Preventing Undercover Employment Operations - Houston Johnson, Uniform Patrol and Tactical Team Commander, Harker Heights (TX) Police Department, from the 2010 Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholder's Summit: Truth, Lies and Videotape: Is Activism Jeopardizing Our Food Security?, April 28 - 29, 2010, Washington, DC, USA. More presentations at http://www.trufflemedia.com/home/conference/2010-animal-ag-alliance-stakeholders-summit

1. Preventing Undercover
Employment Operations

2. Competition
A new crime trend: stealing bull
semen Gazette Extra By TED SULLIVAN Tuesday, April 20, 2010
“In a string of recent burglaries, thieves have targeted dairy
farmers to steal a valuable commodity: bull semen. Valued at
$22,000”
“Farmers believe thieves might be selling the semen on the black
market.”
“A bull semen theft also was reported in Brodhead in July 2008.
About 100 embryos or semen samples valued at $35,000 were
stolen.

3. Terrorist
Their ideology or religion is more
important than anything else to
include their own lives.
Their motivation is to eliminate those
who are non-believers or those who
jeopardize the fundamentals of their
religious beliefs.

4. Protectionist
These groups want to protect things
they think can’t protect themselves.
Other motivations dehumanizes their
targets while protectionist groups
humanize what they are protecting.

5. Goals
Keep You Problem Solving
Financial Impact
Change Your Practices / End or Impact Business
Shake Consumer Confidence
Gain Media Attention
Claim Responsibility
Reduce Public Support of Industry
Increases Membership
Public Belief & Awareness of Cause
Fundraising
Empowers their efforts

6. Group Profiling Considerations


Location and Motivation helps
determine potential targets
Financial Backing and Education
helps determine potential capability
and range of operations

7. How They Get It?
Getting hired in your organization
 Social Engineering Your Group
 Undercover Tactics – Video & Pictures
 Legal Methods – OSI, Public Info,
Courts
 Sharing Their Success With Others


8. Knowledge Is Power
Art of War
“The Original Spy Manual”
“Probe the enemy to unmask his
strengths, weaknesses, patterns of
movement and intentions. Shape
the enemy’s perception of the world
to manipulate/ undermine his plans
and actions.”

9. Social Engineering

What can I figure out about you?
• Internet – Google
• Social Pages (Facebook)
Maiden Name, DOB
 Address, travel plans
 High School & College
 Hobbies & Friends

• Trash
• Phishing – 21% Increase (18,820 Attacks)

11. Social Engineering
Log Ins & Passwords
 Security Questions
 Cell & Computer Security


14. Hacking human gullibility with social
penetration:
We don't need no stinking exploits By Dan Goodin in
San Francisco
“Vulnerability stems from humans' inherent tendency to trust
one another. Survival over the millennia largely depended
on their ability to work in groups. When one person saw
that a group of his peers ate a particular berry and didn't
die, he ate the same fruit - and survived as a result.
Hackers who understand this trait can exploit it to access
companies' most precious assets.”
“David Bailey said he regularly sends client employees emails
informing them the strength of their login passwords is
being tested through a new website. They are then
instructed to follow a link and enter their credentials. The
success rate: as high as 50 per cent”

16. How They Use It?

Distort Public Perceptions
• Hallmark-Westland Video





Activism & Fraud
Network Access
Criminal Acts – Arson, Stalking, Criminal Mischief
Educate other Groups
Propaganda
• Funding – USDA Domestic Horse Slaughter Insp.
• Public Relations – Yellow Tail Winery - $100K
• Political – Sub-therapeutic Antibiotics Legislation

18. What might they do with this info?

20. What’s Next
Animal activists' unsettling bid for freedom Sharp Science
Short
15 March 2010
Science In Society -Andy Coghlan, reporter
-Andy
Firebombing, arson, hitting people with baseball clubs,
disinterring people's dead relatives and screaming abuse
through loudhailers all day and night
Researchers quoted in The Guardian say they're intimidated
by the tactic, fearing that exposure of their experiments,
however legal and ethically justified, would make them
targets for extremists.
Constrained in the UK, activists moved instead to the US
and the European mainland, where they have been
engaging in violent campaigns similar to those previously
confined to the UK

21. What Can You Do?





To understand how not to hire a plant you
must first understand them.
Understand how your business may be
vulnerable
Understand what is out there about you
Investigate complaints thoroughly and
completely (internal & external)
Suspicious Activity Reporting Process
(anonymous, easy, and free) has to be
followed up on quickly.

22. Facility Security Recommendations

Office & Plant Security
• The Environment Dictates the Tactic

Employee Screening
• Profile Behaviors Not People

Employee Training & Accountability
• SCAN, Reporting Process (suspicion & abuse)

Responding to Activists’ Letters
• Let the Pro’s Help You

Talking With Law Enforcement
• Explosives,Arson (ATF) $10K, Terrorism (FBI), pay (IRS)

Talking With Media
• Have a PIO – You never know when or where it will
happen

23. Behaviors




Temporary Positions – willing to take jobs that
only last short periods of time.
18 to 30’s
Generally Caucasians
College or University ID’s not Government ID
• University or major city within hour of you?





Over or Inappropriately (degree not related)
educated
Out of State ID or Vehicles
Willingness to come early & stay late
Attempting or accessing restricted areas not job
related. “I’ve always wanted to see that”
May indicate previous related job experience

24. Educate Yourself & Your Company






Need Buy-In from Top Down
Develop an understanding of the opposition
What is your companies vulnerability?
Understand how they would focus on your
vulnerabilities.
Educate your staff – SCAN, Water Cooler
Suspicions (“He doesn’t fit in”, “He’s over
educated for that job, that’s why he wants to
move up”. If company goes out of business
everyone is out of a job.
Secure your assets (facilities & Information) –
They only have to be right once, you have to be
right every day.

25. Develop legal hiring techniques that
identify suspected plants







Add perjury clause and have statements and
applications signed (compare signatures)
Verify past employment-ask questions and
communicate with others in industry.
Do background checks – use computer tools to
investigate (Google, E-Verify, Social Networking,
Facial Recognition Software) – Call references &
contacts
Take photos & fingerprints of them
Verify (false ID tools) & Xerox identification
(investigative asset) – keep secure so cant be
recovered by plant.
Register vehicles with access to plants
(photograph them with their vehicle)
Do a surprise home visit.

26. Develop policies that mandate animal care
and handling procedures
Hold employees accountable to those
policies and reporting abuses.
(Section C of AAA Facility Security
Recommendations)
 If you don’t police yourself someone
else will.
 Off Premise Monitoring
 Follow-up on complaints & back brief


27. Push Back
Prosecute Violations
 Make them work for it
 Be proactive
 Discipline Internal Violations


28. Develop Information & Intelligence Sharing
Relationships
Law Enforcement
 Other Processors & Facilities in your
area
 Organizations that track activists,
activities & proactive legislation
 Joint Training
 Share suspicious activity (Dallas)


29. Questions?
You have to be more passionate about
keeping this from happening than
they are about stopping it.
You have to be right every day, they
only have to get it right once.
Houston Johnson 254.534.1646
houston@genesis0103.com