"Americans Are So Naive!" - CIA Spy Reveals How They're Controlling You | Andrew Bustamante

Summary

The transcript delves into the concept of 'moral flexibility' within the CIA, highlighting how it's crucial for agents to adapt their ethics for national security. It discusses the CIA's primary mission to protect American interests, often requiring agents to navigate complex moral dilemmas. The conversation explores the human tendency towards self-destruction and the strategies used to manage assets, emphasizing the importance of loyalty and core motivations in espionage. It also touches on the realities of surveillance, the signs of being under scrutiny, and the calculated responses to potential threats, providing an intriguing insight into the world of intelligence operations.

Takeaways

• 😌 The concept of 'moral flexibility' is introduced as a key trait for CIA operatives, allowing them to adjust their ethics to achieve larger objectives.
• 🔍 The primary mission of the CIA is to ensure American primacy and the safety of American citizens, often at the expense of other nations' interests.
• 🌐 The importance of American privacy is highlighted, with a comparison to other countries' challenges, emphasizing the relative freedom in the U.S.
• 🧠 The discussion touches on the adolescent nature of the United States as a country, suggesting room for growth and improvement.
• 🤔 The idea that people have a tendency to self-destruct is explored, relating to the psychological aspect of espionage and the handling of assets.
• 🔑 The strategy of embedding trust and loyalty in assets to extract secrets is detailed, including the use of 'fig leaves' to maintain a level of uncertainty.
• 🔄 The four core motivations that drive individuals to spy—Reward, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego—are explained as key to understanding and managing assets.
• 🔒 The significance of preventing assets from pressing their 'self-destruct button' is discussed, relating to the preservation of intelligence networks.
• 🏃‍♂️ The process of extraction when an asset goes dark or is under threat is outlined, including the difference between emergency and non-emergency extractions.
• 👀 Techniques for detecting surveillance, such as observing delays in smart devices and recognizing signs of being followed, are shared as part of tradecraft.

Q & A

What does the term 'moral flexibility' refer to in the context of the CIA?

Moral flexibility refers to the ability to shift one's ethics and morals to align with a larger objective, such as protecting American interests. It is a trait that the CIA looks for in recruits and something they cultivate, as it is essential for success in clandestine operations.

Why is American primacy considered important for the safety of Americans according to the transcript?

American primacy is considered important because the belief is that if America remains the strongest country in the world, it can ensure a safer world for Americans and provide them with the best opportunities to succeed.

What is the significance of the book 'A Billion Wicked Thoughts' in the context of the discussion?

The book 'A Billion Wicked Thoughts' is mentioned as a recommendation for those with a strong stomach, likely due to its exploration of human sexuality and the brain. It's used as an analogy to 'moral flexibility', suggesting that while the concept might sound horrible, it can be intriguing and valuable in certain contexts.

How does the CIA approach the management of human assets according to the transcript?

The CIA approaches the management of human assets by identifying their core motivations, which fall under the acronym RICE (Rewards, Ideology, Coercion, Ego), and then leveraging those motivations to build trust and loyalty while keeping their hand off the 'self-destruct button'.

What is the 'self-destruct button' metaphor mentioned in the transcript?

The 'self-destruct button' is a metaphor for the human tendency to self-sabotage or confess under pressure, which can lead to the exposure of secrets and the failure of espionage operations.

Why is it considered thrilling to engage in espionage activities as described in the transcript?

Engaging in espionage activities is considered thrilling because it involves manipulating people, managing their emotions, and navigating their secret lives to achieve a larger goal, which can provide a sense of excitement and accomplishment.

What does the term 'going dark' mean in the context of espionage?

In espionage, 'going dark' refers to a situation where an asset or operative ceases all communication and drops off the radar, potentially because they feel threatened or compromised.

How does the CIA handle a situation where an asset might self-destruct?

The CIA handles potential self-destruction by maintaining regular contact with assets to cultivate trust and loyalty, reinforcing positive behaviors, and monitoring for signs of distress or the urge to confess.

What are the signs of electronic surveillance mentioned in the transcript?

