February 2025 Digest
Contents:
- Events
- Conferences
- Call for Papers
- Recent Publications
- Podcasts
Events:
A European View on Intelligence Cooperation
3 February 2025
LBJ School of Public Affairs, Austin, TX
On Monday, February 3, 2025, the Strauss-Clements Intelligence Studies Project will host a public talk, “A European View on Intelligence Cooperation,” with Dr. Eric Mechoulan, former senior official with the French Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence (DCRI – Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur) and General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI – Direction générale de la sécurité intérieure). Dr. Mechoulan will discuss European intelligence cooperation and sharing and provide an overview of the French intelligence apparatus.
More details here.
Book Lecture: The Russian FSB
5 February 2025
The Institute of World Politics, Washington D.C.
Since its founding in 1995, the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service, has regained most the domestic security functions of the Soviet-era KGB. Under Vladimir Putin, who served as FSB director just before becoming president, the agency has grown to be one of the most powerful and favoured organizations in Russia. The FSB not only conducts internal security but also has primacy in intelligence operations in former Soviet states. Their activities include anti-dissident operations at home and abroad, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, criminal investigations of crimes against the state, and guarding Russia’s borders. In The Russian FSB, Kevin P. Riehle provides a brief history of the FSB’s origins, placed within the context of Russian history, the government’s power structure, and Russia’s wider culture. He describes how the FSB’s mindset and priorities show continuities from the tsarist regimes and the Soviet era. The book’s chapters analyse origins, organizational structure, missions, leaders, international partners, and cultural representations such as the FSB in film and television.
More details here.
David Lindorff: ‘Spy for No Country: The Story of Ted Hall, the Teenage Atomic Spy Who May Have Saved the World’
7 February 2025
Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, online
Ted Hall was a most unusual spy. Only 18 when he arrived at Los Alamos, selected as the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project bomb program as Harvard Junior physics major, he was put to work on the plutonium bomb’s implosion detonation design. Within months Hall has concluded the Germans were never going to get the bomb, and fearing a world where the US would have a nuclear monopoly, he decided to prevent its use by sharing what he knew with the Soviets. Amazingly, though he was possibly the most important atomic spy and was identified to the FBI in early April 1950, he was never prosecuted.
Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter for 50 years, holds a journalism master's from Columbia University and a BA in Chinese from Wesleyan University. He authored Spy for No Country, produced the documentary A Compassionate Spy, and is currently at Clare Hall in Cambridge updating the book's paperback edition.
More details here.
The GDR in the eyes of the BND: Intelligence Knowledge in the Second Half of the Cold War, 1968-1990
11 February 2025
Stasi Headquarters, Berlin and online
During the Cold War, the GDR was the most important "target country" for the Federal Intelligence Service's intelligence efforts. Nevertheless, the role of the BND in the German-German system competition has so far been largely unexplored - this is especially true for the 1970s and 1980s. Based on previously ignored and newly accessible sources, the dissertation project presented here attempts to access the history of West German intelligence services. The study focuses on the processing and dissemination of secret intelligence knowledge about the state and society of the GDR by the political evaluation department of the BND. The informational and ideological basis on which the BND 's GDR reports were based is just as interesting as the concrete practices of knowledge production that shaped their circulation and reception in the political centres of the Bonn Republic. The focus is on the question of what role secret espionage knowledge about the GDR played in the direction of Germany policy in the phase from the beginning of the New Eastern Policy to the completion of German unity. *This discussion will be conducted in German.
More details here.
75 Years of the MfS: Testimonies from a Disappeared Secret Service
11 February 2025
German Spy Museum, Berlin
One of the most successful and feared secret services, the Ministry for State Security (MfS) of the GDR, celebrates its 75th anniversary on February 8, 2025. This is reason enough to look at 40 years of secret service work with high-ranking representatives of the MfS, the Foreign Intelligence Service (HVA), as well as the Federal Intelligence Service (BND). The MfS was the "shield and sword" of the SED government, and the instrument for determining social moods, taking repressive action against "hostile-negative" citizens, combating "political-ideological diversion" and spying in the West. Other major areas of responsibility included industrial espionage, sabotage, and counterespionage. With over 91,000 full-time official employees and 189,000 unofficial employees, the MfS is the only secret service in German history that has been comprehensively uncovered and investigated. However, the MfS fell far short of its own claims of having been an omnipresent state security agency. *This discussion will be conducted in German.
More details here.
