Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of the various factors that influence the occurrence, distribution, prevention, and control of disease, injury, and other health-related events in a defined human population. By the application of various analytical techniques including mathematical analysis of the data, the probable cause of an infectious out-break can be pinpointed.
Espionage
Espionage is the use of spies, or the practice of spying, for the purpose of obtaining information about the plans, activities, capabilities, or resources of a competitor or enemy. It is closely related to intelligence, but is often distinguished from it by virtue of the clandestine, aggressive, and dangerous nature of the espionage trade.
Espionage Act of 1917
The Espionage Act, passed in 1917 after the United States entered the World War I, prohibited the disclosure of government and industrial information regarding national defense. The act also criminalized refusal to perform military service if conscripted.
Espionage and Intelligence, Early Historical Foundations
Espionage is one of the oldest, and most well documented, political and military arts.
Estonia, Intelligence and Security
Estonia maintains one central intelligence and security agency, the Kaitsepolitseiamet (KPol), Security Police Board. The KPol administers intelligence gathering and information analysis, and reports its findings to the executive branch of the government.
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a long-standing political and economic federation of autonomous European nations. With the consent of member states, the EU legislates a variety of issues by treaty, including trade, customs, travel, currency, and defense.
Executive Orders and Presidential Directives
Executive orders and presidential directives, as their name suggests, come from the president of the United States. Executive orders are unclassified, and in practice carry the force of law, though they remain controversial inasmuch as they amount to government by virtual edict.
Explosive Coal
Explosives disguised as coal were made in World War II by both the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to be used against such targets as steam locomotives, ships, and factory furnaces. Explosive coal allowed operatives to target relatively unguarded coal storage areas that supplied heavy security installations.
F-117A Stealth Fighter
Striking and unusual in appearance, the birdlike F-117A Nighthawk is the world's first aircraft designed to make full use of stealth technology. Conceived and designed in just 31 months at the Lockheed Advanced Development Projects "Skunk Works" in Burbank, California, the Nighthawk was built for the United States Air Force between 1982 and 1990.
FAA (United States Federal Aviation Administration)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the government agency charged with ensuring the safety of air travel in America, developing new aviation technologies, and overseeing air traffic control for both passenger and military aircraft.
Facility Security
Facility security is the protection, and the measures taken toward the protection, of a building or other physical location. Among the components of facility security are access control, or the protection against entry by unauthorized persons, fire detection and suppression, and emergency-response planning.
FBI (United States Federal Bureau of Investigation)
An FBI poster signed by J. Edgar Hoover warns civilians against saboteurs and spies.
FCC (United States Federal Communications Commission)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent government agency, oversees the media and communications industries in the United States. Included under the FCC's jurisdiction are radio, television, cable, telephone, satellite, and wireless (cellular phones and pagers) providers.
FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a Department of Health and Human Services agency, regulates the development, sale, and distribution of food products, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, cosmetics, and medical equipment. The FDA's reach is so extensive that one-fifth of all consumer dollars spent in the U.S.
Federal Protective Service, United States
The United States Federal Protective Service (FPS) is the security arm of the General Services Administration (GSA) and it is responsible for the protection of most of the civilian workspace owned or leased by the federal government, as well as the safety of the workers and visitors who use these sites. Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Federal Reserve System, United States
Created by the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, the Federal Reserve System serves as the central bank of the United States. Commonly known as the Fed, it conducts monetary policy for the nation by exerting direct influence on the money supply, interest rates, and the purchase of government securities.
FEMA (United States Federal Emergency Management Agency)
FEST (United States Foreign Emergency Support Team)
The United States Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST) is a rapid-response unit designed to respond to terrorist attacks against U.S. interests overseas.
Fingerprint Analysis
Fingerprints are the patterns on the inside and the tips of fingers. The ridges of skin, also known as friction ridges, together with the valleys between them form unique patterns on the fingers.
Finland, Intelligence and Security
Finland's geographic location made the nation one of the key strategic intelligence points during the twentieth century. Its position on the Baltic Sea, and proximity to both Russia and Western Europe, influenced the development of its national political character and intelligence community.
First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Group (GRAPO)
The First of October Anti-fascist Resistance Group (GRAPO, or Grupo de Resistencia Anti-Fascista Primero de Octubre) was formed in 1975 as the armed wing of the illegal Communist Party of Spain during the Franco era. Advocating the overthrow of the Spanish Government and replacement with a Marxist-Leninist regime, GRAPO is vehemently anti-U.S., calls for the removal of all U.S.
FISH (German Geheimschreiber Cipher Machine)
As late as the World War I era, cryptology depended on highly trained people at both ends of a communication to cipher and decipher a message. Codes were often kept in books that were vulnerable to enemy capture.
Fission
Nuclear fission is a process in which the nucleus of an atom splits, usually into two daughter nuclei, with the transformation of tremendous levels of nuclear energy into heat and light.
Flame Analysis
Flame tests are useful means of determining the composition of substances. The colors produced by the flame test are compared to known standards.
Flight Data Recorders
In the earliest days of air transportation, plane crashes yielded few clues for safety investigators.
FM Transmitters
FM (frequency modulation) transmitters can yield a number of results, depending on their power and range. Extremely low-power transmitters can be used in very small locales, for purposes such as eavesdropping.
FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)
Food Supply, Counter-Terrorism
The 1995 release of Sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system, and the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States illustrate society's vulnerability to terrorist attack in the course of everyday activities. Much of the infrastructure of public life (i.e., buildings, subways, airports) was not initially designed to thwart malicious activity.
Ford Administration (1974–1977), United States National Security Policy
When Gerald Ford assumed the presidency of the United States upon the 1974 resignation of Richard Nixon, he chose to continue most of Nixon's national security policy. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger remained in office as the principal manager of national security matters while détente with the Soviet Union continued as a chief U.S.
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), United States Office
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) enforces economic and trade sanctions against foreign nations, drug traffickers, and terrorist organizations. The OFAC is part of the Department of the Treasury and acts under the authority of legislative controls and the wartime and national emergency power acts.