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00:00Shadowy assassins who vanish into the crowd, double agents who sell their own country's
00:12secrets and coded messages hiding in plain sight. Throughout history, spies have played
00:24a unique role in shaping world events. And these secret agents work at the behest of an organization,
00:32a government, or perhaps even a single leader. Their covert orders could range from simply
00:37collecting information or something as deadly serious as assassinating an enemy.
00:45Secrecy is critical to a spy's success. So how do these masters of deception fulfill their
00:52assignments without getting caught? Well, that is what we'll try and find out.
00:59The CIA, MI6, and MSS. These are the foreign intelligence services for some of the most powerful
01:23countries in the world. These agencies, and hundreds of others, engage in clandestine operations
01:30to aid and protect their countries. For many, their mission is to gather the most closely
01:37guarded secrets of their enemies. And their secret weapon are often spies.
01:46Spies are utilized by states to collect intelligence that is necessary to advance policymaking.
01:52From figuring out whether an adversary has nuclear weapons, to figuring out whether a leader of a
01:59foreign state is about to die. We have intelligence agencies that specialize in visual intelligence,
02:06say satellite imagery. We have intelligence agencies that specialize in the interception
02:11of communications. But there are spies that more commonly comes to mind, which is the people at the
02:17front line. The individuals who are willing to put their lives at risk to share information.
02:23At the end of the day, it's a life of mystery and intrigue. Because the spy world is kind of its own
02:29domain. It remains this kind of puzzle or mystery that most people will not have exposure to beyond those
02:37few moments we read about the newspaper. Hollywood movies and books and TV have made it seem like spies are
02:47some kind of superhero. That is nothing like real espionage. The purpose of espionage is to be so secret
02:54that nobody even knows you're there. True professional espionage is in and out without anyone ever even knowing it
03:03happened. That makes your average spy much more like an average person. And what's required of a spy changes
03:12from day to day. One day we're hunting terrorists. Sometime later, we're exchanging information in secret.
03:20Someday we're fighting a war on drugs. Some days we're fighting a war on misinformation.
03:24It's an incredible web of information and impact that the average person is not aware of.
03:33How can we ever hope to understand the mysterious world of espionage if it remains completely hidden
03:39from us? Well, every so often, information does come to light that illustrates how a single spy can
03:48change the course of history. Los Alamos, New Mexico, 1943. A massive scientific complex is established in secret
04:02for the research and development of a truly devastating weapon. This laboratory becomes ground zero for the
04:08most consequential, top-secret military program ever devised. It's called the Manhattan Project.
04:17The Manhattan Project was this top-secret, federally-funded, $2 billion program to explore whether it was
04:26possible to develop an atomic weapon in the midst of World War II. And they built this secret city in Los
04:35Alamos, gathering together chemists and engineers and physicists and other scientists into one spot so
04:43that these scientists can collaborate and fully converse inside the secret city to build this weapon.
04:53As history shows, these scientists would prove successful in creating the atomic bomb. But little did they know at
05:01the time there was a spy among them, sharing the program's most intimate secrets. His codename was
05:10rest. But his identity has since been revealed to be a German physicist named Klaus Fuchs.
05:19Klaus came from Germany, and because of his prior background as a physicist, he quickly got a job within the
05:26Manhattan program in Los Alamos. And unknown to the people there, Fuchs began to share information with the
05:35Soviets about the program. The U.S. counterintelligence program that involved decrypting Soviet communications
05:43revealed the scope of the information that Fuchs collected and shared with the Soviets. In his particular role as a lead scientist within the program,
05:53and access to the development of the bomb, he was able to share pretty detailed technical information about the science that goes into the generation and enrichment of plutonium, which served a huge deal in advancing the Russians' capacities in those spaces. And he collected intelligence and shared intelligence for about seven years until it was revealed.
06:20The greatest find in the history of espionage is the theft of the atomic secret.
06:28Klaus Fuchs pretty much shared the recipe with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was able to get a nuclear weapon roughly five years before they could have done it on their own. The moment they had to nuke, they were world power.
06:44If one spy can alter the course of atomic history, how else has espionage shaped our world?
06:51Has secret intelligence informed nearly every major event in human history?
06:58You have to assume that you only know about 5% of all espionage operations. Every negotiation, every diplomatic agreement, every transition of power from one president to another president. For 167 countries all over the world over the course of decades, intelligence had a role to play in every one of those.
07:19So now when you start to ask yourself about how the Soviet Union fell and you start to ask yourself about how the end of Afghanistan happened and the winning of Gulf War II and the taking down of Saddam Hussein, you start to see these major instances in history where intelligence worked or failed.
