Austrian prosecutors charge ex-intelligence officer accused of spying for Russia

September 2, 2025 by 3 Comments

Landesgericht für Strafsachen Wien Vienna Regional Court for Criminal MattersPROSECUTORS IN VIENNA HAVE charged a former intelligence officer with spying for Russia in a high-profile case that has had broad political ramifications in Austria and abroad. The criminal case centers on Egisto Ott, a former employee of Austria’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT). The BVT operated as Austria’s primary domestic intelligence agency from 2002 until its dissolution in 2021.

Ott was first arrested in March 2021, but was soon released after Vienna’s state court ruled that the accused no longer had access to classified information, and was thus not a persistent threat to the state. Ott was arrested again in March 2024 on suspicion of having maintained contact with Russian intelligence officers even following his 2021 arrest and release, and of trying to sell classified information after his release. As intelNews reported a year ago, Ott was released again from pre-trial detention in June 2024, in a decision that raised eyebrows.

Now Ott is facing charges of colluding with an unidentified police officer to “support an intelligence agency” of a foreign country “to the detriment of Austria”, according to the public prosecutor. Ott is also accused of having engaged in bribery, misuse of his office, and of having broken Austria’s Official Secrets Act. Among several instances of engaging in espionage, Ott is accused of having given Russian intelligence an encrypted SINA-workstation laptop of the type used by government employees to access classified information remotely.

Ott and his lawyers have denied he was involved in espionage and have vowed to confront all charges against him in court.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 02 September 2025 | Permalink

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Ex-head of Israeli Military Intelligence discusses October 7 attack in leaked recordings

August 25, 2025 by 6 Comments

Aharon HalivaIN A SERIES OF leaked recordings, the former head of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate, Major General Aharon Haliva, has expressed strong views about Israel’s war in Gaza. General Haliva headed Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate (known as Aman) on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants took Israel by surprise in a combined arms attack, killing over 1,200 and kidnapping 250. Since resigning a year ago, Haliva has not made any public statements.

It is unclear who Haliva was speaking to when he was recorded, or by whom he was recorded. Nor is it clear when or where the recordings occurred. They were leaked last week by Israeli television station Channel 12. There follows a summary of Haliva’s comments in the leaked recordings.

Personal Responsibility. Haliva admits that the disaster occurred during his watch; therefore, he bears ultimate responsibility. At the same time, he emphasizes that responsibility is systemic and broad—not only his, but also that of the entire Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Israel Security Agency (ISA), and the country’s senior political leadership. He states: “Anyone who voluntarily assumes a leadership position knows that his decisions will bring both great successes and great failures”.

Systemic and Cultural Failures. Haliva argues that the failure originates from a long-standing organizational culture within the Aman, rooted in arrogance, overconfidence, and the belief that “the enemy is deterred”, as well as the idea that Israel’s intelligence is all-powerful. This mindset led to operational stand-downs during Sabbaths, holidays, and in the month of August, reflecting overconfidence. He warns: “This was not a one-time accident, but something that requires dismantling and rebuilding the system”.

Responsibility of Other Bodies. Haliva points to the ISA as the agency that should have provided human intelligence alerts on the evening of October 6 and the early hours of October 7, 2023, but did not. He criticizes the government and the cabinet for not holding serious, in-depth discussions on Gaza, while for years allowing Hamas to grow stronger with the help of Qatari money and by dividing Gaza from the West Bank.

The Political Leadership and Benjamin Netanyahu. Haliva describes Netanyahu as “a very attentive man, who reads, but is very cowardly—and in the test of results, he failed”. He emphasizes that Israel’s political leadership made decisions that strengthened Hamas and hindered proper preparedness. His conclusion: “In such a biblical-scale disaster, responsibility lies with everyone—they should all step down”. Read more of this post

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Soldier with far-right links becomes first convicted spy in New Zealand history

August 19, 2025 by 1 Comment

New Zealand ChristchurchA DISAFFECTED SOLDIER, WHO tried to commit espionage against New Zealand for a foreign government, has become the first convicted spy in the Pacific Island nation’s history. The only other time New Zealand prosecuted an individual for espionage was in 1974, when the government accused Bill Sutch, a prominent, English-born civil servant, of spying for the Soviet Union. Sutch was acquitted in 1975 and died soon afterwards.

