Deception: A Matter Of National Security

By Trevor Jenson

National governments have used official means of deception in order to protect their countries for decades, beginning simultaneously with the formation of nation-states. This is an investigative process used to gather particular information on a situation or target. Although this form of information gathering has become more advanced in the recent decades, the idea of using trickery as a means to gain an advantage over an enemy is hundreds of years old.

There are different forms of 'intelligence', or the gathering of information, which includes but is not limited to: Human Intelligence, Signals Intelligence and Imagery Intelligence. These different measures of information gathering are all part of an intelligence cycle. This cycle begins with setting a specific objective. The collection of raw material is the next order of business in order to help achieve this objective. The information collected is then processed and analyzed by professional. The processed information is distributed to the concerned parties, i. E. President of a country or particular government agency. The responsible individual or group of individuals than decide on the next appropriate step to be taken.

Most people think of Human Intelligence, or HUMINT, as a person going undercover in order to retrieve information. Although this may be true in some circumstances, clandestine operations are not the only form of HUMINT. This process is undertaken through person to person contact, not limited to undercover operations. Advisors, diplomatic attaches, refugees and prisoners of war are only a few other examples of how intelligence gathering through human (as opposed to technological) means occur.

All of the above mentioned information sources will either be friendly, neutral or hostile. It is up to the person or agency gathering such information to keep the source of the information in mind. Human Intelligence can give insight into matters that technology can not. For instance, defectors who were part of a particular organization may have had access to sensitive information. This sensitive information may be vital for a government leader either to take action or refrain from action.

Signals Intelligence which is termed SIGINT by the Intelligence community, is the interception of signals between people or between electronic devices. It can also be the interception of a combination of human communication and electronic communication. People or organizations that have sensitive information to communicate often do so using encrypted (coded) language. In this case, cryptanalysis would be the form of action to take. This is the process of decoding the encrypted language apart of signals intelligence. Even if an organization can not find the code key in order to understand what is being transmitted, just knowing the volume of communication going on between one side and another can be useful information.

Imagery Intelligence of IMINT, is a form of gathering intelligence through aerial or satellite photography. Intelligence collected through aerial photography has been around for a long time, getting its start in the American Civil War and moving forward to WWI and WWII. Of course, the technique has been refined from using air-balloons to advanced photography from low or high flying planes. This serves an advantage over satellite photos because aerial photography is much clearer and cheaper to obtain. You can also do it whenever the need arises. The obvious disadvantage is that a plane can get recognized and shot down.

On the other hand, satellite photographs are taken from a much higher perspective than that of an airplane. This gives the photographs taken a much poorer quality in comparison to aerial shots. The advantage of satellite photos is that hostile territory can easily be put under surveillance without the enemy knowing. Also, this reduces the risk to human pilots when trying to obtain information on hostile regimes.

Open Source Intelligence, or OSINT, is a type of information gathering from "open-sources" such as media outlets, websites, and any other information form open to the general public. Going into more detail will show that web-based communities, social-networking sites, and blogs can often give officials a way in which to see how the general public, or a particular group of people are reacting or interacting with each other.

Public data such as governmental reports, budgets, and demographics are all resources of Open Source Intelligence. Be careful not to confuse this type of intelligence with ordinary research. This is because the information used from these sources is particular to the process of intelligence. It is customized information to support a potential decision that will be made by an individual or group.

All of the above mentioned forms of intelligence gathering techniques are used by national governments all across the globe. This has become increasingly true with the heightened threat of terrorism around the world. This makes what is seen as deception to some, a vital form of protection for many.