SPY NEWS: 2022 — Week 21
Summary of the espionage-related news stories for the Week 21 (22–28 May) of 2022.
1. Summary of Recently Completed SBU Counter-Intelligence Operations
On May 22nd, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) published a summary of 4 recently completed counter-intelligence operations. Those were: 1) In the city of Zhytomyr, SBU captured a Russian agent attempting to recruit Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel to conduct reconnaissance and sabotage activities. 2) In Donetsk, SBU detained a resident of Kramatorsk for gathering and providing intelligence of Ukrainian forces movements to Russia. 3) In the region of Luhansk, SBU reported to the authorities suspicious activities of two individuals contributing in the illegal prosecution of residents. And lastly, 4) In the city of Kiev, with the help of SBU, an indictment was sent for a hospital official who had been collaborating covertly with the Russian special services.
2. Spy Collection: 2015 Footage of Israeli Undercover Raid in Palestine
Last Sunday we published a 6-minute long video from a 2015 undercover operation where Israeli operatives used disguises and deception to infiltrate the Al-Ahli hospital in Palestine in order to capture Azzam Ezzat Sha’ban Shalalda, wanted by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). The video was shared as part of the raw footage/archived content playlist of the channel.
3. Yemeni Forces Shoot Down Saudi Spy Drone
On Sunday, May 22nd, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, publicly announced that they shot down a surveillance Turkish-made Vestel Karayel UAV, operated by the Saudi Air Force. The Yemeni spokesman said that “it was violating the armistice and carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of the Hiran region in Hajjah governorate.” He said that the spy drone was targeting “a locally made surface-to-air missile that has not been disclosed yet.” Later a video of the downed UAV was shared online.
4. Additional Information on Russian Cyber Espionage Operation
On May 23rd, SEKOIA cyber security firm published a technical analysis based on indicators originally uncovered by Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG). As per SEKOIA’s report that was a “a reconnaissance and espionage campaign from the Turla intrusion set against the Baltic Defense College, the Austrian Economic Chamber which has a role in government decision-making such as economic sanctions and NATO’s eLearning platform JDAL (Joint Advanced Distributed Learning) pointing Russian Intelligence interest for defense sector in Eastern Europe and for topics related to the economic sanctions against the Russian Federation.”
5. Iran’s IRGC Disrupts Mossad Network with, Likely, Kurdish Nationals
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), the recent announcement of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for the disruption of a Mossad espionage network in Iran is referring to 8 Kurdish nationals who were arrested by IRGC’s counter-intelligence for, allegedly, being Mossad agents on November 2021. Those 8 are: 1) Vafa Hanareh, 2) Kamran Hanareh, 3) Aran Omari, 4) Ashkan Osmannezhad, 5) Rahman Parhazou, 6) Fakhreddin Dudkanlou, 7) Hassan Omarpour, and 8) Amir Moshtagh. According to a confidential source of the KHRN, “one of these people had left Iran and fled to Turkey knowing that he might be detained. But he was detained by overseas forces of the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Turkey and returned to Iran.”
6. AFIO: Former Senior CIA Operations Officer on the Havana Syndrome and on Diversity in the Intelligence Community
The Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) published a 23-minute long recording of an interview with Melvin Gamble, retired 40-year career Senior CIA Operations Officer who has held positions such as Chief and Deputy Chief of Stations in Africa and Latin America, Chief of Central Asia and the Caucasus, Special Assistant to the Associate Deputy Director of Operations, Deputy Chief of European Division, and Chief of Africa Division. He was covering topics such as the Havana Syndrome and diversity in the intelligence community. He’s interviewed by James R. Hughes, 17th AFIO President and 37-year intelligence professional working in Military Intelligence, CIA’s Clandestine Service, and more.
7. Indian Intelligence Warns of Bombing Plots by Pakistani ISI
This week the Indian intelligence agencies issued a public warning that they have obtained intelligence that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is covertly supporting terrorist groups “planning to carry out attacks, including time bomb blasts, on railway tracks in Punjab and neighbouring states.” This was issued as a “red alert” warning to all Indian media. Allegedly, ISI operatives have established sleeper cells and delivered money, weapons, explosives and training to the terrorists plotting those attacks.