According to reports, a member of the New Zealand Defence Force, who has not been named, drew the attention of the authorities in the aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch shooting. The attack was carried out by Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, who stormed a mosque with an automatic weapon, killing 51 and injuring nearly 100 people. The terrorist attack sparked a widespread investigation into far-right militancy in the Australian and New Zealand armed forces, which continues to this day.

The soldier was found to have contacts with a number of local far-right groups, including the Dominion Movement and Action Zealandia. Government prosecutors said that, while observing the soldier’s activities, government agents found out that he had “made contact with a third party, indicating that he was a soldier” and signaling his desire to defect to a foreign country. They eventually approached the soldier using an undercover officer who pretended to be a representative of the country whose officials the soldier had previously contacted. The soldier told the undercover officer that he was prepared to “get a covert device into army headquarters” and offered to provide “mapping and photographs” of classified government facilities.

During his trial, the soldier pled guilty, admitting that he had tied to spy for a foreign government, and adding that his ultimate goal was to “leave New Zealand and get to what I thought was safety”. Following the soldier’s conviction, the three-judge military panel said it would announce the sentence later this week. The country for which the convicted soldier offered to spy has not been named.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 18 August 2025 | Permalink

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Israeli intelligence using Microsoft servers to store intercepted phone call data

August 11, 2025 by 2 Comments

Microsoft ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE IS USING Microsoft’s cloud service to store recordings and metadata from millions of intercepted telephone conversations placed by residents of Gaza and the West Bank, according to a new investigation. The investigation was jointly conducted by British newspaper The Guardian and Israeli weekly magazine Sikha Mekomit (Local Call), which published it last week.

Citing conversation with 11 sources from Microsoft and within Israel, the investigation reveals that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Unit 8200 is the primary force behind the interception and data storage project. Operating under Aman, Israel’s military intelligence directorate, Unit 8200 is responsible for collecting signals intelligence (SIGINT), cyber warfare, and code decryption, among other tasks.

Israeli security sources cited in the report explain that the commander of Unit 8200, Brigadier General Yossi Sriel, approached Microsoft because the Israeli intelligence unit lacked enough storage space and processing power to store “billions of files”. General Sriel has led a large-budget project that has significantly expanded the scope of information-gathering on Palestinians and has integrated various databases.

In November 2021, an meeting, described in the report as “extraordinary”, took place at Microsoft’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington. On one side were Microsoft Chief Operating Officer, Satya Nadella, and other company executives, while on the other side were General Sriel and other senior officials of Unit 8200. The agenda centered on a plan, promoted by Sriel, to transfer intelligence information held by the Unit to the computing giant’s servers. According to an internal Microsoft document, which was leaked by The Guardian, Sriel requested the transfer to Microsoft’s cloud of 70% of the unit’s data, including “secret and top secret” data.

The meeting allegedly led to the development of one of the world’s most invasive surveillance systems, which has been employed by Israel to monitor Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. According to documents cited by The Guardian, as of July this year, 11,500 terabytes of Israeli military data—equivalent to 862 billion documents or 195 million hours of audio—were stored on Microsoft Azure public cloud servers in the Netherlands. A smaller portion of the data was stored in Ireland and Israel. Read more of this post

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Russian hacker group using Internet service providers to spy on foreign embassies

August 2, 2025 by 3 Comments

Hacking cyber - JFA HACKER GROUP LINKED to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has compromised Russia’s domestic internet infrastructure and is using it to target foreign diplomats stationed in Russia. According to a report, published last week by Microsoft Threat Intelligence, the hacker group behind this operation is Turla, also known as Snake, Venomous Bear, Group 88, Waterbug, and Secret Blizzard. Analysts have linked the group with “some of the most innovative hacking feats in the history of cyberespionage”.