07:38So when you try to consider the impact that espionage has had over the long term history of the world, you have to remember that 95% of what they've done, nobody knows about except for need to know secret circles.
07:54It's really pretty chilling if you think about the effect that just a single spy or intelligence source can have on world events.
08:03And the irony is that we often don't know what that impact is until many years or even decades later or sometimes ever at all.
08:14Even historians looking back on historical events or geopolitical movements may never have access to the behind the scenes intrigue and espionage that took place or the machinations of various intelligence organizations.
08:33But for sure, spies really can change the course of history.
08:40Washington DC 2025. The International Spy Museum. This sleek modern building houses over 7000 unique artifacts from the history of espionage.
08:56And among them are ingenious devices created to hide things, record secret conversations, and some are even meant to kill.
09:09The International Spy Museum houses the world's largest collection of intelligence and espionage related artifacts.
09:17We have all kinds of ingenious devices to do all different types of stuff.
09:23So a lot of the gadgets that we see are there to try to help to be a more effective agent, to recruit spies better, to steal secrets better.
09:33And we've got a fantastic James Bond collection.
09:38Some of the James Bond movies have actually influenced the development of gadgets in the CIA.
09:45CIA directors come out of the movie theater and say, guys, do we have anything like this? And if we don't, can someone get on it?
09:54So we know that there's a two-way interaction between the gadgets in fiction and in reality.
10:00When you look at spy gadgets, a lot of them are weapons of one thing or another.
10:06Then you're always trying to come up with new gadgets.
10:10So the KGB came up with a lipstick gun, which was a little 4.5 millimeter bullet that could be fired from a lipstick tube.
10:18The CIA had an ice gun, which fired a super cool needle of ice, preferably through your opponent's heart.
10:26That was all around 1960.
10:28And then there are famous exploding cigars, which they were going to blow off Fidel Castro's head.
10:34But to the extent that secret weapons, spy weapons programs exist, they're secret.
10:41Which is why you don't know about them, because you're not supposed to.
10:45Over the years, some spy gadgets have either been declassified or leaked to the public.
10:50However, what's less clear is whether any of these fantastical and frankly bizarre devices were ever successfully put to use.
11:01But there is a curious instrument of death that many believe was responsible for one of the most infamous and unsolved assassinations of the 20th century.
11:11The 1978 murder of British journalist Georgi Markov.
11:18Markov was a dissident in Bulgaria.
11:21And he was loud.
11:22And he had to flee.
11:25He wound up in the United Kingdom.
11:27And he got employed by the BBC.
11:30And Radio Free Europe, which we absolutely hated, because it was Western propaganda directed to the East.
11:41And he got louder and louder.
11:43And the Bulgarians, I think it was the president, he wanted to get rid of this guy.
11:47On September 7th, 1978, at around 1.30pm, Markov is about to catch a bus on the Waterloo Bridge in London.
11:57And something very strange happens.
12:02Georgi Markov bumps into somebody at a bus stop.
12:06And this individual is carrying an umbrella.
12:09And Georgi Markov feels some pain in his leg.
12:15And the individual concerned mutters an apology and climbs into a taxi.
12:22And Markov, from that moment onwards, becomes ill.
12:26He goes to hospital later that night.
12:29And a few days later, he succumbs to a very severe infection.
12:36We know doctors who examined his body and found a red swelling on the back of his thigh.
12:45And in a microscopic examination of the flesh from the wound site,
12:51They discovered a tiny, tiny, less than two-millimeter-sized little ball,
12:59mostly made out of platinum, which had holes drilled in it,
13:04as a means to administer a poison.
13:07The poison, which has never been officially identified,
13:11was most likely ricin, which is a highly toxic substance,
13:15which is refined from castor beans.
13:18How was this deadly platinum ball implanted into Georgi Markov?
13:25Answers were not easy to come by,
13:27but then investigators remembered one seemingly minor detail
13:31that may provide all the answers.
13:35They thought, oh, that umbrella.
13:37What was that all about?
13:39And later we learned that one of the things that both the KGB and the Bulgarians
13:43had come up with was an umbrella gun.
13:45They had an old lab working on this.
13:48And there was a little, tiny capsule,
13:51was in the tip of the umbrella, which had a needle on it.
13:54And you just poked somebody and then walked away.
13:58How do you kill somebody in plain daylight, in public,
14:02without anybody knowing about it?
14:04And the answer is that you find a way to create some sort of device,
14:06like an umbrella, that blends in every day,
14:09but can still deliver a lethal dose when you need it to.
14:12This is exactly what makes spy agencies and spy tech something of interest and renown,
14:19because there's a great deal of effort, a great deal of investment
14:22that's put into making a clandestine weapon.
