1 The Aware Traveler Counterintelligence Briefings for Foreign Travelers September 26, 2012 Jonathan Mouzon LMMFC Counterintelligence Office.

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The Aware Traveler

Counterintelligence Briefings for Foreign Travelers

September 26, 2012

Jonathan MouzonLMMFC Counterintelligence Office

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The Aware Traveler

Part 1: Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

Part 2: How Do We Brief Foreign Travelers Effectively?

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Part 1: Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

I. Need To Address The Threat

II. Produces Quality Suspicious Contact Reports

III. DSS Enhancement

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Part 1: Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

I. Need To Address The Threat

II. Produces Quality Suspicious Contact Reports

III. DSS Enhancement

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1.1 Economic Espionage

“Economic Espionage is the greatest threat to our national security since the Cold War.”

Louis Freeh, FBI Director, 1996

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1.1 Economic Espionage

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Economic Espionage Arrests 1995-2011

Courtesy of CI CENTRE and SPYPEDIA

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1.1 Economic Espionage

“Espionage used to be a problem for the FBI, CIA and military, but now it's a problem for corporations…”

Joel Brenner, ODNI, 2008

Classified informationCorporate proprietary,

intellectual property, pre-classified research

National Security US technological edge and financial prosperity

Government Private Industry

Foreign Nations Industry Competition

Courtesy of Washington Post, April 2008

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1.1 Economic Espionage

Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive

• Impacts on the U.S. economy:– No reliable estimates on monetary value exists– Many companies are unaware or do not report due

to the risk of damage to their reputation– Differing methods to estimate loss

• Actual development costs• Loss of future revenues

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1.1 Economic Espionage

• DuPont– Leading producer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) used in

white paints, plastics and paper– $12 billion market– TiO2 secrets sold to a Chinese state-run company

Courtesy of US Justice Department February 8, 2012, public release

• Small Businesses Beware

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1.1 Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

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1.1 Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

• When traveling to a foreign country, you and your company’s information are at greater risk

• Many foreign countries do not have legal restrictions against technical surveillance

• Some foreign governments help their domestic corporations collect competitive intelligence

Courtesy of FBI

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1.1 Outside Your Comfort Zone

Scenario 1

• A foreign visitor has come to your facility to give a presentation on a product or service they can provide. In a room full of your company’s employees, the visitor requests to insert a foreign thumb drive into a networked computer at your company in order to load a file or presentation.

• Which FSO’s can say your employees would not load the thumb drive?

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1.1 Outside Your Comfort Zone

Scenario 2

• One of your company’s employees is on international travel to negotiate an important contract. In a room full of his/her foreign hosts, the employee is given a thumb drive to load a critical file to his/her laptop that is necessary for the meeting. The employee is worried that rejecting the thumb drive could offend the hosts and jeopardize the contract.

• Which FSO’s can say your employee would not load the thumb drive?

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Part 1: Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

I. Need To Address The Threat

II. Produces Quality Suspicious Contact Reports

III. DSS Enhancement

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1.2 Quality Reporting

• 20% of LMMFC SCRs are from foreign travelers

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1.2 Recent SCR #1

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1.2 Recent SCR #1

8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th

803  1012    1304 1401 1505 1604  1809 1904

          1306 1404 1505 1605  1809 1903

          1310 1405 1507 1607     

            1407 1507 1610     

            1407 1507       

            1407 1510       

            1407 1514       

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1.2 Recent SCR #1

1605 1607

1505 1507

1405 1407

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1.2 Recent SCR #2

• Evidence of hotel room search

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1.2 Recent SCR #3

“American Boyfriend”

• Older Lockheed Martin Businessman• Attractive Hotel Receptionist

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Part 1: Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

I. Need To Address The Threat

II. Produces Quality Suspicious Contact Reports

III. DSS Enhancement

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1.3 DSS Enhancement

Category 7: Counterintelligence Integration/ Cyber Security

Foreign travel pre-briefings and debriefings conducted (when not a contractual requirement) or implementation of quality assurance efforts to check and verify training on suspicious contact reporting (SCR), and employee knowledge (e.g., setting up appropriate exercises to validate employee knowledge/situational awareness of SCR reporting process)

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So Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

Protects Your Company’s Trade Secrets

Briefing Your Foreign Travelers

Business Leaders FSO DSS

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The Aware Traveler

Part 1: Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

Part 2: How Do We Brief Foreign Travelers Effectively?