Turla began its attempt to compromise a host of Russian internet service providers in February, according to Microsoft’s report. The group’s apparent goal has been to gain access to the software that enables Russian security agencies to legally intercept internet traffic, following the issuance of warrants by judges. This software is governed by Russia’s System for Operative Investigative Activities (SORM), which became law in 1995, under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin. All local, state, and federal government agencies in Russia use the SORM system to facilitate court-authorized telecommunications surveillance.

According to Microsoft, targeted Internet users receive an error message prompting them to update their browser’s cryptographic certificate. Consent by the user results in the targeted computer downloading and installing a malware. Termed ApolloShadow by Microsoft, the malware is disguised as a security update from Kaspersky, Russia’s most widely known antivirus software provider. Once installed the malware gives the hackers access to the content of the targeted user’s secure communications.

The Microsoft report states that, although Turla has been involved in prior attacks against diplomatic targets in Russia and abroad, this is the first time that the hacker group has been confirmed to have the capability to attack its targets at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level. In doing so, Turla has been able to incorporate Russia’s domestic telecommunications infrastructure into its attack tool-kit, the report states. The report does not name the diplomatic facilities or the countries whose diplomats have been targeted by Turla hackers. But it warns that all “diplomatic personnel using local [internet service providers] or telecommunications services in Russia are highly likely targets” of the group.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 02 August 2025 | Permalink

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Hackers breach website used by US intelligence community to solicit vendor contracts

July 28, 2025 by 1 Comment

NRO - IAHACKERS HAVE COMPROMISED A website used by the United States Intelligence Community (IC) to solicit sensitive contracts from the private sector, according to a new report. The target of the attack, and the methods used by the hackers, appear to point with a high degree of certainty to a state actor.

The website in question belongs to the Acquisition Research Center (ARC), an initiative of the US government’s Acquisition Center of Excellence. Even though the ARC solicits contracts on behalf of the entire US IC, its public-facing website is maintained by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which last week notified several companies affected by the breach.

The ARC online interface is designed for companies in the private sector who want to register as government vendors in the national security space. Once they register through the ARC system, these companies can pitch a variety of intelligence agencies with a particular technology or idea. Recent projects solicited through the ARC system have involved communications interception systems, artificial intelligence-powered data collection or analysis tools, predictive technologies, signature-reduction systems, or various tools used in physical surveillance.

It is believed that the hackers targeted the unclassified portion of the ARC website, seeking personal information about vendors, as well as proprietary intellectual property. An NRO spokesperson told The Washington Times that the breach was being looked at by federal law enforcement but declined to provide further information about what he described as an “ongoing investigation”.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 28 July 2025 | Permalink

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Senior Mossad veteran discusses recruitment of Iranian assets in rare interview

July 22, 2025 by 2 Comments

Mossad - ABTHE MOSSAD, ISRAEL’S PRIMARY foreign-intelligence agency, played a crucial role in Israel’s most recent attack on Iran. It is clear that, without unique intelligence on key Iranian figures and nuclear sites, much of it gathered by the Mossad, the Israeli Air Force could not have been so precise and deadly against Iranian targets.

It is a rare occasion to hear directly from a senior veteran of the Mossad. Oded Eilam (or Ailam), now 71, served in the Mossad for 24 years. In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Eilam described the strategy that allowed the Israeli intelligence agency to successfully recruit and maintain an “extensive network” of spies inside Iran.

According to Eilam, the key to the Mossad’s success lies in Iran’s complex social structure. “Only 40% of [Iran’s] population of 90 million are Persians,” Eilam said, explaining that the ethnic divide makes it difficult for the Iranian government to control the population. “The [Iranian government’s] surveillance system has huge gaps; you can’t compare it to what the Stasi did in East Germany,” he added.

The former Mossad official explained that various ethnic groups inside Iran, such as Kurds, Turkmen, Baluchis, and Azeris, make up a potential pool for recruiting agents. According to Eilam, the motivation for cooperating with the Mossad is not necessarily support for Israel or financial reward, but often stems from dissatisfaction with the Iranian regime.

