Frag Out! Magazine

appearance, used in every transport operation, would make es- timations of cargo volume fairly challenging, if train length data is used for that purpose. If any websites or fan pages publish current information on the movement of trains, more or less diplomatic methods may be used to make those outlets disappe- ar or to limit the scope of information published via those sites. If the hobbyists do stop themselves from publishing the photos of trains, limiting or ceasing these activities - that source of information would no longer be available then. Not without a re- ason, before the war broke out Russia blocked out at least one website containing data on railcars - to make tracking military transport operations more challenging. Active, planned surveillance of the given facility may be a more useful way to collect intelligence. The surveillance may be con- ducted by both people, as well as UAVs, or hidden cameras. The latter operational practice has been listed as one of the metho- dologies used by the recently arrested persons. What remains relevant is the fact that capturing photographs when on public grounds is perfectly legal, even for foreign nationals. Cameras may be easily concealed and they may remain active over exten- ded periods, especially if they are movement-activated, and they do not waste the batteries on recording an empty railway or road. The remotely piloted aircraft may be detected. However, persons flying the drones may be perceived as a tourist or hob- byist in many locations. One should take one limitation into account here: surveillance provides one with information on the present and past status of the given phenomenon. Gaining an insight that extends into the future calls for a different set of actions. And such actions may be taken through the gathering of HUMINT (Human Intelligence). The term above means that per- sons are used as a source of information, rather than techno- logical means of surveillance. And those persons should have knowledge on the topic that remains interesting to the given intelligence service. The sources can be divided into two main groups. The first group includes persons who share intel by ac- cident, occasionally, or even not being aware of the fact that they are doing this. In a situation as such, the person gathering the intelligence collects the information with an underlying pre- text of social or business networking, scientific research, hobby, or using other justification that would not raise any suspicions around. The second group consists of persons who regularly share in- telligence in an aware manner, usually they are bound (often in writing) to cooperate. This, de facto, means that the law is bro- ken, if foreign intelligence services are involved. These persons, also known as agents, can be tasked - with receiving orders to obtain access to specific information. They may also be trained to perform certain actions related to the conducted activities (for instance in maintaining covert communications). One should also be aware that both groups may also be used to support operations conducted with the involvement of other methods. Some intelligence may be obtained by penetrating sta- te- or company-owned databases or management systems (for management of road or railway traffic). However, this requires the security measures to be taken down. That process could be www.fragoutmag.com

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