3. September 2009 by Revelator.

I’ll never forget the night - I think we were in Lubbock or was it Wentzville…either way. I remember that Miles - that’s Miles Anthony, the lead singer of Big Slick, was really hot for this babe in the fourth row and as his top roadie he expected me to make the deal with her. You know - get her backstage and well…you know. And this was unusual because normally he would choose three or four just in case one or two wouldn’t well…you know. So I watched her off and on during the concert just to see what I could see. Well, I could see quite a lot if you know what I mean and I suspect that is what made Miles want her so bad but that’s neither here nor there.

I word or two about me is in order I suspect: My name is Night Train. Actually my name is Lance but a long time ago outside of a little bar called The Cavern a drunken Ringo called me Night Train and the moniker just stuck with me over the years. At that time I had spent three years in college and was doing a summer vacation with the love of my life who’s name I just can’t seem to recall at the moment. One night we went to see this band at a bar in the red light district called the Cavern and while I was hanging out after the show this chap in a leather jacket asked if I could help them drag some equipment to their van. Turns out that chap was John Lennon and we struck up a friendship that lasted until that fateful night outside of the Dakota. But that is the short version of how I started at a roadie. The story about why I am still a roadie is much longer and not quite as enjoyable.

So - back to that night in Barstow…or was it Philly - either way. During the drum solo (I swear Smokestack was channeling Don Brewer of Grand Funk that night) Miles asked if I hooked it up yet and I had to tell him not yet. Miles really didn’t like that answer but it was the only one I had right then. After a quick line and a towel-off he was back on stage and I was back to my job - pimpin for rock stars. Not a job I recommend to young professionals but I’m pretty good at it by now and I’m pretty damn sure that at sixty-six years of age I won’t be going to truck drivers school if this doesn’t work out. But this was 17 years ago when I still thought I would get a real job when I grew up.

Back to LuAnn (her name as I was to find out later)…She had squeezed her way up to the second row by now and had just flashed her considerable attributes to Miles and he looked at me and gave me the signal - again. Rock stars and their roadies have a complicated series of signals that would make a third base coach proud. One signal means “she can come back stage but that’s all” another means “she can come back stage if she brings her friend/sister” another means “she can come back stage but only if she’ll ___________ (insert desire here)” and yet another meant “she can come backstage but make sure she’s not a dude first.” There are more but I’m sure you get the gist of it. The signal I had just received for the second time meant “if she’s willing she can come on tour with us for a week or two.” I didn’t get that signal too often so I took it seriously.

And so I watched her. I watched her because there is a level of trust between a roadie and a horny rock star and I have a solid reputation for never letting the rock star down - or getting him arrested. And that’s the key to this whole operation - keep the rock star safe from a multitude of potentially embarrassing situations. And so I watched her. I watched her on her cell numerous times - and not that happy about it. I watched her turn away dude after dude who hit on her. I watched her as her older friend brought her beer after beer. And I noticed she didn’t have any tattoos.

And I watched as she walked away after Miles sang the last lines to their hit at the time, “Big Leg Woman” (a decent version of the classic Muddy Waters tune). As she walked I chased. I didn’t expect her to bolt so fast. I figured she would stick around and slide toward the side of the stage to well…you know. But she didn’t. She was in a hurry and I knew I would be fired if I didn’t get her backstage to Miles.

I was about to catch up to her when she met her angry mother and father at the exit. And that is when all the indicators started springing to my mind. No tat’s for one. Sure you can get your parents to sign for you if you are under 18 but not many do. And all the text messages and phone calls that she wasn’t happy about. No doubt her mom or dad had sent those. And all those dudes she turned away - no sense hooking up when your angry mom is gonna meet you at the door. And finally, it was her older friend that was bringing her the beers. Something someone under 18 couldn’t have purchased without a fake ID.

And so I had to face a not too happy Miles backstage. I just had to tell him she was underage and we were good. No way he wants to mess with any jailbait - not again, at least. In the end he hooked up with a reporter for a local rag that was much more age appropriate for my aging rock star. I am happy to report some 17 years later that they have been married for 15 years now and have two kids. The boy is named Thor and the girls name is LuAnn. I guess even if you’ve had as many as Miles you never quite forget the one that got away.

OPSEC - keeping rock stars out of jail for 60 years.

Keep the Faith!
Revelator

Jail Bait - George Thorogood and The Delaware Destroyers

Posted in Indicators, BS, Risk | Print | No Comments »

31. August 2009 by Revelator.

From CNET News.com written by Elinor Mills:

“Here’s either a cautionary tale or an example of social-media paranoia. An Arizona man believes that his Twitter messages about going out of town led to a burglary at his home while he was away.

Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea to advertise to the world that your home will be unoccupied for a period of time. I also don’t think it’s necessary to reveal too many other personal details on social media sites that could be used for identity fraud, like your birth date.”

