Significant Issues with “How it’s Done” – an anonymous critique & correction to “Writings of an Arsonist”
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This submission was received anonymously via email. The links used in this article are best navigated with care. An updated version of the zine is available here: The Writings of an Arsonist, parts 1, 2 & critique
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Hi,
I’m writing to you because you have published the text “How it’s Done” [part 2 of Writings of an Arsonist] on your platform recently.
The author outlines “I’m certainly not an expert, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes, some of which I’ll outline here.” Unfortunately there are several significant problems in the recommendations, to the extent that I think it needs to have, at minimum, an editorial or introductory note addressing them, if it is going to be safe for distribution.
It’s an unfortunate reality that the guides the author references are outdated from the 90s, and in the English language there aren’t many betters ones, so it’s not surprising. So to be clear, I don’t blame the author for these oversights but rather the culture of not transmitting this knowledge in a better way in the anglophone insurrectionary space.
I appreciate what Fenrir has to say about this:
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymity-claims-and-reproducibility-of-actions
I’m sharing this critical feedback of this anonymous submission, and the decision to republish it unedited, because I think the motivation of the text is great, and appreciate all of your projects a lot 🙂
I should add there is a lot of great advice too, if the blindspots were addressed.
1. Cars
“Pull your mask up at any cameras you marked during the recon phase on the way there and back.”
Wearing a mask while you are driving will do nothing to address the make and model of your car (which is assumed to be your personal car given the way it is written, and is still a whole lot of evidence regardless of license plate changes) being brought into the spotlight – if anything wearing a mask while drive will bring attention to this vehicle by being suspicious if recorded on CCTV.
Nothing is said about parking a minimum distance away, so I could imagine people reading this pulling up quite close to the target. The threat model of human witnesses is overlooked in this regard.
It also doesn’t talk about cars being vulnerable to tracking devices for individuals being investigated.
The german guide prisma (https://militanz.blackblogs.org/42/) has a lot to say about using bikes whenever possible and the risks of car use.
This mtl guide briefly addresses it as well:
https://mtlcounterinfo.org/a-recipe-for-nocturnal-direct-actions/
“It’s best to avoid using cars if possible – a license plate is far easier to identify than a hooded figure on a bike. But if you must because the location is too difficult to get to otherwise, be careful. You could park a bike-ride away in an area that’s not on camera. Be dressed totally normally when entering the car. Take back roads and know your way around. Don’t use cars that may be already known to police, in case they have been tagged with a GPS surveillance device, and don’t use a rental (in part why Roger Clement got caught for arsoning an RBC branch against the Vancouver Olympics).”
2. DNA
This is probably the main thing that has changed since the 90s – DNA is one of the main way that comrades have been caught in the last decade, internationally.
Again, not a lot exists in English, but a great compilation of relevant materials are at:
Filter the the topic DNA on the left.
In particular I’d recommend:
https://www.csrc.link/#att-forsoka-halla-snuten-pa-avstand
These aren’t in English but deepl machine translation isn’t the worst:
https://www.csrc.link/#tracce-sulle-tracce-di-dna
https://www.csrc.link/#blabladn
Also briefly addressed in a footnote of the mtl guide linked above.
The idea of leaving a sign is a bad bad idea in this regard. One cannot clean DNA after contamination, as one can for finger prints – it would just lead to further contamination. Nothing is said about DNA on door handles / any other surfaces engaged with as well. In short, DNA isn’t considered, which is a huge blindspot.
3. Claims
I imagine “burner” is what the author means when they say “burning”, but it sounds like they didn’t use Tor or Tails, which is bad news. The idea of claiming something not using Tails should be considered very unsafe.
https://mtlcounterinfo.org/how-to-safely-submit-communiques-to-mtlcounter-info-org/
“You want to get the word out to as many people as possible, as soon after the action as you can. ”
Roger clement mentioned above got caught in part because he claimed the next day, while under intensive surveillance.
4. Traces
A 5 gallon bucket filled 4.5 gallons full with gasoline will leak. This is addressed (in the full PDF) here:
https://www.csrc.link/#creating-a-clean-room
– Greetings and solidarity!