14:25The umbrella suspected of killing Georgi Markov was never recovered,
14:30so investigators had no way to definitively confirm such a device was responsible for his murder.
14:37But as far as the identity of the mysterious assassin who bumped into Markov,
14:44well, that's another mystery.
14:46When it comes to assassinating people,
14:50we know that the KGB did quite a bit of that,
14:53and we know that the Russian intelligence does it now, too.
14:56There's an arsenal of weapons.
14:59And Markov was a very loud dissident,
15:02so he was an enemy of the revolution,
15:05and he had to be killed.
15:07But the man who was seen to stick that umbrella into Markov's leg,
15:12I think he got away with it.
15:15What history says about the assassination of Georgi Markov
15:19is a little similar to who was Jack the Ripper,
15:22who killed JFK,
15:24what's the final definitive story.
15:26Hopefully we'll know one day,
15:27maybe we never will.
15:30Today, a replica of the notorious umbrella hangs
15:32in the International Spy Museum's collection.
15:35And while it can never be proven that a similar device
15:38was used to poison Georgi Markov,
15:42one thing is certain.
15:44The deadly tools of spycraft
15:46could be made to look like anything,
15:49and you wouldn't know it
15:50until it's too late.
15:54In terms of what could be future spy weapons,
15:58secret spy gadgets they could come up with,
16:01well, one of them is tiny, tiny drones
16:03that can fly inside you, perhaps,
16:07administer poisons, carry tiny cameras.
16:10The use of frequency weapons might be something else.
16:14Essentially some sort of energy beam
16:17which is being directed at people,
16:20affecting the brain in some way,
16:22which would create feelings of disorientation,
16:25and if it managed to discombobulate the right targets,
16:29it could interfere with their ability
16:32to perform their duties.
16:35So energy weapons could be useful
16:37in the world of spies.
16:40But yes, there's a secret war.
16:41You'll always try to be one step ahead of your opponent
16:44by coming up with something
16:45that they hadn't thought of yet.
16:48And it can be someone passing you by with an umbrella.
16:53Was the assassination of Georgi Markov
16:55the work of Soviet intelligence?
16:58Like the top secret nature of espionage itself,
17:01there's a lot we may never know.
17:04But there is one spy mystery
17:06that has intelligence officers worried even now.
17:11It involves a foreign asset
17:13who infiltrated the American government
17:15intent on stealing national secrets.
17:20Washington, D.C., 1947.
17:28President Harry Truman establishes
17:30the Central Intelligence Agency.
17:34In the wake of World War II
17:36and with the rise of atomic weaponry,
17:39a new covert war is about to begin
17:41between the United States and the Soviet Union.
17:45This unprecedented era of espionage
17:49from 1947 to 1991
17:52is known as the Cold War.
17:56At the start of the Cold War
17:58as we know it in the 1950s,
18:01the U.S. realized that it needed
18:02to advance its internal security measures.
18:05This is why Truman
18:06would ultimately generate
18:09a presidential executive order
18:11on confidential materials,
18:13which still to this day
18:16is the way by which we set
18:17different degrees of confidentiality
18:20around secret documents
18:21here in the United States.
18:23During the Cold War,
18:25both the CIA and the Soviet Union's KGB
18:28employed spies to steal
18:30each other's national secrets.
18:33And while any civilian could be recruited
18:35to spy on their home country
18:37for the other side,
18:39even more valuable
18:40were those already working
18:41in the intelligence community.
18:44These turncodes are known as
18:46double agents.
18:49To be a double agent,
18:51for example,
18:52I'm an agent,
18:53I'm working with the CIA over here,
18:56but also working with the KGB over here,
18:59I'm a double agent in the middle.
19:02But it's quite often used
19:03in shorthand to refer to
19:05anybody who works in this world
19:08who also works for the other side.
19:10There will be a closed universe
19:12of individuals in the know
19:14about particular secrets,
19:16and you need to penetrate
19:17those kinds of closed networks.
19:20And so the best way to do that
19:21is by turning a double agent,
19:24a person,
19:25into an information sharer.
19:27The U.S. intelligence community
19:31is made up of 18 different agencies
19:33and organizations.
19:35So we have to wonder,
19:36are there double agents among them
19:39sharing our most closely guarded secrets
19:42with our enemies?
19:45Remarkably,
19:46the answer is yes.
19:48And many consider
19:51the most damaging double agent
19:53ever discovered
19:54was a 31-year veteran of the CIA
19:57named Aldrich Ames.
20:00Aldrich Ames was a counterintelligence officer
20:03in the Directorate of Operations,
20:07and he was a senior individual
20:08who in 1985,
20:10as a result of a bad divorce,
20:12was short of money,
20:14and he sold out to the Soviets.
