0:00:03 > 0:00:06From James Bond to Spooks, the fictional world of espionage
0:00:06 > 0:00:09is a world of danger and deception, glamour and lies.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12But what is spying really like?
0:00:12 > 0:00:15For the first time on television, serving members of Britain's
0:00:15 > 0:00:20intelligence services talk about life as a modern spy.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22The risks are very, very real here.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24When we're deploying under a different identity,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26it is quite nerve wracking.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30In this series, we probe the secrets of spycraft.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32The sleeper cell.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35- The honey trap. - It plays to an ego of an older guy.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38She's probably not in your league when she sits next to you in a bar
0:00:38 > 0:00:43and then the pillow talk causes a leak of significant information.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47The Brush Pass. And working undercover.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51You have to be a sort of a, what I like to call Mr Grey.
0:00:51 > 0:00:52A person you might pass on the street,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54but you'd forget him in a second.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59And increasingly today, the Cut Out and the Cyber Spy.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01We're up against the cream of the crop.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03It's a chess game with deadly consequences.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14JAMES BOND THEME PLAYS
0:01:17 > 0:01:23Espionage has always been a secret and shadowy world.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26For decades, the British government didn't even acknowledge
0:01:26 > 0:01:29its spy agencies existed.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35Instead, our image of spying is conditioned by movies and thrillers.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40It's presented as a world of uncontrolled macho
0:01:40 > 0:01:43secret agents with license to kill.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49You've still got your gloves on.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Powerful and sinister organisations -
0:01:53 > 0:01:54a law unto themselves.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00HE GASPS
0:02:06 > 0:02:08But now, for the first time,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12serving British spies have been allowed to talk about their work.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15For security reasons, they can't discuss specific operations
0:02:15 > 0:02:19and, of course, their identities are disguised.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22So what's it like being a modern spy?
0:02:24 > 0:02:29Michael works for MI6 - the Secret Intelligence Service or SIS.
0:02:29 > 0:02:35Only my very close family know that I work for SIS. With everyone else,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38I have to adopt a cover of working for another
0:02:38 > 0:02:42government department and to make that sound as dull as possible.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Emma works for the Security Service, MI5.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49She investigates suspected Al-Qaeda networks.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53It's difficult constantly maintaining cover with
0:02:53 > 0:02:57your close friends and your close family. You are living a lie
0:02:57 > 0:03:00and that is hard and it's difficult not to be able to share
0:03:00 > 0:03:03the successes of the work you've done with people outside work.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Shami is an MI5 surveillance officer.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13You're constantly trying to avoid talking about work.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16I'm having to constantly to think about what I'm going to say
0:03:16 > 0:03:20and what I'm going to talk about, so it's quite difficult sometimes.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33- Now they...- And now they've looked you up again.- Yes.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36You great nit!
0:03:36 > 0:03:40This was the image of spying projected by a British
0:03:40 > 0:03:42government propaganda film 50 years ago.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45He's a highly sophisticated operator.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Nikolai Alexandrevitz Popov.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51One or two of you know him already.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53The rest of you, take a good look at these.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59He's to have the full treatment.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01If you run into any difficulties, break off.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03If anything happens to alert Popov,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06I'll personally brain the lot of you.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14During the Cold War with Russia, Britain's spies were
0:04:14 > 0:04:17recruited from the upper classes - part of an old boy network
0:04:17 > 0:04:19centred around Oxbridge colleges.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23But that was yesterday.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25I guess there's this perception that
0:04:25 > 0:04:29people have a kind of a tap on the shoulder and, you know,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32- it's their tutors at University. - But it's no longer like that.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36No longer like that at all. We have a very open website now,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38you can apply through that website.
0:04:38 > 0:04:44'SIS works secretly overseas to make the UK safer and more prosperous.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46'We obtain secret foreign intelligence
0:04:46 > 0:04:48'to inform government decisions...'
0:04:48 > 0:04:50The world is now very different
0:04:50 > 0:04:54and Britain's intelligence agencies have had to adapt.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58They now use the press and the internet to advertise for recruits.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Have you thought about working for MI5?