“Many people in Iran are unhappy. Large parts of society live in poverty,” explained Eilam. “While Iran has significant gas reserves, instead of investing this money in their country, the clerics have funneled billions into terrorist organizations like Hezbollah,” he added. Another factor that helps Mossad’s activities, according to Eilam, is Iran’s long territorial borders and the difficulty of monitoring them thoroughly. “This makes it possible to smuggle everything into the country,” he noted.

Eilam also emphasized the Mossad’s commitment to safeguarding its assets. “When someone works for us, we take care not only of them but also of their family,” he said, clarifying that the Mossad is dedicated to bringing its spies and their families to safety if needed. Although there are many opportunities to recruit agents in Iran, the Mossad is not in a rush. Eilam highlighted that the organization spends a significant amount of time on the process of selecting and screening candidates. “When we are looking for agents, we don’t just choose someone; we take a lot of time to ensure that the person is suitable.”

“When someone works for us,” the former officer noted, “the importance the Mossad attaches to verifying information. For a target, we do not use information from just one agent, but always multiple sources to be sure that the right person is hit,” said Eilam, also hinting at the extensive vetting processes the organization conducts before operational actions.

Eilam’s interview is a unique source of insight into the espionage operations of the Mossad. It is unclear why it was published—possibly to warn the Iranians to think twice before taking any offensive actions against Israel.

► Author: Dr. Avner Barnea* | Date: 22 July 2025 | Permalink

* Dr. Avner Barnea is a research fellow at the National Security Studies Center of the University of Haifa in Israel. He served as a senior officer in the Israel Security Agency (ISA). He is the author of We Never Expected That: A Comparative Study of Failures in National and Business Intelligence (Lexington Books, 2021).

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Researchers uncover secretive Russian spy unit by studying its commemorative badges

July 21, 2025 by 2 Comments

FSB RussiaA GROUP OF RESEARCHERS in Finland have managed to outline the structure and geographic footprint of a highly secretive Russian signals intelligence (SIGINT) unit by studying commemorative badges issued by the Russian government. The research group, known as CheckFirst, specializes in open-source (OSINT) investigative reporting and works to combat online disinformation.

Earlier this month, CheckFirst published its latest report titled “OSINT & Phaleristics: Unveiling FSB’s 16th  Center SIGINT Capabilities”. The 36-page report focuses on the study of Russian government-issued commemorative badges—also known as challenge coins—relating to Center 16 (16-й Центр). Also known as  Military Unit 71330, Center 16 is a secretive SIGINT unit that houses most of the cyber espionage capabilities of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Challenge coins are custom-made medallions given by military, intelligence, and government agencies to recognize service, commemorate achievements, or build morale. Originating in the United States military during World War I, and popularized during the Vietnam War, challenge coins are routinely exchanged in ceremonies or offered to personnel as tokens of camaraderie and loyalty within a specific unit or mission.

Often regarded as collectors’ items, challenge coins from various agencies are often resold on websites such as eBay, or displayed online on websites maintained by private collectors. CheckFirst researchers tracked down several versions of Center 16 challenge coins found on a variety of publicly available websites, as well as on the websites of Russian challenge coin manufacturers, such as GosZnak, SpetsZnak, or Breget.

Based on this OSINT methodology, CheckFirst researchers were able to identify 10 distinct directorates within Center 16, which specialize on various aspects of defensive and offensive cyber espionage. Previously only a single Center 16 directorate had been identified in the unclassified domain. Moreover, by examining geographic indicators found on several of challenge coins, such as maps or coordinates, CheckFirst researchers were able to partly map out the geographic structure of Center 16, locating nearly a dozen interception facilities throughout Russia.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 21 July 2025 | Permalink

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Austria’s revamped security leadership team tackles challenges

July 18, 2025 by 2 Comments

DSN AustriaTHE CONTROVERSIES THAT CONTINUE to be associated with the Austrian intelligence agencies today took place before December 2021, when the current Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (Direktion Staatsschutz und Nachrichtendienst, or DSN) was founded. Despite this, the DSN under the leadership of its director Omar Haijawi-Pirchner is still regarded as stable and predictable.

