Le Cueilleur
@lecueilleur.bsky.social
#coldwar #intelligence - Threema YMYSX3MS
Neue Zürcher Zeitung revisits a Cold War underground network as a strategic metaphor. #StayBehind signals not just historical resistance cells, but a potential shift of the #Bundesnachrichtendienst toward operational, covert-military capabilities 1/2 www.nzz.ch/pro/vom-nach...
Der BND auf dem Weg zum Geheimdienst – das plant die Bundesregierung
Kaum einem Nachrichtendienst liegen so enge rechtliche Fesseln an wie dem Bundesnachrichtendienst. Das will die Regierung ändern. Dazu erwägt sie offenbar auch Massnahmen aus dem Kalten Krieg.
www.nzz.ch
February 13, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Neue Zürcher Zeitung revisits a Cold War underground network as a strategic metaphor. #StayBehind signals not just historical resistance cells, but a potential shift of the #Bundesnachrichtendienst toward operational, covert-military capabilities 1/2 www.nzz.ch/pro/vom-nach...
There is a dispute over the new law for the German foreign intelligence service #BND #Bundesnachrichtendienst. The Ministry of Defense is strictly opposed to it. Decades-old rivalries are breaking out again. A retrospective #thead 1/9
January 22, 2026 at 10:39 AM
There is a dispute over the new law for the German foreign intelligence service #BND #Bundesnachrichtendienst. The Ministry of Defense is strictly opposed to it. Decades-old rivalries are breaking out again. A retrospective #thead 1/9
China's planned 'Super Embassy' in London includes an underground network of 208 basement rooms. This raises serious security concerns as the building is located in close proximity to critical communications infrastructure 1/7
January 14, 2026 at 9:05 AM
China's planned 'Super Embassy' in London includes an underground network of 208 basement rooms. This raises serious security concerns as the building is located in close proximity to critical communications infrastructure 1/7
“There is nothing more powerful than the #NSA. If we discover that they are spying on us, what are we supposed to do? It’s always the same. First you think about what you could cut them off from. Then you imagine their counterreaction, the possible escalation" 1/3
January 7, 2026 at 5:36 PM
“There is nothing more powerful than the #NSA. If we discover that they are spying on us, what are we supposed to do? It’s always the same. First you think about what you could cut them off from. Then you imagine their counterreaction, the possible escalation" 1/3
Power outage paralyzes Berlin’s sensitive southwest.
Diplomatic and intelligence facilities also affected. More background here: lecueilleur.substack.com/p/when-the-l...
Diplomatic and intelligence facilities also affected. More background here: lecueilleur.substack.com/p/when-the-l...
When the Lights Go Out
Power outage paralyzes Berlin’s sensitive southwest. Diplomatic and intelligence facilities also affected
lecueilleur.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Power outage paralyzes Berlin’s sensitive southwest.
Diplomatic and intelligence facilities also affected. More background here: lecueilleur.substack.com/p/when-the-l...
Diplomatic and intelligence facilities also affected. More background here: lecueilleur.substack.com/p/when-the-l...
The German foreign intelligence service #BND could, under a new draft law, also carry out “sabotage” operations. The draft is classically German. Everything is equipped with maximum bureaucratic safeguards. Several instances would have to approve it 1/3 www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...
Ein bisschen mehr James Bond beim BND - Was der Gesetzentwurf dem Geheimdienst erlauben könnte
Der Bundesnachrichtendienst soll ein neues Gesetz bekommen. Der Entwurf, der WDR, NDR und SZ vorliegt, zeigt: Es geht künftig um mehr als nur Spionage. Der Geheimdienst soll auch Sabotage verüben dürf...
www.tagesschau.de
December 18, 2025 at 6:11 PM
The German foreign intelligence service #BND could, under a new draft law, also carry out “sabotage” operations. The draft is classically German. Everything is equipped with maximum bureaucratic safeguards. Several instances would have to approve it 1/3 www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...
Hidden Remote Access Tool discovered on a ferry in France. Authorities seized a sophisticated spyware device capable of remotely controlling the ship's systems #HybridWarfare www.lemonde.fr/en/france/ar...
France probes 'foreign interference' after malware found on ferry
The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into a suspected bid 'by an organized group to attack an automated data-processing system, with the aim of serving the interests of a foreign ...
www.lemonde.fr
December 18, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Hidden Remote Access Tool discovered on a ferry in France. Authorities seized a sophisticated spyware device capable of remotely controlling the ship's systems #HybridWarfare www.lemonde.fr/en/france/ar...
Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 16, 1989. U.S. Embassy in Austria. One floor stands out. Massive bars on the windows. While the upper dormers and lower offices look openly out into the sky. Everything here is sealed up like a fortress. A place for classified and sensitive communications.
December 14, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 16, 1989. U.S. Embassy in Austria. One floor stands out. Massive bars on the windows. While the upper dormers and lower offices look openly out into the sky. Everything here is sealed up like a fortress. A place for classified and sensitive communications.
