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This is the job of Multidisciplinary Counterintelligence (MDCI). How does the government know that lines are secure from signals intelligence of foreign adversaries? One of the main tasks of MDCI is the "communication line" of the American Government. Radio waves can easily be detected with the right equipment anywhere within the area, and even microwaves can be detected with a receiver in the right place.
MDCI combats these problems with encryption for messages and secure lines for voice communication. The encryption process is found on the governments SIPRnet web, which is used for the transfer of classified information only. For voice communications, the government uses secured lines that will scramble communications into meaningless sounds or scratches. The only problem with these types of devices is that they cannot be located just anywhere and can be very expensive to maintain; furthermore, facilities must be able to support these classified mediums. With all of this in mind, many of the nation's government officials may not be using these secured lines and opt to take a chance with telephone lines. This problem became apparent when the Soviet (now Russian) Embassy was placed in Washington.
With the White House, Pentagon, and State Department just outside of the Embassy's windows, the possibility of telephone lines being monitored became increasingly significant. The Russians would simply have to set up receivers in and around the embassy to pick up emitters coming from the American buildings. The location is no less than prime real estate for setting up an intelligence-gathering center. Other forms of monitoring could be used on members with access to classified material. With the Russians now in Washington there are plenty of personnel around that are working within these capitol buildings. The ultimate goal of monitoring these individuals is to find out weak points in character for possible exploitation.
If a member of these American organizations can be found to have something that could be exploited, they are primary targets for blackmail of what they are entrusted to protect. Other possible sites that may be of possible interest for monitoring are high-technology corporations and financial institutions. MDCI can countermeasure this monitoring by offering a couple possible solutions to these kinds of vulnerabilities. One is to bypass possible intercept sites, such as the Russian Embassy, with underground cables; thus essentially moving the emitter past possible receivers and on the other side of the Russian Embassy. Another solution to this problem of monitoring is encrypting the voice communication prior to being sent out over microwave lines. Either solution could be very expensive.
Another possible threat to security is found in emanations. Any electrical device radiates electromagnetic waves. If an adversary of the United States has the capability to detect and decipher these electromagnetic emanations, all information processed through that medium could be compromised. One way to ensure that the electromagnetic waves are not detected is by locating classified mediums within secure facilities that meet specific criteria for classified information containment. One of the most impressive reporting and collection mediums of today's intelligence world is found in satellite imagery. The imagery intelligence field is also relatively new as far as gathering mediums are considered, but have been developed significantly since the Sputnik launch in mid twentieth century.
With satellite imagery the United States can limit the amount of human risk that it once took to get an aerial photograph of the scene and activity going on below. MDCI can countermeasure an imagery gathering satellite by determining when the satellite will be over a certain target. If it is known that an adversary has knowledge of certain equipment in a target area, only that equipment can be made available to be seen at the overpass time. If the target is a military installation, the military can be forewarned to move assets undercover for concealment.
Equipment can also be camouflaged to give an appearance of matching the terrain and blending in with the scenery, or equipment can be staged in the open to give the appearance of movement or operations within a particular area. The problem with this type of technology is finding out information about the equipment. Necessary knowledge of whether a satellite is recording what is directly below or to the side is a must for this type of medium. It is also imperative to find out what degree of angle the oblique imagery is capable of, and then to find out whether or not overhead concealment is sufficient during such oblique surveillance. Multidisciplinary Counterintelligence has the national security goal of technical countermeasures to protect intelligence operations. This "security awareness" job is only possible by knowing the threats of an adversary's ability to gather intelligence through technological means.
The only way to combat intelligence gathering against the United States is to know what technological intelligence collection resources are being used for gathering information.
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