8. International Spy Museum’s New Exhibit for Operación Jaque
The International Spy Museum in Washington, DC announced a new exhibit and published a summary of the history behind it. As per the description, “Operación Jaque was one of the most daring and effective operations in intelligence history. A grand deception, entirely planned and executed by Colombian forces, it involved codebreaking, cover identities, and the successful rescue of 15 hostages held by the FARC in the Colombian jungles — and all without spilling a drop of blood.” More details of the display items of this exhibit can be found here.
9. SVR Public Statement on Support from Latin America
The Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey E. Naryshkin issued a public statement titled “US Anti-Russian Policy on Ukraine Does Not Find Support in Latin America” which highlights that Latin American countries are taking Russia’s side by not enforcing any of the proposed sanctions or the general US policy against Russia for the war in Ukraine. According to the SVR, “the Biden administration faced a difficult choice: to seek the consolidation of Latin American countries under the auspices of the United States, or to continue to push through the anti-Russian agenda at the regional level. While common sense has prevailed in the “Washington regional committee”, a decision has been made to temporarily “muffle” the Ukrainian topic in the dialogue with Latin Americans in order to create conditions for the successful holding of the upcoming “Summit of the Americas.” The SVR statement concludes that “Washington has once again become a hostage to its own Russophobia. Attempts to impose on Latin Americans the line of the West on Ukraine have led to the opposite effect. Instead of isolating Russia in Latin America, the United States and its Ukrainian allies found themselves isolated.”
10. Podcast: Spies Like Us: Mental Health for Operatives
In this week’s 56-minute long episode, former CIA Officer and founder of the mental health support network for operators, William Negley, joined the host on a discussion around mental health for operatives. The hosts of the podcast were former CIA Counter-Terrorism Officer Brandon Blackburn, and Mubin Shaikh, former undercover operative who had infiltrated terrorist organisations for his country.
11. Senior IRGC Quds Force Officer Assassinated in Iran
On May 22nd, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the assassination of an IRGC Quds Force senior officer, Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei. He was assassinated in Tehran, Iran on Sunday when two individuals on a motorcycle stopped in front of his car and opened fire. According to United Against Nuclear Iran, Colonel Khodaei’s assassination was “reminiscent of previous operations targeting individuals associated with Tehran’s nuclear program. But his death represents an evolution in Israel’s modus operandi, signaling the implementation of the Octopus Doctrine.”
12. CIA Adds Two New Stars to Its Memorial Wall
In its annual Memorial Ceremony, the CIA added two new stars to its Memorial Wall, “commemorating exceptional officers whose legacies will live on and whose service must remain known to only a select few.” No details were disclosed for the two fallen CIA officers that those two stars represent.
13. Webinar: Should intelligence services have a ‘license to kill’?
The University of Leiden, in the Netherlands, published a 16-minute long lecture titled “should intelligence services have a ‘license to kill’?” discussing the myth and reality of covert and clandestine assassinations by intelligence services, especially in the domain of counter-terrorism. The lecture is presented by Dr. Simon Willmetts, Cultural Historian at the Leiden University.
14. Turkish MİT Assassinates PKK Planner in Mosul, Iraq
On May 23rd it was announced that the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) assassinated Mehmet Erdoğan, also known as Ahmet Rubar, in Mosul, Iraq. He was living in the Mahmur Camp under the false identity of Hacı Mirza Ali. MİT identified his location and executed the strike that killed him. He was identified as a key planner of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is classified as a terrorist organisation in Turkey.
15. Indian Cyber Espionage Operation Targeting Pakistani Government
The RedDrip team of the Qi An Xin cyber security firm published technical indicators of an active cyber espionage operation attributed to an actor dubbed as PATCHWORK, and who has been previously associated with the government of India. The operation includes lure documents impersonating the Government of Punjab, Pakistan which, if opened, infects the target with a custom cyber espionage software implant. The two discovered documents appear like forms from the Labour & Human Resource Department as well as the Directorate General Monitoring & Evaluation of the Planning & Development Board.
