The arrest of an alleged network of Russian spies provides new evidence that the era of Cold War espionage never completely ended, exposing what U.S. intelligence experts called Moscow’s ongoing commitment to aggressive espionage operations, as well its fondness for spycraft techniques that haven’t advanced since the KGB was dissolved, reports the Washington Post.
Intelligence experts marveled at the odd mix of targets and methods in the alleged operation, which involved secret documents embedded in Web sites and high-tech transmissions between laptops as well as buried stashes of money, “brush passes” on sidewalks, and messages written in invisible ink. “It just struck me as a throwback to the Cold War at a time when the Russians and the United States have so many forward-looking kinds of issues,” said Frederick Hitz, former CIA inspector general. Court records portray the 11 suspects as plants sent to the U.S. more than a decade ago to blend into American society and pursue information on topics ranging from leadership changes at the CIA to developments in nuclear science.