Signs of electronic surveillance include performance delays in devices, such as smartwatches or smartphones, that are normally functioning without issues.

What is the process for an agent to know if they are under scrutiny according to the transcript?

An agent can know if they are under scrutiny by observing active surveillance, such as bumbling or sophisticated teams following them, and by monitoring for electronic signatures like performance delays on their devices.

Why is it better for an asset to go dark rather than confess according to the transcript?

It is better for an asset to go dark rather than confess because a confession can lead to the exposure of the entire network and the agent handling them, while going dark only impacts the asset's access to information.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 The Concept of Moral Flexibility in CIA Operations

The speaker begins by discussing the public's disdain for the CIA, attributing it to the organization's recruitment strategy that seeks 'moral flexibility,' a term that implies the ability to adjust one's ethics to achieve objectives. This concept is likened to the idea presented in the book 'A Billion Wicked Thoughts,' which suggests that strict morals can hinder clandestine operations. The speaker argues that the CIA's primary mission is to protect American privacy and interests, which may not align with global human rights or the security of other nations. They emphasize the importance of American primacy for global safety and the necessity of moral flexibility for CIA agents to navigate complex situations and manipulate targets to ensure national security.

05:03

🌐 The Human Predicament of Self-Destruction and Espionage

This paragraph delves into the human tendency towards self-destruction, often driven by the desire to reset and start over, which is an illusion. The speaker uses the metaphor of a video game to illustrate that life cannot be restarted, and one must accept their journey and experiences as they are. The conversation shifts to espionage, highlighting how predictability in human behavior makes espionage and business strategies effective. The speaker discusses the importance of leveraging one's past and present to build a better future, using the term 'Wasa' to describe the influence each person possesses. They also touch on the core motivations that drive individuals to spy, encapsulated by the acronym RICE: Rewards, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego.

10:04

🕵️‍♂️ The Art of Handling Human Assets in Espionage

The speaker explains the intricate process of managing human assets in espionage, focusing on cultivating trust and loyalty to prevent assets from pressing their 'self-destruct button.' This involves understanding and leveraging the asset's core motivations, which are rooted in the acronym RICE. The paragraph discusses the importance of positive reinforcement and the concept of 'fig leaf,' where assets believe they know the truth about their CIA handler but remain uncertain, thus preventing self-destructive actions. The speaker also addresses the strategies used to transition assets to new handlers, a process termed 'institutionalizing assets,' ensuring continued intelligence gathering even after the original handler's departure.

15:06

🚨 The Dire Consequences of Confession in Espionage

This section addresses the severe outcomes of an asset confessing their espionage activities. The speaker explains that confession is the worst-case scenario for an intelligence officer, as it not only ends the flow of information from the asset but also risks exposing the handler and the broader intelligence network. The paragraph discusses the cultural implications of such actions, particularly in countries where family honor is paramount, and the potential for public execution as a deterrent. The speaker also touches on the mental health struggles that can lead individuals to consider self-destruction, including suicidal thoughts, and the importance of managing these risks in espionage operations.

20:08

🛑 Surveillance and the Tactics of Exfiltration in CIA Operations

The speaker outlines the various signs of being under surveillance and the subsequent steps taken by intelligence officers to ensure their safety and the security of their operations. They discuss the difference between bumbling and sophisticated surveillance, the importance of situational awareness, and the indicators of electronic surveillance on devices. The paragraph also covers the strategies for non-emergency exfiltration, where officers have time to plan their extraction, contrasting it with emergency exfiltration, which is a rapid and immediate response to imminent threats. The speaker emphasizes the importance of not succumbing to the instinct to flee at the first sign of danger, as this can lead to capture.

25:09

🏃 The Urge to Flee and the Importance of Rational Response

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the natural human instinct to flee when faced with imminent danger, such as the discovery of surveillance. They highlight the importance of rationalizing and making informed decisions rather than acting impulsively. The speaker warns against the potentially disastrous consequences of running without a plan, as it can lead to interception and capture. The paragraph concludes with a teaser for a full episode that promises to explore these powerful themes in greater depth.

