The CIA’s Secret Art Patronage: Abstract Expressionism in the Cold War
The Key 1946. Jackson Pollock. Oil on linen. Art Institute of Chicago. It’s believed that painting was named “The Key” to signify a new beginning in American art, during an…
Operation Bernhard: The Secret Nazi Counterfeiting Operation
The entrance to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where the forgers operated. According to an article in The New York Times published on December 13, 2001, the SS experimented with mass killing…
Kryptos: The Enigma of CIA’s Secret Sculpture
Kryptos by Jim Sanborn / CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED. Kryptos is a fascinating sculpture by the American artist Jim Sanborn. The sculpture is located on the grounds of the Central…
Unleashing the Potential of Training Programs through Effective Evaluation
Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment ‘Red Currahee,’ 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, supporting the 4th Infantry Division, return fire during a platoon situational training exercise…
Low-Tech Tactics in a High-Tech World: The Undying Art of Spycraft
This (replacement) mailbox is identical to the one, and in the same location, that convicted spy Aldrich Ames used to signal his Russian counterparts. Ames would place a horizontal chalk…
Operation Shocker: Counterintelligence, Deception & the Cold War
J. Edgar Hoover Building, the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. Credit: Audie / CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED. Counterintelligence is, in effect, chasing ghosts, which is…
Invisible Ink: The Unseen Language of Secrets and Spies
Reproduction of one of Benedict Arnold’s coded communications with the British while he was negotiating what eventually became a failed attempt to surrender the fort at West Point in 1780.…
Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) in Protective Intelligence
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio. Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) is the process of collecting information from publicly accessible sources. OSINT is different from research in that it applies the intelligence process to…
The Intelligence Cycle in Protective Intelligence: A Systematic Process
Secret Service agents executing a protective operation. Credit: U.S. Secret Service. Protective intelligence is a critical aspect of security operations that involves the identification, assessment, and management of threats towards…
Functions of Protective Intelligence: Identification, Assessment, and Management/Mitigation
Photo: U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service Protective intelligence is a critical aspect of security operations that focuses on preventing targeted violence. It involves a systematic process of gathering…