Top 10 Intelligence Agencies Of The World 2020

Intelligence agencies are assigned with the task of gathering intelligence, conducting various forms of surveillance activities, play a vital role in recommending the government specifically when it comes to national security matters, spreading fake information, and, in the case of some agencies, even carrying out assassinations.

However, not all of these intelligence agencies are the same.

Some of these are known better than others. These agencies will be based on absolute determination on dealing with problems swiftly. Many of us really don’t know about different intelligence agencies in the world. So here we have gathered details to classify the top 10 intelligence agencies in the world.

(List created by Dawood Hassan.)

• Ministry of State Security (MSS)
• Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS)
• Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)
• Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE)
• Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI)
• Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)
• Federal Intelligence Service (BND)
• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)
• Mossad

Bonus points if you know every country they represent. more

The Crazy Story of How Soviet Russia Bugged an American Embassy’s Typewriters

...All of the electronics at the embassy—some 10 tons of equipment—was securely shipped back to the United States. Every piece was disassembled and X-rayed.

After tens of thousands of fruitless X-rays, a technician noticed a small coil of wire inside the on/off switch of an IBM Selectric typewriter. Gandy believed that this coil was acting as a step-down transformer to supply lower-voltage power to something within the typewriter. Eventually he uncovered a series of modifications that had been concealed so expertly that they had previously defied detection.

A solid aluminum bar, part of the structural support of the typewriter, had been replaced with one that looked identical but was hollow. Inside the cavity was a circuit board and six magnetometers. The magnetometers sensed movements of tiny magnets that had been embedded in the transposers that moved the typing “golf ball” into position for striking a given letter. more

Why Do CIA Spies Stop at Every Yellow Light?

After spending years in the CIA fighting to prevent nuclear terrorism and other catastrophes, some old habits just will not go away for the ex-spy Amaryllis Fox...

...a former CIA clandestine-service officer and author of the new book "Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA"...

...CIA spies learn to master skills regular people do not, and they stick with you...

...But there is one old habit, she said, that drives her husband a little bit crazy — stopping at every yellow light when she drives. more

To Catch a Spy - The Art of Counterintelligence

Longtime Central Intelligence Agency operative and former CIA chief of counterintelligence James “Jim” Olson delivered a talk on his career experiences and challenges Tuesday night to a near-capacity crowd at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center.

Earlier this year, Olson released a book, To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence, which he said is rooted in his three decades in the arena of counterintelligence. It offers “a wake-up call,” in Olson’s words, for the American public about why counterintelligence matters, and why America must protect its trade and national security secrets.

Olson said 50 countries are known to be spying against the U.S. currently. “The worst culprit, by far, is China — followed by Russia, Cuba and Iran,” he said.

“In my 31-year career in the CIA, I saw evil face-to-face more often than I care to remember,” Olson said. “People I knew and trusted — people I considered friends — betrayed us, and their treachery was close to me. It was personal, and indescribably painful. The damage that these traitors did to our country was devastating.” more

"Hey, kids. Make BIG money in your spare time. Train spies!"

The UAE is recruiting former CIA and US government officials in a bid to create a professional intelligence body modeled on leading Western agencies.

The Gulf state has long relied on Western countries to build up its intelligence infrastructure, but are now paying big bucks to hire former US intelligence employees to build its spying capabilities.

Details of the training were reviewed by Foreign Policy and show daily seminars, scavenger hunts and training exercises in four-to-six man surveillance teams.

The following weeks provide advanced training on creating undercover identities when attending embassy functions and how to groom intelligence assets...

Former CIA and US government officials are drawn to the promise of a lucrative career, with instructor salaries of up to $1,000 a day funding an extravagant lifestyle, Foreign Policy reported. more

Cuba Bugged by US Allegations of Sonic Attacks

Could the mysterious “sonic attacks” allegedly waged against U.S. Embassy employees in Cuba really just be the sounds of very loud crickets and cicadas?

That’s what Cuban officials seemed to suggest Thursday in a half-hour prime-time television special titled “Alleged Sonic Attacks.”

The special broadcast was Cuban officials’ most detailed defense to date against U.S. accusations that American diplomats in Havana were subjected to mysterious sounds that left them with a variety of ailments -- including headaches, hearing problems and concussions. more

Odd that it only affected American and Canadian diplomats. ~Kevin

How to Get Away with Spying for the Enemy

If you like real-life, bizarre, spy stories, this may really interest you.

