Music:
Member Since: 04/08/2008
Band Members: ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME
Sounds Like: CLANDESTINE CELL STRUCTURE IS A METHOD FOR ORGANIZING A GROUP IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT CAN MORE EFFECTIVELY RESIST PENETRATION BY AN OPPOSING ORGANIZATION. DEPENDING ON THE GROUP'S PHILOSOPHY, ITS OPERATIONAL AREA, THE COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE, AND THE NATURE OF THE MISSION, IT CAN RANGE FROM A STRICT HIERARCHY TO AN EXTREMELY DISTRIBUTED ORGANIZATION. IT IS ALSO A METHOD USED BY CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS, UNDERCOVER OPERATIVES, AND UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE (UW) LED BY SPECIAL FORCES.
CELL STRUCTURES CONTINUE TO EVOLVE. HISTORICALLY, CLANDESTINE ORGANIZATIONS AVOIDED ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, BECAUSE SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE, SIGINT, IS A STRENGTH OF CONVENTIONAL MILITARIES AND COUNTERINTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATIONS. NEW COMMUNICATIONS TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS THE INTERNET AND STRONG ENCRYPTION, MAY ALLOW SOME INTER-CELL COMMUNICATIONS THAT WERE TOO DANGEROUS IN THE PAST.
IN THE CONTEXT OF TRADECRAFT, COVERT AND CLANDESTINE ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS. THE ADVERSARY IS AWARE THAT A COVERT ACTIVITY IS HAPPENING, BUT DOES NOT KNOW WHO IS DOING IT, AND CERTAINLY NOT THEIR SPONSORSHIP. CLANDESTINE ACTIVITIES, HOWEVER, IF SUCCESSFUL, ARE COMPLETELY UNKNOWN TO THE ADVERSARY, AND THEIR FUNCTION, SUCH AS ESPIONAGE, WOULD BE NEUTRALIZED IF THERE WAS ANY AWARENESS OF THE ACTIVITY. A COVERT CELL STRUCTURE IS TANTAMOUNT TO A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS, BECAUSE THE POINT OF THE CELL STRUCTURE IS THAT ITS DETAILS ARE COMPLETELY HIDDEN FROM THE OPPOSITION.
A SLEEPER CELL REFERS TO A CELL, OR ISOLATED GROUPING OF SLEEPER AGENTS THAT BELONG TO AN INTELLIGENCE NETWORK OR ORGANIZATION. THE CELL "SLEEPS" (LIES DORMANT) INSIDE A TARGET POPULATION UNTIL IT RECEIVES ORDERS OR DECIDES TO ACT. (SEE ALSO MOLE (ESPIONAGE), DOUBLE AGENT, SLEEPER AGENT.) A SLEEPER CELL IS A SOMEWHAT SPECIAL CASE, IF, FOR EXAMPLE, IT IS CLANDESTINE UNTIL ACTIVATED, AS WITH A SABOTAGE OR TERROR UNIT. STILL, THERE CAN BE CELLS (OR SINGLETON AGENTS) WHO ARE BOTH CLANDESTINE AND SLEEPER. WHILE MOST WORLD WAR II UK ESPIONAGE AGENTS SENT TO THE UK WERE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY CAUGHT AND NEUTRALIZED, A FEW, WHO INFILTRATED AN AREA LONG AHEAD OF TIME, AND SET UP A CLOCK REPAIR SHOP OR SOMETHING ELSE INNOCENT THAT WAS ALSO NEAR A NAVAL BASE, WERE ONLY ACTIVATED WHEN THERE WAS A SPECIFIC OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENT. SLEEPERS ALSO PROVIDE SUPPORT SERVICES, SUCH AS EMERGENCY ESCAPE ROUTES, BACKUP COMMUNICATIONS, ETC.
Type of Label: Indie