ITACG Intelligence Guide for First Responders 2nd Edition - ISE.gov

intelligence guide for first responders - 2nd edition | how to
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understanding threat
information
First responders are likely to receive threat information during breaking events of national
interest. The threat information can be in the form of a raw intelligence report, alert, warning,
or notification and provides timely dissemination of unevaluated intelligence within the U.S.
intelligence, federal law enforcement, and state, local, tribal and private sector communities.
This is information that individuals or organizations need in order to make decisions. To get the
most benefit from these products, it is important to have a general understanding of the criteria
that the intelligence community typically uses to create them.
The Intelligence Community uses the following criteria to understand threat information:
Access. Addresses the ability of the source to obtain the information. Some commonly used
levels of source access are:
• Excellent – Excellent refers to firsthand observation. All technical sources have
excellent access.
• Good – A source has good access if the source learns information from a subsource
directly involved in a private conversation. A source may have good access if the source
directly overhears a conversation, without knowledge of the conversation’s participants.