16. FBI/CPD Social Media Exploitation (SOMEX) Team Revelations
On May 20th, Mara Hvistendahl of The Intercept published a detailed article covering deception and covert operations that the FBI together with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) is conducing through their Social Media Exploitation (SOMEX) team. The article includes leaked, previously unknown, internal documents and emails. As per the article, SOMEX “had been set up to help the FBI find informants and intelligence using information gleaned from social sites.” Those included both undercover online interactions with fake social media profiles, as well as undercover operations via social media profiles belonging to informants.
17. Video: Elbit Systems HERMES 900 Multi-Role MALE UAS
On May 23rd, the Israeli Elbit Systems published an 1-minute long promotional video demonstrating their new HERMES 900 next-generation multi-role Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) which is used by many countries for intelligence collection.
18. The Most Audacious Confederate Spies — And How They Got Away With It
Gillian Brockell of The Washington Post published this article on May 23rd based on the new Wall of Spies Experience in the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Centre (NCSC) museum in Bethesda, Maryland.
19. Podcast: Cleared Hot: CIA Clandestine Officer Lindsay Moran
This week, the Cleared Hot podcast published a new, nearly 3-hours long, episode featuring Lindsay Moran, who in the period of 1998–2003 was a CIA Case Officer in the Agency’s Clandestine Service. In 2005 she published her memoir “Blowing My Cover: My Life As A Spy” and this podcast covers her past experiences as well as her current work as a freelance writer.
20. Jerusalem Police Arrested 5 Suspected of Being Iranian Spies
According to the Israel National News, on May 22nd the Jerusalem police arrested 5 residents of the city “on suspicion of assisting in Iranian-backed organization. All have been given an extended detentions.”
21. Cyber Espionage Operations Targeting Russian Government
The Threat Intelligence team of the cyber security firm MalwareBytes published a technical analysis of several cyber espionage operations that have been targeting Russian government entities since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The operations use a wide variety of advanced infiltration methods and, according to MalwareBytes, while “attribution efforts are ongoing, we have discovered some indicators that suggest the threat actor may be a Chinese group.”
22. Armenian NSS Arrests Serviceman on Espionage Charges
Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) arrested a man on May 25th suspected of espionage. The defendant was identified as D.G. and is “accused of transmitting information about combat positions of a military unit located along Armenia’s state border, their equipment, armament and the number of soldiers on duty to a foreign intelligence service.” The suspect was recruited in January 2022 via Facebook and from January to March 2022 he had been conducting espionage, transmitting information to his handler using WhatsApp and Messenger applications. For his services, his handler paid him $200. His is currently detained and under investigation.
23. Video: Sub Brief: China & Russia Spy on US Fleet
On May 23rd, retired US Navy submariner Aaron Amick published an 11-minute long video providing a briefing on the ongoing cooperative Electronics Intelligence (ELINT) collection preparation activities of the Chinese (PLAN) and Russian Navies in the Philippine Sea, targeting the USS Ronald Reagan that is approaching for its “spring patrol” to the region.
24. Former Somali President Admits Secret Operation to Eritrea
Following the recent developments and accusations (see week 18 story #4 and week 6 story #36) in the Somali intelligence community, this week former Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, confirmed that “5,000 of the nation’s soldiers were sent to Eritrea last year to undergo training and said their return was delayed to prevent political upheaval.” This was a secret recruitment operation that sparked protests last year since their families were never informed of their whereabouts or the reason for their disappearance. The former President said “these forces, which number 5,000, were trained a year ago, but due to political unrest and elections, their return was postponed.”
25. Former ASIO Chief Asks Australians to Sacrifice Living Standard to Support Defence Spending
As per The West Australian, the former Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Duncan Lewis, stated that “Australians should sacrifice their standard of living to enable more spending on defence amid building global tensions.” The former spy chief noted that “if we think that 2–3 per cent of GDP is going to pay for nuclear powered boats and for the defence capability that I believe we are going to require in the not too distant future, we’re kidding ourselves. It will require a much larger sum of money.”
