Spies Like Us.

I posted last week about the possible KGB sleepers that have been found in the USA. Rather convenient timing given that the USA/Russia relationship is at an all-time low. 

The weird thing is the Sunspot Solar Observatory FBI raid from 2018 is getting prominent coverage again for some reason. 

The cover story for that raid and the subsequent arrest of the janitor was child pornography, but that doesn't usually entail swarms of FBI agents, cars helicopters etc. 

I think the janitor was actually involved in espionage as the observatory is within radio range of the white Sands missile range. It's also close to Holloman AFB where they fly drones from. From the old FQ-4 target drones (converted from F-4 Phantom Jets) to the latest MQ-9 Reaper. 

Ripe for signals intelligence gathering. Either to intercept the signals they use to control the target drones, or to intercept other less obvious signals intelligence.

The 96th Test Group is located at Holloman, which test amongst other things aircraft protection systems. I assume that includes radar jammers as well as other things like IR spoofers. But the radio signals from a radar jammer could be intercepted at Sunspot Observatory.

My theory (call it conspiracy if you will) is that the janitor was a spy. The Chinese put great stock in HUMINT (human intelligence) and the West is stupid enough to let Chinese nationals into the country unobserved to carry out other forms of intelligence gathering like SIGINT (Signals Intelligence).

The cover story is that the janitor was involved in Child Pornography and there is a further story about laptops in various rooms being left open with CP on the screen. Now strike me sceptical, but anyone involved in CP would know it's illegal and cover their tracks. 

However, a clever sting by the FBI could insert the CP onto said laptops for some hapless solar scientist to find which would then incriminate the janitor and initiate the FBI raid. Which seemed a bit heavy-handed for someone accessing child porn on a computer. 

But not heavy-handed for someone involved in espionage who had received classified signals from the nearby White Sands missile range of the Holloman AFB drone program. Who then put the data onto a memory card and put it in the post (hence why the post office at the observatory was searched). 

I'm sure there will be more sleepers, spies and agents revealed as the cold war hots up and the posturing increases.