How do you find out if the field intelligence portrayed in espionage novels or spy movies is realistic?To find the answer, you need to look at what the characters are actually trying to achieve. That may sound obvious, but in my experience, as soon as words like surveillance, surveillance detection, and counter-surveillance enter the conversation,… Read More Surveillance, Surveillance Detection & Countersurveillance
“When Imad Mughniyeh passed away, the sound of popping champagne bottles could be heard in many places around the world.” Said Gad Shimron, a former Mossad operative. “The Americans were looking for him, the French were looking for him, the Saudis were looking for him, the Egyptians were looking for him, the Kuwaitis were looking… Read More Mossad Assassinations – Imad Mughniyeh
On April 1st, 2024, at around 5:00 pm, a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus was hit by an airstrike. The four-story structure was completely destroyed, killing Mohammed Reza Zahedi, also known as Hassan Mahdawi, along with six other senior Iranian officials (including Mahdawi’s deputy).Iran has claimed that the building was brought down… Read More Mossad Assassinations – Damascus Airstrike
On January 3rd, 2024, Mossad chief, David Barnea spoke on the aftermath of the bloody October 7th massacre. “Today, we are in the height of a war, and the Mossad, as it was fifty years ago, is obligated to bring to account the murderers who raided into Israel on October 7th, along with their planners… Read More Mossad Assassinations
Many people might find it surprising but much of the field-craft that goes into such things as surveillance detection and special protective operations—even some of the sexier stuff—can be applied in your own life as well. For example, the three-part article series about Circles of Security (part 1, part 2, part 3) I wrote a… Read More Applying Covert Field-craft in Your Daily Life
The following article is taken from Chapter 2 of my book Surveillance Zone. The book gives you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into the mysterious world of private-sector espionage, surveillance detection and covert protective operations. Before I get into the real meat of the book, I thought I’d take a little time to let you in on my… Read More Prologue – My Unconventional Background
The following article is taken from Chapter 3 of my book Surveillance Zone. The book gives you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into the mysterious world of private-sector espionage, surveillance detection and covert protective operations. Back when I was living in Tokyo, I met a fellow Israeli named Danny who became my closest friend during my years in… Read More Inductive Observation – Watching & Understanding People
What makes covert operations so interesting, and even funny at times, is that things are purposely not what they seem. I often find myself explaining to people that despite its ‘cool factor’, a covert operation isn’t just conducted for fun. It’s a tactical method for achieving very specific goals, and it can be expensive, risky… Read More Covert Operations – Stories From The Field
A Red Team is a non-hostile group or individual that challenges a system or an organization by simulating a potential adversary. This is done in order to uncover security vulnerabilities that are often not apparent to organizational insiders. The term comes from the cold war practice of US forces taking a Soviet, i.e. “red”, perspective.… Read More Red Team
This article will cover some of the more common misconceptions I’ve encountered among non-practitioners of covert operations (mainly those who want to employ covert operators). For those interested in getting tips for field operators, please check out my previous articles, Tips & Suggestions for Covert Operators and Tips & Suggestions for SD Operators. Overt—Low-Profile—Covert I… Read More Covert Operations – Common Misconceptions
