Monday, June 28, 2010

Short Wave Radio Figures In Yet Another Spy Bust

From CBS News:

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, June 28, 2010

FBI: 10 Russian Spies Arrested in U.S.

Suspects, Arrested in Four States, Were Highly-Trained Spies Seeking Access to "Policy-Making Circles," FBI Says

[...]

Eight of the 10 arrested were "carrying out long-term, 'deep-cover' assignments" the FBI said, while two had lesser roles in the Russian intelligence program. The arrests took place Sunday in Montclair, N.J., Yonkers, N.Y., Manhattan, Boston, and Arlington, Va.

[...]

The court papers describe the defendants' communicating with purported Russian agents using a method not previously described in espionage cases here: by establishing a short-range wireless network between laptop computers of the agents and sending encrypted messages between the computers while they were near each other.

[...]

The complaint states that such agents - known as "illegals" - are highly trained in "foreign languages; agent-to-agent communications, including the use of brush-passes; short-wave radio operation and invisible writing; the use of codes and ciphers, including the use of encrypted Morse code messages; the creation and use of a cover profession; counter-surveillance measures" and more.

Here are the links to the full FBI criminal complaints (pdf):

Complaint 1
Complaint 2