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Intelligence and Interrogation Processes
By: Master Of Impact and the Legion Of Hackers
INTRODUCTION:
=============
Doing what we do best always carries the risk of someone, somewhere, wanting
to hold you for questioning. In this article I hope to give those persons who
that are in use (and are in no ways happen to be all new), that can give you
the edge you need to come away "sin faulta". In fact, these interrogation
practicies are used a lot by teachers, local police, the FBI and Secret Service
girlfriends, wives, parents, etc. to obtain information from you that you
probably don't want to give out.
Interrogation is the art of questioning and examining a source in order to
obtain the maximum amount of useful information. The goal of any interrogation is to obtain useful and reliable information in a lawful manner and in a
minimum amount of time. The goal of any source is to deceive or hinder any
attempts of the interrogator to get information out of him.
This article will deal primarily with the principles, techniques, and
procedures of intelligence interrogation. By reading this article, one
who runs the risk of being interrogated can build countermeasures for common
interrogation techniques. This article has some paraphrased material from a
government interrogation manual but the majority of the information was from
personal experience and prior knowledge of the subject.
You cannot hope to defeat interrogation techniques unless you first know
what they are. The ones listed herein are the most commonly used. After reading
this article, you should be able to tell when you are being interrogated by
people, and what technique(s) they are using when you probably would not have
known before. Once you know what they are up to and how they are going to TRY
to accomplish it, YOU have the initiative!
INITIATIVE:
===========
Achieving and maintaining the initiative is essential to a successful
interrogation just as offense is the key to success in combat operations. The
initiative in any interrogation must rest with the interrogator throughout the
entire interrogation. He will have certain advantages at the beginning of an
interrogation which will enable him to grasp the initiative and assist in
maintaining the initiative throughout the interrogation.
The interrogator has a position of authority over you. You realize this
fact, and in some cases, believe that your future might well depend upon your
association with the interrogator. As in the case of police questioning,
"cooperate and we will go easy on you". Like hell they will.
The interrogator knows the purpose of the interrogation; the source does
not necessarily know the exact reason, but can generally assume (especially
in the case of a computer hacker or phone phreak, which is what the term
"source" will be referring to, during this article) because he or she is most
usually conscious of horrible and nasty wrong-doings he or she may have been
responsible for. Unfortunately for the source, he is generally very much in
the dark about what's happening to his life while it is, in fact, crumbling
around him (temporarily, anyway). This gives the source a not-so-illusionary
behavior pattern of the proverbial chicken who's had its head chopped off.
Having gained the initial advantage which is quite an understatement,
seeing that, although the risks to the source during the perpetration of
a crime are quite obvious, the possible realistic results of being caught
aren't quite as impressive while one is getting away with a crime than when
one's home is invaded by the JC Penny-suit men wearing mirrored sunglasses,
the interrogator must strive to maintain the initiative applying appropriate
interrogation techniques through the exercise of self-control; by taking
advantage of the source's weaknesses as they become apparent; and by
continuously displaying an attitude of confidence and self-assurance. The
interrogator, however, is 'supposed' to never take advantage of your weaknesses
to`tae extent that the interrogation involves threats, insults, torture
or exposure to unpleasant or inhumane treatment of any kind. Remember, the
keyword is supposed.
It is possible for the interrogator to lose the initiative during the
interrogation of a source. If this should occur, he will probably postpone the
interrogation and reassess the situation. If the interrogation is resumed, a
different interrogator will probably be introduced. Following are some examples
of loss of initiative:
- The interrogator becomes angry and completely loses his self-control because
of the arrogant actions of the source (such as the unbuttoning of a jacket
to reveal "Secret Service Sucks" spray painted onto the source's T-shirt.)
As a result, the interrogator loses sight of his objective and concentrates
his efforts on humbling the source.
- During the interrogation the interrogator fails to note significant
discrepancies in the source's story. The interrogator may lose his initiative
as the source gains confidence from his success and resorts to further
deception, leading the interrogator away from his objective.
- The interrogator becomes overly friendly with the source and allows him to
lead the interrogation. The source reports only what he believes to be
important and neglects several significant items of info which could have
been obtained had the interrogator maintained the initiative.