20:16He just simply went to the embassy,
20:19asked to speak to a KGB officer,
20:22and then sold information
20:24through letters,
20:26which was highly classified operations
20:28and a large number of identities
20:32who were people who had worked
20:35either for the FBI or the CIA
20:37in the Soviet embassy
20:40in Washington, D.C.
20:43There were suspicions
20:44that there was a spy
20:46within the CIA
20:48because in the 1980s,
20:51many of our Russian sources
20:54in Russia
20:55started kind of dropping like flies,
20:57and this set off alarm bells
21:00at the CIA,
21:02and so an investigation was launched,
21:05but bizarrely,
21:07it took many, many years
21:09to realize that it was Aldrich Ames,
21:12even though Aldrich Ames
21:14displayed many of the characteristics
21:17of what would be a viable target
21:19for recruitment.
21:20He had a known problem with alcohol.
21:24He had married a Colombian woman
21:27who had very expensive tastes.
21:29He bought a house in Virginia
21:31with cash for $540,000.
21:35He bought a Jaguar.
21:38He started to dress really well.
21:40He got new teeth.
21:42And all of these
21:44are pretty obvious indicators
21:46that someone is working
21:50for a foreign intelligence service
21:51because he couldn't afford all that
21:53on his CIA salary.
21:54Aldrich Ames is one of the most famous
21:57CIA compromises of all times,
21:59and he went many, many years
22:01clandestinely acquiring
22:02and giving information to the Russians
22:04until his ultimate arrest in the 1990s.
22:07It's very difficult to be able to quantify
22:10the amount of damage
22:11that Aldrich Ames did.
22:13We know that CIA spies
22:15were systematically killed,
22:17and even to this day,
22:18CIA is always training new recruits
22:20to understand Aldrich Ames
22:22to make sure that they don't have
22:24another instance like that happen again.
22:27Aldrich Ames was sentenced
22:28to life in prison,
22:30and his wife Rosario
22:31got five years for aiding her husband
22:33in his crimes
22:34against the United States.
22:37But Ames was not the only double agent
22:39discovered inside
22:40an American intelligence agency.
22:44In 2001,
22:46an FBI agent named Robert Hansen
22:49was arrested for selling
22:50highly classified information to Russia
22:53for over 20 years.
22:55And it begs an urgent question.
22:58How many more double agents
22:59might be operating
23:00within the American intelligence community
23:03right now
23:04that have never been caught?
23:07It is very likely
23:08that there is a Russian double agent
23:10within the U.S. government today.
23:12In the same way,
23:13it is very likely
23:14that there is a double agent
23:16working for the Chinese government
23:17or the Iranian government
23:19or the North Korean government.
23:21The United States
23:22has many enemies around the world,
23:24and those enemies
23:24are interested in gathering
23:26intimate information
23:27about U.S. doings.
23:30It's very uncomfortable to admit,
23:32but one thing that CIA officers
23:33are taught right out of the gates
23:34is that you must always assume
23:36at any given time
23:37that the CIA and the FBI
23:39are penetrated
23:40by a foreign intelligence service.
23:42We have to assume that.
23:44If we're lucky,
23:45there's only one.
23:47Probability-wise,
23:48there is more than one.
23:51Could there really be
23:52a foreign spy
23:53deeply embedded
23:54in a U.S. intelligence agency?
23:57Unraveling this mystery
23:59is truly a matter
23:59of national security
24:01because gaining secret information
24:03on an enemy
24:04can quickly shift
24:05the balance of global power.
24:08Such was the case
24:09in World War II
24:09when allied forces
24:11were convinced
24:11that a German double agent
24:14was leaking D-Day plans
24:15to the Nazis,
24:17one letter at a time.
24:22France, 1942.
24:26As World War II
24:28raged across Europe,
24:29the Allied forces
24:31spent five months
24:32planning a top-secret invasion
24:34to recapture
24:36the French coastal town
24:37of Thiep.
24:38But on August 19th,
24:43as the Allies began
24:44their surprise assault,
24:46it seemed that somehow
24:48the Germans
24:50knew they were coming.
24:53The attack on D-Day
24:55was a disaster
24:57for the Allies.
24:59Something like
25:00half of the 6,000 troops
25:02who land
25:03are either killed
25:04or taken prisoner.
25:05And so the concern
25:07was that classified
25:09information
25:10was being sent
25:11to the Axis powers,
25:13to the Nazis,
25:14and that using
25:15codebreakers
25:16or spies,
25:18the attack
25:19had been foiled,
25:20had been discovered
25:21by the Axis powers.
