From: Vickie Nickel <training@bc.sympatico.ca>
Reply-To: Vickie Nickel <training@bc.sympatico.ca>
To: F9 Member <training@bc.sympatico.ca>
Subject: F9 #6
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 15:20:05
* * * F 9 B U L L E T I N * * *
Spy school for the rest of us.
Volume 1 Number 6 Thursday, October 22nd, 1998
A free publication from http://www.spycounterspy.com
* * *
Sent in compliance with Section 301, Paragraph (a)(2)(C) of s.1618.
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed
without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational
purposes only.
Copyright 1998 Lee Adams. All rights are reserved. Quoting and copying
prohibited. Published weekly. Publisher's statement at end of document.
Disclaimer: F9 does not issue orders or make suggestions. F9 merely
informs. We support actions which derive from your rights recognized
under the Constitution for the united States of America. We do not
endorse, condone, or encourage otherwise unlawful actions. F9 Bulletin
is presented for information, research, entertainment, and education
purposes only. Pronouns such as you, your, our, and we are used for
ease of readability only. Guerrilla, active cell, and other such terms
refer to states of mind during lawful dissent. No other meaning is
intended.
* * * I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E
SURVIVE A STANDOFF
SITREP
BLOWBACK
CALL FOR ASSISTANCE
ASK AGENT X
PARTING SHOT
* * * S U R V I V E A S T A N D O F F
They'll try a no-knock entry first, of course. And it usually
works.
Before you even realize what's happening, they kick in the door,
dash
into your bedroom, and slam the muzzle of a 9mm Heckler & Koch
submachine
gun up against your forehead.
But you're not one of the sheep. Your door is reinforced. And
your
return fire made the goons back off. Remember, to them it's just a
paycheck. Think of them as bullies looking for victims. They usually
run at the first sign of determined resistance.
Next comes the seige. They surround your house, cut off the
electricity,
toss over a throw-phone, and call in the crisis negotiation team to
start lying to you.
In a barricade situation, your real adversary is time. Sure, the
cops may have your house surrounded -- they may even have a couple
of
snipers on rooftops. But not much else is going to happen. Not unless
they get inside. Or unless you go outside.
Your biggest problem is the CS grenades that they're going to
lob
through the windows. CS is tear gas. Chemical name
orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile.
Named after Corson and Stoughton, the developers.
CS is chemical warfare. Chemical agents. Incapacitating agents,
they're called. CS falls into the subclass of lacrimators, which are
tear-producing agents.
CS is an extremely potent form of tear gas. It's strong, persistant,
and water soluable. It produces a burning sensation in all wet areas
-- nose, eyes, nasal passages, bronchial passages, and lungs. Your
body immediately begins producing huge quantities of mucous -- it's
like an instant case of multiple pneumonia. All you can think of is
the incredible pain. Burning, burning, burning. Your eyes are welded
shut. Panic sets in. Disorientation. Fear. You gotta get out of
here. You'll do anything to escape the pain.
---
Run outside and you're finished. They'll slam you down to the
ground.
Surround you and beat you senseless. Then cuff your hands behind
you.
And probably put you out with a standard police choke-hold. Or
maybe
they'll just let the German Shepherd dogs have a go at you first.
(Standard
"police dogs" simply rip at your wrists and ankles. Maybe slash up
your hands and face a bit as you try to defend yourself. Hardened military
"attack dogs" go straight for your groin and neck. It isn't pretty.)
But we digress. To get back to the main problem, your house is
surrounded.
Hmmm. If you don't have a pre-planned escape route or a hiding
place,
you are stuck. Your best option to to negotiate through a third-party.
DO NOT EVER AGREE TO USE A POLICE-SUPPLIED NEGOTIATOR. They are
too
skilled at deception.
If you cannot escape, then you must NEGOTIATE YOUR WAY INTO CUSTODY,
preferably in the presence of TV cameras. That's because the goons
aren't focused on arresting you, they're waiting to execute you. So
you gotta negotiate. But you can't negotiate if you're choking from
the burning CS cannisters they just shot through the windows.
