26 Time April 6–13, 2020TheVi ewOn a recenT day in a fOreign capiTal, an
American spy was faced with an unexpected
dilemma: how to cancel a clandestine meeting
with a promising new recruit. People were not
leaving their homes, so the crowded shops, bars ,
buses and parks that usually provided good cover
were empty. There was no longer a place to meet
without arousing suspicion.
As the coronavirus pandemic exacts its im-
measurable toll on people’s lives across the
world, it also poses a problem for the U.S. intel-
ligence collection that relies on human contact to
track adversaries and secure communications to
handle classified information. “It’s hard enough
to maintain your cover in a crowded city,” says
a U.S. intelligence officer, who spoke on condi-
tion of anonymity. With an increasing number of
cities on lockdown, “it’s even harder to avoid at-
tracting attention on an empty street,” the officer
adds. “You can’t just pick up the phone or send
a text.”
Espionage was already getting trickier be-
fore the pandemic hit. Some of the trade craft
fa miliar to readers of spy novels or fans of
The Americans— “dead drops,” in which sensi-
tive material is left in predetermined locations;
“brush passes,” in which information is ex-
changed by people bumping into one another;
makeup; wigs; changes of clothing and cars—
have been complicated in recent years by surveil-
lance cameras, facial recognition and artificial
intelligence. To adapt, U.S. spies have developed
new methods, but now coronavirus is compro-
mising some of those too, they say.
As intelligence officers adapt to their new
environment, Washington agencies tasked with
warning o f g lobal threats like COVID-19 are im-
provising a s well. The government has invested
in spy satellites and other technologies to watch,
listen a nd c ollect information from sources
around the world. But technology alone “fails to
reveal what’s in the hearts and minds o f a dver-
saries a nd strategic rivals,” says former CIA o f-
ficer Douglas London. “ Only h uman intelligence
provides a n u nders tanding o f h ow the informa-
tion was a cquired a nd the agent’s motivation for
sharing it.” Acquiring HUMINT, as it’s known in
the b usiness, is exactly what the coronavirus is
making more d ifficult.
While the front lines of American espio-
nage are taking the hardest hit, the headquar-
ters of the CIA and the Office of the Director ofINTELLIGENCE
Even spies now
work from home
By John WalcottNational Intelligence (ODNI) in the Virginia
suburbs of Washington haven’t been spared
from the pandemic’s impact as they, like much
of the American workforce, shift to operating
remotely. ODNI, which oversees all 17 U.S. in-
telligence agencies, is adjusting to COVID-1 9
by reducing staff contact through measures in-
cluding “staggered shifts, flexible schedules and
social-distancing practices” while “continu-
ing to meet mission requirements,” an ODNI
spokesperson says.But working-level intelligence officers
in multiple agencies said several of those agencies
were ill-prepared to follow those guidelines, de-
spite having warned the government of the dan-
gers of a possible viral pandemic for years.
Spies working from home still need to pro-
tect classified information, especially as China,
Russia, Iran, North Korea and others improve
their hacking skills. Some conversations can be
held on encrypted cell phones, but the secret
networks the agencies use to exchange classified
information are too expensive to install in most
homes. Any intel that is classified “top secret”
can be discussed only in special rooms scattered
around government agencies, office buildings,
military bases, embassies and other locations.
Officials continue to gather in them despite
the pandemic.
“I suppose you could call it ironic,” a third
U.S. official says with a shrug. “But the institu-
tions that are charged with preparing the coun-
try for possible threats were poorly prepared for
this one.” □SPIES: MARK WILSON—GETTY IMAGES; EBOLA: DANIEL BEREHULAK—THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX
‘It’s hard
enough to
maintain your
cover in a
crowded city.’
U.S. I NTELLIGENCE
OFFICERVESSAYS.indd 26 3/25/20 4:25 PM