25:24The Allies
25:25are repelled
25:26by the Nazis
25:26and the mission
25:27is a failure.
25:29And then people
25:30wanted to know
25:30why.
25:31The defeat
25:33was so stunning
25:33that British
25:35intelligence
25:35MI5
25:36started looking
25:37for reasons.
25:39How did the Nazis
25:40know the invasion
25:41was happening?
25:43So it was suspected
25:44that there could be
25:45a spy
25:46sending messages
25:47to the Nazis
25:48to alert them
25:48of upcoming attacks.
25:51After the failed
25:52D-Day invasion,
25:53British intelligence
25:54launched an investigation
25:55to find a potential
25:58Nazi spy
25:58in their midst.
25:59And in the process
26:01they know
26:02something rather
26:03peculiar.
26:05Just two days
26:06before the surprise
26:07invasion on Dieppe,
26:08in the British
26:09newspaper
26:09The Daily Telegraph,
26:11a curious clue
26:13appeared in that
26:14day's crossword puzzle.
26:16Around August 18,
26:181942,
26:19something very strange
26:20happened
26:20in the telegraph's
26:22crossword.
26:24The crossword puzzle
26:25clue was
26:26a French port.
26:27The answer
26:28was Dieppe.
26:29The big question
26:30was,
26:30was the word Dieppe
26:31in the crossword puzzle
26:32innocent?
26:33Or was it a warning
26:35to the Nazis
26:36alerting them
26:37that an attack
26:37was imminent?
26:39Is it possible
26:40that the Dieppe
26:40attack failed
26:42because of that
26:43crossword puzzle answer?
26:45Was a spy
26:46sending top secret
26:48allied intelligence
26:49to the Nazis
26:50through crossword puzzles?
26:52after interrogating
26:55the creator
26:55of the crossword,
26:56mild-mannered
26:57schoolteacher
26:58named Leonard Daw,
27:00British intelligence
27:01concluded
27:02that the puzzle's
27:03use of the word
27:03Dieppe
27:04was nothing more
27:06than a remarkable
27:07coincidence.
27:09It seemed
27:09the case was closed
27:11until two years later
27:12when code words
27:14started to appear
27:15in the newspaper's
27:16puzzle again.
27:17In 1944,
27:20the Allies
27:21were planning
27:22the D-Day
27:23invasion
27:23amidst a huge
27:25blanket of secrecy.
27:28And once again,
27:29the Daily Telegraph
27:31crossword
27:31starts spitting out
27:33information
27:34that should not be
27:36in the public domain.
27:37about three weeks
27:39before the invasion
27:40in the Daily Telegraph
27:42in the crossword puzzle
27:43the code word
27:44Utah appears.
27:46Then,
27:47a few days later
27:48the code word
27:49Omaha appears.
27:51These are the two
27:52beaches
27:52where the American
27:53forces will land.
27:55Then the next puzzle
27:56the code word
27:57Overlord appears.
27:59That's the name
28:00of the entire mission.
28:03This is becoming
28:04terrifying.
28:06Then the word
28:07Neptune appears.
28:08That's the code word
28:09for the British
28:10warships
28:11for D-Day.
28:13And then
28:13the word
28:14Mulberry appears.
28:16That's the code word
28:17for the portable
28:18docks that were built
28:19across the channel.
28:21When these code words
28:22started appearing
28:23it was too much
28:24of a coincidence.
28:26MI5
28:27were going to get
28:27to the bottom of it.
28:28Especially after DF.
28:31Once again
28:31their search
28:32eventually led them
28:33to the author
28:34of the puzzle
28:35Leonard Daw.
28:37Is this
28:38the Nazi spy?
28:39And finally
28:40it was determined
28:41that as a reward
28:42to some of the boys
28:43at the boys school
28:44he would let them
28:45pick the word
28:46to put in the crossword.
28:48And there just happened
28:49to be a lot
28:50of allied soldiers
28:51stationed nearby.
28:53The kids hear
28:54these weird words
28:55Omaha, Utah
28:56and they say
28:58let's put those
28:59in the puzzle.
29:00Not realizing
29:01they're about to give away
29:02the biggest invasion
29:03in history.
29:03Could the appearance
29:05of secret codenames
29:06in British crossword puzzles
29:08have been simply
29:09an extraordinary coincidence
29:10or was it a clever
29:11spycraft tool?
29:13We may never know
29:14for sure.
29:16Like in the case
29:16of another wordplay
29:1870 years after
29:19World War II
29:19that some believed
29:22was intended
29:22to have deadly consequences.
