Giambattista della Porta (1535 – 1615): The Egg-cryption Man

Della Porta invented a method which allowed him to write secret messages on the inside of eggs. 

Some of his friends were imprisoned by the Inquisition. At the gate of the prison, everything was checked except for eggs. Della Porta wrote messages on the eggshell using a mixture made of plant pigments and alum. The ink penetrated the eggshell which is semi-porous. When the eggshell was dry, he boiled the egg in hot water and the ink on the outside of the egg was washed away. 

When the recipient in prison peeled off the shell, the message was revealed once again on the egg white. - Philalethe Reveal'd Vol. 2 B/W

How a Cold War Spy Test Boosts Fitness and Sharpness

A novel training approach could help older adults stay mentally sharp and physically fit even when fatigued, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Extremadura in Spain investigated the effects of Brain Endurance Training (BET) on cognitive and physical performance in sedentary older women. The research, led by Jesús Díaz-García and colleagues, compared BET to standard exercise training and a control group over an 8-week period.

One example of BET is the Stroop task, a cognitive test where participants must name the color of a word, while the word itself spells out a different color (e.g., the word "red" printed in blue ink)...

During the Cold War, U.S, intelligence agencies used the Stroop task to identify potential Russian spies by presenting them with a color-word test in Russian, where a native Russian speaker would slow down when encountering incongruent color-word combinations, revealing their ability to read Russian and potentially their true identity as a spy; whereas a non-Russian speaker would not experience the same delay because the words would be meaningless to them. more

Spy History: Did Lucille Ball's Fillings Help Capture Japanese Spies?

Here is the comedienne relating this anecdote to talk show host Dick Cavett in 1974:

But is this story true? 

That assessment hinges on two elements: Did Lucille Ball really pick up some type of radio transmission through her dental fillings, and did that event lead to the discovery and capture of Japanese spies operating an underground radio station? Fact checked by Snopes

History: How to Build a Bugging Device in 1917

Want to build a bug; known as a Detectograph back in 1917? 

Just write to a magazine, like The Electrical Experimenter, and they would tell you. Things were pretty simple back then, but the parts were not cheap. The average full-time worker's wage was $13.21 per week.

How to Boost an Auction - Mention the Word Spy

The holder of Jeffrey Epstein's "little black book" believes it could hold the answer to suspicions that the late sex offender was a foreign spy. 

Eager for the cryptic scribbles and numbers to be investigated, the anonymous owner is putting the book up for online public auction on Aug. 16, with the goal of selling it to somebody capable of tracking down those named in it. more

Greenbrier Hotel Up for Public Auction

The Greenbrier Hotel, owned by Gov. Jim Justice and his family, has been announced for auction on the courthouse steps late this month because of default, according to a legal advertisement placed in Lewisburg’s West Virginia Daily News. more

So, why is this news?

One of the great vestiges of the Cold War is the Greenbrier bunker, a facility built to house all 535 members of Congress in the event of a nuclear attack.

In 1955, Dwight D. Eisenhower instructed the Department of Defense to draft emergency plans for Congress in case of a nuclear strike. Even if Washington, DC was destroyed, American officials needed a procedure to maintain the continuity of government. As part of these efforts, the Army Corps of Engineers was charged with scouting the location of a nuclear bunker for the members of Congress. They ultimately selected the Greenbrier, a luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Greenbrier was chosen because of its location—relatively close and accessible to Washington, but far enough away to be safe from an atomic bomb—and because of its prior relationship with the United States government. During World War II, Greenbrier had served as an internment facility for Japanese, Italian, and German diplomats and then as a military hospital, where Eisenhower himself was at one time a patient. Although it returned to its original function as a hotel after the war, government officials occasionally held conferences at Greenbrier. more 

Video of the bunker.

Time to sing-s-long! or sing-a-long with... a little darker number.

Widow: Hugh Hefner Had ‘Little Spy Holes’ to Record Celebs

Crystal Hefner has revealed that her late husband, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, had camera peepholes in his bedroom and even in the foot of his bed — where he says he recorded sexual encounters with celebrities and high-ranking politicians, apparently without their knowledge...

The revelation is part of Hefner’s upcoming tell-all book, Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself, which is due out on January 23...

In the book, Hefner adds that Hef, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 91, claimed to have tapes of numerous A-list celebrities and “videos of wild orgies, also with celebrities and politicians and business leaders, some of whom were married.”... It has not been reported what Hef did with all those videos... more

Excellent Video on Early Law Enforcement Spy Tech

On January 18th AWA Wireless Museum published this video. As per its description, “during Mike Murphy’s career he had the opportunity to be involved with the design of law enforcement surveillance radios, and he met some of the colorful personalities who pioneered these controversial technologies. In this presentation Mike tells the story of the people and companies that created surveillance devices that remained secret for decades, some of which still haven’t seen the light of day.”