Keywords

💡Moral Flexibility

Moral flexibility refers to the ability to adjust one's ethical standards or morals to accommodate different situations or objectives. In the context of the video, it is a trait that the CIA looks for in its recruits, as it is deemed necessary for successful clandestine operations. The video suggests that strict morals can be a hindrance in intelligence work, where the primary goal is often to protect national interests, which may sometimes conflict with personal ethics.

💡American Primacy

American primacy is the concept of the United States being the leading or dominant global power. The video discusses how the CIA's mission is closely tied to this idea, with the belief that a strong America translates to a safer world for Americans. This notion is central to the discussion on why moral flexibility is essential for CIA operatives, as their actions are driven by the objective of maintaining this primacy.

💡Clandestine Operations

Clandestine operations are secret activities conducted typically by intelligence agencies to achieve certain goals without public knowledge. The video touches upon how individuals with moral flexibility are better suited for such operations, as they might need to navigate morally ambiguous situations to serve the overarching goal of national security.

💡Core Motivation

Core motivation refers to the fundamental driving force behind an individual's actions. In the script, it is explained that there are four core motivations that drive every human being: rewards, ideology, coercion, and ego (RICE). Understanding a person's core motivation is crucial for intelligence agencies when recruiting and handling assets, as it helps in leveraging their cooperation.

💡Espionage

Espionage involves the practice of spying or using spies to obtain secret or confidential information. The video discusses espionage in the context of human predictability and the strategies used to recruit and handle individuals who have access to valuable secrets, emphasizing the psychological aspects of this practice.

💡Self-Destruct Button

The 'self-destruct button' metaphor in the video represents an individual's instinct to confess or reveal secrets under pressure, which can lead to severe consequences. It is used to illustrate the human tendency to want to 'reset' a situation by coming clean, despite the potential risks involved. The video explains how intelligence officers work to prevent assets from pressing this 'button' by building trust and loyalty.

💡Exfiltration

Exfiltration, in the context of the video, refers to the process of extracting or removing an intelligence officer or asset from a foreign country when their safety is compromised. It can range from non-emergency extraction, where there is still time to use established routes, to emergency extraction, which involves immediate and often risky removal.

💡Surveillance

Surveillance is the act of monitoring individuals or groups, often secretly, to gather information. The video discusses various forms of surveillance, such as foot surveillance, vehicle surveillance, and electronic surveillance, which intelligence officers must be aware of and adept at detecting to ensure their operations remain covert.

💡Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is the perception of environmental elements with respect to time and space, and the ability to understand potential threats and take appropriate action. In the video, it is highlighted as a critical skill for intelligence officers to detect when they are under scrutiny or being surveilled, which can be a precursor to more serious security breaches.

💡Institutionalized Assets

Institutionalized assets are individuals who have been fully integrated into an intelligence network, often without realizing the extent of their involvement. The video explains how intelligence officers work to build trust and loyalty with assets, eventually leading them to a point where their cooperation is sustained and reliable, even when the original handler is no longer directly involved.

Highlights

The CIA recruits individuals for their 'moral flexibility', a term that refers to the ability to adjust one's ethics to achieve a larger goal.

Moral flexibility is crucial for clandestine operations where strict morals could hinder effectiveness.

The primary mission of the CIA is to protect American privacy and interests, which may not align with global human rights or the security of other nations.

The concept of American primacy is discussed, suggesting that a strong America ensures a safer world for Americans.

The importance of not underestimating one's own country's achievements and progress is emphasized.

The necessity for agents to sometimes veer from personal ethics to engage with targets and achieve mission objectives.

The thrilling nature of espionage work, particularly the manipulation and management of people for intelligence gathering.

The process of 'institutionalizing' assets to ensure continuity of intelligence relationships beyond the tenure of a single agent.

The strategy of leaving a 'fig leaf' of doubt in the mind of assets to prevent them from self-destructing due to certainty.

The human tendency to self-destruct and the role it plays in espionage, where agents must manage this tendency in their assets.

