Transcript
What is Denial, hiding in the real?
Why do Denial and Deception continue to succeed in spite of all that is known about them?
Denial refers to activities and programs designed to eliminate, impair, degrade, or neutralize the effectiveness of intelligence collection within and across any or all collection disciplines, human and technical. Deception refers to manipulation of intelligence collection, analysis, or public opinion by introducing false, misleading or, even true but tailored, information into intelligence channels with the intent of influencing judgments made by intelligence producers and the consumers of their products.
Denial and Deception (D&D) are highly relevant to national-level policymakers and to warfighters. In general, D&D can be defined as any undertaking (activity or program) by adversaries, state and non-state actors alike, to influence or deceive policymaking and intelligence communities by reducing collection effectiveness, manipulating information, or otherwise attempting to manage perceptions of intelligence producers and consumers (e.g., policymakers and warfighters). Those who practice D&D, perhaps a form of asymmetrical warfare, seek to control what intelligence collectors observe and acquire in order to manipulate their perceptions and the content of their products, in an effort to shape the decisions and actions of policymakers and those who can influence them. Just as intelligence is not a static process, neither is the D&D process. Both are dynamic. But intelligence often seems slower to adapt to needed change, perhaps too slow. Those who practice D&D sometimes react faster. If a foreign adversary’s D&D is more adaptable to the intelligence threats it faces, then it will more often succeed in neutralizing intelligence and even misleading it. Significantly, adaptation is crucial for both but easier for the targets who want to evade the intelligence spotlight.
When adversaries hide information they deploy tools to outwit the collectors and the more tools they have will allow them to succeed. Alternatively, when collectors develop and adapt their methods to foil the adversaries plot, they regain the advantage. This cycle can be seen in modern technical intelligence where the development of newer techniques has provided the intelligence community with appreciable advantages over the adversaries.
Bruce, James B. “Denial and Deception in the 21st Century: Adaptation Implications for Western Intelligence”. 2006. Defense Intelligence Journal. https://www.aainteligencia.cl/?p=198
