Botched CIA Communications System Helped Blow Cover of Chinese Agents

It was considered one of the CIA’s worst failures in decades: Over a two-year period starting in late 2010, Chinese authorities systematically dismantled the agency’s network of agents across the country, executing dozens of suspected U.S. spies. …

When CIA officers begin working with a new source, they often use an interim covert communications system—in case the person turns out to be a double agent. …

This interim, or “throwaway,” system, an encrypted digital program, allows for remote communication between an intelligence officer and a source, but it is also separated from the main communications system used with vetted sources, reducing the risk if an asset goes bad. …

In the words of one of the former officials, the CIA had “fucked up the firewall” …

—Zach Dorfman, Foreign Policy[^1]