GRU – The Most Secret Military Intelligence Service in the World
13 February 2025
German Spy Museum, Berlin
The GRU, only became known in the West because of the occupation of Crimea in 2014 by the so-called "little green men”. There was also the spectacular poison attack on former GRU colonel Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018. The Russian military intelligence service is known today for still relying heavily on human sources despite all the high technology. It was recently revealed that the Chief of General Staff of the Republic of Moldova was apparently a GRU agent. But the GRU also recently attacked the servers of the SPD and German IT and defense companies in cyberspace. The GRU is one of the most effective and secret intelligence services in the world.
This book, published in 2024, is the first to examine the history of the GRU from its founding in 1918 to the present day. Historian Matthias Uhl was able to draw on previously secret documents from the GRU's legendary archive. He sheds light on espionage operations during the Cold War and in today's Russia - up to assassinations in Western Europe and the GRU's deployment in the Ukraine war. *This book discussion will be conducted in German.
More details here.
Mark Hennessy, on Intelligence and Political Violence in Contemporary Northern Ireland
14 February 2025
Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, Cambridge and online
Mark Hennessy is an Irish journalist who has served as the News Editor for The Irish Times, one of Ireland's leading newspapers. Throughout his career, he has held various positions within the publication, including London Editor and Political Correspondent, covering significant political events and developments. Hennessy is known for his in-depth reporting and analysis of Irish and international affairs. Additionally, he has been involved in the Common Ground Initiative, which aims to foster dialogue and understanding on pressing societal issues.
More details here.
The Vienna Spy Circle: Major Espionage Cases under Scrutiny
20 February 2025
German Spy Museum, Berlin
The historian Thomas Riegler published the first source-based overview of the Austrian intelligence services since 1945. He published explosive cases in Austria such as "Days of Terror: The OPEC Hostage-Taking of 1975 and the Beginnings of Modern Terrorism" (2015). Now Riegler presents new findings from German, Austrian and British archives in "The Vienna Spy Circle". This spy circle layed the groundwork for one of the biggest espionage scandals of the Cold War. One of the protagonists, Arnold Deutsch, is still considered to be the most industrious spy leader of all time. He recruited a total of 20 agents in London between 1934 and 1937. Among them was the most important double agent of the Cold War, Kim Philby. Also in this circle was Peter Smolka, who provided the author Graham Greene with important inspiration for The Third Man.
Riegler's book closes a gap in the contemporary historical examination of major espionage cases and shows how seemingly well-known cases can take on a new dimension and significance through archival research. *This book discussion will be conducted in German.
More details here.
Russian Hybrid Warfare in Central Europe and the Danger it Poses
20 February 2025
The Institute of World Politics, Washington D.C.
What is hybrid warfare? How does one identify and read unconventional attacks by autocratic regimes? Dr. Ivana Stradner will address these and related questions, providing insights into the various tools and techniques used by the Russian Federation against NATO countries and beyond. She will draw on her experience and research on Russian activities in Central Europe and the Balkans.
More details here.
The Heavy Water Sabotage Raid
27 February 2025
International Spy Museum, Washington D.C. and online
Join us for an intense exploration of Operation Gunnerside on the 82nd anniversary of the mission. One of the Allies’ most dramatic sabotage missions of WWII, Gunnerside was a daring plan to derail the Nazis’ scheme to build an atomic bomb. A key component of their bomb recipe was heavy water—deuterium oxide. When Germany occupied Norway, the remote Vemork Norsk Hydro plant, which produced heavy water, came under Nazi control. The Allies, desperate to prevent a nuclear-armed Germany, devised the daring Operation Gunnerside to disable the plant.
Retired US Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel Mitch Utterback was drawn to the famous World War II sabotage mission and recently retraced the ski tracks of the Heroes of Telemark. In 2023, for the 80th anniversary, Utterback and a team of 11 other military veterans recreated the perilous journey that the saboteurs took across the Vidda. Their expedition was captured in the short documentary film Hardangerfolk which brings the danger and intensity of the mission to life. Utterback’s background in special forces and his experience of the conditions that the saboteurs endured has given him a unique perspective on this epic mission which the Spy Museum features in our Covert Action gallery.
More details here.
Conferences:
Society for Intelligence History Conference
6 – 8 February 2025
International Spy Museum, Washington, D.C.
The Society for Intelligence History (SIH) will be pleased to welcome you to our fourth conference, which will be held at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., February 6-8, 2025. The annual conference provides a setting for exchange between intelligence scholars, practitioners, and students from around the world. Join us for two full days of expert panels, two blockbuster keynote lunch panels, and opportunities to meet other scholars and publishers. Registration fee includes admission to all panels and SIH-sponsored program events at the International Spy Museum venue with simple refreshments provided during breaks and keynote lunches.
