Alan followed up on my three-person cell note with:

This is kind of off-topic, but I thought the classic three-person cell was as follows:

A / \ B - C / \ D G / \ / \ E - F H - I

where a line shows cell membership. So A commands a cell of himself, B and C but knows no one below. A is either the leader, or is known by one member above. B knows D is the leader of another cell, but does not know who E and F are (or even if they exist). Similarly for C.

This organization is vulnerable in two ways: any one person can give up three others; and the chain can be followed (e.g. compromising B can lead to compromising D and then to E, etc.). Because information has to flow between the cells, there is potential for compromise.

Alan's version is correct. Best regards, Curtis D. Frye cfrye@ciis.mitre.org "If you think I speak for MITRE, I'll tell you how much they pay me and make you feel foolish."