The idea that people cannot 'reset' their lives but must accept their past and current reality to move forward.

The importance of leveraging one's unique experiences and background, known as 'Wasa' or influence, to achieve goals.

The predictability of human behavior and its exploitation in espionage to identify and target individuals with access to secrets.

The four core motivations that drive human behavior and decision-making: Rewards, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego (RICE).

The preference for assets to 'go dark' rather than confess, as confession can expose intelligence networks and handlers.

The methods of non-emergency extraction when an asset goes dark, highlighting the race against time to secure their safety.

Techniques for detecting surveillance, including observing for signs of electronic monitoring and physical surveillance patterns.

The importance of situational awareness and the ability to remain calm under pressure to avoid triggering the 'self-destruct' response.

Transcripts

this is where I believe the the public

disdain for CIA comes from CIA recruits

us and another one of the lessons they

tell us is that they recruit us for

something known as moral

flexibility that just sounds horrible it

just sounds horrible it sounds like the

book you recommended right a billion a

billion Wicked thoughts that book is so

good for anybody that has a strong

stomach when you hear moral flexibility

you have the same reaction right oh that

sounds horrible but it sounds so good so

moral flexibility is essentially the

idea that you

can move you can shift your ethics and

your morals around some other objective

right if you don't have that if you have

strict morals and strict ethics you're

not going to do well in clandestine

operations you're just not you have to

have flexibility to say what becomes

your guidepost is it protecting

Americans yes it becomes honestly as as

again this is where people don't like

CIA cia's mission is a American

privacy that's it right that's the goal

it goes I'm child of the 80s I love

American privacy I love it the most I

know that's so out of fashion right now

it is out of fashion I think it's crazy

everybody should want Primacy for their

own country they absolutely should and

if you're an American the fact that we

have the freest country in the world do

we have problems yes are our problems

anywhere like other countries problems

no spoken by somebody who's been in

other countries it's nuts man it's

incredible how people lose perspective

they never gain perspective they're

trapped in their own perception about

how bad America is America's messed up

I'm not saying it's not we're like we're

an adolescent country in the

developmental stages of a country we're

just over 250 years old I think we're

just under 250 years old we're freaking

adolescents we're teenagers of course

we're all [ __ ] up right what teenager

do you know that has it all figured out

we've got we've got growing to do but

let's not negate the progress that we've

made just because we're not where we

want to be yet right but either way

moral flexibility is this idea that you

can change your personal ethics to fit a

larger goal ours is American Primacy CIA

believes and and the the government of

the United States believes that as long

as America is the strongest country in

the world the world is a safer place to

Americans if you don't like the way that

sounds then you don't want to work in

the government right we're not worried

about the security of Nigerians we're

not worried about the security of

Australians we're not worried about the

freedom of human rights in you know Sri

Lanka that's not our first goal it might

be somewhere at like goal 75 goal number

one keep Americans safe give Americans

every opportunity to succeed in a world

that's dominated by the United States

it's going to be dominated by somebody

it's going to be dominated by somebody

exactly right so this idea of moral

flexibility is a big part of what CIA

recruits us to do they recruit us

because we have have moral flexibility

to make that American Primacy Mission

happen and then they also teach us that

when you are engaging with somebody a

Target and that Target has potential

value to the

mission sometimes you have to Veer from

your own ethics about dealing with

people to meet them where they are so

that you can get into their private and

secret life and guide them to where you

need them to be did that mess with your

head or do you find that easy I found it

thrilling I wouldn't say I found it easy

it's a there's a learning curve there

but it was absolutely thrilling it's

like you said something you enjoy doing

right something that brings you

excitement learning how to manage people

like manage them on I say manage we

learned how to manipulate people that's

what CIA Tau us how to do we weren't

making friends with these folks right

you're finding this the most powerful

most uh vulnerable people in the world

who have access to secrets that keep

American safe that's not a big

population there's really only a small

population that has that level of access

that level of secret access right you

had to find them you had to befriend

them you had to get into their secret

life you had to get them to commit their

