Can the Internet Be Used for Espionage

The better question is, how often is the Internet used for espionage? Analysts have hotly debated for quite some time now whether the Internet could be used for spying. They can stop arguing, however, because it is already happening. For example, the Soviet Union's space shuttle program was based on American technology stolen from the Internet. Designs were acquired from various technical universities online. In fact, Robert Windrem, in "How Soviets Stole a Shuttle," says that:

So thorough was the online acquisition, the National Security Agency learned, that the Soviets were using two East-West research centers in Vienna and Helsinki as covers to funnel the information to Moscow, where it kept printers going "almost constantly".…Intelligence officials told NBC News that the Soviets had saved billions on their shuttle program by using online spying.

The Soviets have long recognized the Internet as a valid intelligence source. An Internet legend gained international fame by breaking a KGB spy ring that used the Internet to steal American secrets. I refer here to Clifford Stoll, an astronomer then working at a university in Berkeley, California.

Stoll set out to discover the source of a 75-cent accounting error. During his investigation, he learned that someone had broken into the university's computers. Instead of confronting the intruder, Stoll watched the activity. What he saw was disturbing.

The intruder was using Stoll's servers as a launch point. The real targets were military computers, including servers at the Pentagon. The intruder was probing for information on U.S. nuclear preparedness. Stoll recognized this for what it was: spying. He therefore contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, to Stoll's surprise, FBI agents dismissed the entire incident and refused to offer assistance. Stoll began his own investigation. What followed has since become the most well known chapter in Internet folklore.

After analyzing chained connections through the telephone system, Stoll traced the spy to Germany. His evidence would ultimately prompt the FBI, the CIA, and the West German Secret Police to get involved. In March 1989, Clifford Stoll was credited with cracking a German spy ring that stole our secrets from the Net and sold them to the KGB. (An interesting side note: The German spies received not only money, but also large amounts of cocaine for their services.)