And that's what this article is about. How to survive the tear gas.
---
Technically, it's not really a gas at all. It is composed of microfine
particles carried on the smoke produced by the grenade. The smoke is
white -- in Britain they call it tear smoke -- here in the USA we call
it tear gas.
There are four ways you can defend yourself against incoming CS
grenades.
DEFENSE #1 -- SURPLUS GAS MASK ;-)
This is your best option. Available at most surplus stores. You
can pick up a brand-new Israeli gas mask for $15 to $30. A used domestic
mask with a brand-new filter cartridge runs about the same price. This
is your best defense. Keep your mask near where you sleep. All the
masks work the same way. One air passage for breathing in. Another
passage for breathing out. This makes the filter cartridge last longer.
An internal seal over your nose and mouth keeps your breath from
fogging
up the eye glasses. The filters are effective because the CS chemical
is carried on the smoke particles. Filter out the smoke particles and
you've filtered out the CS agent.
DEFENSE #2 -- INHIBIT THE LACRIMATING AGENT :-)
This is your next-best option. Use thick gloves or a doubled-up
towel to pick up the grenade. It'll be hot. You'll get third-degree
burns if you attempt to grab it with your bare hands. Immerse the grenade
in vinegar.
The IRA has taught Irish civilians to keep their kitchen sink
or
bathroom basin filled with vinegar when the British troops are doing
a sweep of the neighborhood. That's because the Brits confiscate any
gas masks they find, of course.
Here's what you can do. Keep a couple containers of vinegar and
a large bucket near where you sleep. As the situation unfolds, fill
the bucket with vinegar. When a CS grenade is deployed, pick it up
and drop it into the bucket.
Here's another way to use the vinegar. In a pinch you can soak
some
towels in the vinegar and place the towels over your nose and mouth.
This method ain't perfect, but it'll get you through the roughest
moments.
More tips. Vaseline on exposed skin will help protect you from
the
general irritation that CS produces. The PLO teaches Palestinian civilians
to use onions to get the chemical agent off their exposed skin. Cut
a raw onion in half and use it like a scrub brush.
DEFENSE #3 -- NEUTRALIZE THE LACRIMATING AGENT :-)
This is your third-best option. Instead of vinegar, keep a supply
of chlorine bleach on hand. Chlorine bleach is sodium hypochlorite.
It is easiest to store in its powdered form. Toss some into your
bucket,
add some water, and you've got chlorine bleach on demand. Using thick
gloves or a folded rag, drop the burning grenade into the bucket. The
bleach neutralizes the active chemical, rendering it ineffective.
DEFENSE #4 -- THROW IT BACK AT THEM >:-)
If the grenade has been incorrectly deployed, you may be able
to
pick it up and throw it back out the window. (Protect your hands!)
---
That's the good news. Here's the bad news.
What we've just finished describing is the burning-style munition.
The grenade simply burns and generates smoke. The smoke carries
the
CS chemical agent.
The goons can also use blast-style munitions. The agent is delivered
through one detonation. Without a gas mask, you've got a major problem.
The military can also deliver CS by spraying, including water cannon.
Like we said, it ain't a pretty scenario.
Recommendation? Go out this weekend and get yourself a surplus
gas
mask.
[Editor's Note -- Here at F9 we wish to express our heartfelt thanks
to the many whistleblowers, agents-in-place, and experts who shared
their technical knowledge with us. This article wouldn't have been
possible without your help. You know who you are. On behalf of our
readers, thank you.]
* * * S I T R E P
(Assorted items of interest. Sitrep is spy-talk for situation report.)
SITREP ITEM #1 -- CIA COVERT OPS
Government reports over the past 15 years paint a damning picture
of CIA operations. One of every THREE covert operations involves rigging
elections. So much for DEMOCRACY. One of every FOUR covert operations
involves media propaganda. So much for FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. One of
every FIVE covert operations involves arms sales. So much for
NONPROLIFERATION.
