradley Manning
Public Intelligence The U.S. Army has launched a web-based program to encourage the reporting of suspicious activity among U.S. military personnel, including “insider threats” like that posed by alleged WikiLeaks contributor Bradley Manning. The “iSALUTE” program, which launched in August…
U.S. Army
(U//FOUO) U.S. Army Rollout of the iSALUTE Counterintelligence Reporting Portal
Successful counterintelligence (CI) operations depend on accurate and timely reporting of questionable activities to Army counterintelligence. Reports can be initiated through the ISALUTE online reporting portal. Basic information is transmitted to the Army CI coordinating authority (ACICA) for the review and referral to the local CI office or other agencies for the further investigation as needed. In order to provide all Army personnel with the knowledge on how to expeditiously report CI related information the appropriate links to the ISALUTE reporting tool must be disseminated widely. ISALUTE is an online counterintelligence (CI) reporting portal designed to complement other Army threat awareness and reporting initiatives and foster partnerships with the CI, law enforcement organizations, and Army communities. ISALUTE focuses on foreign threats to the DOD and Army from espionage activities, terrorist threats and the insider threat.
White House
White House Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism in the United States
Throughout history, violent extremists—individuals who support or commit ideologically-motivated violence to further political goals—have promoted messages of divisiveness and justified the killing of innocents. The United States Constitution recognizes freedom of expression, even for individuals who espouse unpopular or even hateful views. But when individuals or groups choose to further their grievances or ideologies through violence, by engaging in violence themselves or by recruiting and encouraging others to do so, it becomes the collective responsibility of the U.S. Government and the American people to take a stand. In recent history, our country has faced plots by neo-Nazis and other anti-Semitic hate groups, racial supremacists, and international and domestic terrorist groups; and since the September 11 attacks, we have faced an expanded range of plots and attacks in the United States inspired or directed by al-Qa’ida and its affiliates and adherents as well as other violent extremists. Supporters of these groups and their associated ideologies come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnic and religious communities, and areas of the country, making it difficult to predict where violent extremist narratives will resonate. And as history has shown, the prevalence of particular violent extremist ideologies changes over time, and new threats will undoubtedly arise in the future.
Washington
Seattle Shield Program Suspicious Activity Report: iPhone Photography
Seattle Shield Program Suspicious Activity Report: iPhone Photography, February 3, 2011.
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.
Transportation Security Administration
(U//FOUO) TSA Transportation Suspicious Incident Report (TSIR) October 2010
(U//FOUO) The Transportation Suspicious Incident Report (TSIR) provides a weekly comprehensive review of suspicious incident reporting related to transportation. The TSIR includes incident reporting, analyses, images, and graphics on specific incidents. In addition, selected articles focus on security technologies, terrorism, and the persistent challenges of securing the nation’s transportation modes. This product is derived from unclassified incident and law enforcement reporting and does not represent fully evaluated intelligence.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Retail Sector Suspicious Activity Reporting Video
DHS video designed to raise the level of awareness for retail and shopping center employees by highlighting the indicators of suspicious activity, this video provides information to help employees identify and report suspicious activities and threats in a timely manner.
Intelligence Fusion Centers, Minnesota
(U//LES) Minnesota Joint Analysis Center Charitable Motorcycle Run Spying Advisory
The South East Minnesota Narcotics and Gang Task Force is requesting information on Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMG) activity that may have an impact on this year’s Fall Flood Run. The Flood Run (www.floodrun.org) is a charitable motorcycle run that takes place both in the spring and fall along the St. Croix River and attracts thousands of riders, the majority of which are law-abiding. However, information has been received that this year’s Flood Run on September 18, 2010, is expected to attract an increased number of Hells Angels and Outlaws gang members, which are rival clubs. Both clubs are known to be involved in criminal activities such as assault, narcotics, money laundering, prostitution and thefts and both are also considered to be “at war” with each other.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Suspicious Activity Reporting Selection Standards
DHS Suspicious Activity Reporting Selection Standards, August 2010.
Department of Justice, Intelligence Fusion Centers, Regional Information Sharing Systems
Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI)
What is a SAR?
•“Official documentation of observed behavior that may be indicative of intelligence gathering or preoperational planning related to terrorism, criminal, or other illicit intention”
• SAR process focuses on what law enforcement agencies have been doing for years—gathering information regarding behaviorsand incidentsassociated with crimeand establishing a process whereby information can be shared to detect and prevent criminal activity, including that associated with domestic and international terrorism
• Examples: Surveillance, photography of facilities, testing of security