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Open talent spotting like this would have been unthinkable
0:05:05 > 0:05:06only a few years ago.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09We're always looking to recruit people with a diverse
0:05:09 > 0:05:11range of skills and backgrounds.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16This new world of spying was born on September 11th, 2001.
0:05:16 > 0:05:209/11 revealed a new enemy - often home grown,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Muslim and mainly working class.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26And that meant there was a need for a new kind of spy -
0:05:26 > 0:05:29someone like Shami, who'd never been to University.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33My impression of MI5 is you had to be an Oxbridge graduate
0:05:33 > 0:05:36or something. I just felt that I'd nothing to offer.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40But MI5 recruiters thought differently.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42They both stood up and put their hands out and said,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46"Congratulations! Welcome to the Service!" Yeah, and shook my hand.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48I couldn't believe it at first. I was sort of taking it in.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51I was almost going to ask them, "Are you sure?"
0:05:51 > 0:05:53What do you want?
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Drazen. Drazen?
0:05:55 > 0:05:57He knows he can't get the money. Senator!
0:05:59 > 0:06:01No!
0:06:01 > 0:06:059/11 produced a new television image of espionage -
0:06:05 > 0:06:08with nightmare scenarios.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12In America, "24", and in Britain, "Spooks".
0:06:12 > 0:06:16So names, sources, runners - everything you've got.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18A world where any amount of violence
0:06:18 > 0:06:22and torture are justifiable in defence of your country.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- Oh, dear. Oh, dear.- Let her go! I'll give you what you want!
0:06:25 > 0:06:27SHE SCREAMS
0:06:27 > 0:06:28What was your mother's reaction
0:06:28 > 0:06:31when you told her you were going to work for MI5?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34My mother was rather horrified. She'd watched Spooks
0:06:34 > 0:06:36and her initial reaction was,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38"Oh, my goodness, you're going to end up
0:06:38 > 0:06:39"with your head in a fat fryer!"
0:06:39 > 0:06:41And have you?
0:06:41 > 0:06:47No, I haven't. MI5, working as an intelligence officer is really
0:06:47 > 0:06:52quite different from life in Spooks. My job is largely desk-based.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56So unfortunately, I'm not running around the streets of London
0:06:56 > 0:07:01chasing terrorists, being nearly blown up every other week.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05In the real world, Britain's intelligence services operate
0:07:05 > 0:07:07under strict political control.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13The Foreign Secretary is ultimately in charge of MI6
0:07:13 > 0:07:16and the Government's eavesdropping centre - GCHQ.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21The Home Secretary is responsible for MI5.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Together, the agencies employ more than 10,000 people,
0:07:24 > 0:07:29with an annual budget of more than £2 billion.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33We are a unique government department, because every day,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37we are making decisions which affect the safety and security
0:07:37 > 0:07:42of people who are putting their lives on the line for us.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Our working hours can change instantly.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49The mission is a constant but every day is different. What I do
0:07:49 > 0:07:51is important - yet no one will ever know.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55In America, the CIA makes glossy, Hollywood-style commercials
0:07:55 > 0:07:58to attract new recruits.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01But new secret agents might be slightly disappointed.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03...CIA's National Clandestine Service.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07They think it's more like the movies, Mission Impossible,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10that they're going to be jumping out of cars
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and that everyone carries a weapon.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17My workplace could be anywhere.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19I must always be ready.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24- Yet I can't tell my friends what I do.- We have to kind of give them
0:08:24 > 0:08:27that reality. Yes, we're collecting human intelligence,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29but we don't all drive fast cars, you know?
0:08:29 > 0:08:34You're going to be writing reports, you're in meetings, so it's not
0:08:34 > 0:08:38always that glamorous image of, you know, what you see in the movies.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42If James Bond actually worked in MI6 today,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46he'd spend a large amount of time behind a desk doing paperwork.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and making sure everything was properly cleared and authorised.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52And he certainly wouldn't be the lone wolf of the films.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56The Big Screen has made us all familiar with the language of
0:08:56 > 0:09:01spying - from "Spooks" and "Moles" to "Codenames" and "Sources".
0:09:01 > 0:09:08- Smiley is suspicious, Percy.- Where did it come from? What's the access?
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- A new secret source of mine.- But how could he possibly have access?
