The demise of a spy is never newsworthy, because of the secrecy surrounding it. However when a white beluga whale suspected of spying for Moscow was discovered lifeless in Norwegian waters in September, the animal quickly turned a minor superstar.
Hvaldimir (a play on the Norwegian phrase for whale, hval, and the primary title of Russian president) was even given an official post-mortem by the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.
The whale had been uncovered as a spy in 2019, and is one in a protracted line of animals which have been utilized by the intelligence providers. Amongst them was a Soviet programme to coach marine animals as spies and assassins, which collapsed in 1991.
The US ran related experiments with animals, some relationship again to the Sixties. One of many CIA’s extra uncommon makes an attempt to make use of animals as spies was Operation Acoustic Kitty.
The thought was to implant a microphone and antenna into the cat and use it to snoop on doubtlessly attention-grabbing conversations. The take a look at of the “prototype” went horribly incorrect when the cat wandered off and was run over by a taxi, resulting in the programme being shortly deserted.
The historical past of spy pigeons
A extra profitable instance was using spy pigeons. Outfitted with tiny cameras, pigeons might simply entry in any other case restricted areas and “take photographs” with out arousing suspicion earlier than safely returning to house base utilizing their extraordinary homing means.
What turned a really profitable CIA programme throughout the chilly warfare took its inspiration from British efforts throughout the second world warfare.
Over time, know-how created alternatives to take advantage of the stealthiness of animals whereas eliminating their unpredictability. Venture Aquiline aimed to create a bird-like drone totally outfitted within the type of extra conventional spy planes, however smaller and extra versatile so it might get nearer to its targets.
One other, much more miniature model was the insectothopter that the CIA developed within the Nineteen Seventies. Though neither the aquiline or insectothopter designs ever turned totally operational, they’re acknowledged as forerunners of right now’s drones.
Quick-forward to the Nineties, and the CIA’s robotic catfish Charlie emerges as one in an extended line of efficiently operationalised underwater drones which are simpler and fewer susceptible than the hapless Hvaldimir.
Exploding rat carcasses
However effectiveness isn’t at all times greatest measured within the success of an uncommon spy methodology.
A British second world warfare plan to make use of explosive-filled rat carcasses and distribute them to boiler rooms in German factories the place they’d then explode as soon as shoved right into a boiler gave the impression to be doomed when the primary consignment of about 100 lifeless rats was intercepted by the Germans.
However the discovery of the rats, and the sheer ingenuity behind the plan, led to such paranoia that the “hassle triggered to them was a a lot higher success … than if the rats had really been used”.
Whereas working with animals usually proved problematic, makes an attempt to realize benefit by disguising units as inanimate objects have additionally proved a supply of embarrassment. One such effort concerned the MI6 station in Moscow making an attempt to enhance on the “lifeless letter drop” strategy of acquiring secret data from spies in Russia.
Fairly than threat leaving secret data in a pre-arranged location, MI6’s model of James Bond’s Q got here up with the concept that the knowledge could possibly be transmitted electronically to a receiver hidden in a faux rock positioned close to the ministry in query which might then be downloaded by a subsequent stroll previous.
The centered exercise of many males in fits in a single a part of this park, nevertheless, led to the invention of the rock. The revelation of the operation in 2006 triggered large embarrassment to the UK authorities. That this was not MI6’s most interesting hour was advised by headlines ridiculing the Moscow spy-rock as “extra Johnny English than James Bond”.
Whereas intelligence organisations are at all times in search of revolutionary means to reinforce their spy craft, arguably essentially the most profitable utility of intelligence comes within the type of human improvisation. A notable instance of this was the clandestine extraction of Oleg Gordievsky in 1985 after the quilt of one of many west’s most respected double-agents working for British intelligence was blown.
A helpful bag of crisps
The group of two British diplomats and their wives needed to negotiate three Soviet and two Finnish checkpoints. As the primary guard canine approached, one of many social gathering provided the sniffing Alsatian a cheese and onion crisp, duly taking the Alsatian off the scent of Gordievsky who was hiding within the boot of the automotive.
When one other canine started sniffing on the boot, a most ingenious and profitable methodology of spy craft was introduced into play. The spouse of one of many diplomats positioned her 18-month outdated child on the automotive boot, modified the newborn’s nappy, after which dropped the freshly crammed and steaming deposit on the bottom, efficiently distracting the canine and its handler.
These actions had been by no means a part of the extraction plan for Gordievsky however had been an equally instinctive and ingenious improvisation by these used to working in hostile environments and practised at deceiving the undesirable attentions of enemy brokers.
Costly analysis budgets and promising technological advances present an edge in sure circumstances, however the best spy strategies should still depend on the appliance of fast considering and daring, fearless motion.
