The kibbutznik spymaster that came in from the cold
He never turned quickly to face the camera and fire a Walther PPK. He didn’t banter with Goldfinger. Heck, he didn’t even run around with giggling girls like Derek Flint….
How spies use radio stations to communicate secrets
While spies typically try to hide as much of their communication as possible, there is one method of intelligence communication that is literally broadcasted so that everyone for thousands of miles around can listen in to the messages, but no one el…
The FBI’s golden Chinese intelligence asset was a double agent the whole time
Counterterrorism is more of an art than a science at times, it seems. When FBI special agents launched an investigation into an LA-based importer, they discovered she was feeding sensitive…
7 life hacks from a former Intelligence Officer
The saying goes, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Sometimes, however, it’s both. There are times in life when knowing the right person can give you knowledge that can change your outlook. Occasionally, we meet someone interesting wh…
The Black Chamber: How the ladies of early American codebreaking helped win the Battle of Midway
At the outbreak of World War One in Europe in 1914, the United States government had absolutely no strategic code braking capabilities whatsoever. Little action was taken to develop any…
This is the toolkit spies carried in their butts
Spies have had all sorts of great tools and gadgets, from self-inflating blow-up dolls during the Cold War to special listening devices deployed around the world today. But perhaps one of the most surprising devices was the rectal toolkit issued to …
Sabotage and subversion: How secret agents helped win WWII
In 1940, following the fall of France, Winston Churchill authorized the establishment of a volunteer fighting force to wage a secret war against Hitler’s armies. This unique force became known as the Special Operations Executive (SOE), and their ma…
This lady was the most wanted spy of WWII
Virginia Hall was born in 1906 in Baltimore, Maryland, to wealthy parents. As a young girl, she often felt like she didn’t fit in well. She enjoyed the fishing, hunting, and outdoor…
9 infamous KGB assassination attempts straight out of spy novels
It’s well known that the fearsome Soviet spy agency, the KGB, used brutal tactics to eliminate and intimidate rivals.
Legend has it that when Soviet diplomats were kidnapped by terrorists in Lebanon in the mid-1980s, KGB officers kidna…
Today in military history: Captured U-2 pilot exchanged for Soviet spy
On Feb. 10, 1962, U.S. Spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for a Russian spy during one of a tense period in the Cold War. In the late…