29:25In 2012
29:29in Venezuela
29:30there was speculation
29:32that a crossword puzzle
29:35in the daily paper
29:37contained coded messages
29:39that were meant
29:41to signal a threat
29:43against the brother
29:44of President Hugo Chavez.
29:47There was assassin
29:48which means to kill
29:49there was rafagas
29:51which means burst
29:52of machine gun fire
29:53and there was also
29:55the first name
29:56of Chavez's brother.
29:59And so all of this
30:00led to the
30:01conspiracy theory
30:04or conspiracy thought
30:05that this must mean
30:07that an assassination attempt
30:09was on the horizon
30:10of Chavez's brother.
30:12The government
30:13essentially accused
30:14the newspaper
30:15and the designer
30:17of this crossword puzzle
30:18of a plot
30:19and of transmitting
30:20this coded threat.
30:22whether or not
30:24this actually
30:25was an indication
30:26of an imminent threat
30:28against Chavez's brother
30:30I don't know.
30:32No attempt
30:33on a Dan Chavez's life
30:35was made
30:35or at least
30:36publicly acknowledged.
30:38If spies really do
30:39send secret messages
30:40via crossword puzzles
30:42it's still a matter
30:43of speculation
30:43and perhaps
30:45an ingenious method
30:47to share
30:48confidential information
30:49in plain sight.
30:51There are aspects
30:53of that
30:53that certainly
30:54match
30:55typical tradecraft.
30:57So it's not
30:58preposterous
30:59to think
31:00that a crossword puzzle
31:02could be used
31:03to deliver
31:04a coded message.
31:05In fact
31:06that's a very
31:07brilliant way
31:08that you might
31:09convey a coded message
31:11to a spy.
31:12Sending covert messages
31:15through newspaper
31:16crossword puzzles
31:17is truly a clever way
31:18to share secret information
31:19but there was also
31:21a simpler tool
31:22spies used
31:24during the second
31:24world war
31:25to communicate
31:26in code
31:27over vast distances.
31:29All you needed
31:30was a radio.
31:31Chicago, Illinois
31:36October 1978
31:37with $10,000
31:39in his pocket
31:4029 year old
31:42Soviet spy
31:43Albrecht Dutryk
31:44arrives in the
31:45United States.
31:47Using a stolen
31:48birth certificate
31:49he adopts the
31:50alias Jack Barsky
31:51and begins
31:52a 10 year mission
31:53to spy on
31:55Americans
31:55as a sleeper
31:56agent for the
31:57KGB.
31:59A sleeper
32:00agent
32:00is somebody
32:01who establishes
32:03himself in
32:04enemy territory
32:05and integrates
32:06in society
32:07and then waits
32:08for the day
32:08when it's time
32:09to spring into action.
32:12My mission
32:12in the United States
32:13focused on me
32:14getting close
32:15to people
32:15who make
32:16foreign policy
32:17decisions
32:18and or
32:19influence
32:20foreign policy.
32:22This is towards
32:22the end
32:23of the Cold War
32:23where there was
32:25a spy war
32:26going on
32:27between the CIA
32:28and the KGB
32:29and the tensions
32:31were very high.
32:34After relocating
32:35to New York City
32:36Barsky married
32:37and began a family.
32:39He also took a job
32:40at an insurance company
32:41to maintain his cover
32:42working as a computer
32:44programmer.
32:45I had access
32:46to lots and lots
32:47of data
32:48and some of the data
32:49would have been
32:50very important
32:51for the KGB
32:51but there was
32:53never a meeting
32:54between me
32:56and another KGB agent
32:57on the territory
32:58of the United States.
32:59I got my instructions
33:01and answers
33:01to questions
33:02through shortwave radio.
33:05Every Thursday
33:06at 9.15
33:07I had to turn
33:08on my shortwave radio
33:09dial my frequency
33:11listen to the call signal
33:12Morse code
33:14only digits
33:15no letters
33:16and then start
33:18writing down
33:19the numbers
33:19and there you have
33:21your message.
33:22For nearly 10 years
33:23Barsky's primary tool
33:25for communicating
33:26with the KGB
33:27was through a kind
33:28of shortwave radio broadcast
33:29known as
33:30a numbers station.
33:34Numbers stations
33:35are essentially
33:36pirate radio stations.
33:38You need to register
33:39a radio station.
33:40Numbers stations
33:41are not registered.
33:42They were discovered
33:45almost accidentally
33:47during the Cold War.
33:48You had ham radio operators
33:50bouncing around
33:51different frequencies
33:52talking to each other
33:53all over the world
33:53and then they would
33:55hit upon
33:55a certain channel
33:57and suddenly you hear
33:58a robotic voice
34:00repeating numbers.