PHASES OF INTERROGATION:
========================
Approach Phase:
---------------
Regardless of the type of source you are and your outward personality, you
do possess weaknesses which, if recognized by the interrogator, can be
exploited. A human being is likely to:
o Talk, especially after harrowing experiences
o Show deference when confronted by superior authority
o Rationalize acts about which he feels guilty
o Lack the ability to apply or to remember lessons he may have been
taught regarding security if confronted with a disorganized or a
strange situation.
o Cooperate with those who have control over him
o Attach less importance to a topic which the interrogator demonstrates
identical or related experiences and knowledge
o Appreciate flattery and exoneration from guilt
o Cooperate readily when given material rewards
o Cooperate readily when treated as an equal
TECHNIQUES:
===========
"File and Dossier"
----------------
The interrogator prepares a dossier containing all available info obtained
from records and docs concerning you. Careful arrangement of the material with-
in the file may give the illusion that it contains more data than is actually
there. The file may be "padded" with extra paper, if necessary. Index tabs with
titles such as "education", "employment", "criminal record", "bulletin boards",
"violated computer systems", and others are particularly effective for this
purpose. The interrogtor will confront you with the dossier at the beginning of
the interrogation and explain that "intelligence" has provided a complete
record of every significant happening in your life; therefore, it would
be useless to resist interrogation. The interrogator may read a few selected
bits of known data to further impress you. If the technique is successful, you
will be impressed with and more importantly, terrified by the "voluminous"
file, conclude that everything is known, and resign to complete cooperation.
"We know ALL"
-----------
This technique may be employed in conjunction with the above or by itself.
The interrogator must first become thoroughly familiar with the available data
concerning you. To begin the interrogation, the interrogator asks questions
based on his known data. When you hesitate, refuse to answer, or provide an
incomplete or incorrect reply, the interrogator himself provides the detailed
answer. Through the careful use of the limited number of known details, the
interrogator may convince you that all the info is already known; therefore,
your answers to the questions are of no consequence. When you begin to give
accurate and complete information, the interrogator interjects questions
designed to gain the needed info. Questions to which answers are already known
are also asked to test you and to maintain the deception that all the info is
already known. A VERY effective technique I might add.
"Rapid Fire
This approach technique involves a psychological ploy based on the principles
that:
* Everyone likes to be heard when they speak; and
* It is confusing to be interrupted in mid-sentence with an unrelated
question.
This technique may be used with one, or simultaneously by two or more
interrogators in questioning the same source. In employing this technique the
interrogator asks a series of questions in such a manner that you do not have
time to answer a question completely before the next question is asked. This
tends to confuse you and you are apt to contradict yourself, as you have little
time to prepare your answers. The interrogator then confronts you with the
inconsistencies, causing further contradictions. In many instances you
will begin to talk freely in an attempt to explain yourself and deny the
inconsistencies pointed out by the interrogator. In attempting to explain your
answers, you are likely to reveal more than you intend, thus creating
additional leads for the interrogator.
"Mutt and Jeff"
-------------
This technique involves a psychological ploy which takes advantage of the
natural uncertainty and guilt which a source has as a result of being detained
and questioned. Use of this technique necessitates the employment of two
experienced interrogators who are convincing as actors. Basically, the two
interrogators will display opposing personalities and attitudes towards you.
For example the first interrogator is very formal and displays an unsympathetic
attitude. This is to make you feel cut off from your friends. At the time when
you act hopeless and alone, the second interrogator appears (having received
his cue by a signal, and is hidden from you), scolds the first interrogator for
his harsh behavior and orders him from the room. He then apologizes to soothe
you, perhaps offering coffee and a cigarette. He explains that the actions of
the first interrogator were largely the result of an inferior intellect and
lack of human sensitivity. The inference is created that the other interrogator
and you have in common a high degree of intelligence and an awareness of human
sensitivity, above and beyond that of the first interrogator. You are normally
inclined to have a feeling of gratitude towards the second interrogator, who
continues to show a sympathetic attitude in an effort to increase the rapport
and control for the questioning which will follow. Should your cooperativeness
begin to fade, the second interrogator can hint that since he is of high rank,
having many other duties, he cannot afford to waste time on an uncooperative
source. He may broadly infer that the first interrogator might return to
continue the questioning. When used against the proper source, this trick will
normally gain complete cooperation for the interrogation.
"Repetition"
----------
Repetition is used to induce cooperation from a hostile source. The inter-
rogator listens carefully to your answer to a question, and then repeats both
the question and answer several times. He does this with each succeeding
question until you become so bored with the procedure that you answer the
question fully and truthfully to satisfy the interrogator and to gain relief
from the monotony of this method of questioning. The repetition technique will
generally not work when employed against introverted sources or those having
great self control.