A number of thoughts some to mind:
1. Yeah, that was stupid. People are putting waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much on social networking sites. But then we know that already don’t we? Which leads me to my second thought…

2. Most OPSEC professionals, even part-timers, have known this for quite some time now so I have to ask; are we just horrible at spreading the word or are people not listening? Personally, I think it’s both. Awareness is the key here and while some are doing a pretty decent job the majority of us are not. And yeah, I know, why waste the time when you just know people aren’t going to listen to you either way. That’s tough to overcome but you just have to Keep the Faith! and press on.

3. Was it just the tweets or did dude possibly not consider OPSEC and basic security prior to leaving on vacation? We’ve all done the “so you’re going on vacation for two weeks how do you protect your home while you’re away” exercise. (if you haven’t let me know - I’ll send it to you). I suspect he didn’t arrange to deal with his mail, newspaper, growing grass, lights, etc while he was away and just got nabbed by bad guys who know what to look for.

Your fellow employees are counting on us OPSEC and Security professionals to keep them informed and protected. Do your best to inform them and with any luck they can protect themselves.

Keep the Faith!
Revelator

Everything Is Broken - Bob Dylan

Posted in Awareness, Indicators, Countermeasures, Risk, WWW, Threat, Family OPSEC | Print | No Comments »

24. July 2009 by Revelator.

My friends, it is time once again for a guest blogger to put in his two-cents. This entry has a significantly higher military quotient than most of mine and I must say it brings back good memories for this retired GI. The gentleman who wrote this is a good friend (and an ex-boss) - and I consider him one of the premier OPSEC Planners on the planet. Read and heed my friends…Rev

“Everything I learned about really good OPSEC planning for a big operation I learned from dipping snuff,” he said. Not quite sure he was serious, I responded, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” The lack of expression on Sam’s face, as he removed the black plastic lid and spit into his McDonalds’ coffee cup, led me to believe he was serious.

We were on a break from the Joint Planning Group session at a particular US combatant command headquarters, hanging around in the break room engaged in professional Information Operations (IO) discourse and partly solving dilemmas elsewhere on the planet.

Born Samuel T. Cogley five decades ago in rural Arkansas, “Books,” as he was known throughout the IO and Naval Aviation communities, was the most experienced military planner I had ever known. He had been brought in from a “Center of Excellence” to provide electronic warfare subject matter expertise to the combatant commander’s core joint planning group. Now retired, he was working as a defense contractor and did his best to impart IO knowledge on anyone who showed any interest in becoming enlightened.

I was this combatant command’s OPSEC Officer and doubled as the OPSEC planner for the J3’s IO Cell. With most of the folks in the IO Cell away TDY, I actually just happened upon this planning group by shear accident and had no idea that a plan was in work. That is until I heard the constant throat clearing voice of brand new Lieutenant Colonel McClin.

“Major! Major Patrick!”

I had just walked past one of our many conference rooms – which were seemingly always in use – and turned my head. Looking down at a clipboard, Lieutenant Colonel McClin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and asked, “Are you”…ah-hem…“Major Jonathan Patrick”…ah-hem…”Jonathan Patrick IV,”…ah-hem…”the OPSEC dude?”
Not sure where this was going, I hesitated in responding. “Yes, I am. But you can call me JP4, everyone else does.”

“Okay…ah-hem…JP4; I am Lieutenant Colonel McClin, everyone calls me…ah-hem…Chilly Mac, but since I am a Lieutenant Colonel…ah-hem…in the United States Army, and you…ah-hem…are just a Major, you should call me…ah-hem…Colonel. Please go in and have a seat, the Joint…ah-hem…Planning Group is getting ready to start. I could…ah-hem…cover the OPSEC stuff since… ah-hem…I have done it Iraq before, but since you are here…ah-hem…you can be the OPSEC planning rep.”

As I entered the conference room, I heard someone from the back corner calling out in a loud whisper, “JP4, over here!” It was Books. I went over and sat next to him. “Man, it’s a good thing you showed up, I was afraid I was going to have to cover for your sorry rear end and do the OPSEC planning duties,” Books said. “Hey, give me a break! I didn’t even know about this. Besides, what about that Chilly Mac guy? He told me he could do it, he knows OPSEC…at least he says he’s done it before.”

“Oh, please!”

So, after about an hour, we went on our first break, initially arguing about how zombies were not getting a fair shake in the entertainment world, especially when compared to vampires and werewolves, but somehow came back to OPSEC planning.

I responded to Books’ comment, “What exactly do you mean? How on earth can anyone compare smokeless tobacco to OPSEC planning? Besides, it is such a disgusting habit!
“What, OPSEC planning?”
“No! That stuff you are putting in your mouth!”
“Oh.”
“Wait a minute, how can you even contemplate that OPSEC planning is disgusting?”

“Um, well, not exactly that way, I was actually thinking that most of the time I’ve seen planners wait until the plan is almost complete and ready for execution or the boss’s signature before someone thinks about OPSEC. Kind of like, ‘oh, can you OPSEC folks “sprinkle” a little OPSEC on this before we go to print?’ That’s disgusting from a professional standpoint; kind of sad really.”

“So what do you mean?” I inquired.