26. Former CIA Operative Tips for Hotel Security
On May 24th, American Kinetix (AX) published an 8-minute long video featuring a former CIA Global Response Staff (GRS) / special activities operative providing some security and counter-surveillance tips for when staying in hotels.
27. Mossad Ordered to Establish Relationships with Sudan
According to Intelligence Online, Sudanese officials visited Israel in an attempt to strengthen the relationships of the two nation-states. The article highlights that “the Israeli intelligence officers who were recently in Sudan will facilitate the meeting.”
28. Luhansk MGB Announces OSCE Employee Was US DIA Spy
On May 24th, the Ministry of State Security (MGB) of the, not recognised by most countries, Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) announced that the Deputy Head of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Luhansk Office, George Levitsky, is a US Army veteran working as an intelligence officer at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) for years. Levitsky recruited an OSCE SMM interpreter surnamed Petrov to secretly collect information on LPR’s militia units and share it with him using his OSCE SMM position as a cover. LPR MGB detained Petrov who is now facing espionage charges.
29. Yemeni Forces Shoot Down Second Saudi Spy Drone
Following the downing described in story #3, on May 24th the Yemeni Armed Forces announced the downing of a second Saudi reconnaissance drone over the Najran region of Yemen. It was a Chinese-manufactured Chengdu Wing Loong II UAV, military designation GJ-2.
30. Resident of Tskhinvali Accused of Being Georgian GIS Spy
On May 25th, the KGB of the breakaway state of South Ossetia issued a public statement that a woman from the city of Tskhinvali was a Georgian Intelligence Service (GIS) agent. KGB spokesperson said that the woman “maintained stable contacts with representatives of the Georgian special services, on whose instructions she collected and transmitted information regarding the situation developing on the territory.” And they added that this “foreign intelligence service incited a citizen of South Ossetia to cooperate under pressure, with the threat of bringing the latter to criminal or administrative liability on the territory of Georgia.” She’s now facing from 12 to 20 years in prison for espionage.
31. North Korean Cyber Espionage Operation Targeting S. Korea
The Shadow Chaser Group of the GcowSec team shared technical indicators of a new cyber espionage operation attributed to an actor dubbed as APT37 who has been previously associated with the intelligence services of North Korea. The operation used a lure document titled “KTV 최고수다 섭외 요청 건.hwp” (KTV’s most talked-about request for casting.hwp) which, if opened, covertly installs a custom cyber espionage software implant.
32. Lebanon Spy Chief Acts as Mediator for US-Syria Hostage Situation
The Head of Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security (GDGS), Major General Abbas Ibrahim held talks with his counterparts in the US to lead the hostage negotiations between the US and Syria in relations to captured Americans, including Austin Tice. Specifically, Abbas Ibrahim stated that “we discussed Mr Tice’s file and we agree that it has to make progress, but we have to see first how we can bridge the gap, how to bring the views closer between Washington and Damascus.”
33. Iran to Proceed with the Execution of the Swedish-Iranian Convicted Mossad Spy
Despite the pressure from Sweden, Iranian spokesman Masoud Setayeshi highlighted again that “the verdict is legal, only the prosecution has to decide on the timing.” The convicted spy is Swedish-Iranian national Ahmadreza Djalali. He was arrested in April 2016 for allegedly acting as an Israeli Mossad agent in a plot to locate and enable the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. His execution was originally planned (see week 18 story #20) for the 21st of May but due to the foreign pressure, it was postponed.
34. Chinese Military Accuses Tesla of Conducting Espionage
Chinese military accused the private company Tesla of espionage and is now facing charges. As per the article, “the Chinese military has accused Tesla of spying through sensors and camera features that replace the rearview mirrors in Tesla’s cars. Tesla says the data center is built to store information it collects from its users. As of March, Tesla has restricted the use of Tesla cars. However, the restrictions are still in the scope of the military and employees of state-owned companies.” The Chinese military reports that Tesla has been sharing collected information with the US government, something the company denies, but as a precaution the Chinese military banned Tesla cars from entering military areas, including offices and housing.
