Industry
Joint DHS / FBI Memorandum: Suspicious Activity Reporting Criteria
On August 3, 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released the memorandum; "Suspicious Activity Reporting Criteria for Infrastructure Owners and Operators". The department of DHS and the FBI request that owners and operators of the nation's critical infrastructure / key resource facilities provide reporting on any suspicious activities potentially indicative of pre-operational terrorist planning.
Successful terrorist operations begin with extensive planning. An essential element of the planning process is the gathering of detailed reconnaissance and intelligence about a target: its defenses, vulnerabilities, and patterns of daily activity. This phase of a terrorist operation is called pre-operational surveillance, the purpose of which is to gather all the information possible concerning a particular target so that data can be assimilated into a precise plan of action which will greatly enhance the likelihood for success.
What type of information are terrorists after that will aid them in their planning?
- Location of HVAC systems and intakes
- Reaction times and procedures to false alarms
- Doors left open on a regular basis
- Gaps in fences or areas that can be accessed without being observed
- Model and types of locks
- Existence of closed-circuit cameras, and guard dogs
- The location of specific items on the facility (i.e. fuel tanks, water tanks, power feeds, etc)
- Access control procedure and the type of ID cards and/or parking permits used
- The capabilities of existing security systems
- Work force shift changes
- Security force post and patrols
- Schedules of vendor, trash pickup, and deliveries
- Access to computer systems that contain sensitive information such as emergency plans, maps, radio frequencies, locations of assembly areas etc.
Click the link below to learn more about the types of surveillance / probing activity that might occur in an attempt to acquire the information listed above and for a listing of critical infrastructure / key resource facilities.