Even worse, the reports confirm that the CIA is not repeat NOT
a
rogue element. It is NOT out of control. On the contrary, starting
with the 1975 Pike Committee report, various House committees have
confirmed
again and again that the CIA acted -- and continues to act -- under
the DIRECT ORDERS of the goons in the White House.
SITREP ITEM #2 -- THE GREEN MAMBA
Here at F9 we have received confidential reports of a new computer
security product being developed offshore by an American group of
investors.
Code-named The Green Mamba after the poisonous snake of the same
name,
the infrared-based hardware key is designed to protect notebook and
laptop computers from the prying eyes of NSA, FBI, IRS, et al. It will
also make your computer useless to any thief.
You carry the key on your keyring with your house keys, car keys,
and so on. Your portable computer will not boot unless the key is held
within 18 inches of the machine's infrared port. All data on your hard
drive is kept encrypted when not in use, so even if the goons manage
to bypass your infrared key, your information remains secure.
Expect the product to hit the US market in about 8 months. We
were
offered further information and a beta version if we would sign a
nondisclosure
agreement. We declined.
SITREP ITEM #3 -- FEMA PLAYING ROUGH
According to one of our whistleblowers, FEMA has recently been
offering
to train SWAT teams in terrorist containment. Here at F9, we interpret
"terrorist containment" to mean "operations against US citizens".
If anyone has any further information on this ugly development,
please
email F9 membership manager Vickie Nickel at training@bc.sympatico.ca
* * * B L O W B A C K
(Letters from readers. Blowback is spy-talk for unexpected backlash
from covert ops. Readers' comments are edited for brevity and style.)
BLOWBACK ITEM #1 -- BRITAIN
A frustrated F9 reader from Britain writes, "You guys think you have
it hard. Well, consider this. The population here has been completely
disarmed. Only the crooks and cops have weapons. We can't even own
a slingshot here. The British are very, very effective at internal
security. More than one per cent of the population are deployed as
part of the security service."
BLOWBACK ITEM #2 -- USA
A curious F9 reader with an anonymous email account writes, "I would
like to see an article about building security. I'm interested in outer,
middle, and inner security -- as well as an explanation of how a man-trap
works."
BLOWBACK ITEM #3 -- USA
A rehabilitated ex-spook writes, "You are doing a great service. I
am retired from the US Army. I served as a counterintelligence special
agent. My last assignment was counter-narcotics operations. What a
waste... nothing more than an excuse for the authorities to trample
on everyone's rights."
BLOWBACK ITEM #4 -- OFFSHORE
An F9 reader from overseas writes, "You may want to check out Kill
Or
Get Killed by Rex Applegate, from Paladin Press. Also note that the
Mini Manual for the Urban Guerrilla has been banned here in [deleted]
since the 1960s." [Editor's Note -- In the interests of safety, we
deleted the name of the country to protect the identity of our reader.]
BLOWBACK ITEM #5 -- USA
A rehabilitated ex-cop writes, "Your website has taught me more over
the past 25 hours that I've been reading it than all the specialized
training I received in law enforcement over a 27-year career."
BLOWBACK ITEM #6 -- USA
Another ex-cop writes, "I worked in law enforcement for nearly 30 years.
To date I've found nothing to compare with your website. Not
only
is it accurate, but it's of the utmost importance for the lay person.
Anyone who will take the time to read and study your material
stands
a better chance of avoiding being victimized by the system."
BLOWBACK ITEM #7 -- USA
A cryptography buff writes, "Your website makes no mention of
steganography.
I have several programs that can hide text files inside an audio
file
or inside an image file. The process does not noticeably degrade the
quality of the original audio or image. I would have thought that this
concealed method of cryptography would be very useful, because anyone
using typical encryption would arouse the suspicion of the authorities.
I can provide these steganography programs if you are interested."
* * * C A L L F O R A S S I S T A N C E
F9 needs your help.
As you probably already know, we're forming up networks of active
cells. We've run into a snag with our communications strategy. Here's
the story so far.
