Think Like a Spy: Utilizing the CIA’s CARVER Methodology to Assess Strangers

By Luke Bencie and Kara Mathis

In the 2001 espionage thriller, Spy Game, there is a classic scene where a veteran CIA case officer (played by Robert Redford) is training a young recruit (played by Brad Pitt) in the timeless techniques of human intelligence (HUMINT) and tradecraft. Tradecraft is a term that has been around for decades and refers to the practice, method, and technologies used in modern espionage. It includes skills such as elicitation, casing, “dead drops,” surveillance detection, recruitment, etc.

In the scene, the crusty spy tells the inexperienced trainee, “Every room is a snapshot. You need to ask what’s wrong with this picture. You need to see it, assess it, and dismiss most of it without thinking. It’s just like breathing.”

The dialogue is a great summation of what it means to think like a spy. It is essentially situational awareness, where the intelligence officer is attuned to the baselines and anomalies around him or her, while staying keen to danger and opportunity. Opportunity, in this case, means, identifying potential strangers as targets of opportunity.

One of the most effective tools used by spies over the past fifty years to assess any situation, has been the CIA’s CARVER Target Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology. It has been a useful companion for which intel people have relied upon it to help read any room or determine which person might be a good candidate for espionage recruitment.

Developed during World War II...