their s the safety of themselves and

their family to you and then eventually

your real goal is to institutionalize

them so that you can basically leave and

a junior officer can step in to maintain

that relationship do you reveal who you

are at some point sometimes sometimes

you reveal Who You Are are sometimes

it's better to leave what we call a fig

Leaf where they think they know who you

are but they're never really sure

because if they were sure they might

self-destruct right right that's another

thing another predictable human thing

human beings like to self-destruct we

feel like to self we like to

self-destruct what yeah we all carry

this self-destruct button on our chest

that's what we say right a big red

self-destruct button so when we start to

get our into trouble M you start to lie

and then you tell compounding lies

because you're trying to get yourself

out of the situation that you got

yourself into inevitably you're going to

land on a point where you're like I just

need to come

clean whoa that's something that we do

right and then you've got the people out

there who refuse to lie because they're

so afraid of that moment that they only

tell the truth yeah well when you only

tell the truth guess what you

do whoa I'm I'm evaluating myself

internally like crazy right now so uh

keep going so so we're why do we like to

self-destruct we like to self-destruct

because we in our in our brains we

create this low probability outcome

where all will be forgiven and we be

able to

reset what we don't like people can

reinvent you can always reinvent you can

never reset there is no this isn't

freaking Nintendo right there's no

hitting select or start and starting all

over again you just don't get to do that

you got to finish the game and then you

can restart you can reinvent you can

recreate but you can't go backwards you

can't reset so true we keep thinking we

keep thinking that we can reset we keep

thinking that we can go back to the

blank slate that you already said never

actually existed we can't we have to

keep playing the game you have to you

can Retreat or you can advance but you

can't restart the war you're in it

you're in it and you've only got one

chance you've only got one ride on this

rock that circles in One Direction Right

Time only goes one way until we find out

how to do it otherwise this is just

where we are you've got to accept that

reality you can't perceive something

different you have to accept the reality

that you're going where you're going two

things happen when you accept that

reality the first thing is that you

learn that everything that's happened

that you would is that that you would

think that your instinct tells you to

just reset and start over reset and

start over just whitewash it all

reformat the disc and let's start over

again so we like to self-destruct

because we are misinterpreting the

moment right because we are telling

ourselves a lie in our head right we're

telling ourselves that it's better to

start over than to start where we are

wow it's never better to start over you

are the you are a fantastic example

because you accept it you are the sum

total of all of your experiences good

and bad you are 0 to 7 7 to 13 13 to

whatever age you are now you are all of

that sum of all of that experience and

all of your learning you you use the

Mantra don't forget who you are or

remember who you are is that what you

say remember who I am what you're really

remembering is everything that brought

you to where you are you can't pick and

choose you can't reset it that is what

it is and it's a [ __ ] superpower but

it's a superpower for everybody it's a

superpower for everybody I'm nowhere

near the financial success that you are

I'm nowhere near the achievement that

you've achieved I'm nowhere near the

notoriety that you have nowhere near it

but you still invited me to come here

there's something I offer of value that

made this conversation interesting and

relevant to you we all have that kind of

power what we call Wasa Wasa is the

Arabic word for influence right we all

have that kind of Wasa we just have to

learn to lean into the Wasa that we have

and leverage it to achieve what we're

trying to achieve to build what we're

trying to build we can't just reset it

and start over we and we spend so much

time people spend so much time bemoaning

their background instead of leveraging

it into something amazing turning it

into something productive right and and

what ends up happening is the reason

Espionage works the reason business

works is because human

beings laughably predictable human

beings are always happy Edgar Allen post

said people are never truly happy until

they're

unhappy because you're unhappy as soon

as something makes you happy you start

to worry about when that happiness is

going to be taken away by something that

makes you

unhappy so you can never actually reach

happiness your your your average person

is happy as long as they're unhappy

because that's when they're content they

believe

well everything's everything's miserable

I can't get worse than this that's so

weird so when in Espionage you're

looking for those people you're you're

always looking for the person who has

access to Secrets because once you find