We originally intended to use PGP to send encrypted messages to
our
active tactical units (active cells). However, the idiosyncracies between
different versions of PGP made this impractical. Incompatibilities
between encryption algorithms, key lengths, key exchange protocols,
signing protocols, ciphertext header anomolies, and operating system
inconsistencies (Windows vs. DOS) made the process simply too labor
intensive. In addition, we were concerned that recent Windows versions
of PGP apparently no longer use the open source code model. If you
want to test it yourself, PGP is available at
http://web.mit.edu.network/pgp.html
Next we looked at RPK InvisiMail, which handled all the key exhanging
and encryption/decryption automatically. RPK was developed offshore,
away from the prying eyes of NSA et al, so we liked the security. Open
algorithm. No trap doors. However, we encountered two problems. First,
if the recipient wasn't using InvisiMail, the sender's software would
simply send the message as plaintext. This could have very serious
ramifications if the sender were relying on an encrypted transmission.
Second, while we were testing the software, we encountered some
instability
during the handshaking between two users. The recipient's computer
froze a few times. If you want to test it yourself, RPK InvisiMail
is available at http://www.invisimail.com
Then we looked at DropChute. We liked what we saw. The software
bypassed the normal email protocol, which is sloppy and inconsistent.
Often 4 or 5 copies of your original message are send to different
servers, where they are never erased. DropChute, on the other, establishes
a direct link in real time between the sender's computer and the
recipient's
computer. One message, one connection, one transmission, one confirmation,
all automatically encrypted. However, we've just begun to encounter
a few problems. DropChute apparently doesn't work with some of the
new high-speed cable modems. Further, DropChute requires Windows 95/98/NT
-- it isn't available for OS/2 or DOS or Macs. And DropChute requires
that both the sender and the recipient be at their computers -- and
it doesn't seem to work with anonymous email accounts that are Web-based
instead of ISP modem-based. If you want to test it yourself, DropChute
is available at http://www.hilgraeve.com
---
That's why we need your help. Is there an efficient way to communicate
with our active cells (and perhaps with F9 subscribers)?
Here are our criteria...
F9 needs a method that will reach as many readers as possible,
including
those using MS DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT,
IBM OS/2, Linux, Macs, and others.
F9 needs a method that will keep messages confidential from nosy
busybodies. Some readers are at computers that aren't secure from
over-the-shoulder
lookieloos.
F9 needs a method that makes it necessary for the authorities
to
deliberately place a targeted individual under surveillance before
they
can begin to intercept and crack his/her email messages. This increases
the chances that you'll spot the surveillance team setting up. We would
prefer not repeat NOT to use any method that makes it easy for the
authorities
to troll for F9 readers by intercepting email messages at random.
F9 needs a method that will permit readers to take advantage of
the
firewall security described in our website tutorial about keeping the
FBI out of your email. (To read the tutorial go to our home page at
http://www.spycounterspy.com and click on Uncrackable Email.)
And, lastly, we're hoping to find an email method that will work
with our bulk emailer software, GroupMail. To test this software yourself,
you can download a free trial copy from http://www.firebird.net
---
We still hope to be able to use DropChute with readers who are
able
to run it. And we're prepared to use plaintext email if we have to.
After all, when all is said and done, it is completely lawful
for you
to read the email we'll be sending you -- especially in the context
of the elliptical conversation tradecraft that we'll be using -- and
teaching you -- in coming issues of F9.
But is there a more effective way for us to communicate with you
over the Web?
If you've got some ideas, please send email to F9 membership manager,
Vickie Nickel :-) at training@bc.sympatico.ca
For example, if you've got a custom build of PGP, we'd be glad
to
evaluate it. A PGP-like program with an extensible front end for different
operating systems, complete with shredding capabilities... are we asking
too much?
Or if you know of offshore software, please give us a buzz ;-)
Or if you can think of a combination of programs that might do
the
trick... please email us.
* * * A S K A G E N T X
(Questions from readers.)
This reader's question concerns our one-time pad tutorial at the Spy
& CounterSpy website.
