Collection Plan

Humanities

Students must prepare a 6-8 page paper on either the North Korean or Cuban intelligence apparatus using the intelligence scenario described below. The format and required elements for your paper can be found in the week six “Lessons” folder (they are the same as the first essay though). Remember to be creative and use your imagination as this is a simulation; “outside the box” thinking is highly encouraged! Still, I don’t want to see first-person writing…

The specific format and contents of the paper is below.

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Overview: Assume you are the head of either North Korea’s or Cuba’s intelligence apparatus. Your leadership has declared in a high-level, secretive party meeting that they are no longer willing to stand by and allow the US strangle their country via an economic embargo. In order to prevent a complete economic collapse, they have decided to mobilize their military forces for an unprecedented 15 day nationwide exercise. Elements within the party are concerned the exercise would be viewed as a hostile act, potentially opening the door to yet another US sponsored “regime change.”

Assignment: As the leader of your nation’s intelligence apparatus, you have been tasked to develop a collection plan to assess how the US will respond to the 15 day exercise. Your collection plan must cover each of the five intelligence disciplines (as well as cyber warfare) and must include taskings for every element/bureau/division within your network. Remember to be creative and use your imagination as this is a simulation; “outside the box” thinking is highly encouraged!

Section I: Introduction.

(a) Clearly state the purpose of your paper along with the country you’ll be representing (North Korea or Cuba), the “non-lethal show of force” your country will be making in order send a message to the US, and a brief summary of your country’s intelligence organs.

(b) Remember to be creative and use your imagination as this is a simulation; “outside the box” thinking is highly encouraged!

Section II: Collection Plan.

(a) OSINT. Identify non-cyber, targets (such as media, tradeshows, or professional organizations) capable of providing raw (unevaluated), OSINT indicating how the US would respond to assess how the US will respond to the 15 day exercise. Clearly identify the specific bureau, division, or branch within your associated (North Korean or Cuban) organization responsible for collecting the information along with a plan as to how they will collect it. Assess the likelihood (as probable, possible, or unlikely) that your country will be able to obtain the required OSINT information and why.

(b) Imagery: Identify targets (such as industrial facilities, military installations, and public locations, etc.) indicating how the US would respond to the 15 day exercise. Clearly identify the specific bureau, division, or branch within your associated (North Korean or Cuban) organization responsible for collecting the information along with a plan as to how they will collect it. Assess the likelihood (as probable, possible, or unlikely) that your country will be able to obtain the required information and why.

(c) MASINT. Identify targets capable of being exploited by MASINT indicating how the US would respond to the calculated “show of force.” If you are unable to identify any targets capable being of exploited by MASINT, please state why. Clearly identify the specific bureau, division, or branch within your associated (North Korean or Cuban) organization responsible for collecting the information along with a plan as to how they will collect it. Assess the likelihood (as probable, possible, or unlikely) that your country will be able to obtain the required MASINT information and why.

(d) HUMINT. Identify targets (diplomats, politicians, military personnel, etc.) capable of providing raw (unevaluated) HUMINT indicating how the US would respond to assess how the US will respond to the 15 day exercise. Remember, HUMINT’s value lies in its ability to identify future actions. Clearly identify the specific bureau, division, or branch within your associated (North Korean or Cuban) organization responsible for collecting the information along with a plan as to how they will collect it. Assess the likelihood (as probable, possible, or unlikely) that your country will be able to obtain the required HUMINT information and why.

(e) SIGINT. Identify non-cyber targets (communications systems, command and control systems, etc.) capable of providing raw (unevaluated) SIGINT indicating how the US would respond to assess how the US will respond to the 15 day exercise. Remember, responses to an event require political and military decision to be made and orders carried out which always involves some type of electronic communications. Clearly identify the specific bureau, division, or branch within your associated (North Korean or Cuban) organization responsible for collecting the information along with a plan as to how they will collect it. Assess the likelihood (as probable, possible, or unlikely) that your country will be able to obtain the required SIGINT information and why.

(f) Cyber Collection. Identify cyber targets (military or civilian computer networks) capable of being targeted and exploited to provide raw (unevaluated) intelligence indicating how the US would respond to assess how the US will respond to the 15 day exercise. Clearly identify the specific bureau, division, or branch within your associated (North Korean or Cuban) organization responsible for collecting the information along with a plan as to how they will collect it. Assess the likelihood (as probable, possible, or unlikely) that your country will be able to obtain the required cyber information and why.

Section III: Conclusion.

(a) Assess the likelihood (as probable, possible, or unlikely) that your country’s intelligence organizations will be capable of collecting the required information and why. Stress the key capabilities and limitations associated with your country’s intelligence collection.

Section IV: Selected Bibliography.

(a) Contains all sources consulted and cited in preparing your paper.