35. Leaked MI6 and BREXIT Documents Linked with Russian Intelligence Operation
According to newly released information, the website “Very English Coop d’Etat” that was leaking confidential documents and emails related to BREXIT, including emails from the former Chief of MI6 (1999–2004), Sir Richart Dearlove, were actually a Russian covert influence operation. As per the article, Shane Huntley, Director of Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), told Reuters the website was linked to a company known as “Cold River” which is an entity associated with the Russian intelligence services.
36. Podcast: Spies Like Us: I Was a KGB Spy in America
This 1-hour long episode of the Spies Like Us podcast features Jack Barsky (born Albrecht Dittrich) talking about his life growing up in East Germany, getting recruited and trained by the KGB, operating clandestinely in the US, and his defection. The hosts of the podcast were former CIA Counter-Terrorism Officer Brandon Blackburn, and Mubin Shaikh, former undercover operative who had infiltrated terrorist organisations for Canada.
37. South Korean NIS Director Nominee Vows to Bolster Intelligence Capabilities
Kim Kyou-hyun who is nominated as the Director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), stated during his hearing that “if I can serve as the director of the National Intelligence Service, I will sharply reinforce intelligence capabilities on North Korea, such as early detection of provocation signs. I will reform and reform again to make the NIS a top-class intelligence agency like Mossad that contributes to Israel’s security in between the Arab nations.”
38. Former Pakistani ISI Head Says Afghanistan War Could Have Been Averted if Pakistani/Saudi Intelligence Was Actioned
Former Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General (2001–2004), General Ehsan ul Haq gave an exclusive interview revealing that “in early November 2001, soon after NATO forces entered Afghanistan, Pakistan mounted a little-known diplomatic effort to rescue the region from chaos and the Taliban from self-destruction, with the assistance of Saudi Arabia.” He also stated that in a Pakistan-Saudi Arabia joint classified intelligence effort, Haq secretly flew to Washington DC to provide a 4-page letter to the then US President, George W. Bush. The article notes that “the letter proposed launching a fresh initiative to resolve the Afghan conflict through negotiations with those Taliban leaders willing to cooperate in the fight against Al-Qaeda — the group held responsible for plotting the 9/11 attacks from its Afghan hideout.”
39. After 7 Year Legal Battle, GCHQ Admits Illegal Spying on MPs’ Emails
Following Edward Snowden’s revelations 7 years ago, the case of illegal Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) collection by GCHQ on MPs reached the European Court of Human Rights where Britain’s GCHQ admitted conducting those illegal covert SIGINT collection operations.
40. Indian Cyber Espionage Operation Targeting Pakistani Navy
The Shadow Chaser Group of the GcowSec team published technical indicators of a new cyber espionage operation attributed to an actor dubbed as SIDEWINDER, previously associated with India. The operation uses a lure file impersonating the March 2022 issue of the official Navy News magazine of the Pakistani Navy. The file is hosted on a fake website impersonating the Pakistani Navy web page. If the file is opened, it covertly installs a custom cyber espionage software implant.
41. Former CIA CISO Joins Rubrik Enterprise Backup Vendor
Michael Mestrovich joined CIA’s Technical Service Division in 2014 and two years later he became a Head Technical Director there. He then moved to the US Department of State as Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) and from May 2021 and until May 2022 he was CIA’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Now, M. Mestrovich joined the leadership team of the US-based cloud data management and enterprise backup vendor Rubrik.
42. Spain Passes New Official Secrets and Reforms CNI Law Due to Recent Political Espionage Case
Following the recent espionage revelations (see week 16 story #9 and week 19 story #6) involving the Spanish National Intelligence Centre (CNI) spying on Catalonian politicians, this week the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, announced the new Official Secrets Law, as well as the reform of CNI.