QUESTION --
"Why not use a Beale code instead of the one-time pad? The key
could
be anything -- a local newspaper, a telephone directory, or a copy
of
a book like War and Peace. I really don't get the use of a one-time
pad. It seems to present problems, ie getting the key distributed to
the appropriate people."
AGENT X REPLIES --
The randomness of the key is vital. The security of the one-time
pad relies on two factors. First, the key must be random. Second,
the key can used only once. If the key isn't truly random -- or if
you use a key more than once -- the cryptanalysts at NSA will crack
your ciphertext.
Here's a case study that shows how serious this is.
During the Second World War, the Russians ran a group of espionage
agents in Britain. These top-producing agents, called "The Cambridge
Five", included Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt,
and John Cairncross.
The KGB was using a one-time pad system to send telegrams to Moscow
from its field offices in Britain and the United States. Britain's
MI.5 was completely in the dark. Hoover's FBI was busy chasing Nazis.
Then in 1951 things started going horribly wrong for the Russians.
Master spy Kim Philby, who had wormed his way deep into the British
intelligence establishment, learned that American cryptanalyst Meredith
Gardner had discovered a blunder in a telegram sent from New York to
Moscow. In 1942 a Russian cipher clerk in the Washington embassy had
exhausted his supply of one-time pads. The diplomatic pouch containing
the new pads had been delayed because the ship's captain decided to
postpone the Atlantic crossing because of intense German submarine
activity.
The cipher clerk used the SAME one-time pad for two messages.
Seven years later in 1949, an American mathematics whiz named
Meredith
Gardner was able to crack the two messages. The effort was called Project
Venona.
The result? Russian spy-handler Yuri Modin watched in horror as
his network of top agents fell apart. By 1951 the FBI and MI.5 had
unearthed enough clues to reveal the identity of one of the Cambridge
Five -- agent Homer (Donald Maclean). The dominoes began to fall.
Eventually even the grandmaster himself, Kim Philby, was implicated.
The Russians shot the cipher clerk.
The lesson? A one-time pad is foolproof only if it is RANDOM --
and only if it's used JUST ONCE. If there is ANY PATTERN AT ALL, then
the goons will be able to crack your messages. Don't make the same
mistake the Russian cipher clerk made in 1942.
Nobody ever said that using a one-time pad was easy. It involves
nitpicking work to generate a random key. It is inconvenient to distribute
the one-time pads to your correspondents.
But the one-time pad is the only cryptography system that will
keep
you out of the internment camps. The one-time pad is the ONLY system
that cannot be broken -- either in practise or in theory. Period.
Besides, when the goons kick in the reader's door an hour before
dawn, he's going to find it a lot easier to swallow a one-time pad
than
a copy of the daily newspaper.
* * * P A R T I N G S H O T
To continue to receive F9 Bulletin by email, simply do nothing. To
cancel your subscription, reply to this email with "Remove" or
"Unsubscribe"
in the subject line.
ANTISURVEILLANCE TIP: You should promptly suspend your subscription
if you detect new surveillance. This will help you deceive the goons
into thinking that you are just one of the sheep. Watch mindless TV
programs and read mindless magazine articles for a while. The goons
will soon lose interest and downgrade the surveillance. Vickie will
gladly email you all the back issues when you renew your subscription
to F9 Bulletin.
Questions, comments, and suggestions about F9 Bulletin can be sent to
F9's membership manager Vickie Nickel at training@bc.sympatico.ca
The next issue will be out a week from now. You can expect more frank
talk about countersurveillance, antisurveillance, underground urban
activism, and tradecraft. If you want the plain, unvarnished truth
about how all this stuff really operates, you're reading the right
newsletter.
Cheers.
From your friends at http://www.spycounterspy.com
Lee, Vickie, Agent X, and our network of whistleblowers and
contributors
F9 Bulletin is published weekly by
Here's-how, Right-now! Seminars Inc.,
PO Box 8026, Victoria BC
Canada V8W 3R7
Tel 250-475-1450 Fax 250-475-1460
URL http://www.spycounterspy.com
EMAIL training@bc.sympatico.ca
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