The UK Ministry of Defence is completely overhauling its military intelligence system www.bbc.com/news/article...
MoD to unify all intelligence units under single command
The overhaul comes as the minister for armed forces warns "the shadow of war is knocking on Europe's door".
www.bbc.com
December 12, 2025 at 9:01 AM
The UK Ministry of Defence is completely overhauling its military intelligence system www.bbc.com/news/article...
France: Just 70 km from Airbus’s satellite control centre, a 7-metre listening dish stood in a village garden - run by a former Chinese rocket engineer. Then came the raid … and now total silence open.substack.com/pub/lecueill...
The Chinese Ear in the French Village
In a quiet French village, just 70 km from Europe’s key satellite control centres, a Chinese engineer installed a 7-metre listening antenna. French intelligence services raised the alarm.
open.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:22 PM
France: Just 70 km from Airbus’s satellite control centre, a 7-metre listening dish stood in a village garden - run by a former Chinese rocket engineer. Then came the raid … and now total silence open.substack.com/pub/lecueill...
Another example of Europe’s growing skepticism toward U.S. tech, especially in security-sensitive areas. Trust in the transatlantic relationship is eroding #AIVD #MIVD www.politico.eu/article/the-...
The Netherlands shuts off Google tracking on spy job listings
Government recruitment site ran Google trackers on intelligence service job ads, raising security concerns.
www.politico.eu
December 4, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Another example of Europe’s growing skepticism toward U.S. tech, especially in security-sensitive areas. Trust in the transatlantic relationship is eroding #AIVD #MIVD www.politico.eu/article/the-...
The #Bundesnachrichtendienst #BND as host: While spies were being trained in camouflaged facilities around Andechs in Upper Bavaria, there were also trips to the monastery - pork knuckle, liters of beer, and a legendary vomit basin
Spies on the Holy Mountain
How Germany's foreign intelligence service BND used Andechs Monastery as a Bavarian cultural highlight for decades - including vomit basin
open.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:30 PM
The #Bundesnachrichtendienst #BND as host: While spies were being trained in camouflaged facilities around Andechs in Upper Bavaria, there were also trips to the monastery - pork knuckle, liters of beer, and a legendary vomit basin
No amount of training can override French hormones. #DGSE recalled 6+ agents in past year for dating locals www.intelligenceonline.com/europe-russi...
France • DGSE tightens rules for recalling officers to Paris
The French foreign intelligence service has recently strengthened its security procedures for staff posted abroad. Over the past year, half a dozen officers have had their missions interrupted.
www.intelligenceonline.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM
No amount of training can override French hormones. #DGSE recalled 6+ agents in past year for dating locals www.intelligenceonline.com/europe-russi...
Dr. Thomas Riegler @thomasriegler.bsky.social dives into Vienna’s intelligence hotspots and the stories behind them. Looks sharp, timely, and absolutely worth picking up.
Upcoming: Spionagestadt Wien (2026) mediashop.at/buecher/spio...
November 22, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Dr. Thomas Riegler @thomasriegler.bsky.social dives into Vienna’s intelligence hotspots and the stories behind them. Looks sharp, timely, and absolutely worth picking up.
More competences and powers for the German foreign intelligence service #BND. The new BND Act (current draft) could comprise 139 sections. Twice as many as before. Lengthy legislative process and implementation - a long road ahead www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...
Mehr als nur Informationsbeschaffung? So will der BND ein echter Geheimdienst werden
Der neue BND-Präsident Martin Jäger kündigt an, künftig höhere Risiken eingehen zu wollen. Der Dienst solle "operativer" werden. Doch was genau heißt das und geht das überhaupt? Von Florian Flade.
www.tagesschau.de
November 13, 2025 at 10:40 AM
More competences and powers for the German foreign intelligence service #BND. The new BND Act (current draft) could comprise 139 sections. Twice as many as before. Lengthy legislative process and implementation - a long road ahead www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...
Breach of trust between close partners
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Breach of trust between close partners
Former #OrganisationGehlen (Org.) field station at Grolmanstraße 53, Berlin-Charlottenburg. This address appears in a 1954 roster of Org. facilities maintained by the U.S. Army’s #66th CIC Group 1/4
November 11, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Former #OrganisationGehlen (Org.) field station at Grolmanstraße 53, Berlin-Charlottenburg. This address appears in a 1954 roster of Org. facilities maintained by the U.S. Army’s #66th CIC Group 1/4
#CIA Director Ratcliffe’s visit to Brussels was clearly damage control - not a genuine trust-building initiative. European intel services have long been simmering with deep-seated mistrust toward Washington’s intel apparatus under Trump. This mistrust has become structural
CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a low-key stop in Brussels this week, meeting top EU foreign and intelligence officials to deliver a not-so-subtle message: You can still trust us.