How does someone get away with helping a foreign adversary? We dig into the gonzo story of an American acquitted of spying for the Soviets—even after he confessed to it.

The founder of an investment firm in Hawaii, Rewald lived like a Master of the Universe, traveling the world, driving expensive cars, staying in expensive hotels and throwing expensive parties.

Smith, by contrast, was a Mormon who lived in Utah with his wife and four children. A former case officer in intelligence with the United States Army, he had resigned from his job at the start of the 1980s to spend more time with his family. Smith sought to make a new life for himself as an entrepreneur; when VHS tapes were still cutting-edge, he began a service to make video diaries and testimonials for families to pass down from one generation to the next.

The common thread between Reward and Smith was espionage... more

Talk to Real Secret Agents on New 'Call a Spy' Hotline

If you ever wanted to chat to a spy, now's your chance – a group of German artists have set up the "Call a Spy" hotline.

Ariel Fischer from the art group "Peng!" told Sputnik Deutschland that they can set up the hotline anywhere with a stable internet connection. It looks like an ordinary telephone, but is connected to the "Call a Spy" server.

The server contains a database of spy's numbers, and randomly selects one to connect the caller with. Calls are routed through a private network that masks the original source of the call.


Fischer said that despite the secrecy of intelligence work, the majority of the numbers were freely available on the internet, and come from a range of different countries.  more

CIA Former Agent Trains You to Survive... your wallet is decimated, however.

A new show where you learn CIA spy secrets that could save your life is headed to the Strip — it’s a two-day “Escape and Evasion” presentation hosted by former CIA agent Jason Hanson, who served with the agency for nearly a decade.

“Spy Escape & Evasion” debuts at the “Pin Up” theater in the Stratosphere on Aug. 17 with the first four back-to-back days, with future seminars to be announced.

It’s a $1,499.95 ticket price per person that includes hands-on personal training by Jason and his CIA team of former officers. He also will participate in meet-and-greet sessions, and 30 audience members will dine with him after the lectures and training sessions.

If you’ve ever dreamed of being 007 or wished you possessed the skills to protect yourself from danger like those in the CIA, these shows are for you. Jason’s courses are designed to keep individuals and their families safe from danger.

Here are topics Jason will cover in his fascinating show presented by Red Mercury Entertainment:
• How to escape rope, duct tape, zip ties and handcuffs in 30 seconds or less;
• secrets of situational awareness;
• important everyday carry gear bag;
• how to pick locks, hotwire a car and disappear without a trace;
• how to use social engineering to get almost anything you want;
• what to do when a crisis occurs; technical pen techniques;
• basic counter surveillance techniques;
• and hands-on training. more

...and then there is the Shark Tank $1,997 special.
...and then there is the $37 version.
...and then there is FREE CIA training.

Banks are Hiring Former CIA Agents

Some of the world's biggest banks are hiring former spies 
to try and prevent the rise of any more so-called "rogue traders" and generally ensure that banks are put on the hook for fewer fines.

According to a report from Bloomberg, banks including HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and JP Morgan have all hired ex-spies from the likes of the UK and US military, the CIA, and GCHQ to watch the activities of bank employees, and try to prevent misconduct. more

The Best Spy Museum You will Never See... except for the parts on-line

The CIA Museum's collection includes artifacts associated with the CIA's predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services; foreign intelligence organizations; and the CIA itself.

The collection includes clothing, equipment, weapons, insignia and other memorabilia that serve as tangible testimony to the Agency's history. Many of the objects the Museum holds were designed, manufactured and used specifically for intelligence operations.

CIA used the “Belly Buster” drill during the late 1950s and early 1960s to drill holes into masonry for implanting audio devices. After assembly, the base of the drill was held firmly against the stomach while the handle was cranked manually. This kit came with several drill bits and accessories.
52.5 cm x 22.5 cm x 5 cm
(L x W x H)

All artifacts displayed in the museum's exhibits have been declassified by the appropriate Agency officials. Please note that because the Museum is located on the CIA compound, it is not open to the public for tours. Take the on-line tour.

Operation Armchair - Son of The Thing, or...

...how a small Dutch company, helped the CIA to eavesdrop on the Russians.

"A small company from Noordwijk, Dutch Radar Research Station, worked for the CIA for decades. It built sophisticated listening devices that the Americans used against the Soviet Union. I came across this story when a schoolmate gave me papers of his grandfather. Along with intelligence expert, Cees Wiebes, I reconstructed in eighteen months the never told key role that this Dutch company played during the Cold War." ~ Maurits Martijn
(A long, but interesting story.) 

