Counterintelligence and Operational Security

Book excerpt: Protecting People, Facilities and InformationA Six Step Resource Guide for Counterintelligence and Operational Security PlanningEconomic, political and technological transformations of the past decade have significantly expanded the scope of intelligence threats faced by the U.S. government, business and industry. The expansion of multinational operations, digital information systems, wireless communication and web-based business practices all present new opportunities for exploitation by adaptive antagonists who need not step foot on U.S. soil to exploit security vulnerabilities and gather information. In short, our enemies have become savvier, hard to detect and even harder to deter. Consider the facts: Over 100 countries, led by China, Russia and India, are known to be actively involved in intelligence collection efforts against the United States. Intellectual property theft costs American corporations $250 billion a year. Theft of intellectual property and trade secrets costs 750,000 U.S. jobs a year. The estimated financial impact of individual cases of economic espionage range from less than $10,000 to more than $5.5 million per incident, totaling billions in losses to the U.S. economy each year. As the threat increases so does the need for all government, business and industry leaders to possess a basic knowledge of counterintelligence practice and operational security - and that is what this handbook is all about. Its goal is to assist managers at all levels in government and the corporate world in understanding the nature of the threat, increasing organizational awareness, and implementing effective protective strategies and countermeasures. This is a comprehensive, up-to-date reference which provides a logical introduction to the field of counterintelligence and operational security. It introduces a simple to follow six-step process for developing an organizational counterintelligence and operational security strategy. The intelligence community warns that the threat continues to increase and that no one is safe. Government agencies are attacked on a daily basis and businesses large and small are being targeted. This handbook is a must read for all managers to learn how to protect their organizations and safeguard their staff, products, services-and the nation. For more details, visit www.GTIBookstore.comContributors