43. Spy Way of Life: The Off The Record Bar, Washington DC
This week’s selected spy spot for Intelligence Online’s Spy Way of Life series is the “Off The Record” bar, located across the White House at the 800 16th Street NW in Washington DC. Its motto is the “place to be seen and not heard” and, according to Intelligence Online, this bar is “a spot for hushed talks between private consultants, members of Congress and journalists scouting for their next source “close to US intelligence”.”
44. Chief of New Zealand’s GCSB Said Russia Miscalculated the Invasion of Ukraine
The Director-General of New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), Andrew Hampton, stated that “Moscow probably thought it could relatively easily bring about regime change in Kyiv and weaken Ukraine’s military capabilities. But it worked out. She misjudged Ukraine’s military capabilities and underestimated the speed and cohesion of the global response, including tough sanctions and the delivery of military and humanitarian support to Ukraine.”
45. Greek Journalists Reveal Surveillance Companies Complex, Related with the Recent Espionage Case
Following the recent government espionage revelations targeting investigative journalists in Greece (see week 20 story #40), this week the Inside Story published an article breaking down a network of companies used as fronts to sell government surveillance solutions by the Israeli Intellexa in Greece. Those include the following companies: Krikel, Eneross Holdings Ltd. and Mexal Services Ltd. The Inside Story also discovered that through this network of front companies, Intellexa has been selling Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), radio equipment and services to the Greek government.
46. DIA: The Historians: The Story of Spy Nicholas Shadrin
The United States Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) published a new 13-minute long episode in the Historians series. This episode is about the Polish born Nicholas Shadrin (born Nikolai Fedorovich Artamonov), who was a Soviet Naval Officer and defected to the US in 1959 where he started working for the DIA. He later took a DIA assignment to become a double agent but he was kidnapped and disappeared in 1975 while in a clandestine operation in Vienna, Austria. It was later became known that the KGB had discovered his deception and, according to Oleg Kalugin, he died accidentally (heart attack) during that kidnapping by KGB operatives in Austria.
47. The 2018 ASIS Clandestine Bugging Operation Case Goes on Trial
As per The Guardian, in mid-2018 the former Attorney-General of the Australian Capital Territory, Bernard Collaery, and one of his clients (referenced as Witness K) leaked information about a clandestine Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) operation to bug the government offices of a neighbouring country, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. This week, it was announced that both Bernard Collaery and Witness K will be charged with espionage charges and their trial will begin on October 24th.
48. Dutch AIVD Adopts New 2022–2026 Counterterrorism Strategy
The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) announced that the Agency adopted the new 2022–2026 Counterterrorism Strategy. This includes closer collaboration with domestic and international partners, development of specialised teams, new intelligence gathering authorities, and stronger focus on the technological domain.
49. Podcast: SpyCast: Intelligence in Colombia
On May 24th, the International Spy Museum’s SpyCast podcast released a new over-an-hour-long episode titled “Amazon to Darien, Atlantic to Pacific — Intelligence in Colombia” featuring retired Colombian Navy Commander, Admiral Hernando Wills. As per the description, the intelligence subjects covered are: 1) What it is like to be the head of an entire Navy, 2) Intelligence from the point of view of a senior military officer, 3) The unique set of challenges Colombia faces — insurgents, terrorists, paramilitaries, drug-cartels, etc., and 4) The role intelligence played in the daring Operation Jacque.
50. Russian SVR Releases Photos of Azov Fighters in Response to Polish President’s Comments
On May 25th, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a public statement along with 5 photographs in response to a 22nd of May speech by Polish President Andrzej Duda describing the surrendered Mariupol Azov fighters as “genuine heroes of our time.” The released photos show members of the surrendered Azov Battalion with tattoos of swastikas, Adolf Hitler, iron crosses, and other Nazi symbols. SVR spokesperson states that “it remains to thank the President of Poland for revealing the true face of the “free world.” At least now no one has any doubts about whom the US and its allies are relying on in promoting their ideas of freedom and democracy, as well as what unenviable fate they were preparing for Ukraine and its citizens.”