Tapes Released - Eavesdropping on Henry Kissinger's Telephone Conversations

CIA director William Colby’s openness about more odious U.S. intelligence practices did not go over well with Henry Kissinger.

Speaking on the phone with McGeorge Bundy, the National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, Kissinger referred to Colby as a “psychopath.”

[A film by the son of CIA spymaster William Colby has divided the Colby clan]

The two men were chatting about congressional investigations into the CIA activities post-Watergate and worried about leaks and misinformation.

“On top of it you have the pysopath(sic)/running the CIA. You accuse him of a traffic violation and he confesses murder,” Kissinger said in the June 1975 telephone conversation. Colby, Loop fans will recall, was replaced soon after as director of CIA by George H.W. Bush.

That conversation is part of 900 final Kissinger phone transcripts from the Gerald Ford administration released Wednesday by the National Security Archive, which sued the State Department in March to have them released. For history buffs the tapes are precious gold... more

Defense Against the Spy - 1967 CIA Training Film

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) presents a case study of devices that were used for espionage purposes during the 1960's.

How to Travel Like a Spy

A 14-page document from the Central Intelligence Agency carrying the arduous bureaucratic title of “Surviving Secondary: An Identity Threat Assessment of Secondary Screening Procedures at International Airports”... Translated into normal English, this means how undercover agents can avoid trouble when going through passport and custom controls.

Although the study deals narrowly with the CIA’s concern that its clandestine agents will be stopped in passport checks and their false identities exposed, its information holds interest to anyone who travels internationally. Indeed, it’s a useful guide precisely to what not to do when landing in a foreign airport.
(more)

NSA Quits Spying on Americans Out of Disgust

Citing an endless river of filth, vacuous conversations, idiotic Tweets and endless cat videos, the NSA announced it is “freaking done” with spying on Americans.

The NSA decision came only hours after thousands of analysts, following similar threats at CIA, said they planned to quit and apply for jobs as Apple Geniuses and Best Buy Geek Squad Support workers. 

Speaking on background, one disgruntled NSA employee said “Go ahead, throw me in jail for an Espionage Act violation, that would be better than doing this job." (more)

A Good Short Spy Story...

The green metal file box was about the size and shape of an ammunition case. 

It was scuffed and serious-looking and packed tight with personal letters and papers that had belonged to my grandfather, who died in 1989. The line in the family had always been that he “did intelligence work in Washington after the war.” This file box gave up a better story: My grandfather was an operations officer with the C.I.A. from January 1948 to August 1951. But that revelation brought up another question: Why only three years? (more)

Wealth Managers Enlist Spy Tools to Map Portfolios

Some of the engineers who used to help the Central Intelligence Agency solve problems have moved on to another challenge: determining the value of every conceivable investment in the world.

Five years ago, they started a company called Addepar, with the aim of providing clear and reliable information about the increasingly complex assets inside pensions, investment funds and family fortunes. In much the way spies diagram a communications network, Addepar filters and weighs the relationships among billions of dollars of holdings to figure out whether a portfolio is about to crash. (more)

Emboldened by Their Upcoming World Cup Victory this Sunday...

Germany expelled the CIA station chief in Berlin over alleged spying by the United States which has refused to break its silence over the escalating row between the Western allies.

The expulsion came after two suspected US spy cases were uncovered in less than a week in Germany, where anger still simmers over the NSA surveillance scandal...

“The representative of the US intelligence services at the embassy of the United States of America has been told to leave Germany,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. The step was highly unusual among NATO allies and underlined Berlin’s anger. (more)

Just Tell the Boss You Are on Loan to the CIA... for 10 years.

The EPA’s highest-paid employee and a leading expert on climate change deserves to go to prison for at least 30 months for lying to his bosses and saying he was a CIA spy working in Pakistan so he could avoid doing his real job, say federal prosecutors.

John C. Beale, who pled guilty in September to bilking the government out of nearly $1 million in salary and other benefits over a decade, will be sentenced in a Washington, D.C., federal court on Wednesday. In a newly filed sentencing memo, prosecutors said that his lies were a "crime of massive proportion" and “offensive” to those who actually do dangerous work for the CIA.

Beale’s lawyer, while acknowledging his guilt, has asked for leniency and offered a psychological explanation for the climate expert’s bizarre tales. (more)