The DSN’s Western partner agencies were more than happy that the new governing coalition in Vienna was able to prevent the rightwing populist and generally Putin-friendly Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) from providing the minister of the interior. The fact that the current Interior Minister Gerhard Karner has been joined by an experienced state secretary is a major plus: Jörg Leichtfried, a Social Democrat born in 1967, has been regarded as a liberal European for many years, including eleven years as a member of the European Parliament. He will be responsible for state security and intelligence agencies.

One of Leichtfried’s stated goals has been particularly well received: he has vowed to improve the country’s national infrastructure and intensify its international cooperation. Various other details, such as the future framework conditions for military intelligence agencies, are also on his list. It is certain that the operational work of the DSN will continue to be led by Haijawi-Pirchner. This is reportedly to be improved, with better monitoring of terrorist threats, made possible by the planned extended access to messenger services.

The Austrian intelligence agencies have always been characterized by the personalities of their individua leaders. It is therefore all the more important who the leadership surrounds itself with—especially as the expectations are high, not least due to the threats from Russia and China. The uncertainty regarding Europe’s partners in the United States also means that the European intelligence agencies are urgently dependent on reliable Austrian partners.

As the political-strategic organization will be the responsibility of Leichtfried, two people who work in his immediate environment, and were previously only known to insiders, have come to the fore: the head of the Cabinet, Christian Strnad, and the head of Strategy and Security Policy, Rastislav Bachora. Both previously worked on the security-policy concept of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), the Social Democratic Strategy for Freedom, Protection and Security. Read more of this post

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Opinion: Amidst war with Iran, Netanyahu tries to subjugate Israel Security Agency

June 20, 2025 by 2 Comments

David ZiniTHE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL recently appointed a new acting chief at the Israel Security Agency (ISA, also known as Shabak or Shin Bet). Identified only by their first initial, “S.”, this individual is one of the deputies of the outgoing ISA chief, Ronen Bar, and has reportedly served in the ISA for nearly 30 years. For the first time in ISA’s history, the organization is now being led by someone without a permanent appointment, marking a significant departure from usual practice.

This temporary appointment arises from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on nominating Major General (ret.) David Zini for the position. However, Zini’s nomination has been met with legal challenges. The Supreme Court of Israel has ruled that Netanyahu cannot appoint the chief of the ISA, due to a conflict of interest. This is because the ISA is currently conducting a comprehensive investigation into the connections of Netanyahu’s close advisors with Qatar—a case popularly referred to as Qatargate.

Yet, even amidst Israel’s war with Iran, Netanyahu finds time to advocate for Zini’s appointment as ISA chief, arguing that the ongoing war creates an urgent need for a permanent ISA chief. The matter is once again pending a Supreme Court decision. Nevertheless, it seems that, given the unique circumstances that Israel is currently facing, Zini is likely to be appointed head of the ISA.

It is important to note that Zini lacks experience in intelligence operations. Following the failure of the ISA to provide a warning before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the ISA chief has been expected to have extensive experience in intelligence operations, and to be well-versed in Arab affairs, which are central to ISA’s operations.

The issues surrounding the appointment of Major General Zini are complex. There is concern about the fact that Zini is being nominated personally by the prime minister, who is also requesting that the ISA head relinquish their autonomy and comply with the Prime Minister’s directives. Thus, the ISA could be used as a tool by the Netanyahu administration to advance the prime minister’s own political agenda.

What are the potential immediate risks if Zini is appointed to the role of ISA chief?

  1. Zini will likely respond to Netanyahu’s request and impose secret surveillance on political activists who have long opposed the prime minister. Netanyahu demanded that the former ISA head, Ronen Bar, take similar action. However, Bar refused, asserting that political protest in Israel was legitimate and that political motives, rather than state interests, drove the prime minister’s request.