CIA chief quietly meets EU officials to soothe US intel-sharing fears
Trump administration’s volatile foreign policy has shaken Europe’s confidence in Washington’s intelligence cooperation.
www.politico.eu
November 2, 2025 at 11:30 AM
#CIA Director Ratcliffe’s visit to Brussels was clearly damage control - not a genuine trust-building initiative. European intel services have long been simmering with deep-seated mistrust toward Washington’s intel apparatus under Trump. This mistrust has become structural
Former #BND cover address at Vorderen Anger 214 in Landsberg am Lech in Upper Bavaria. In 1985/86, the address of a historic building in the heart of Landsberg's old town played an important role in an spy operation against the GDR trade mission in Düsseldorf 1/3
October 26, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Former #BND cover address at Vorderen Anger 214 in Landsberg am Lech in Upper Bavaria. In 1985/86, the address of a historic building in the heart of Landsberg's old town played an important role in an spy operation against the GDR trade mission in Düsseldorf 1/3
Demolition at the East Wing of the White House. The strong reinforcement of the ceiling structure stands out. Thick steel bars everywhere. The East Wing, built in 1942, mainly served to conceal the underground bunker (later known as PEOC) 1/2
October 23, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Demolition at the East Wing of the White House. The strong reinforcement of the ceiling structure stands out. Thick steel bars everywhere. The East Wing, built in 1942, mainly served to conceal the underground bunker (later known as PEOC) 1/2
For the first time, Dutch intelligence services publicly confirm that they are sharing less information with the USA. Diplomatically put: "That is being weighed." For this: Multilateral instead of bilateral EU intel structures 1/4 t.co/BVhreiKElO
https://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/nederlandse-diensten-delen-minder-informatie-met-de-vs-soms-vertellen-we-dingen-niet-meer~b4882f19/
t.co
October 20, 2025 at 6:43 AM
For the first time, Dutch intelligence services publicly confirm that they are sharing less information with the USA. Diplomatically put: "That is being weighed." For this: Multilateral instead of bilateral EU intel structures 1/4 t.co/BVhreiKElO
Cover firms, foreign guests and students, global connections - an unremarkable house at Gänselieselstraße 30 in Munich served for decades as a secret #BND school for partner intelligence services worldwide. A story about the secret “Oberhaus.” open.substack.com/pub/lecueill...
Munich’s House of Spies
Behind the quiet façade of a Munich house, the BND ran a secret school for foreign intelligence officers for decades.
open.substack.com
October 11, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Cover firms, foreign guests and students, global connections - an unremarkable house at Gänselieselstraße 30 in Munich served for decades as a secret #BND school for partner intelligence services worldwide. A story about the secret “Oberhaus.” open.substack.com/pub/lecueill...
Veikko Palko, a retired counterintelligence expert from the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (#Supo), won 61.2 million € in the Eurojackpot in 2014 and used part of it to fund anti-Russian espionage efforts during his retirement 1/6 www.hs.fi/tutkiva/art-...
HS tutki | Supo-etsivän epätodennäköinen elämä: jatkoi Venäjän vakoojien jahtaamista kuolemaan asti
Supoon kohdistuvassa tutkinnassa selvitetään eläköityneen etsivän toimintaa, HS uutisoi lauantaina. Tämä artikkeli kertoo, miten Veikko Palko sai legendan maineen Venäjän vakoojien paljastajana, äkkir...
www.hs.fi
October 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Veikko Palko, a retired counterintelligence expert from the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (#Supo), won 61.2 million € in the Eurojackpot in 2014 and used part of it to fund anti-Russian espionage efforts during his retirement 1/6 www.hs.fi/tutkiva/art-...
Unnoticed by Western intelligence, the #Stasi built a secret “Stay Behind” network in West Germany. In Bavaria, a quiet chalet hid a commando bunker. Hidden depots. Sleeper agents and sabotage plans against NATO substack.com/@lecueilleur...
The Stasi bunker in Bavaria
Unnoticed by Western intelligence services, the Stasi established a secret "Stay Behind" network in West Germany. A piece of Cold War History that has been forgotten.
substack.com
October 8, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Unnoticed by Western intelligence, the #Stasi built a secret “Stay Behind” network in West Germany. In Bavaria, a quiet chalet hid a commando bunker. Hidden depots. Sleeper agents and sabotage plans against NATO substack.com/@lecueilleur...
In the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, near the Polish border, Moscow #GRU is currently constructing the largest Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA) in the world. The array spans 1.6 kilometers in diameter, roughly four times the size of comparable Western systems.
tochnyi.info/2025/08/puti...
tochnyi.info/2025/08/puti...
Putin’s ears within Europe: Uncovering Kaliningrad’s Hidden Antenna Array – Tochnyi.info
tochnyi.info
October 6, 2025 at 10:44 AM
In the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, near the Polish border, Moscow #GRU is currently constructing the largest Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA) in the world. The array spans 1.6 kilometers in diameter, roughly four times the size of comparable Western systems.
tochnyi.info/2025/08/puti...
tochnyi.info/2025/08/puti...