17 CIA Tips - Think like a spy and stay safe while on vacation

The CIA is releasing these tips – or travel tradecraft, in spy parlance – as part of its ongoing effort to demystify its work in assisting the American public, according to agency spokesperson Walter Trosin.

I found the CIA's best practices, culled from the experience of its officers in the field, are exceptionally helpful, easy to adopt and especially relevant to Americans in these fraught times.

Here’s how to think like a spy on the ground overseas... more

The CIA Shares How to Travel Like a Spy

Staying in a high-rise hotel on vacation this summer? ... The CIA is offering these tips and more to Americans... “Call it travel tradecraft,” the agency said, publishing the new advice on its website. 

“Whether you’re off to a bustling city or a secluded getaway this summer, we hope these CIA ‘travel tips’ help you journey with more confidence and safety.” 

Some of the guidance is standard practice for seasoned travelers... But some of their advice is more spook savvy...

“Don’t look like an easy target,” the guidance reads... “You’ll want to be alert and maintain situational awareness, especially in an unfamiliar country.”

Once you have arrived at your destination, the CIA suggests familiarizing yourself with the emergency escape routes. more  The CIA Tips

Letterlocking: How Secrets Were Kept Before Gummed Envelopes

Mary, Queen of Scots used a "spiral locking" technique to seal the last letter she wrote before her execution, indicating that she wanted the contents to remain secret, according to research published in the Electronic British Library Journal.

An example of letterlocking -- where people doubled letters as envelopes to ensure the security of a document -- the fallen monarch used a spiral locking process to seal a message that was "a last will and testament and a bid for martyrdom," the research published on Friday says.

Letterlocking was used widely throughout early modern Europe, and was an essential process of ensuring the security of letters before mass-produced gummed envelopes were manufactured in the 19th-century

It played a crucial role in the "history of secrecy systems," enabling "global correspondence in the early modern period as fundamentally as computer coding underpins digital communication today," the research paper says. more

Have Some Free Time? Learn How to Detect Spy Cameras

On-line, self-paced, professional video training course to detect spy cameras in “expectation of privacy” areas for organizations and private individuals. more

Physical Security's 15 Greatest Hits

When it come to corporate espionage, many tricks are available for getting around your security measures. We can alert you to them. Our counter espionage survey can identify the weak spots in your organization’s physical and information security efforts and make recommendations to remediate them. 

The following video demonstrates bypass techniques from physical security professionals Brent White at WeHackPeople.com, and Deviant Ollam, and Rob Pingor of RedTeam Alliance.

  

Physical security is important to any business or government organization. Even though an organization has taken all the security measures possible, corporate spies know how to bypass many of them.

The first line of defense for any secure building or office is the door. Many of these are controlled by card-key access controlled locks. Exiting is often automated using an IR or infrared door lock release sensor. Unfortunately, many common security measures are simple for spies to circumvent. more