Read more of this post

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Israeli spy agency set up bases deep inside Iran years before June 13 strike

June 16, 2025 by 8 Comments

Tehran IranTHE MOSSAD, ISRAEL’S PRIMARY external intelligence agency, had set up forward-operating bases deep inside Iranian territory several years prior to last week’s attacks, which targeted Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure. In some cases, Mossad operatives, including commando forces, were operating inside the vicinity of the Iranian capital Tehran for months prior to June 13, according to Israeli media outlets.

June 13 marked the commencement of Operation RISING LION, a joint Mossad/Israel Defense Force (IDF) campaign to decimate Iran’s military leadership, diminish its defense capabilities, and destroy its nuclear infrastructure. The assault, which is ongoing as of today, has been described by the Associated Press as the largest attack suffered by Iran since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.

Reports that emerged in the past 48 hours suggest that the success of the Israeli operation hinged decisively on a network of bases that the Mossad had managed to establish deep inside Iranian territory for quite some time. The bases had been set up by Mossad operatives that, in some cases, had managed to operate inside Iran for years. Additional support was allegedly provided by “special units of Iranian operatives working for Mossad”, according to one report.

The Mossad bases hosted “precision weapons” that had been smuggled in from Isarel over time. These were used to target selected Iranian surface-to-air missile installations shortly prior to the main phase of the attack, which was carried out by over 200 IDF fighter jets. With key Iranian defensive installations destroyed, the IDF fighter jets were able to carry out their missions without obstruction in the early hours of June 13.

Moreover, the Mossad appears to have //penetrated// the battle plans that were to be followed by the Islamic Republic’s senior military leadership during a possible military confrontation with Iran. Therefore, as the IDF attack commenced, Israeli missiles destroyed the top-secret bunker that was used by the leadership of the Artesh (Iran’s conventional military force) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). At least two dozen senior Artesh and IRGC commanders were killed as a result of this intelligence penetration, according to reports.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 16 June 2025 | Permalink

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Leaked counterintelligence document reveals Russian concerns about Chinese spying

June 9, 2025 by 6 Comments

FSB RussiaA LEAKED REPORT AUTHORED by Russia’s primary counterintelligence agency reveals deep concern in national security circles about the intensity of Chinese spying against Russian interests, according to The New York Times. The paper said last week that the leaked report, which was produced by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) between 2023 and 2024, offers “the most detailed behind-the-scenes view” of Russia’s counterintelligence concerns about China.

Following the death of Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, the two communist countries became sworn enemies and nearly went to all-out war against each other. But in recent years Moscow and Beijing put aside their differences, prompted by their mutual desire to challenge the geopolitical supremacy of the United States and bring about a multipolar world. Since 2022, when Moscow resumed its military invasion of Ukraine, Beijing has stood firmly by the Kremlin. China has become the largest importer of Russian energy and has provided the Russian military with much-needed advanced technology. The relationship between the two neighboring nations appears to be deeper than ever before.

But according to a recently leaked report, Russia’s national security establishment is deeply concerned about Chinese efforts to dominate its ally by spying against it. The eight-page report outlines “ENTENTE-4”, a counterintelligence program run by the 7th Service of the FSB’s Department for Counterintelligence Operations. The department is known by its Russian acronym, DKRO. The DKRO’s 7th Service is tasked with counterintelligence planning and operations against Asian countries, with China being its primary target.

According to The Times, the DKRO produced the report sometime between 2023 and 2024. The document appears to have been intended for distribution to the FSB’s field offices across Russia. It was acquired by ARES Leaks, a cyber criminal syndicate, which posted images of the document on the Telegram messenger application. The paper said it shared the leaked document with “six Western intelligence agencies”, all of which assessed it to be genuine. Read more of this post

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Austrian intelligence service report draws international attention over Iran nuke claims

June 2, 2025 by 10 Comments

Direktion Staatsschutz und NachrichtendienstON MAY 26, THE Austrian domestic intelligence service, Direktion Staatsschutz und Nachrichtendienst (DSN) in Vienna officially presented its annual report: the Verfassungschutzbericht (VSB) [Constitution Protection Report].  The document can be downloaded [PDF] via the official homepage of the DSN.

