CIA Spy Techniques: The Shoelace Code and Other Secret Spy Techniques

Imagine you are an undercover spy and you have to convey a message to an

other

spy without saying a word. Without telepathy, how is it possible to transmit a

secret

message without anyone noticing? Well, what about your

shoelace

s? Hello and welcome to The Infographics Show. Today we will look at the Shoelace Code and

other

secret

techniques

used by the CIA. During the height of the Cold War, the world teetered on the brink of nuclear annihilation as the Soviet Union and its Soviet bloc allies prepared for war against the United States and NATO. Each side knew that, in the event of war, every possible advantage would have to be taken to try to avoid total destruction, and thus began the golden age of espionage.

However, for undercover spies it was vital to be able to communicate with their handlers or other spies without being detected, since a good spy assumes that they are, and probably were, under 24/7 surveillance. As often happens in the world of espionage, one of the most effective

techniques

for clandestine communication turned out to be one of the most effective. The agents were taught to "read" hidden messages written, precisely, with a person's

shoelace

s. While an official lexicon was never created so that if a spy was caught the entire system could not be deciphered, agents were instead taught different ways to tie their shoes or thread laces through eyelets. of the shoe so that they could communicate pre-established messages.

Thus, the spies would find their own meanings for different combinations of laces, leaving the message completely secret except for the two spies communicating. Some examples of possible messages included: "I brought someone with me," "I'm being followed," or "I have information." Although the CIA maintains secrecy about specific operations, it is known that the Shoelace Code was used extensively in its operations around the world throughout the Cold War, and the Soviets never realized it. Government bureaucracy is notoriously slow and always seems out of step with the modern world; However, the CIA proves time and time again that it is always at the forefront of new technologies and trends.

In 2017, Wikileaks published a trove of secret CIA documents provided to them by a leaker. A new form of secret CIA

code

appeared in the midst of the leaked documents: emojis. Taking advantage of their popularity around the world, the CIA has apparently adopted a complex system of emojis to create entire covert sentences, the meaning of which is only apparent to someone who understands the secret

code

. As an adapted form of a Vigenère cipher, a secret code developed more than 500 years ago, each emoji represents a specific word or letter, but the meaning of an individual emoji can be changed depending on which other emojis appear in front of or behind it.

So, for example, a smiling face can mean "you", but a smiling face in front of an angry face can change the meaning to "I". Therefore, entire messages can be written and even if the enemy discovers some of the encryption, they still won't be able to decipher the message accurately without understanding how each individual emoji changes the meaning of those next to it. We've all seen James Bond movies, so what happens when the time for words runs out and it's time for action? To that end, CIA agents have had a host of tools at their disposal to incapacitate or kill.

In the 1970s, US President Gerald Ford issued an executive order prohibiting political assassinations by the CIA or other clandestine agencies. However, until then, any politically dangerous individual was easy prey. However, when the Cold War began, the United States realized that it was far behind in sophisticated covert assassination techniques against its Soviet adversaries. When Nikita Khrushchev came to power after Stalin's death in the 1950s, one of his first orders was the assassination of Ukrainian nationalist Georgi Okolovich, the leader of a Russian anti-communist group. However, after a conversation with his wife, Okolovich's would-be killer, KGB officer Nikolai Khokhlov, defected to the US, where he revealed the tool that was to be used in the assassination: a stun gun and a silencer hidden inside a cigarette pack and loaded with cyanide-tipped bullets.

However, although Okolovich was saved, other Ukrainian leaders were successfully assassinated by another KGB officer, Bogdan Stashinsky, who after defecting to the United States in 1961, revealed that he had killed both men with a cyanide gas gun hidden in a rolled up newspaper. The CIA recovered the gun that Stashinsky had abandoned in a river channel after his last assassination and began accelerating the development of its own covert weapons. The United States would develop the Nondiscernible Bioinoculator, a modified .45-caliber pistol equipped with a telescopic sight that fired a toxin-tipped dart silently and accurately up to 250 feet. While the weapon was not as easily concealed as its Soviet counterparts, the dart that delivered the deadly poison was barely wider than a human hair and almost completely undetectable during an autopsy.

However, for stealthier, close-range assassinations, the CIA developed the STINGER, a small, single-shot .22 caliber weapon hidden inside a toothpaste tube. But what happens when it is necessary to carry out a murder in such a way that the murderer has time to escape? To do this, the CIA proved incredibly resourceful, developing slow-acting but deadly poisons made from shellfish toxins, cobra venom, botulinum bacteria, and crocodile bile, all of which would be sprayed on things as innocent as a tissue. While it is impossible to know how many times they were used in the field, it is known that one such attempt was made in 1960 against Congolese President Patrice Lumumba, with poisoned toothpaste prepared to be inserted into the president's toiletry kit. .

The plan was rejected at the last minute by a CIA office chief for unknown reasons. Fidel Castro proved to be a popular target for CIA stratagems. The leader of communist Cuba was considered a major threat after he began to approach the Soviets and declared his intentions to have Soviet military weapons and even missiles on Cuban soil. The possibility of a sizable Soviet military force within a hundred miles of American soil was completely unacceptable to the United States, and therefore the green light was given to remove Castro from power, either by assassination or by discrediting him in the eyes of the people.

Cuban. This chapter in CIA history would become known as Operation Mongoose. At first, the CIA attempted a simple assassination and, to that end, proved to be quite resourceful, even if their efforts failed for various reasons. In one attempt, a Cuban double agent was to offer Castro a cigarette treated with Butolinum, a toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, but the plan failed when the double agent failed to get the cigarette to Castro. Knowing that Castro loved his cigars very much, the CIA did not give up on his efforts and developed an explosive cigar that, in his own words, “would blow his head off.” A box was developed and prepared for delivery during a visit by Castro to the United Nations, but fearing the political consequences of an assassination during a visit to the UN, the plan was ultimately scrapped.

However, not easily discouraged, the CIA began thinking very, very outside the box and came up with a plan to place explosive seashells on one of Castro's favorite beaches. Ultimately, that plan was also canceled when it proved ineffective during CIA mock testing. After President Ford banned assassinations, the CIA changed its strategy and moved to discredit the leader. Aware of Castro's pride in his "macho" image, the CIA developed a cigar coated with a depilatory agent that would make Castro's beard fall out. After that plan was scrapped, Cuban security officials eventually created the private brand of Cohiba cigars, exclusively for Castro and to protect his cigar supply from tampering.

However, the CIA was not discouraged and proceeded with its attempts to discredit Castro with further attempts to damage his macho image through hair loss. Known for leaving his boots outside his hotel room door at night to be shined, the CIA developed a powder to sprinkle inside the boots that would cause Castro's hair to fall out. Ultimately, the plan failed when he canceled his planned trip. In yet another attempt to discredit Castro, CIA agents rigged a device to remotely spray LSD inside one of Castro's broadcast studios from where he gave his weekly speeches. That plan was also ultimately scrapped for unknown reasons.

From secret messages written on shoelaces to exploding seashells and cigarettes that make your hair fall out, the CIA proves it has no shortage of imagination. It's impossible to know what incredible new plots and tools modern CIA agents are equipped with, but one thing's for sure: If it sounds too crazy to work, it's almost certainly already been tested by the CIA or its Russian rivals, because In the great spy game, if you come in second place, you're probably dead. Do you know any other big tricks that the CIA uses or used? Let us know in the comments!

Also, be sure to check out our other video called FBI vs CIA. Thanks for watching and as always don't forget to like, share and subscribe. Until next time!