34:02Dog
34:02movie
34:04huh
34:06Or you hear
34:07some kind of
34:08music
34:09or flute
34:10or buzzing sound
34:11It feels like
34:15you're eavesdropping
34:16on something secret
34:17but you don't know
34:17what they're saying.
34:19Numbers stations
34:20can transmit signals
34:22to sources globally
34:25and they can do so
34:27undetected
34:28because to anyone else
34:30it might just sound
34:31like buzzing
34:32or like a series
34:34of noises
34:34but what they're
34:38transmitting
34:38are coded signals
34:40to a source
34:41to a source
34:41in place
34:42or a spy.
34:44So
34:45even though
34:46they're very low tech
34:48they're very effective
34:49because they're able
34:54to exist
34:56and to communicate
34:57under the radar.
34:58during the Cold War
35:01both the United States
35:02and the Soviet Union
35:03regularly employed
35:04number stations
35:05to communicate
35:06with their agents
35:07in the field.
35:10But if anyone
35:11with a radio
35:11can tune in
35:12to hear the broadcast
35:13how are these
35:14coded spy messages
35:15kept secret?
35:17Well
35:17according to experts
35:19it's an unbreakable
35:20method of encryption
35:21a simple
35:23piece of paper
35:24known as
35:25a one-time pad.
35:27The one-time pad
35:29has little numbers
35:31on him
35:31and there's
35:32two identical versions
35:34one is for the
35:35encoding
35:35of a message
35:36and the other
35:37one is for the decoding.
35:39Nine
35:39seven
35:40eight
35:41So you would hear
35:42something like
35:42nine
35:43seven
35:43six
35:44four
35:45and then you could
35:46use the decoder
35:47to decrypt
35:48your message.
35:50A one-time pad
35:51is a sheet of paper
35:52with banks
35:53of numbers.
35:55You use this
35:56and someone else
35:57that you're trying
35:57to communicate with
35:58uses that same pad
36:00the two of you
36:01can then communicate
36:02but it's called
36:04a one-time pad
36:04because after you've
36:06used it
36:06you then destroy it.
36:08Assuming that you
36:09destroy it
36:10you can then go on
36:11to use the next
36:13one-time pad
36:13and if you keep
36:14using it
36:15sticking to the
36:17protocol
36:17it's uncrackable.
36:19If number stations
36:22have proven
36:23so effective
36:23in the past
36:24the real question
36:25is
36:25are spies
36:26still sending
36:27and receiving
36:28coded messages
36:29through them
36:30today?
36:34Even today
36:35you can flip
36:36through the
36:37different channels
36:37and you can hear
36:38things over the radio
36:39that don't make
36:40any sense.
36:42Whether they're
36:43verses being read
36:44or whether they're
36:44words being said
36:45nonsensically
36:46or whether they're
36:46numbers that are
36:47shouted out
36:48to the blindness
36:48of space
36:49so it's very
36:53possible
36:53somewhere in there
36:54there's a spy message
36:55that's sent
36:56for a very specific
36:57person at a very
36:58specific time
36:59in a very specific
37:00way.
37:02If spies are still
37:04receiving messages
37:05via number stations
37:06today
37:06we'll obviously
37:07never know
37:08but what many
37:10experts believe
37:11may be even
37:11more concerning
37:12when it comes to
37:13national security
37:14aren't relics
37:16from the past
37:16but the technology
37:18of today
37:19Wright-Pattison
37:25Air Force Base
37:25Dayton, Ohio
37:27March 1998
37:28while doing
37:30routine computer
37:31maintenance
37:32the defense
37:33contractor finds
37:34evidence
37:34that Russian spies
37:36hacked into
37:37the bases network
37:38to access top
37:40secret intelligence
37:41from the Pentagon
37:42NASA
37:44and other
37:45U.S.