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Part 2: How Do We Brief Foreign Travelers Effectively?

I. Choosing The Right Form of Communication

II. Pre-Travel Counterintelligence Briefing

III. Post-Travel Counterintelligence Debriefing

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Part 2: How Do We Brief Foreign Travelers Effectively?

I. Choosing The Right Form of Communication

II. Pre-Travel Counterintelligence Briefing

III. Post-Travel Counterintelligence Debriefing

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2.1 Right Form of Communication

What if you do not have the time to

brief everyone face-to-face?

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2.1 Factors to Consider

• Location• Program Criticality• Targeted Technology• Subject Matter Expert• Traveler Experience• Trip Purpose• Foreign Interaction

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2.1 Factors to Consider

Location– Is it a high threat destination for collection?

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2.1 Factors to Consider

Program Criticality– Is it a critical program to your company or the

country?

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2.1 Factors to Consider

Targeted Technology– Is the country known for targeting this type of

technology?

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2.1 Factors to Consider

Subject Matter Expert– How much critical knowledge does the traveler

have?

Traveler Experience– Does the employee travel often?

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2.1 Factors to Consider

Trip Purpose– Tradeshow– Business Development– Contract Negotiations– Field Service Work

• Gives you an opportunity to learn more about the company’s overseas activities and tailor your briefing to their needs

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2.1 Factors to Consider

Foreign Interaction– Who is the traveler meeting with?

• Foreign Military Personnel• Foreign Defense Contractors• U.S. Military Personnel

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Part 2: How Do We Brief Foreign Travelers Effectively?

I. Choosing The Right Form of Communication

II. Pre-Travel Counterintelligence Briefing

III. Post-Travel Counterintelligence Debriefing

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2.2 Pre-Trip Briefing

Gather itinerary details– Dates– Airports– Hotels– Travel Companions

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2.2 Hotels

• Things to look out for:– Same hotel or block of rooms on multiple trips– Hotel room searches

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2.2 Hotels

• Countermeasures:– Beware your conversations may not be private– Keep you hotel room doors locked– Place “Do Not Disturb” sign on door– Turn TV or radio on

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2.2 Hotels

• Countermeasures:– Do not leave sensitive information in your hotel

room or safe– Do not use hotel computer or fax equipment at

foreign hotels for sensitive matters

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2.2 Electronics

• Things to look out for:– Abnormal occurrences

• Turning off and on • Large amounts of pop-ups• Unusual updates• Device seems sluggish

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2.2 Electronics

• Things to look out for:– Attempts to connect foreign electronic storage

devices to laptop or blackberry– Device automatically connecting to Wi-Fi networks– Laptop taken out of sight by an airport official for an

extended period of time for “security reasons”

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2.2 Electronics

• Countermeasures:– If you don’t need it, don’t take it– Utilize loaner laptops and phones– Utilize e-mail encryption– Maintain control of electronic devices

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2.2 Electronics

• Countermeasures:– Disable wireless capabilities– Avoid Wi-Fi networks– Clear your internet browser history after each use.

Delete history files, caches, cookies, and temporary internet files

– Be wary of thumb drives, computer drives, CDs or other “gifts” given to you

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2.2 Elicitation

• The strategic use of conversation to extract information from people without giving them the feeling they are being interrogated

• Things to look out for:– Flattery– Bracketing– Deliberate False Statements– Can you top this?– Macro to Micro– Feigned Ignorance– Quote Reported Facts

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2.2 Elicitation

• Countermeasures:– Ignoring any question or statement you think is

improper and changing the topic – Deflecting a question with one of your own – Responding with “Why do you ask?” – Giving a nondescript answer – Stating that you do not know – Stating that you would have to clear such

discussions with your security office – Stating that you cannot discuss the matter

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Part 2: How Do We Brief Foreign Travelers Effectively?

I. Choosing The Right Form of Communication

II. Pre-Travel Counterintelligence Briefing

III. Post-Travel Counterintelligence Debriefing

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2.3 Post-Trip Debriefing

• Close the loop

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Conclusion

Part 1: Why Brief Foreign Travelers?

I. Need To Address The Threat

II. Produces Quality Suspicious Contact Reports

III. DSS Enhancement

Part 2: How Do We Brief Foreign Travelers Effectively?

I. Choosing The Right Form of Communication

II. Pre-Travel Counterintelligence Briefing

III. Post-Travel Counterintelligence Debriefing

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Questions?