Re:Rules of Spycraft (2009) [pdf]
by rdtsc on Saturday December 29, 2018 @04:44PM
(#18785894)
As others have said, it would probably be more difficult today to hide. Things like access to mass collected information from cameras (traffic, security, etc), cell phone location logs, face recognition, passport databases being leaked etc.
The OPM hack highlighted how opponents will attack weakest points such as the database of background check data. Now supposedly the Chinese know the detailed backgrounds, the secrets, even biometrics of millions of US agents.
The Russian passport database was leaked, which allow independent investigators to track down and prove that the Skripal assassins were GRU officers. It was based on special markings in the database and the sequential passport numbers:
It was further confirmed by researches looking through tons of photos posted on the wall of Russian military academies to find Chepiga - one of the assassins:
What's interesting here is that the exposure is not only to other state actors (who will presumably keep it secret) but also to these independent researchers, and leakers (Snowden), who don't mind laying it out for the whole world to see.
The OPM hack highlighted how opponents will attack weakest points such as the database of background check data. Now supposedly the Chinese know the detailed backgrounds, the secrets, even biometrics of millions of US agents.
The Russian passport database was leaked, which allow independent investigators to track down and prove that the Skripal assassins were GRU officers. It was based on special markings in the database and the sequential passport numbers:
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/10/09/ful...
It was further confirmed by researches looking through tons of photos posted on the wall of Russian military academies to find Chepiga - one of the assassins:
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/10/02/ana...
What's interesting here is that the exposure is not only to other state actors (who will presumably keep it secret) but also to these independent researchers, and leakers (Snowden), who don't mind laying it out for the whole world to see.