The art of elicitation Published Aug. 19, 2008 By Master Sgt. Yuvonne Fischer 5th Bomb Wing Antiterrorism/Force Protection Office MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- One night you decide to meet your friends at the local sports bar to watch Monday Night Football. While there you're introduced to a friend of a friend named Joe. You start making conversation about the game and then Joe starts to ask you questions. Joe: "You must have a lot going on out at the base. I noticed the gate has been closed quite often." You: "Yeah, we've been busy working 12-hour days." Joe: "Wow, that's a pretty long time. You have to be tired by the end of your shift." You: "Definitely. We've been working six days a week and I'm beat!" Joe: "It's a good thing you have the time to relax and enjoy yourself. A friend of mine says he knows you and that you have a reputation for doing a really great job!" You: "Well, I do what I can to manage the shop. I have 10 people under me and I'm responsible for ensuring those planes are kept safe and flying." Joe: "I've noticed the planes flying around -- B-52's, right? How many do you guys have out there?" Unknowingly you have just provided detailed information on: operational hours (12-hour days), increase in mission requirements (six days a week), your span of control within your organization (management/responsibility for 10 people), and your role in contributing to the mission (ensuring planes are operational). Is this harmless small talk or an attempt to gather sensitive information? Elicitation is the term applied to subtle extraction of information during an apparently normal and innocent conversation among strangers, colleagues or friends. It's done all the time in places like restaurants, conferences and hotels. Whether a particular conversation is elicitation or merely an innocent question could be very difficult to tell. Ultimately, it makes no difference in ones need to be cautious and aware of what can and cannot be said. When conducted by a skillful intelligence collector, elicitation appears to be normal social or professional conversation," said P.J. Pallotta, 5th BW antiterrorism officer. "But it's conversation with a purpose: to collect information about you, your workcenter, organizational leadership or the base mission." To obtain this information, the person may provide a cover story to explain why certain questions are being asked. As an intelligence-collection technique, elicitation is very low risk because it's hard for the target to recognize they are freely providing information that may prove to be sensitive and harmful to the mission. And elicitation often works by expanding the collector's knowledge of sensitive information and their ability to target a person's potential susceptibility. Why does elicitation work? The technique exploits the emotional aspects of human nature: · We want to be polite so we answer questions even from relative strangers. · We want to appear well-informed about our professional specialty, so we may be tempted to say more than we should. · We want to feel valued for the importance of our work. · We want to be open -- not suspicious of others' motives. How can one help combat elicitation attempts? First, realize these tactics do not always occur in person. In fact, intelligence collectors utilize a variety of means to gather information -- utilizing sources like the Internet, written correspondence and telephone calls. They usually present a false cover to appear legitimate to the individual they are trying to retrieve information from. "We need to remember three key elements when talking with people and the conversation turns toward the mission: 1) Be knowledgeable of the operations security critical information listing or CIL, 2) When asked questions that may move into a sensitive area, change the subject or become the questioner, and 3) Make a mental note about what's being asked and of the individual requesting the information," said Tim Allen, 91st Missile Wing antiterrorism officer. For example, if one receives a phone call from someone seeking verification on the number of personnel within a unit from the "Federal Listing Authority" do the following: request the person's name and organization they represent, and note if the individual has an accent, if their voice sounds nervous or confident and if there is any background noise. Request a phone number to call the person back to validate their information. If they are persistent, refer them to base public affairs. Most legitimate agencies know this is the primary point of contact for information relating to the installation. If the call just doesn't seem right, immediately contact the base's office of special investigations to report the situation. In today's world the information revolution has far-reaching impact on politics, economics and culture - including the military. "We must understand the increased opportunities our enemies have to collect sensitive information that can be pieced together to create a threat to our operations," said Mr. Pallotta. "To mitigate this, it is important for us to remain aware of what we can and cannot say and immediately report conversations or contacts suspicious in nature." The old adage "Loose lips sink ships" still applies today.