OSINT Field Station Vienna

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Ten years ago, an alleged „NSA villa“ on the outskirts of Vienna caused much speculation about the secret work of the Americans in the building. In fact, the #CIA field station was an important location for OSINT operations 1/7 In 1970, the US embassy in Vienna acquired a villa on Pötzleinsdorfer Straße 126. Equipped with advanced radio reception systems (with #NSA assistance), the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) began its operations there 2/7

Russia is conducting active spy operations on the European continent. At various levels and with many means. This is shown in a recent report by @RadioTeleSuisse @SRF on the espionage activities of the Russian mission in Geneva in Switzerland. But there's more 1/5 Discone antennas are installed on the roof of the Russian mission. They are used for local communication with members of the mission, but also specifically for counterintel. The discone antenna is used by intel services worldwide because of its wide bandwidth characteristics 2/5

One of Munich's most famous landmarks is Karlsplatz/Stachus. During the Cold War, it was a centre of intelligence services. Nowhere else in the city was the density of espionage as high as there. Even a #KGB murder plot took place there. Here is an overview 👇1/8 1. #OrganisationGehlen (Org.) cover firm Gloria Film Verleih GmbH at Karlsplatz 7. For years, the cinema and film distribution company serves as a cover for operations and staff. The cinema Gloria Palast at Stachus still exists today 2/8

Beijing's ears in Munich
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The interception of enemy communications is an important element of China's espionage techniques. In recent years, Beijing has invested a lot of money in new #SIGINT stations around the world. China's ears are also growing in Europe 1/14 Almost 10 years ago, China opened a new Consulate General in Munich, Hofmannstraße 57. The largest of its kind in Europe. The equipment on the roof has also been expanded over the last 5 years. Security experts suspect #SIGINT activities behind this and more 2/14

Horst Schwirkmann died a year ago today. He was a long-time #Bundesnachrichtendienst staff member and an expert in radio defence (Funkabwehr). An absolute master of his trade. To this day he is the only officially known victim of a Soviet poison gas attack on a #BND employee 1/8 He survived but his recovery was long and painful. Moscow 1963, the West German embassy was extensively bugged by the #KGB. At the time Horst Schwirkmann was an electronics specialist at the #BND's Central Cipher Centre - Zentralstelle für das Chiffrierwesen (ZfCh) in Bonn 2/8

The SIGINT water tower
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An inconspicuous water tower in the direct vicinity of the Soviet embassy in Bonn plays an important role in the #ColdWar. It was a secret listening post for years. Radio signals from the embassy were intercepted here 1/7 In 1975, the Soviet embassy moves to Viktorshöhe in Bonn. A new building is quickly erected on the site. USSR technicians rapidly expand the #SIGINT capacities on the buildings. The location on the hill is ideal for interception operations 2/7

The current espionage case in the #Bundesnachrichtendienst shakes the NATO intelligence community. There could hardly be a worse time than now. The alleged spy is said to be a senior staff member from the top-secret #BND SIGINT division 1/9 The person works there in the evaluation department, according to media reports. On European soil, the #BND is one of the big players with its #SIGINT capacities. He is an important intelligence tool in the work against Russia in the Ukraine war 2/9

Moscow's ears in Belgium
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#NATO headquarters, EU Commission and centre of important lobbying organisations. Brussels is a strategically important target for Russian espionage. But Moscow's embassy and two cultural facilities have another mission 1/7 The Russian Embassy in the Uccle district in Brussels is large. There are many buildings on the premises. The roof of a residential building and the main building are particularly eye-catching. 17 satellite dishes (red), different antennas (green) and 5 #sigint sheds (yellow) 2/7

Moscow's ears in Germany

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Germany is an important spy target for Moscow. Russia also uses the country as a base for satellite espionage - the platform for this are diplomatic missions and a cultural centre. There are a few interesting details 1/12 Russian #SIGINT activities in Germany have increased significantly in the last decade. In the middle of Berlin, on the edge of the government district, surrounded by government administration buildings, lies the Russian Embassy 2/12

Russian cultural institutions raise eyebrows in Western counterintelligence. Not without reason. They are seen as a gateway for #SVR #GRU and #FSB. The A.S. Pouchkine Cultural Centre 32, rue Goethe in Luxembourg is also suspected of espionage. A few interesting details 1/10

https://twitter.com/wort_lu/status/1585215535121309696

In an undated interview, former Rossotrudnichestvo official Tatiana Poloskova criticises the cultural institution's involvement with intelligence services. Poloskova is a political analyst and state advisor of the Russian Federation. She knows Putin's power apparatus 2/10