First published in 1997 by the predecessor of the DSN and then titled Staatsschutzbericht [State Protection Report], these reports offer rare official insights into the work of Austria’s domestic intelligence service. While their form and scope have varied over the nearly 30 years of the service’s existence, their aim and structure have roughly stayed the same: the VSB informs the public about the duties of the service, and about recent developments in the fields it is tasked with, monitoring and policing, during the calendar year prior to its publication.

Featured chapters nearly always include political extremism, terrorism, espionage, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, protection of critical infrastructure and, since their emergence, sometimes also cyber threats. Often—thought not always—the reports feature anonymized cases from the year before and specialized essays about certain relevant topics. Traditionally the media and public give most attention to those parts of the report that deal with extremism and terrorism of all kinds inside Austria.

VSB 2024 Receives International Attention

This year, however, several paragraphs in the chapter titled “International Illicit Arms Trade and Proliferation” [“Internationaler Illegaler Waffenhandel und Proliferation”] have drawn international attention. The proliferation section—starting on page 154 of the report—deals with a number of states that can be described as partly or fully antagonistic to “the West”. In addition to Russia, China, Pakistan and North Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran and its activities are described in the chapter. Regarding the Shia theocracy and its nuclear program, the report states (translated by the author with assistance by DeepL):

In order to assert and enforce its political claims to regional power, the Islamic Republic of Iran is striving for comprehensive armament. Nuclear weapons are intended to make the regime untouchable and to expand and consolidate its dominance in the Middle East and beyond. The Iranian program to develop nuclear weapons is well advanced. An arsenal of ballistic missiles is ready to carry nuclear warheads over long distances. [Emphasis added]

All efforts to prevent Iran’s armament with sanctions and agreements have so far proved ineffective. On the contrary: the Islamic Republic of Iran is producing weapons and weapons delivery systems on a large scale—and not just for its own use. [p.158]

Iranian intelligence services are entrusted with the development and implementation of circumvention structures for the procurement of armaments, proliferation-relevant technologies, and materials for weapons of mass destruction. They use front companies and networks inside and outside the Islamic Republic of Iran for this purpose. In particular, the [Islamic] Revolutionary Guards Corps’ widely ramified and difficult to oversee company empire serves proliferation purposes. [p.159]

The report clearly describes a program by Iran to develop nuclear weapons as a fact. It does not only suggest that it might be well advanced, but states this as a given. The report furthermore establishes that transport systems to deploy nuclear weapons—once finalized—are in place and could reach long-distance targets.

Fox News Picks Up VSB 2024

The VSB was picked up by the American media giant Fox News. The network reported on it under the title “Explosive new intelligence report reveals Iran’s nuclear weapons program still active” on May 28. The Fox News report begins by pointing out that “[t]he startling intelligence gathering of Austrian officials contradicts the assessment of the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)”. It goes on to note that “[t]he Austrian intelligence findings could be an unwanted wrench in President [Donald] Trump’s negotiation process to resolve the atomic crisis with Iran’s rulers because the data outlined in the report suggests the regime will not abandon its drive to secure a nuclear weapon.”

Fox News quotes David Albright, a physicist and founder/president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, DC, as saying: “[t]he ODNI report is stuck in the past, a remnant of the fallacious unclassified 2007 NIE [National Intelligence Estimate]. The Austrian report in general is similar to German and British assessments. Both governments, by the way, made clear to [the] US IC [Intelligence Community] in 2007 that they thought the US assessment was wrong that the Iranian nuclear weapons program ended in 2003.”