37:45agencies
37:46it is
37:48the first
37:48major
37:49cyber espionage
37:50operation
37:51that we know
37:52of
37:52in modern history
37:53one of the big
37:56advancements
37:56in espionage
37:57is something
37:58known as
37:58the cyber spy
37:59or the spy
38:00who lives
38:01behind a digital
38:01wall of some
38:02sort
38:02they can steal
38:04information
38:05they can sell
38:05information
38:06they can live
38:06and hide
38:07on the dark web
38:08this is a whole
38:10new development
38:10and with that
38:11development
38:11there's new
38:12opportunities
38:12and there's
38:13new risks
38:14we have new
38:16technology
38:16that cyber
38:17spies can use
38:18to meet
38:18in cyberspace
38:19you can meet
38:20with them
38:20on video game
38:21platforms
38:22you can meet
38:22with them
38:22in chat rooms
38:23you can meet
38:24with them
38:25using commercially
38:26encrypted technology
38:27that you and I
38:27carry on our phone
38:28which makes
38:30everything that
38:30much more
38:31difficult to track
38:32not just for
38:32the FBI
38:33or for the
38:34internal
38:34investigation agency
38:35but for anyone
38:36to see anywhere
38:37advancing technology
38:40has empowered
38:40cyber spies
38:41to not only
38:42hack government
38:43secrets
38:44but also
38:44exchange that
38:45information
38:46in complete
38:48anonymity
38:48but some
38:50cyber spies
38:51are not interested
38:51in stealing
38:52information
38:53but rather
38:54to influence
38:55the very beliefs
38:56of their adversaries
38:58there's a place
39:01called the internet
39:01research agency
39:02in St. Petersburg
39:04Russia
39:05where there's
39:07a couple hundred
39:08nerds that
39:09produce these
39:10artificial personas
39:11and then they
39:12go on social media
39:14and befriend real
39:15people
39:16and they
39:17search out
39:18groups
39:19that are
39:20ideologically
39:21oriented
39:22it could be
39:23particularly in
39:24politics
39:24it could be
39:25the right wing
39:26and it could be
39:27left
39:27and what
39:28they're after
39:29is to create
39:31confusion
39:32in enemy territory
39:34I can give you
39:38an example
39:38when you're talking
39:40about election
39:40interference
39:41they planted
39:42misinformation
39:43what they do
39:45is raising
39:46doubts about
39:47the American
39:48system
39:49these cyber
39:51spies are
39:52extremely dangerous
39:54according to
39:56America's
39:56cyber defense
39:57agency
39:58CISA
39:58during the
40:002024
40:00US presidential
40:02election
40:02foreign
40:03adversaries
40:04conducted
40:05influence
40:06operations
40:06intended
40:07to undermine
40:08the integrity
40:09of US
40:10elections
40:11and while we
40:13can't say for
40:14sure how
40:14espionage will
40:15continue to
40:16evolve
40:16we know
40:18that as long
40:19as there are
40:19secrets
40:20there will be
40:21spies
40:22the future
40:24of secrets
40:24is in many
40:25ways
40:25what will
40:25shape
40:26the future
40:26of espionage
40:27but that
40:27doesn't mean
40:28that the history
40:28of espionage
40:29is any less
40:29useful than
40:30it was in
40:30the past
40:30it's the
40:31foundation
40:32it's the
40:32bedrock
40:33on which
40:33everything
40:34else is
40:34built
40:34and no
40:35matter
40:35where our
40:35future
40:36takes us
40:36we know
40:37that those
40:37building blocks
40:38of espionage
40:39those core
40:39fundamentals
40:40will always
40:41be present
40:41and always
40:42be there
40:42there will
40:43always be
40:44people
40:44meeting with
40:45people
40:45in dark
40:46corners
40:46to share
40:47secrets
40:47that nobody
40:47knows about
40:48in the world
40:51of spycraft
40:52everything is
40:53unexplained
40:53and your
40:55job as an
40:56intelligence
40:57officer is to
40:58try to gather
40:59that information
41:00that will help
41:01explain it
41:02the anomaly
41:05of spycraft
41:06is that you're
41:08charged with
41:09seeking out
41:09the truth
41:10and the
41:12reality is
41:13you can never
41:14be 100%
41:16sure that
41:17you've gotten
41:18to the truth
41:19you may never
41:21have the
41:21answers
41:22while it
41:24appears that
41:25the digital
41:25age may be
41:26changing the
41:27art of spycraft
41:28it's pretty
41:28safe to say
41:29that as long
41:30as there are
41:31secrets worth
41:32stealing
41:32there will be
41:33spies
41:34hard at work
41:35and although
41:36we are intrigued
41:37by the elusive
41:38double agent
41:39at the CIA
41:40or even the
41:41assassin who
41:42killed with the
41:44probe of an
41:44umbrella
41:45it's likely
41:46that most
41:47tales of
41:48espionage
41:48and the
41:49covert agents
41:50who operate
41:51undetected
41:52will stay
41:53top secret
41:55and remain
41:56unexplained
41:59and we
42:01are
42:02monkeys
42:03away
42:03and we
42:04have
42:05to
42:05see you
42:06again
42:08awesome
42:08do
42:08that
42:09you
42:10and
42:10I
42:11and
42:12i
42:12and
42:13and
42:15and
42:15you
42:17I
42:17I
42:19and
42:20I
42:20and
42:23and
42:23and
42:23I
42:25I
42:25I
42:26I
42:27and
42:27I
Recommended
42:49
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