Spy History: When Furbys Caused National Security Fears

In the late 90s, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) banned Furbys on its premises over fears they could record and repeat top-secret information.

When it first hit toy stores in 1998, Furby was an immediate sensation. The animatronic furball would eventually be recognized by Time Magazine as one of “History’s Best Toys.” And just as it spiked in popularity among children looking for a new robotic friend, security officials were reportedly concerned over the robot’s potential to record top-secret information.

All such stories stemmed from reporting by The Washington Post. On Jan. 13, 1999, The Post published an article titled “A Toy Story of Hairy Espionage” more

Weekend Read: “Spymaster’s Prism: The Fight Against Russian Aggression”

November 1, 2023

by  Jack Devine  (Author)

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars      73 ratings

I am pleased to announce that the paperback edition of my second book “Spymaster’s Prism: The Fight Against Russian Aggression” comes out today.

When the book was first published in the middle of the pandemic in 2021, there was only an emergent acknowledgement of the real threat posed by Russian "active measures" and espionage to Western interests. Though I devoted an entire section to Ukraine called "New Berlin", I could not have foretold how much the world would change only a year later, on 24 February 2022...

I hope that the release of the paperback of "Spymaster's Prism: The Fight Against Russian Aggression" will give you an opportunity to discover or revisit a thorough accounting of the Russian intelligence services relentless and unending campaign against the West and what we must continue to do to arrest it. Good Hunting! 

Disrupting Time: Industrial Combat, Espionage, and...

This week, Aaron Stark joins the show to discuss his new book Disrupting Time: Industrial Combat, Espionage, and the Downfall of a Great American Company, which chronicles an attempt by a foreign power to infiltrate, emulate, and eventually annihilate a great American company. 

In the late 19th century, watches were at the forefront of technological innovation, and the Waltham Watch Company made some of the finest watches in the world. Unlike their Swiss competitors, whose products were fancy, handcrafted works of art, the Watham company specialized in mass produced, affordable, and reliable watches for the masses. 

At an 1876 World’s Fair, they announced their arrival on the world’s stage, and the world took notice. The Swiss, in particular, took notice, and they took it by sending spies to steal the secrets of Waltham’s success. more

The Tapes That Doomed Nixon’s Presidency (50th Anniversary)

Fifty years ago, on July 16, 1973, the country was rocked by the revelation that President Richard Nixon had been secretly recording his conversations in the White House. 

Pressed by Senate investigators, a Nixon aide, Alexander Butterfield, revealed that the president had installed an extensive taping system and that the machines had recorded “everything.” Butterfield’s words electrified the nation, watching live on TV...

Indeed, the tapes effectively doomed his presidency, giving prosecutors reams of evidence to sift through in the cascading Watergate scandal. Worse, they revealed a president speaking so coarsely that it embarrassed many Americans. It was a political disaster and a cautionary tale as well. Since then, no president has taped his official meetings. more  The 18.5 minute gap.

Notable US Spies Fast Facts

Timeline Summaries* of Spies Who Failed

Aldrich Ames
1962 - Aldrich Ames, son of a CIA analyst, joins the agency as a low-level documents analyst. 

David Boone
1970-1991 - David Boone serves in the US Army as a signals intelligence analyst. During the late 1980s, he is assigned to the National Security Agency as a senior cryptologic traffic analyst. 

Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins
1996 - Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins makes visits to Russia to meet with their intelligence agents. He is given a code name and signs a settlement “attesting that he wanted to serve” them.

Noshir Gowadia
1968-1986 - Noshir Gowadia is employed by Northrop Grumman where he works on technology relating to the B-2 Spirit Bomber, aka the “Stealth” bomber.

Robert Hanssen
January 12, 1976 - Robert Hanssen joins the FBI.

Ana Montes
1984 - Ana Montes is recruited to spy for Cuba. She is never paid for her spying.

Walter Kendall Myers
1977 - Walter Kendall Myers begins working for the US State Department on contract, as an instructor.

Harold James Nicholson
1980 - Harold Nicholson joins the CIA after serving in the United States Army.

Ronald Pelton
1965-1979 - Ronald Pelton works for the National Security Agency, with top-level security clearance.

Earl Pitts
1983-1996 - Earl Edwin Pitts works at the FBI.

Jonathan Pollard
1979 - Pollard is hired to work at the Navy Field Operational Intelligence Office. He had been rejected previously from employment at the CIA due to drug use. His specialty is North America and the Caribbean.

George Trofimoff
1969-1994 - George Trofimoff, a naturalized American citizen of Russian parentage, works as a civilian for the US Army at the Joint Interrogation Center in Nuremberg, Germany. He also attains the rank of colonel in the Army reserve.     *Complete timelines for each spy.