More details here.
Defense and Intelligence Space Conference
10-12 February 2025
Hyatt Regency Reston, Reston VA (Unclassified)
The Aerospace Corporation and Peraton, Chantilly, VA (TS/SI-TK/NF)
The Defense and Intelligence Space Conference (DISC) is the premier event uniting government and industry professionals across the national security space enterprise to foster productive, solutions-focused dialogue in an effort to improve U.S. and allied national security space strength and posture. The 4th annual Defense and Intelligence Space Conference will take place February 10-12, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Reston, and surrounding area classified facilities.
The DISC25 theme: “Accelerate or Lose: Tactically Relevant Acquisition and Operational Timelines” will drive conversations throughout the conference. The NSSA Defense and Intelligence Space Conference will focus exclusively on national security space, both Title 10 and Title 50, providing a platform for key leaders and architects of space infrastructure to share their expertise. With a series of insightful and impactful presentations, as well as relaxed networking opportunities, the conference will emphasize the importance of collaboration and integration across both government and industry—critical elements in addressing the evolving threats to the national security space enterprise.
More details here.
AFCEA – Spring Intelligence Symposium
1-2 April 2025
Springfield, VA
AFCEA's Spring Intelligence Symposium returns to the NGA Campus East in Springfield, VA on April 1-2, 2025. This classified TS//SI/TK//NOFORN two-day flagship intelligence event is a forum for Intelligence Community (IC) professionals is an ideal venue for networking, professional development and learning about the nation’s hardest intelligence challenges. Our discussions will be informed by an Intelligence Community assessment of this environment and the capabilities needed to inform policy and operations within it. These insights will be deepened by consideration of lessons being learned as the United States confronts these dynamic threat vectors both collectively and individually. Through these discussions, symposium participants will gain a more informed perspective on evolving intelligence requirements and the opportunities for partnerships to address them. Additionally, the program will feature the presentation of the Charlie Allen Award for Distinguished Intelligence Service and the 2nd annual award for Excellence in Defence Scientific & Technical Intelligence.
More details here.
Call for Papers:
The Journal of European and American Intelligence Studies (JEAIS)
Abstracts Due: 24 February 2025
Papers Due: 14 April 2025
The Journal of European and American Intelligence Studies (JEAIS) is seeking papers focusing on the field of intelligence and related areas of study and practice, such as terrorism and counterterrorism, domestic and international security, geopolitics, and international relations. The papers should contain or examine original research on the broader European and American practice and study of intelligence, but also highlight intelligence themes from other regions of the world, to include Africa and Asia, as well as Oceania. Submissions will undergo rigorous and highly selective screening, as well as an exhaustive review process. Particular attention will paid by the editors to papers that discuss, and challenge established or emerging ideas, address existent knowledge gaps by advancing new knowledge on intelligence-related topics, and examine intelligence scholarship beyond traditional communities of research.
Relevant Topics Include:
- international intelligence cooperation
- intelligence operations
- intelligence analysis
- interagency cooperation
- practitioner-policymaker relations
- military intelligence
- politicization of intelligence
- counterintelligence
- intelligence and sub-state violence
- intelligence, race, and gender
- intelligence and privacy
- intelligence and democracy
- intelligence ethics
Abstracts of up to 250 words may be submitted to: secretary@rieas.gr and christian.kaunert@southwales.ac.uk
More details here.
Recent Publications:
Yaacov Falkov, "Instructive, valuable and useful: Soviet Intelligence Learns from German World War I experience in HUMINT," Journal of Intelligence History
https://doi.org/10.1080/16161262.2025.2450582
Adrian Wolfberg, "Facing Dilemmas: How Intelligence Analysts Navigate Emotional, Cognitive, and Structural Challenges," Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism
https://doi.org/10.1080/18335330.2025.2452841
Weissmann, Mikael, "Future Threat Landscapes: The Impact on Intelligence and Security Services," Security and Defence Quarterly
DOI: https://doi.org/10.35467/sdq/197248
Spies in European Culture, 1815-1914
Podcasts:
Intelligence Matters: The Relaunch
Strategic Frontlines: Gen. Frank McKenzie
‘Flip the Script’
True Spies
The Nuclear Superhighway
Spying on the Reich
SpyCast
How will President Trump handle Intelligence in his second term?
NIU Intelligence Jumpstart
Neurodivergence in National Security