the few people who have access to

Secrets there's a high probability

they're miserable because everybody's

[ __ ] miserable so then all you have

to do is use the skills to get into this

miserable person's secret life and make

them think that you're doing it because

you care about them as a person when in

fact you just care about their access

because what you really are after is

American Primacy and then once you get

that person to trust you because they

bring you into your secret life you just

drain their secrets feed it back to

American legislators and you prepare

this person to be turned over to a new

person that they never even led into

their secret life in the first place but

now you vouch what we call Advocate you

advocate for this new person who's

coming in which means your trust and

your credibility and their secret life

is automatically carried on to the

person that you introduce them to they

are now what we call

institutionalized assets they don't even

realize that their loyalty is not to Tom

and Andy their loyalty is to CIA and

they don't even realize

it all while keeping their hand off the

self-destruct button be and because

you're keeping their hand off the

self-destruct button because you know

remember how I was telling you sometimes

we leave them a fig Leaf I'm sorry I'm

just rolling here man if I'm cutting you

off interrupt me anytime no no that's

amazing when a spy realizes oh [ __ ] I'm

giving away Secrets what they think to

themselves is I need to go self-report I

need to go tell my boss I need to go

tell the police I need to go tell

something because if I'm caught

especially in the countries that we

steal secrets from if I'm caught they're

going to kill me they're going to kill

my wife they're going to kill my kids

they're going to kill my parents they're

going to make us all a public spectacle

to make sure that nobody ever does this

again so they're stuck between a true

rock and a hard place because they think

to themselves if I self admit what I'm

doing I might get killed if I keep doing

if I if I get caught doing what I'm

doing I might get killed so the

self-destruct button they have is to

pull away from you to like go into

hiding and then potentially to leak it

at some point in the future so then you

lose access to them immediately two

years down the road they still

self-destruct they still tell somebody

man this one time I was talking to an

American and I accidentally gave him

like the codes to our nukes and I

realize that maybe I shouldn't trust him

and then somebody reports them anyways

and families get get killed we have to

protect them from their own Natural

Instinct so a big part of what why we

continue to meet with our assets is so

that we can constantly cultivate and

train them to resist that urge right

there's no resetting how do you get them

to resist that urge what you're doing is

good I care about you positive

reinforcement what you're doing nobody

spies nobody spies for the reason they

think they spy just like you were saying

people don't want to know about business

people don't want to learn what they

need to learn they want to learn what

they want to learn I'm totally Mass here

Massac your own but people don't spy for

the reasons they think they spy people

spy for what's known as a core

motivation right we call it a core

motivation and there's only four core

motivations and they fall into a a uh

acronym that we call Rice r i

c rewards is a core motivator IDE ology

is a core motivator coercion is a core

motivator and ego is a core motivator

there we go those are it that's all you

got wow every human being is driven in

every decision by those four things dude

I love these rubrics These are fantastic

so when you when you recruit somebody

when you when you create a spy it's all

based in one of those four areas you

just have to know which of those four

areas is most relevant to that person

and you'll know which of those four

areas based on what you know about their

three stages of life so this person is

ideologically driven this person is ego-

driven this person is reward driven this

person won't do something unless you

hold a gun to their face you just know

it right and then you test it over

time so when you when you are managing

and handling a human asset they're a

human being they think that they're

giving you Secrets because you're their

friend they think that they're in some

kind of trusting relationship now maybe

you're their friend who also pays them

maybe you're their friend who who

encourages them to believe in the power

of democracy and they're in a communist

country who knows right so you're

feeding them whatever their core

motivation is but you're also inside

their secret life so you've got the

Loyalty piece covered the human response

to loyalty right the human response to

being in someone's secret life is that

loyalty that that falty you've got that

but you're also feeding them on an

incentive basis by hitting their core

motivation so those that's the magic2

so that's how you keep

someone resourced and charged so that

they don't ever press the button that's

waiting for them that self-destruct

button is always there just takes one

bad day one bad decision one moment of

weakness to press it it's all you got to

