Covert Communication Devices Flashcards
7 cards from real CFA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Covert Communication Devices flashcards as text
A field agent suspects their safe house has been bugged with a passive RF listening device. Which countermeasure is MOST effective for detecting it?
Answer: Conducting a TSCM sweep with a nonlinear junction detector (NLJD)
A nonlinear junction detector identifies semiconductor components in concealed electronic devices regardless of whether they are powered on or transmitting.
What is the operational purpose of using a 'challenge and response' authentication system in covert agent communications?
Answer: To verify the identity of the other party without revealing sensitive recognition details to eavesdroppers
Challenge-response authentication allows two parties to mutually verify identity using prearranged pairs that appear innocuous to an intercepting third party.
Which of the following is an example of a 'signal site' used in traditional field tradecraft?
Answer: A chalk mark on a mailbox indicating the dead drop has been loaded
Signal sites are physical markers — chalk marks, tape strips, thumbtacks — that convey prearranged meanings between agents without requiring electronic communication.
Why are commercially available encrypted messaging apps generally insufficient for clandestine intelligence communications?
Answer: They require account registration that links to identifiable metadata and are subject to legal compulsion
Commercial apps require phone numbers, email addresses, or app store accounts that create metadata trails and can be compelled by legal process in many jurisdictions.
An agent must communicate from inside a Faraday cage environment where all RF signals are blocked. Which method can still successfully transmit data?
Answer: Physical courier carrying a storage medium out of the shielded area
A Faraday cage blocks all electromagnetic signals, making physical removal of data on a storage medium the only reliable method for exfiltration.
What is the primary risk of 'traffic analysis' to a covert communications network, even when message content is fully encrypted?
Answer: Pattern analysis of who communicates with whom, how often, and when can reveal network structure and agent activity
Traffic analysis extracts intelligence from communication metadata — timing, frequency, volume, and endpoints — without ever breaking the encryption protecting the content.
A field agent must conduct an emergency communication but has lost all pre-issued devices. Which improvised approach BEST balances security and effectiveness?
Answer: Using a public phone or borrowed device for a single brief call with prearranged open-code phrases, then abandoning that channel
A single-use public channel with open codes minimizes trackable identity links while still conveying the required message, and abandoning the channel afterward prevents follow-on exploitation.