Mimicking operations is a tactical concept, developed under
Terrorist Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) is an essential concept in terrorism and cyber security studies. The role of TTPs in terrorism analysis is to identify individual patterns of behavior of a particular terrorist activity, or a particular ...
, to explain a form of
deception
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
, commonly used by terrorists in their attacks. The concept is commonly used in military tactical modelling and scientific simulation; and is connected to the idea of shielding friendly forces (as well as foes) from detection and deception.
Definition
Mimicking operations is a – “cost-effective way of achieving a desired operational effect using superior deception tactics to exploit concealment and camouflage opportunities”.
Relationship with military deception operations
Carlo Kopp identified in 2002 that 'deception and Mimicry is the insertion of intentionally misleading information. It amounts to mimicking a known signal so well, that a receiver cannot distinguish the phony signal from the real signal.'
Relationship with Fifth Dimension Operations
The mimicking operations concept was acknowledged as an early iteration of contemporary Fifth Dimension Operations.
Use of examples from nature
The concept of mimicking operations simulates activity that resembles a bacterial attack on a large and complex organism. Attacking cells mimic the behavior of their victims, but remain dormant while awaiting an opportunity to launch an attack.[ The development of mimicking operations has been influenced by biology, ecology and the workings of the natural world.
* A species evolves the appearance of another to aid its survival.
* Animals or insects develop a physical similarity to their predators, in order to avoid danger.
* Portia spiders strum the webs of other spiders to imitate mating behaviors or the actions of distressed prey.
]
Military tactics use
In military tactics, the employment of mimicking operational strategies, is based on concepts:
* A potential target is given confusing information and is encouraged to walk into what appears to be a safe situation.
* The use of mimicry manipulates information through the simulation of behavior or of physical appearance.
* Mimicking operations represents an increasingly cost-effective way of achieving a desired operational effect using superior information to exploit concealment, deception and imitation techniques.
Mimicking operations as a subset of military deception
Mimicking Operations is a subset of military deception
Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ac ...
.terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, an individual with few resources is likely to adapt a mimicking strategy, and seek to camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
themselves. Whereas a more resourced team of terrorists with the backing
of an organisation may be more likely to afford the resources to develop a decoy, as part of a developed deception strategy.
References
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Counterterrorism