do is prevent people from doing that do

they believe if they press that button

that they'll get more lenient treatment

yes you believe that too man you've had

that conversation in your own head where

you're like if I just come clean if I

just admit the truth if I just share

whatever right then it'll be less bad

than if I don't there must be something

truish about that do do people actually

like I'm I'm trying to put this on the

scale of like they're going to kill my

family everyone I know and love like

that's so heavy man and humans can be

gnarly in the

extreme do they actually get letter

treatment or is this like a Fool's

errand it's a Fool's errand it's a fo

when you're in a place where that's the

risk you've got to like you have to look

at everything through a lens of of

cultural norms right in a country where

it's a norm to make a public statement

through the mass execution of a family

line which is that's a country where

family name carries a lot of weight

Asian families family names in Asia

carry an incredible amount of weight

Japan we were just talking what is Japan

all about honoring what

ancestors everything so to bring

dishonor to the family name is such a

heavy thing that the self-destruct

button those people might press is

execution is just suicide you know what

happens if your asset kills themselves

they stay secure but you lose a source

of information so you can't let that

happen right there's lots of different

versions of a self destruct button the

trick is the the the mission is to make

sure that they never think that

self-destruct is the best option it's

always an option they always remember

that it's an option right I certainly

went through a phase in my life where I

was thinking dark Suicidal Thoughts

really many people do at in in C CIA in

that in that 13 to 25y Old pubescent

Andy okay there was absolutely like dark

nail polish like

my I don't like my stepdad my mom

doesn't pay attention my sisters are the

favorites you know I was running into

racial issues at school like there's all

sorts of stuff there and and you

certainly have those thoughts where

you're like what's the [ __ ] point

like is this really worth no one's even

going to miss me right like the the

amount of people who have had those

thoughts is is surprisingly large it

doesn't mean we take action on it right

it's an option right it's not really a

reset it's it's not you're not starting

all over again you're just ending what

you have when people are thinking about

smashing the self-destruct button do is

it normally to confess or is it do

people kill themselves it's normally to

confess confession is confession is

again this makes me sound like a just an

incredibly horrible person confession is

the worst of the two options from the

point of view of an intelligence officer

because if someone confesses then

they're no longer providing access to

information but they're also potentially

admitting that you were the one handling

them so now that brings a whole world of

pain on you plus if someone starts to

investigate you then how long before

they start to take apart the network

that supported you in that country or in

the field right now all of a sudden

there's like secondary and tertiary

levels of of risk exposure so confession

is our worst case scenario we would

rather an asset self destruct or just go

dark go dark meaning they just shut

themselves off from the world and I mean

it's still scary if they shut themselves

off from the world because you don't

know who they're telling what to but we

can control suicide we the blowback from

suicide we can't really control the

blowback from somebody who

confesses wof do agents and I don't know

if this is something that you can talk

about but when that happens like the

person goes dark do agents like get me

out of here like is it extraction time

usually it's extraction time is what we

would call a non-emergency

extraction um an an emergency extraction

is like no [ __ ] black airplanes are

going into the sky with boxes that have

oxygen tanks and you're like getting

extracted right that's we think that

that your threat to life or threat to

survival is imminent so we need you out

ASAP right we don't have time to tell

borders and custom that you're going to

be leaving we don't have time to tell

anybody we're we're just getting you out

that's an emergency uh xfill

exfiltration when we have a

non-emergency evacuation or a

non-emergency exfiltration then you can

usually you can go through the

established lines it's a race against

the clock because the question becomes

can you get across the border faster

than the person who went dark can turn

themselves in submit your name and the

bureaucrat the bureaucracy of the local

police force can get your name to the

border crossing agents right and

sometimes I mean if someone goes dark if

if someone goes dark and you've in 12

hours or less you can get yourself

across the border you're safe right

sometimes it can be 3 days sometimes it

can be two weeks and sometimes you're

you're on a mission that's so sensitive

that it's actually better to wait until

you see signs that people are coming for

you and then trigger the emergency

xville whoa right so how so let's say