51. CIA — Ask Molly: Travel Tips
On May 27th, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) published a new post from the “Ask Molly” series, intending to help general public with various topics based on CIA’s expertise. This post is about travel tips for safety and security, the post concludes with “whether you’re off to a bustling city or a secluded getaway this summer, we hope these CIA “travel tips” help you journey with more confidence and safety.”
52. Affair of Former Mossad Head Yossi Cohen Publicly Exposed
This week, it was revealed through, alleged, leaked wiretap records that the former Israeli Mossad Head (2016–2021), Yossi Cohen had a mistress, a married flight attendant named Maya Harel. The logs reveal that in various occasions the former Mossad chief might have compromised Israel’s national security. Quoting the article, “one of the most glaring security breaches revealed by the “sex diaries” occurred on November 25, 2020. On that date, Harel remonstrates with Cohen that he’d forgotten “a very special day” for her: her birthday. It becomes clear why he may have forgotten–because at 9 am on November 27th, a few hours before the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Fakhrizadeh in Tehran, Cohen apologizes to her for forgetting her special day. He writes: “because of being “terribly overloaded” [at work], it escaped me.” It’s probably no accident that on her birthday a year later (November 24, 2021), when he was no longer Mossad chief and no longer murdering Iranians, he did remember and wished her an “awesome birthday.”
53. Spy Collection: Presidential Briefing: The Soviet Space Program (1981)
On May 27th, we published an old CIA Presidential Briefing which was produced in 1981 and presented to the then US President, Ronald Reagan, on October 14, 1982. It was titled “The Soviet Space Program” and it was the first time the CIA Presidential Briefers attempted to use video for that purpose. The content was produced by CIA’s Global Video Program and it was declassified on November 2nd, 2011.
54. Captured Russian Weapons Are Packed With US Microchips
Howard Altman of the Warzone published an article summarising some of the initial results of the technical exploitation of Russian equipment captured in the Ukraine war. According to the article, Ukrainian intelligence “showed us lists of mostly U.S.-made microchips it says were found on captured or destroyed Russian military equipment.” The article also highlights that “Skip Parish, a counter-drone/directed energy weapons/electronic warfare/red team subject matter expert for NATO and the U.S. military, reviewed the list of components provided by Ukraine intelligence and said they raise a number of issues. It highlights, he said, a “total dependence on western technology” in applications of “integrated chips sets in key sensitive working parts of Russian weapon systems — targeting, navigation, communications and execution of the weapon. It also shows the “breakdown or non-existent U.S. controls” in International Traffic in Arms Regulations, “both supporting investigations when found in foreign weapons.”
55. Polish Confesses of Being a Belarusian KGB Agent
Last October Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) arrested Polish national Grzegorz M. on espionage accusations. This week the suspect confessed and the National Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw filed charges. Grzegorz M. got in contact with the Belarusian KGB and “he offered his cooperation, and also collected specific material that he intended to transfer to Belarus.” He was placed on temporary arrest and he’s facing up to 8 years in prison.
56. Latvian Journalist Says that Adamsons is Not a Spy
Latvian opposition lawmaker and former Minister of Interior, Janis Adamsons was arrested in 2021 on espionage charges, suspected of providing secrets to Russian intelligence services. This week, Lato Lapsa, a high-profile Latvian journalist and private detective, stated that “I read everything that Adamsons sent from his e-mail. It is unfortunate that this person is considered a Russian spy. This is a man with a rather severe stage of alcoholism.”
57. Podcast: Team House: CIA Senior Intelligence Service Douglas Wise
The Team House podcast released a new nearly 3 hours long episode featuring retired US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer Douglas Wise, who retired as a Senior Intelligence Service (SIS-6) in August 2016 after nearly 30 years of service. As per the description, “he finished his career with CIA in a Joint Duty Assignment as the Deputy Director of the Defense intelligence Agency. As the Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Doug was the Chief Operating Officer for a 20,000 employee, global defense enterprise supporting senior Defense and National policymakers and the war fighting commands.”