"Pride and Ego"
-------------
This technique works effectively on many phreaks and hackers due to the fact
that many are so damn egotistical. The strategy is to trick you into revealing
desired information by flattering you. It is effective with sources who have
displayed weaknesses or feelings of inferiority. The interrogator accuses you
of weakness or implies that you are unable to do a certain thing. The proud or
egotistical source will jump to the defensive. An example of an opening
question for this technique may be: "Why would you own a blue box when you
have absolutely no idea how to use one?" or, "Why do you hack VMS systems if
you can't do a damn thing once you're inside of one?" It provides you with the
opportunity to show someone that you have "brains" and in doing so, you give
the interrogator more information than you should have.
"Silent"
------
The Silent technique may be successful when used against either the nervous,
or the confident-type source. When employing this technique, the interrogator
says nothing to you, but looks you squarely in the eye, probably with a slight
smile on his face. It is important for the interrogator not to look away from
you, but force you to break eye contact first. You will become nervous, begin
to shift around in your chair, and look away. If you ask questions the
interrogator probably will not answer them until he is ready to break the
silence. A source may blurt out questions such as, "What the hell do you want
with me". When the interrogator is ready to break the silence, he may do so
with some quite nonchalant questions such as, "You've been logging on to our
system for a long time now, haven't you? Did you hack the passwords yourself?".
In some cases the interrogator will use several approach techniques
concurrently, or in succession.
QUESTIONS:
==========
There are various questions that the interrogator may ask you:
- Prepared questions: When the topic under inquiry is very technical or when
legal aspects of the interrogation require preciseness, the interrogator will
have a list of prepared questions to follow during the interrogation.
- Control questions: To maintain control and to check on the truthfulness of
a source, the normal questions will be mixed with control questions-those
with known answers. If you fail to answer these questions, or answer wrong,
it will indicate that you are either not knowledgeable in the topic or that
you are lying.
- Nonpertinent questions: Sometimes it is necessary for the interrogator to
keep the true objective of the interrogation from you. By carefully blending
pertinent questions with nonpertinent questions, the interrogator can conceal
the true purpose of the inquiry.
- Direct and leading questions: The manner in which the questions are worded
has a direct bearing on your response. A question may be posed in a number
of ways:
o "What system did you hack into on 11/11/86?"
o "Did you break into General Dynamics' computer on 11/11/86?"
o "You did break into GD's computer on 11/11/86?"
o "You didn't break into GD'S computer on 11/11/86, did you?"
PSYCHOLOGY IN INTERROGATION:
============================
The interrogator will watch for various psychological responses from you during
an interrogation. Some of these are:
- Rationalization: Creating plausible excuses or explanations for one's acts
without being aware that these excuses or explanations are way off the
[obvious] reality.
- Identification: To identify with and mimic a mental image of some one
important to you.
- Compensation: Trying to make up for a psychological weakness by building
up or exaggerating a psychological strength.
- Exhibitionism: Showing off, bragging, etc.
- Fear, Anger, Frustration, etc.
Of course when being interrogated, you should remain as emotionless as possible
and never show anger, or get upset (NEVER inflict physical abuse upon the
unsuspecting interrogator. This only creates tension between both the inter-
rogator and yourself). Your every move, every response, every action is noted
and used by the interrogator to get you to screw up and give him what he wants.
There can be two main objectives that you can obtain when being interrogated.
The first is to find ways to force the interrogator to lose his initiative. You
can do this in many ways. A few that come to mind are: Repeat everything the
interrogator says. Mimic the interrogator. Laugh at the interrogator. Basically
piss the interrogator off and make him so mad that he loses sight of his
objective. This may however, get you in deeper trouble, but it may give you
extra time while another interrogator is found.
Lie like hell to the interrogator and piss him off. Such as the pathological
liar gimmick: "I broke into the NSA's computer, yeah, and then used their
network to get into the presidents private computer yeah that's it, the
password was uh...Bonzo, yeah, and then used it to take control of a satellite
used for Star Wars, and made it land right on top of the Kremlin, yeah that's
the ticket!"
You can also change the subject over and over again to totally unrelated things
such as: its a nice day out today, hows the wife and kids, how about some food,
who do you think is going to the superbowl, etc.
The other and probably better objective is simply to pretend to fall for any of
the various techniques used against you and feed the interrogator more and more
bullshit, of course being very sincere. This way he gets totally bogus
information while thinking you are cooperating fully.
Well, I hope you never have to put this article to use in a legal manner, but
you would be surprised how everyday you are interrogated without even
realizing it by normal people who probably don't realize they are interrogating
you!