21st Century Spy Techniques Revealed?

And are they using Bluetooth to pass docs?Looking at the picture, it looks like a Pocket PC type of a device, along with some type of generator, battery or other power supply.

From the Associated Press article here.

Moscow

Russia’s main intelligence agency on Monday accused four British diplomats of spyingusing electronic equipment hidden inside a fake rock in a park as well as funneling funds to non-governmental organizations.

The announcement came a day after state television channel Rossiya broadcast footage purportedly showing four British Embassy staff using electronic equipment concealed in the rock in Moscow to receive intelligence from Russian agents.

Sergei Ignatchenko, a spokesman for the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said the situation would be resolved “at a political level,” the RIA-Novosti news agency reported, an apparent indication that the Russian government could expel the diplomats.

The intelligence agency also said a Russian citizen who allegedly had contacts with British agents had been detained and confessed to espionage, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.

Rossiya said the diplomats had downloaded information onto handheld computers from the electronic gadget hidden in the rock, a process that worked at a distance of up to 65 feet and took only one or two seconds.

In 1996, Russia and Britain engaged in a spying dispute launched by Moscow, each expelling four diplomats.

Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the magazine Russia in Global Affairs, predicted the spy scandal would increase tensions between Moscow and the West as Russia chairs the Group of Eight this year.

Except for the fact that the Brits messed up by using a portable plastic rock, the idea was pretty cool. Instead of using a dead drop to pass spy information on paper, they used a hidden storage device that was connected to wireless technology to pass the information. This could be done with bluetooth or even standard wireless technology, but it was likely something similar that does not give off its signal in a noisy manner, like announcing its SSID or Bluetooth services. But Bluetooth typically has a range of about 65 to 100 feet, depending on the signal strength. The information exchange could have been as easy as synchronizing your Palm, and it could be done as you walked down the city street.

As far as the spying itself, well, the Cold War may be over, but the business of information gathering goes on. The four diplomats are lucky to only be expelled. If this were the 1980’s, the diplomats would likely face a firing squad.

On an unrelated fun note, I just started reading Clancy’s Teeth of the Tiger, which is about Jack Ryan Jr. getting into the spy business. So far its a real page turner, and it really dovetails into current events regarding the Bush Wiretapping uproar. i got it for 5 bucks in hardback at the local bookstore, but Amazon has it for about $7.50.