58. Russian Soldier Arrested 2.5 Years Ago Convicted of Being a Ukrainian GUR Agent
As it was reported this week, former Russian Army Senior Lieutenant Ruslan Artykov, arrested 2.5 years ago in Aksay, Russia where he served, convicted of being a Ukrainian Defence Intelligence (GUR) agent. On the instructions of his GUR handler Ruslan Artykov collected and transmitted “secret military data” which, according to the Court, “could damage the defence capability of the state.” The verdict was guilty of high treason, stripping his officer rank and a sentence of 13 years in prison.
59. US Detained Israeli Private Investigator for Using Indian Hackers to Conduct Covert Surveillance Operations for Wealthy Russians
This week it was revealed that a court in New York jailed Israeli private investigator Aviram Azari due to illegal “surveillance and cyber-intelligence operations at the behest of Russian oligarchs.” According to Reuters, “ Azari was accused of hiring the Indian hacking firm BellTroX on behalf of powerful clients. BellTroX, which has also been accused of hacking by cybersecurity researchers at Facebook and elsewhere, could not be reached for comment.”
60. US DoJ Charges Individual for Unauthorised Smuggling of US Aviation Technology to a Chinese University
The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) issued a press release on May 26 for the charging of Jonathan Yet Wing Soong, 34, of San Jose for “smuggling and violating export control laws by allegedly secretly funneling sensitive aeronautics software to a Beijing university.” As per the press release, “Soong was employed by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) between April 2016 and September 2020 as a program administrator. USRA is a nonprofit corporation contracted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to, among other things, distribute domestically and internationally sensitive aeronautics-related software developed through the Army’s Software Transfer Agreement (STA) program. As USRA’s STA program administrator, Soong was responsible for overseeing certain software license sales, conducting export compliance screening of customers, generating software licenses, and, on occasion, physically exporting software.” And it continues that. “Soong unlawfully and without a license exported and facilitated the sale and transfer of software to an entity on the Entity List — Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA), which is also known as Beihang University. According to the complaint, Beihang University was added to the Entity List due to the University’s involvement in People’s Republic of China military rocket systems and unmanned air vehicle systems. Given its inclusion on the Entity List, BUAA is prohibited from receiving certain items without a license.”
61. Tunisian Judiciary Issues Travel Ban to 34 Ennahda Movement Officials on Espionage and Subversive Action Suspicions
On Friday, the First Judicial Decision in Tunisia issued a travel ban to 34 individuals from the Ennahda Movement, a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia. According to that, the Ennahda Movement members, including its Head, Rached Ghannouchi, are facing accusations of conducting espionage activities and there is also an ongoing investigation which correlates them with the political assassination of “former MP Mohamed Brahmi and leftist politician Chokri Belaid in 2013”.
62. Lebanese Army Downing of Israeli Spy Drone
On May 26th, the official website of the Lebanese Army issued a press release, including a photo, showing a surveillance Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Skylark drone that was downed in Rmaych, close to the Lebanese-Israeli border.
63. Cold War Documentary: How a CIA Coup in Indonesia Failed
On Saturday, The Cold War YouTube channel published a 22-minute long documentary titled “How a CIA Coup in Indonesia Failed” and covering the coup attempt that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) executed in Indonesia in 1958 and how it failed.
64. Japan Strengthens Counter-Intelligence in Universities
According to VOA News, in an effort to combat the Chinese espionage and influence operations inside Japanese universities, the government of Japan “is asking its universities to better investigate their foreign students and professors.” As per the announcement, “under the new guidelines, effective this month, universities are being asked to investigate and flag students, professors and researchers who have ties to foreign governments or the defense field. In the past, such investigation had been limited to cases of people trying to send sensitive information and goods overseas.”
65. Russian FSB’s K Department Targeting Russian Oligarchs
The Intelligence Online published an article discussing how the Russian FSB’s K Department of the Economic Security Service, headed by General Ivan Tkachev, is focusing on counter-intelligence investigations related to Russian oligarchs.
66. US NRO’s Largest Award for Commercial Imagery — Over $3 Billion
On May 26 it was announced that the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) award a multi-billion contract to three companies (BlackSky, Maxar, and Planet) for the Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL).
