Countersurveillance Basics: A Guide for Activists
This guide provides a basic introduction to countersurveillance for the everyday activist. The goal is not to make you a spy, but to increase your awareness and help you protect your privacy and safety.
1. The Foundation: Situational Awareness
Situational awareness is simply knowing what is going on around you. It’s not about being paranoid; it’s about being present and observant. A great tool for practicing this is the OODA Loop.
The OODA Loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act
This is a simple mental framework for making effective decisions quickly.
- Observe: What do you see? Pay attention to the people, cars, and general environment around you. Look for things that seem out of place or unusual. This is your baseline—the normal state of your environment.
- Orient: How do you make sense of what you’ve observed? This is the most important step. You’re putting your observations into context based on your experience and knowledge. Is that person waiting for a bus, or have they been standing on the corner for 20 minutes doing nothing? Is that car parked legally, or is it in a strange spot with a clear view of your building’s entrance?
- Decide: Based on your orientation, what is your plan? Your decision could be simple: “That person seems suspicious, so I will cross the street and walk a different way.” Or it could be to simply keep observing: “That car is unusual, I will note its license plate and see if I spot it again.”
- Act: Put your decision into motion. Cross the street, take a different route, or just continue on your way with heightened awareness. After you act, you start the loop over again by observing the new situation.
Practicing the OODA loop helps you move from passively seeing the world to actively observing it.
2. Identifying Potential Surveillance
Surveillance can be conducted by law enforcement, private investigators, or political opponents. Here are some potential indicators. Remember, any one of these things alone is likely not surveillance. A pattern of them, however, might be.
- The Same Person, Different Places: You see the same person on your way to work, at the coffee shop, and then later near your home.
- Out of Place Individuals: Someone dressed in business attire in a student neighborhood, or someone who just doesn’t seem to fit the environment.
- Communication & Coordination: You notice two or more people who don’t appear to be together but seem to be communicating through subtle gestures or earpieces.
- The “Stop and Go”: Someone who starts walking when you do, stops when you do, and always seems to be maintaining a consistent distance from you.
In Vehicles
- Common-Looking Vehicles: Surveillance vehicles are often non-descript, common models (like a Ford Taurus, Chevy Impala, or a minivan) in neutral colors (black, gray, dark blue). They are clean and well-maintained but have cheap-looking steel wheels instead of hubcaps.
- Unusual Parking: A vehicle parked for a long time in an odd spot, especially one that offers a clear view of a building entrance or intersection.
- Tinted Windows: Excessively dark or fully tinted windows can be a sign.
- Multiple Antennas: More antennas than a standard car needs can indicate communications equipment inside.
- The Same Car, Different Places: Seeing the same vehicle multiple times on your route, especially if you take a few unexpected turns.
3. Simple Mitigation Tactics
If you suspect you are being followed, your goal is to confirm your suspicion and then get to a safe, public place. Do not go home.
- Vary Your Routes: This is the single most effective tactic. Don’t take the same route to and from work, school, or home every day. This makes it much harder for someone to predict your movements.
- Use Public Transportation: Get on a bus or train. Get off one stop early or late. If you are being followed, the person will likely have to get off with you, which can make them more obvious.
- The “Box” Maneuver: Make four consecutive right (or left) turns. If the same car is still behind you after you’ve made a full circle, you are likely being followed.
- Enter and Exit: Go into a large public building with multiple exits, like a department store, library, or shopping mall. Wait a few minutes and leave through a different exit.
- Blend In: The goal is to be the “gray man”—someone who doesn’t draw attention. Dress in a way that is common for the area you are in. Avoid loud or distinctive clothing.
- Trust Your Gut: If a situation feels wrong, it probably is. Remove yourself from the situation and get to a place of safety.