From: Ny Transfer News To: All Concerned Msg #59, 04:07am Jan-13-91 Subject: security tips 3:14 pm Jan 12, 1991 by nlgclc FBI VISITS & MOVEMENT SECURITY The following information should be read by everyone seriously organizing against the war plans being redied for the middle east. FBI agents are already conducting interviews with persons of Palestinian and Iraqi descent and other Arabs and Arab-Americans. The FBI has announced it is concerned with possible attacks against Arab-Americans (and several physical attacks and many threats have been reported). In reality the main goal of the FBI is to collect information about antiwar activists and persons of Arab heritage in the vain search for potential terrorists. To the FBI virtually any critic of U.S. policy is a "potential terrorist." -Chip Berlet, Secretary National Lawyers Guild Civil Liberties Comittee COMMON SENSE SECURITY FOR POLITICAL ORGANIZERS by Sheila O'Donnell NLG Civil Liberties/Public Eye As the movements for social change become more sophisticated, the techniques of the state, corporations and the right wing have also become more sophisticated. Historically this has always been the case; we will continue and will be the eventual victors. Caution in the face of the concerted effort to stop us, however, is both prudent and necessary. Remember: The United States prides itself on being a democracy; we have Constitutional rights. Dissatisfaction with the status quo and attempting to mobilize for change is protected; surveillance and harassment are violations. Take your rights seriously and fight for them. Speak out. For more information or to report an incident, contact MSN, 666 Broadway, New York, N.Y., 10012. ### VISITS FROM THE FBI Don't talk to the FBI (or any government investigator) without your attorney present. Information gleaned during the visit can be used against you and your co-workers. Get the names and addresses of the agents and tell them you will have your attorney get in touch with them. They rarely set up an interview under those circumstances. Call the National Lawyers Guild, American Civil Liberties Union or other sympathetic legal group if you need assistance locating a reliable local attorney. Don't invite agents into your home. Speak with the agents outside. Once inside they glean information about your perspective and life style. Don't let agents threaten you into talking. If the FBI intents to impanel a grand jury, a private talk with you will not change the strategy of the FBI. Lying to the FBI is a criminal act. The best way to avoid criminal charges is to say nothing. Any information you give the FBI can and will be used against you. Don't try to outwit the FBI. your arrogance could get you or others in serious trouble. FBI agents sometimes try to trick you into giving information "to help a friend." Don't believe them. Don't let them intimidate you. So what if they know where you live or work and what your do? This is still a democracy and we still have constitutional rights. They intend to frighten you; don't let them. They can only "neutralize" you if you let them. ### GENERAL MOVEMENT SECURITY If you wish to have a private conversation, leave your home and your office and go outside and take a walk or go somewhere public and notice who is near you. Never say anything you don't want to hear repeated when there is any possibility of being recorded. Don't use code on the phone. If you are being tapped and the transcript is used against you in court, the coded conversation can be alleged to be anything. Don't say anything on the phone you don't want to hear in open court. Don't gossip on the phone. Smut is valuable to anyone listening; it makes everyone vulnerable. If you are being followed, get the license tag number and description of the car and descriptions of people in the car. Photograph the person(s) following you or have a friend do so. If you are followed or feel vulnerable, call a friend; don't "tough it out" alone. They are trying to frighten you. It is frightening to have someone threatening your freedom. Debrief yourself after each incident. Write details down: time, date, occasion, incident, characteristics of the person(s), impressions, anything odd about the situation. Keep a "weirdo" file and keep notes from unsettling situations and see if a pattern emerges. Write for your government files under the FOIA and pursue the agencies until they give you all the documents filed under your name. Report thefts of materials from your office or home to the police; these are criminal acts. Report incidents to the Movement Support Network in New York at the Center for Constitutional Rights. ### OFFICE SECURITY Never leave one copy of a document or list behind; take a minute to duplicate an irreplaceable document and keep the duplicate in a safe place. Back up and store important computer disks off-site. Sensitive data and membership list should be kept under lock and key. Keep your mailing lists, donor lists and personal phone books away from light-fingered people. Always maintain a duplicate. Know your printer if you are about to publish and know your mailing house if you contract for distribution. Know anyone you are trusting to work on any part of a project that is sensitive. Don't hire a stranger as a messenger. Sweeps for electronic surveillance are only effective for the time they are being done, and are only effective as they are being done if you are sure of the person(s) doing the sweep. Brief your membership on known or suspected surveillance. Assess your undertaking from a security point of view; understand your vulnerabilities; assess your allies and your adversaries as objectively as possible; do not underestimate the opposition. Do not take chances. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. Recognize your organizational and personal strengths and weaknesses. Discuss incidents with cohorts, family and membership. Call the press if you have hard information about surveillance or harassment. Discussion makes the dirty work of the intelligence agencies and private spies overt. For more information or to report an incident, contact MSN, 666 Broadway, New York, N.Y., 10012. The Movement Support Network (MSN) is a project of the Center for Constitutional Rights with cooperation from the National Lawyers Guild. MSN was founded in 1984 to respond to increasing government surveillance and harassment of people involved in Central America solidarity work and people active in the sanctuary movement. Since then the network has expanded to serve as a monitoring mechanism to collect information about surveillance and harassment of persons involved in a wide range of peace and social justice issues. By collecting and disseminating information on specific incidents, MSN not only organizes opposition to such abuses, but also raises public awareness of important civil liberties issues, and helps activists place isolated incidents in a national context. For more information or to report an incident, contact MSN, 666 Broadway, New York, N.Y., 10012. The MSN HOTLINE # is (212) 614-6422.