Stasi Field Station „Park“
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A square functional building on the outskirts of the old capital Bonn in West Germany. The #Stasi operated a #SIGINT base here, disguised as the GDR's diplomatic permanent representation in Bonn 1/6 The full scale of GDR espionage in West Germany only became known after the fall of the Wall. An important #Stasi spy station was located in Bonn at Godesberger Allee 18. The "Ständige Vertretung" (StäV) of the GDR - a kind of embassy. Active 1974 to 1990. Code name "Park" 2/6

Hunt for diplomatic pouch
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The @tageblatt_lu has a story about a plane crash 40 years ago in Luxembourg. One important detail is missing: the interest Western intel services in the wreckage of the Aeroflot Flight 343. 1/7 tageblatt.lu/headlines/sieb… 7 passengers die in Luxembourg on 29 September 1982 when an Aeroflot IL-62M aircraft fails to land. The plane from Moscow was en route to Ireland, Cuba, Nicaragua and Peru via Luxembourg. In the luggage of the plane there is a lot of diplomatic pouches for the destinations 2/7

Moscow's ears in Paris
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The French capital has been an important refuge for Russians for decades. Once again, Moscow has invested heavily in espionage know-how. Even the German counter-intelligence was confronted with it. A closer look 1/6 The largest Russian Orthodox cultural centre in Western Europe opened in Paris in October 2016. In November 2016, @LeTemps ran the headline: "In Paris, Russian espionage under domes“ 2/6 letemps.ch/monde/paris-le…

Moscow's ears in Vienna
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A look into the enclave "Little Russia" Erzherzog Karl Straße in Donaustadt shows some interesting details. Since 1979, the compound has been seen as a centre of Soviet/Russian espionage 1/6 Of particular interest is the round building on the site. It is the tallest structure with an open all-round view. A perfect place for a covert #SIGINT collection point. Which it probably is. Current (2020) Google Earth images show 12 satellite dishes in various sizes 2/6

The Stasi bunker in Bavaria
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Unnoticed by Western intelligence services, the Stasi established a secret "Stay Behind" network in West Germany. A piece of #ColdWarHistory that has been forgotten 1/12 The "Haus am Berg" with the address Geitau 21 was a holiday guesthouse with a view of the Alps. Geitau, a tourist spot between Schliersee and Bayrischzell. But the lonely house on the mountainside had another function. It served as a secret commando bunker for the #Stasi 2/12

US spy pub in Hamburg
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Most people know the #Reeperbahn in Hamburg only at night. Numerous bars hide a lot of bizarre stories. A pub served as an important spy place against Poland for a U.S. intelligence agency. The pub even operated to the service 1/7 Hamburg's St. Pauli district attracts many figures - tourists, homeless people, love-seekers and sailors. And it is precisely these that various Western intelligence services are targeting during the Cold War. 2/7

Small service - big tasks
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Luxembourg played an active role in the Cold War. For the Soviet bloc it was an important gateway for intelligence operations. The State Intelligence Service #SRE is unable to cope with its tasks. Assistance comes from abroad 1/13 Under Soviet pressure exerted since the late 1960's, Luxembourg agreed to sign an air traffic memorandum with the USSR in 1974 and a formal agreement in 1975. Shortly afterwards #Aeroflot opens a travel agency in Luxembourg city 2/13

It was not only the US that helped #Aut to build up its signing capacities. #BND know-how was/is in great demand. The #Bundesnachrichtendienst was/is dependent on Austria for information gathering in the Balkan region 1/7

https://twitter.com/thomas_riegler/status/1313571680015519745

Between 1960 and 1980, the #BND was highly supportive of radio reconnaissance in particular. The espionage was of course also aimed at the Soviet presence in Austria 2/7

The fear of the lover from the East
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The #Stasi/#KGB used so-called Romeos on female secretaries in West Germany with great success. Women were particularly targeted in ministries and the security apparatus 1/5 Especially in the 1970s there were a number of East lovers in West German beds who had been busted. In 1979, six "spies for love" were discovered within a few weeks. All of them were either married or permanently involved with full-time Stasi or KGB staffers 2/5

The early BND machine records program
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At the beginning of 1960s, the #BND submerged in a flood of data. With the help of the #CIA, the BND wanted to make the technical leap. The main objective: The automation of #sigint, #humint and #osint data handling 1/6 A CIA report (1965) states: ‚CADITE (BND) has an archaic index card and file system which involves some 1,5 million index cards which lead to dossiers filed in country sections and subfiled by intelligence service. There is no document control‘ 2/6