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And, one successful spy hero...

VA - The local FBI agent who cracked the notorious Walker spy ring in the 1980s has died. Robert "Bob" Hunter was the lead investigator in the 1985 arrest of master spy John Walker, who led what U.S. officials called the most damaging espionage case in American history. The Walker spy ring operated for nearly two decades, spanning five presidencies, stealing top-secret information from the Navy and selling it to the Soviet Union. In 1999, Hunter wrote a book about his experiences: "Spy Hunter: Inside the FBI Investigation of the Walker Espionage Case." more

White House Plumbers...

...A Delightfully Funny Retelling of the Watergate Scandal

The Watergate scandal is not exactly new territory for screenwriters. From the 1976 classic All the President’s Men to, just last year, the excellent Gaslit, the story of the bungled covert operations that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974 has been raked over time and time again.

So White House Plumbers, created by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck – two writers who have previously worked on Veep and David Letterman’s 90s Late Show – needed to be pretty good to justify its existence. Thankfully, it was.

The five-episode comedy drama focuses on E Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux), ex CIA and FBI agents respectively, who were hired by Nixon’s White House to run a dirty tricks unit. more

Australian Spy Camera Ads from the 1880's

Not very covert by today's standards, but interesting.

The Dog Cam... Send the dog into an area by himself, blow the dog whistle, dog wags tail connected to the shutter. Fingers crossed, you got the shot.

The Pot Shot... or, The Detective Camera. Lens peeks through a buttonhole. The bull taking a shot at the photographer, taking a shot of the kangaroo is a bit of a non sequitur. 

The White House Plumbers, or The Buttcrack Buggers

This five-part limited series imagines the behind-the-scenes story of how Nixon’s political saboteurs, E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux), accidentally toppled the presidency they were zealously trying to protect… and their families along with it. 

Chronicling actions on the ground, this satirical drama begins in 1971 when the White House hires Hunt and Liddy, former CIA and FBI, respectively, to investigate the Pentagon Papers leak. After failing upward, the unlikely pair lands on the Committee to Re-Elect the President, plotting several unbelievable covert ops – including bugging the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex. Proving that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction, White House Plumbers sheds light on the lesser-known series of events that led to one of the greatest political scandals in American history.

From the producers of Succession and Veep...White House Plumbers comes to HBO Max on May 1, 2023. more

Spy History: Evolution of Aerial Spying Over the Past 200 Years

Last month, the US government shot down a Chinese spy balloon floating near a South Carolina beach. 

The Pentagon said it was there gathering intelligence. China said it was doing civilian research. Regardless, it was nothing new.

Governments have been spying on each other for hundreds of years...Here's how surveillance from the sky has developed over the years...

The first record of aerial surveillance happened toward the end of the 18th century. During the Revolutionary War, the French successfully used hot air balloons to monitor combat during the Battle of Fleurus against Britain, Germany, and Holland. more

History: Early Anti-Eavesdropping / Wiretapping Invention

November 10, 1892...
Wiretapping telegraph lines was a known problem back then. Problem was... it was risky, detectable, and the tap always lead to the tapper. In some instances, all this could be circumvented by simply eavesdropping. If one could hear the telegraph clicking—and knew code—one could jot down the message, just like the telegraph employee.

This is how the problem was solved...

The Rest of the Story: US Government Has Been Dancing...

...Around UFOs for 75 Years

A legacy of hype, hysteria and fraud is undermining legitimate inquiry into those strange objects in the sky, whether you call them spy balloons, flying saucers or unidentified aerial phenomena...

...on June 24, 1947, when Kenneth Arnold, a businessman and pilot, spotted nine objects flying at unfathomable speed near Mount Rainier in Washington.

Arnold dutifully reported these to aviation officials. When pressed to describe the movement of the curious craft, he likened it to “a saucer skipping across the water.” This initial report went out across the news wires. Bored reporters eager to make something of the story ran with it, inventing details along the way.

In a few days, journalists had turned Arnold’s movement metaphor into something more material: a “flying saucer.” Arnold complained to veteran journalist Edward Murrow that newspapers had “misunderstood and misquoted me,” but to no avail. The idea of a flying saucer immediately captured the nation’s imagination, sparking a flood of alleged sightings. more  (Klaatu would not approve.)

Spy History: The "Detective Dictograph"

The General Acoustic Company in New York manufactured and sold the "Detective Dictograph" which they patented in 1907--only ten years after Marconi's first successful transatlantic radio transmission.

The "Detective Dictograph" was a neat suitcase with a complete covert electronic audio surveillance system, which included a special carbon microphone for concealment and a long cable to run to the suitcase where the operator would covertly monitor the audio on headphones in the next room.

Yes, people were electronically bugging other people over 100 years ago.