CIA Archives: Cutout Devices - The Tradecraft of Espionage, Clandestine Communications (1953)

In espionage, a cutout is an intermediary who facilitates communication between two parties without revealing the identity of either party to the other. Cutouts are often used to create a degree of separation between an intelligence agency and its sources, in order to maintain deniability and minimize the risk of exposure.

Cutouts can take on various forms, such as individuals, organizations, or front companies. They are often selected for their ability to operate discreetly and maintain confidentiality.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has a long history of using cutouts in its intelligence operations. One well-known example is the case of Edwin Wilson, a former CIA officer who was convicted of selling arms to Libya in the 1970s and 1980s. Wilson used a network of cutouts and front companies to conceal his activities, including a company called Consultants International that he used to funnel money and weapons to Libya.

Another example is the case of Robert Maheu, a former FBI agent who worked as a consultant for the CIA in the 1960s. Maheu was tasked with recruiting individuals to carry out the CIA's assassination plots against foreign leaders, including Fidel Castro. Maheu used a variety of cutouts, including underworld figures and Cuban exiles, to carry out these operations.

In more recent years, the CIA has used cutouts to maintain deniability in its controversial "extraordinary rendition" program, in which suspected terrorists were transported to secret CIA prisons for interrogation. The CIA used a network of private companies and contractors to carry out the program, effectively creating a series of cutouts to distance itself from the program's more controversial aspects.

Overall, cutouts remain a crucial tool for intelligence agencies seeking to maintain secrecy and deniability in their operations. However, the use of cutouts can also create complications and risks, as the actions of the cutouts may be beyond the direct control of the intelligence agency.

In espionage parlance, a cutout is a mutually trusted intermediary, method or channel of communication that facilitates the exchange of information between agents. Cutouts usually know only the source and destination of the information to be transmitted, not the identities of any other persons involved in the espionage process (need to know basis). Thus, a captured cutout cannot be used to identify members of an espionage cell. The cutout also isolates the source from the destination, so neither necessarily knows the other.
Outside espionage

Some computer protocols, like Tor, use the equivalent of cutout nodes in their communications networks. The use of multiple layers of encryption usually stops nodes on such networks from knowing the ultimate sender or receiver of the data.

In computer networking, darknets have some cutout functionality. Darknets are distinct from other distributed peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, as sharing is anonymous, i.e., IP addresses are not publicly shared and nodes often forward traffic to other nodes. Thus, with a darknet, users can communicate with little fear of governmental or corporate interference.[1] Darknets are thus often associated with dissident political communications as well as various illegal activities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutout_(espionage)

A clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed by the general population or specific enemy forces.

Until the 1970s, clandestine operations were primarily political in nature, generally aimed at assisting groups or nations favored by the sponsor. Examples include U.S. intelligence involvement with German and Japanese war criminals after World War II. Today these operations are numerous and include technology-related clandestine operations.

The bulk of clandestine operations are related to the gathering of intelligence, typically by both people (clandestine human intelligence) and by hidden sensors. Placement of underwater or land-based communications cable taps, cameras, microphones, traffic sensors, monitors such as sniffers, and similar systems require that the mission go undetected and unsuspected. Clandestine sensors may also be on unmanned underwater vehicles, reconnaissance (spy) satellites (such as Misty), low-observability unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or unmanned detectors (as in Operation Igloo White and its successors), or hand-placed by clandestine human operations.

The United States Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Publication JP 1-02, dated 8 November 2010, Amended Through 15 February 2016) defines "clandestine", "clandestine intelligence collection", and "clandestine operation" as[1]

clandestine — Any activity or operation sponsored or conducted by governmental departments or agencies with the intent to assure secrecy and concealment. (JP 2-01.2)

clandestine intelligence collection — The acquisition of protected intelligence information in a way designed to conceal the nature of the operation and protect the source. (JP 2-01.2)

clandestine operation — An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental departments or agencies in such a way as to assure secrecy or concealment. See also covert operation; overt operation. (JP 3-05)

The DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (January 2021) defines "clandestine" and "clandestine operation" the same way.[2]

The terms clandestine and covert are not synonymous. As noted in the definition (which has been used by the United States and NATO since World War II) in a covert operation the identity of the sponsor is concealed, while in a clandestine operation the operation itself is concealed. Put differently, clandestine means "hidden", where the aim is for the operation to not be noticed at all. Covert means "deniable", such that if the operation is noticed, it is not attributed to a group. The term stealth refers both to a broad set of tactics aimed at providing and preserving the element of surprise and reducing enemy resistance. It can also be used to describe a set of technologies (stealth technology) to aid in those tactics. While secrecy and stealthiness are often desired in clandestine and covert operations, the terms secret and stealthy are not used to formally describe types of missions. Some operations may have both clandestine and covert aspects, such as the use of concealed remote sensors or human observers to direct artillery attacks and airstrikes. The attack is obviously overt (coming under attack alerts the target that he has been located by the enemy), but the targeting component (the exact method that was used to locate targets) can remain clandestine.

In World War II, targets found through cryptanalysis of radio communication were attacked only if there had been aerial reconnaissance in the area, or, in the case of the shootdown of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, where the sighting could be attributed to the Coastwatchers. During the Vietnam War, trucks attacked on the Ho Chi Minh trail were completely unaware of some sensors, such as the airborne Black Crow device that sensed their ignition. They could also have been spotted by a clandestine human patrol. Harassing and interdiction (H&I) or free-fire zone rules can also cause a target to be hit for purely random reasons.
See also

Black operation
Covert operation
Fifth column
Special Activities Center
Plausible deniability

References

"JP 1-02, Department of Defencse Dictionary of Military And Associated Terms, 8 November 2010 (As Amended Through 15 February 2016)" (PDF). 8 November 2010: 33.

"DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, January 2021" (PDF): 34, 35.

External links

Media related to Clandestine operations at Wikimedia Commons
International Society for Intelligence Research (homepage)
IC21: The Intelligence Community in the 21st Century Staff Study Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence House of Representatives One Hundred Fourth Congress IX. Clandestine Service Executive Summary

Categories:

Intelligence operations by typeClandestine operations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clandestine_operation