that moment happens um do you have like

booby traps or something that you set on

the door I mean this is like straight up

movie stuff are you like paper in the

door and if it falls out you know

somebody's been in like what signs do

you look for that somebody's coming

after you yeah so um I'm going to stick

to the unclassified version of

course um so generally speaking when you

think that you're under scrutiny what we

call scrutiny or Advanced

scrutiny you are looking first for some

sort of active surveillance because the

dude who lingers too long outside your

apartment if they're if what if they're

what we would call a bumble buing

surveillance then yes a bumbling and

bumbling surveillance exists right

there's there's different levels of

surveillance so let's reverse engineer

you've got an asset the asset knows that

you are getting their secrets asset

turns you in well now the question for

the local police force or the local

intelligence service is do we wrap up

the person that we know is collecting

Secrets or do we observe the person

who's collecting secrets to see who else

are they collecting secrets from and who

else are they meeting with to report

their secrets too because now you have

the opportunity to unfold an entire

network it's a very similar problem to

what the police have do you take out one

drug dealer or do you follow the drug

dealer to find you know the larger

Kingpin so the first thing that we do

when we suspect that we might be under

scrutiny is amp up our situational

awareness to observe whether or not we

think we're being observed so yes

bumbling surveillance would be a

potential that you're being observed

usually bumbling surveillance exists

naturally like there are countries where

you just being a tall wealthy white guy

soon as you walk into that country

there's going to be some bumbling person

who's always like 17 feet behind you

with a newspaper walking around just

keeping an eye on you right for any for

any number of reasons we would expect to

see more refined sophisticated

surveillance so we would look for a team

we're trained to see teams of

surveillance foot surveillance vehicle

surveillance we're trained to know when

and how to look for closed C closed

television closed circuit TV and or

aerial drones we know when we can spot

them at the right time to confirm if

they're after us right and if we see

sophisticated surveillance then we can

trigger The Next Step so that's one way

that we would go about doing it the

other thing we would look for is

electronic signatures that were being

electronically surveilled there's

certain signatures there are certain

behaviors that you can look for in your

cell phone in your computer in your

laptop in your smart TV you know on your

smart devices there's certain things

that you can keep an eye out for that

that demonstrate that you might be

tapped where you might be under are any

those unclassified that you can tell me

about um I'm pretty sure that it's

unclassified to talk about um gaps like

delays if you start to see performance

delays in a device that is performing

normally that's a good sign that it's

being it's got an additional drag on its

internal CPU or its internal memory I'm

going to be so paranoid now so if your

Smartwatch is always working and then

all of a sudden your smartwatch has this

delay It's not catching the right time

it's not catching it's not connecting to

the Wi-Fi it's got some kind of Gap some

sort of digital Gap right that's usually

a sign that something in the internal

unit is draining it of its processing

power when a hack happens when an

information or a data hack happens

they're not usually very clean and

they're not efficient so they are very

energy intensive so for your watch or

for your phone or for your smart TV to

be sending your signal out to another

location all the time right is going to

constantly fill up it's going to take

all the demand on your RAM that's being

carried in your smart device so when you

see that it's an indicator does that

mean you run and hide not necessarily

it's just an indicator often times we

find indicators as very comfortable

things because if there's an indicator

that we're being surveilled then that

means it's not an indicator that as soon

as we step outside we're going to get

wrapped up into a van now we have time

we have time to get off the X as long as

we don't [ __ ] melt down right right

so and that's the big thing too when you

see surveillance on your Smartwatch or

surveillance on your smartphone your TV

starts to your smart TV starts to [ __ ]

and then you also see surveillance on

the street guess what every fiber in

your body wants you to do run run and

hit that self-destruct button right just

run I'm out of here as fast as I can

maybe if I get on a Tuk Tuk and it takes

me to a local airport and I pay some

local pilot $300 he'll just fly me to

Cambodia maybe no it's not going to work

that way you're going to get intercepted

15 minutes after you start the run like

the the way the human brain can

rationalize through a dangerous

situation and come to the wrong

conclusion it's incredible if you like

that clip check out the full powerful

episode here and I'll see you see you

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