Books began his lesson on dipping snuff and equating it to OPSEC planning. “Getting in on the beginning is the key. I need to do my analysis and find out what is allowed in the planning room and what is not. Usually, the command will allow beverages. I mean how can you really do effective military planning without caffeinated beverages?

Sometimes, there will be signs posted that forbid the use of tobacco products. So, I show up with a coffee cup – with a lid – and overtly show everyone that I drink coffee. I mingle, sit in on working groups, I want everyone to recognize I am a coffee drinker. Later, when the time is right, I go away and put in a dip and return with my coffee cup and lid.”
“For me, and I hate to admit this, I cannot do effective military planning without my nicotine, especially if we are doing 12+ hour sessions. If I show up with the regular observable indicators of a dipper of snuff, then I am at risk of getting busted.”

I interrupted, “You mean like Major Sweet, that Marine that walks around everywhere with that old, worn-out, plastic Ozarka water bottle full of spit juice?”
“Yep, exactly!” Books said. “He is never a happy camper when the anti-tobacconists ask him to leave.”

Books continued, “And speaking of the anti-tobacconists, the next part of my analysis of this “threat” – still taking advantage of showing up early – is to scope out the room where we will be planning and find the optimum location to sit and be out of easy purview of the folks looking for dippers.”

“Like where we’re sitting in the conference room today?” I asked. “You’re catching on, JP4, you’re catching on.” “But I never see you spit in there!” I charged. “Ha! You don’t know when to look. Or rather, I know the times when the “bad guys” aren’t looking. Like during slide transitions or when someone asks a question. Their “collection capabilities” are diverted elsewhere and I take advantage of the moment.”

I was still somewhat puzzled. “Okay, so what does this have to do with OPSEC?”

“I’m getting there,” Books responded. “In the grand scheme of things, Major Sweet takes a risk of getting caught, or better yet, doesn’t acknowledge the vulnerability his observable indicators create nor does he appreciate the risk of being seen by the anti-tobacconists. You would probably agree with me that his risk would be rated as HIGH.”

“I, on the other hand, take simple, cost effective mitigation measures to protect my indicators based on a current and thorough threat analysis.”

“The same thing goes for OPSEC planning. If you can get in on the planning early, and see where the plan is headed, you can then take measures and assign tasks far enough in advance to effectively mitigate indicators that reveal friendly intent, capabilities, timing, etc.” “If you show up late to the planning effort, OR, if you get the proverbial request to sprinkle some OPSEC fairy dust on the plan at the last minute, you’re out of position to make anything happen and the bad guys will pick up on the indicators.”

“We know the bad guys look for changes in our routines. We need time to adjust events to keep routines from highlighting what we are up to and you can’t just simply do that on the eve of the operation and you definitely can’t do it after the fact.”

“If I walk in on the last day of planning, I won’t be able to get an optimum seat; all eyes will be on me; and I will either have to go with just drinking coffee or…” “Or take the risk and just go about with your nasty habit ala Major Sweet,” I imparted. I think I’m getting it now…so if a plan depended on moving a specific unit out of particular location, say using C-17s…”

It was Books’ turn to interrupt now, “And the only time C-17s showed up was to move that unit, then that would be a huge indicator. That is unless you set up “random” C-17 flights earlier in the timeline, prior to actual execution.” “That kind of sounds like a military deception plan to me,” I said “Is it?” Books asked.

After a pregnant pause, he continued. “Remember the definition of MILDEC, and who the target audience is. OPSEC has a much broader target audience, and in your example we are not doing it necessarily to cause someone to take, or not take, action. However, you do bring up a valid point; and I must add that I am impressed with the way you think.”

“We can talk the finer points of MILDEC planning and execution later, but in a way you’re correct because OPSEC can use MILDEC as a mitigator to help make it harder for the bad guys to find the real indicators. I guess it really depends who initiates the task and if it was tasked as part of a larger MILDEC plan.”

“You can also kind of make the same correlation with Electronic Warfare and conditioning jamming before an operation. Is that MILDEC? Or is it OPSEC? The EW planner would tell you he is just being the consummate EW professional. Either way, it goes to not highlighting a routine that would give something away to the bad guys. I would like to think that a good OPSEC planner that got in on the planning early would be in a good position to help that EW guy and that deceptionist mitigate those kind of things.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” I said. But I still had a few more questions.

“Books, I have to ask; why is the lid so important?”

Books smiled as he took another spit. “Cost effective mitigation to overhead surveillance – passersby to you JP4 – plus it doubles as a safety device. I wouldn’t want this to spill. I do have some couth you know!”

“Good point,” I replied. “But is there a tie in with snuff and the Critical Information List? Does dipping itself make you a better OPSEC planner?”

About this time Chilly Mac walked into the break room. Books noticed him before I did and slowly turned to avoid any eye contact with him.

Sensing his desire to stay clear of Chilly Mac, Books softly spoke, “Let’s get back into the conference room. We can talk about Critical Information on the next break.”

Don Sidro
The Godfather of OPSEC

Keep the Faith!
Revelator

Posted in Indicators, OPSEC Plans, Planning | Print | No Comments »