Covert CommunicationsCovert Communications

Lecture 20

With a shortwave receiver, you can often hear spies communicating.

Operating from an embassy, handlers will transmit over radio waves on specific frequency, like radio stations.

Tune in to specific frequencies & you hear the "spy communication".

This may be a voice reading a series of letters or numbers.

Communications In the Open

These are encoded messages that only the spy can decrypt using one time pad.

This system is used by Cuba, UK’s MI6, and Israel's Mossad.

For Cuba, tune in to 8010 kHz; for Israel, tune in to 6840 kHz.

Recently in Canada, Russian agent was caught with shortwave radio receiver being used for covert communication.

Communications In the Open

Without ability to communicate securely with handler, spies & their secrets have no value.

Greatest danger for spy is not in stealing secrets but in passing secrets.

Ideal system – ‘Holy Grail’ – is secure 2-way, reliable, on-demand exchange.

It should handle voice, text, and data.

Basic Communications Issues

Some systems require little technology while others are technologically demanding

Every CIA ‘covcom’ system has three elements:

1. Field set – device used for sending & receiving communications.

2. Transmission backbone – shortwave technology such as OSS used in WW2.

3. Receiving element – the agent’s handler.

Basic Communications Issues, continued

Several factors influence selection of covcom system:

Agent’s lifestyle Agent’s profession Agent’s freedom to travel abroad. Agent’s ability to take risks How often the system will be

used. How assertive local CI people are.

Basic Communications Issues, continued

Personal meetings involve greatest risk

Foreign diplomats are subject to routine surveillance

Personal meetings insure exchange of materials & allow conversations

Some agents require human contact.

Yet, personal meetings in denied areas should be kept to a minimum

Face-to-face Meetings

A variation on personal meetings were ‘brief encounters’.

These minimized time required for exchange

The ‘brush pass’ was developed to allow personal contact with less risk

The moving car delivery technique is another variation

Package is covertly tossed into slow moving car.

Face-to-face Meetings, continued

Another variation was having agent & handler drive to same traffic signal

As they stop for light, package is tossed into handler car window

This requires coordination, planning, and skill

If properly executed, the exchange would be very hard to detect.

Face-to-face Meetings, continued

These must be used when personal meetings are too dangerous

Agent & handler are separated by time, space, and location

After agent & handler trust each other, impersonal communications can be used

Use of dead drops or electronic devices are hard to detect by CI

Dead drops require time-consuming surveillance detection runs by handler.

Impersonal Communications

Electronic drops do not require lengthy surveillance but they might fail to work.

Impersonal communications do not allow handler to assess agent’s state of mind.

Dead drops are most often used & most secure impersonal communications.

Dead drop locations must be convenient for both handler and agent.

They are ‘timed operations’.

Impersonal Communications, continued

Drop site should be used only once. This creates demand for more & more

drop sites. The sites must be reasonably private. In most major cities, good drop sites

have been used by thousands of agents over many decades.

CI officers have an idea of what sites are attractive for use.

Impersonal Communications, continued

As a result, they can patiently & routinely monitor many of the best sites.

Many people feel every agent should have a dog.

It gives agent reason to walk around.

Impersonal Communications, continued

A signal must be used to initiate agent-handler communications.

The signal site is away from drop site & is generally in a public location.

Signposts, mail boxes, bridge abutments are typical signal sites.

Even placement of drink can may be signal as it can be seen from distance in moving vehicle.

Calls from public phone to agent phone can be signal.

‘Silent call’ involves saying nothing but staying on line for a certain time.

Signal Sites

Visual recognition signals are codes made by wearing a certain color or carrying a particular newspaper.

Signal Sites, continued

Wet systems involve use of special ink. It becomes invisible after it dries Application of reagent makes it reappear. Disadvantage of wet system is that agent

must have special ink and that it is difficult to remove traces of damage to paper’s fibers.

Dry systems involve use of chemically treated paper.

This paper is like carbon paper and is placed between two ordinary types of paper.

By writing on the top, the chemical is transferred to bottom piece of paper.

Secret Writing

Dry systems became preferred method of secret writing by 1960s.

Microdots are the third method of secret writing.

This involves optical reduction of text or image.

Their advantage is the tiny size. Their disadvantage is that use of microdot

is time-consuming. The microdot may be hard for agent to

find. It requires special optical viewers.

Secret Writing, continued