The Fox News report also states that “[t]he danger of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism [and its illegal atomic weapons program] was cited 99 times in the 211-page report that covers pressing threats to Austria’s democracy.” All in all, Fox News’ reporting paints a picture that the small European state’s intelligence service has information that contradicts the assessment of the much larger American IC and insinuates that the American assessment—and by implication the political approach to dealing with Iran—is wrong. Read more of this post

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Russian spies operated in Portugal using forged Brazilian papers, report claims

May 26, 2025 by 2 Comments

Porto PortugalTWO RUSSIAN SPIES USED forged documents acquired in Brazil in order to live in Portugal for years and use it as a base from where to conduct espionage, according to an investigation by Portuguese counterintelligence. The spies were husband-and-wife team Vladimir Aleksandrovich Danilov and Yekaterina Leonidovna Danilova, both in their 30s. According to The New York Times, they appeared in Portugal in 2018 using the names Manuel Francisco Steinbruck Pereira and Adriana Carolina Costa Silva Pereira.

Portuguese weekly newspaper Sol said on Saturday that Danilov used a Brazilian passport and supplied authorities with documentation showing his father was a Portuguese national. This allowed Danilov to eventually obtain Portuguese citizenship. Although Danilova did not apply for Portuguese citizenship, she was granted permanent residency by the European Union country. These credentials enabled the spies to move freely in the European Union’s 27 member-states without restriction.

In 2022 the Brazilian Federal Police, with the assistance of United States intelligence agencies, launched a lengthy investigation into the activities of several Russian spies who operated in Brazil in recent years. The spies appear to have used concocted Brazilian identities in order to operate around the world undetected. The investigation eventually incorporated counterintelligence services from as many as eight countries, including Portugal, according to Sol.

So far the Portuguese investigation has revealed that the Danilovs conducted a variety of espionage operations in the coastal city of Porto, which is Portugal’s second-largest urban center following the capital Lisbon. Using Porto as an operational base, the couple traveled extensively around the world using their Brazilian and Portuguese passports. Each time they were able to return to their home in Porto “without encountering any issues”, Sol reports. The two spies have vanished and their current whereabouts are unknown.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 26 May 2025 | Permalink

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Israeli Supreme Court dismisses spy chief’s firing as illegal

May 23, 2025 by 4 Comments

Yitzhak AmitEARLIER THIS WEEK THE High Court of Israel delivered its ruling regarding the dismissal of the head of the Israel Security Agency (ISA, more widely known as the Shin Bet), Ronen Bar, who had already announced his intention to leave his position. The court ruled that the Bar’s dismissal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu violated the law and that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest due to the ISA’s ongoing investigation into the “Qatar-Gate” affair.

Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit and Justice Dafna Barak-Erez were in the majority, with Supreme Court Vice President Noam Solberg in the minority. “The government’s decision [to fire Bar] is unprecedented in the history of the State of Israel,” they ruled. The legal advisor to the government, Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, requested that the court issue a verdict of principle regarding the relationship between a prime minister and the ISA. Her request followed an earlier request by government for the court to dismiss the petitions against the dismissal, claiming that they were no longer relevant.

Justice Amit ruled that “Israel’s security agencies, including the ISA, are responsible for maintaining the security of Israel, the security of its citizens, and the institutions of the state and the democratic regime. Their activities, roles, and powers make the security agencies a central component of the country’s governmental and legal foundations. Having been entrusted with the holiest of holies of the state, all heads of the security agencies —including the head of the ISA— owe a duty of loyalty to the public.”

According to Amit, “[t]he loyalty of the heads of the security apparatus is not a party-political loyalty to a particular government or personal loyalty to one or another prime minister. It is loyalty to the entire Israeli public, which has entrusted them with what is most precious: its life and its security. This duty of loyalty does not contradict the duty of the Shin Bet head to fulfill and promote government policy, but rather expresses the core principle of the fundamental commitment of all state authorities to the rule of law.”

Justice Amit added that, although the petitions were dismissed, as the dissenting judge, Justice Solberg, emphasized, there is still a need to create a deterrent against the government so that such cases do not recur. “The matter may repeat itself, and it is necessary to deter similar and inappropriate behavior in the future, in the sense of preempting a disaster,” he stated. “A question of legality or interpretation of a general norm arises.” Read more of this post

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