Douglas Bernhardt's thought on counterintelligence

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

Are you as much interested in counterintelligence as I am [conducting the blended course Information security ( http://triton.cs.put.poznan.pl/platon/files/opisyPrzedmiotow/ib_dzi... ) for my students there ( http://fedcba.ning.com/group/bi )]? Members of Competitive Intelligence social network have been already interested in discussing counterintelligence problems by Ellen Naylor [on May 6, 2009 at 6:47pm ( http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/xn/detail/2036441:Comment:2... )], Alessandro Comai [on May 24, 2009 at 4:13pm ( http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/xn/detail/2036441:Comment:2... )], August Jackson [ on July 30, 2008 at 7:55am ( http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/xn/detail/2036441:Comment:7525 )], and me [on January 23, 2009 at 3:10am ( http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/xn/detail/2036441:Comment:1... ), on February 18, 2009 at 3:53am ( http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/xn/detail/2036441:Comment:1... )].

As an e-lecturer preparing the e-course Operation of Surveillance and CSURV Devices ( http://fedcba.ning.com/group/oscd ), I'm interested mainly in Douglas Bernhardt's thought on Technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM) [Competitive Intelligence: Acquiring and using corporate intelligence and counterintelligence, published in 2003 by FT Prentice Hall, p. 94]. However, most of you will be possibly interested in the following aspect of counterintelligence emphasized by Douglas Bernhardt.

Counterintelligence should not only protect against aggressive and illegal information collection but also against open and legal collection efforts that can harm a company and affect its ability to compete in its market.
Ibidem, p. 88

Am I right? :-)

Best,
Tad
http://www.lemant.user.icpnet.pl/tad/

[Sheila Wright]

As the person who's views you are specifically seeking is a member of this Forum and you are already linked as friends, wouldn't it be more efficient, not to say appropriate, to ask him privately, rather than start a third party discussion on what may or may not be his thoughts? Surely, only he can answer that question.

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

Why have I started the discussion Douglas Bernhardt's thought on counterintelligence here, on the forum of Competitive Intelligence ( http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/forum )?

There are four reasons why I've done it: first Douglas Bernhardt's book is among those rare books which are available to every netizen ( http://www.esnips.com/doc/4157d765-4b6a-4b4b-926c-c9aedaf75a9e/Comp... ), second quite important part of the book Competitive Intelligence: Acquiring and using corporate intelligence and counterintelligence was devoted just to counterintelligence, third counterintelligence was described very inspirationally by Douglas Bernhardt's words quoted above, fourth these words have inspired me to ask all of you the following questions.

- What "open and legal collection efforts can harm a company and affect its ability to compete in its market"?
- Who decides that such "collection efforts" appear?
- Who decides that they are such? CI professionals who collect information about a company or management of that company?

[Vivek Raghuvanshi]

Dear Mr Lemanczyk,

You quoted: "Counterintelligence should not only protect against aggressive and illegal information collection but also against open and legal collection efforts that can harm a company and affect its ability to compete in its market."

Sir, lets look at it from Corporate Warfare perspective when corporations worldwide use Information Warfare to: Protect, Exploit, Corrupt, Deny / Destroy, information or information resources in order to achieve a significant advantage / objective / victory over a competitor in the marketplace.

I'll say we use SOPs such as Passive Intelligence then Semi-Active Intelligence and then Active Intelligence at the Collection phase. [ OSINT + HUMINT }

I agree with Arthur on "The Right mix of OSINT and HUMINT" at Collection phase and then generate Insight to get cutting edge.

[Vivek Raghuvanshi]

Everybody "supposedly" collects Information from OSINT.

So, Corporate Warfare ideally uses Psy-Ops tools.

1. To shape community perceptions
2. Foster Deception
3. Seed uncertainity ( FUD ) Factor

Since Propoganda and Disinformation campaigns have long been staples of Conventional Warfare, so Corporate Warfare by default will use the same tools.

REFER :

Mao Tse Tung

Che Guevara

Sun Tzu

Chanakya

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

Absolutely! Chanakya could really be a teacher of Competitive Intelligence professionals. ;-)

A person should not be too honest. Just as straight trees are chopped-down first, honest people are taken advantage of first.
Chanakya Quotes ( http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/article-305.html )

[Vivek Raghuvanshi]

Point to Ponder: The quote I created -:


Between MORALITY and GREED lies AMBITION - Vivek Raghuvanshi

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

You've hit the bull's-eye once again, Vivek. However, don't forget some subcultures which undermine furiously every "social holiness" [333 Cultures and subcultures 01/26/1999 11:25 PM, TadFromPoland ( http://www.lemant.user.icpnet.pl/tad/floor5a.html ), available now at http://www.geocities.com/eklezjastka/bbs333.htm ].

[Sheila Wright]

Hasn't this discussion now gone several miles off topic? It seems to have become a contest on who can find the most obscure quotes on the internet and if you can't find one, make one up. Is anybody doing any work out there I wonder?

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

Sheila, you can mobilize us. :-) What is the topic of our conversation in this discussion thread? Let's return to Douglas Bernhardt's words ["Counterintelligence should not only protect against aggressive and illegal information collection but also against open and legal collection efforts that can harm a company and affect its ability to compete in its market." ( http://www.esnips.com/doc/4157d765-4b6a-4b4b-926c-c9aedaf75a9e/Comp... , p.88)]. Are those "open and legal collection efforts" not ethical enough? Are Competitive Intelligence professionals too greedy what Vivek Raghuvanshi has seemed to suggest?

Best,
Tad

[Vivek Raghuvanshi]

Dear Mr Lemanczyk,

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!

How will Counter Intelligence take care of MICE?

I wonder!

[Sheila Wright]

Vivek, I think you would be well advised to understand the cliche you are quoting here which is somewhat of a wild overstatement if ever I saw one. It is just that the merit of discussing the meaning behind one paragraph, taken entirely out of context, in a 109 page report is totally lost on me and I am amazed that people find time to waste on such things. I expect that readers who value the opinion of Douglas Bernhardt on this subject, would read the whole report, especially the section from which the quote has been extracted and the conclusion on Pg 96. When this report ws first published in 2003, the publisher saw fit to charge £99 per copy for it. Now it is free on the internet. Things have moved on since 2003 and I shall retire from this discussion as I need to get some real work done.

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

Vivek, asking "How will Counter Intelligence take care of MICE?" you mean companies protected by some CI professionals against other CI professionals who working for rival companies try to search the former companies without permission given by their management, don't you? ;-) How can they therefore protect their companies more effectively? The answer to this question we can find in chapter ninth (Counterintelligence: the other side of the coin) of Douglas Bernhardt's book (Competitive Intelligence--How to acquire and use corporate intelligence and counter-intelligence), chapter written mainly by Steve Whitehead ( http://www.esnips.com/doc/4157d765-4b6a-4b4b-926c-c9aedaf75a9e/Comp... , p. 83), a member of this CI social network ( http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/SteveWhitehead ).

Incidentally, there is also James A. Schweitzer cited, including the words "poor security often reflects both weak policies and inadequate forethought" (Ibidem, p. 96). You call those companies searched without permission "MICE" because they are as "quiet, nervous, and fearful" as those "small furry animals", don't you? :-)

Best,
Tad
http://fedcba.ning.com/