0:09:11 > 0:09:15He has access to the most sensitive levels of policy-making.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20We've named the operation, "Witchcraft".
0:09:20 > 0:09:25So how does the modern spycraft of today compare to the fiction?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28At the core of intelligence gathering is that priceless asset,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30the source.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46America's domestic intelligence service, the Federal Bureau
0:09:46 > 0:09:51of Investigation, has a century of history in running human sources.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55The more I'm in this business, the more I believe that sources
0:09:55 > 0:09:58and wires are absolutely essential to address espionage,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00address terrorism and the like.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03It's adapting that long history of using sources
0:10:03 > 0:10:07and wires to the threats of today that has been the challenge.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10If you love America, and if you are interested,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13I can present a unique opportunity for you.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17At its Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the FBI use
0:10:17 > 0:10:22role playing to train special agents in turning and recruiting sources.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Do you want me to...get information?
0:10:25 > 0:10:29I want you to hang out with the same people you've hung out with
0:10:29 > 0:10:32in the past, do the same things you've always done,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35but just under direction from us.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37If I do what you're asking,
0:10:37 > 0:10:42- what about these charges? - I can't promise you anything,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45but I want to help you out in every way I can,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48but I want you to help me in every way YOU can.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50It's a give and take relationship.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52You cannot replace a human source.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55You might be able to listen to a portion of a phone call or
0:10:55 > 0:11:00see a portion of an email, but being able to put a human being inside
0:11:00 > 0:11:03a cell really does give you
0:11:03 > 0:11:06both what is being said, the mindset,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09the mentality, helps you better understand other people that might
0:11:09 > 0:11:12be involved in a network that you simply wouldn't see any other way.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Just like the FBI, recruiting and running
0:11:17 > 0:11:21human sources is central to the work of British intelligence,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24often far afield in Al-Qaeda's heartlands.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30Now for the first time on television, an MI6 officer
0:11:30 > 0:11:31talks about how it's done.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36When you're in some dusty outpost about to meet
0:11:36 > 0:11:41for the first time a contact within a terrorist organisation
0:11:41 > 0:11:42that you've brokered,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45- that is nerve-wracking. - Heart in mouth?
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Yes, inevitably. I don't think we'd get very far if we were timid
0:11:49 > 0:11:53- and risk averse. - How do you recruit a source?
0:11:53 > 0:11:56We'll start with a targeting process, understand who
0:11:56 > 0:12:00the key figures are, understand the connections between them.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Leading from that would be an assessment of
0:12:03 > 0:12:06whether we think any individuals there might be recruitable.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Could we get alongside them? Are they accessible?
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Would they have access to information that would be
0:12:10 > 0:12:12useful to the government?
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Why should they want to become agents working for you?
0:12:15 > 0:12:17There are a whole spectrum of motivations.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20A lot of the agents that I've run were motivated
0:12:20 > 0:12:24because they disagreed with the violent ideology of Al-Qaeda.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27They disagreed, for example, with attacks against civilians.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34A lot of these people want to better their own life, so money, a future
0:12:34 > 0:12:38life in the UK might be things that they're interested in.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42It's really the job of our officers to understand what those
0:12:42 > 0:12:46motivations are and to persuade people to work with us.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51One of the most important sources in the entire so-called
0:12:51 > 0:12:54war on terror turned out to be a young American Muslim.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58In Pakistan, just a month after 9/11,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00he openly boasted to a television camera.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02We will kill them in Afghanistan.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05There is no negotiation with the Americans when they are coming in
0:13:05 > 0:13:08with the mindset to kill my Muslim brothers and sisters.
0:13:08 > 0:13:09I will do the same on the frontline.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12I will kill every American I see in Afghanistan.
0:13:15 > 0:13:16Mohammed Babar had helped set up
0:13:16 > 0:13:19a terrorist training camp in Pakistan,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22attended by many British would-be jihadis.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25One of them was Kazi Rahman from East London.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27The Muslims from Britain, there's hundreds of them
0:13:27 > 0:13:31who come over from Britain to Pakistan or Afghanistan.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35What we do is we supply them with weapons, clothing,
0:13:35 > 0:13:36we feed them, we shelter them.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39And we take them over the border and train them up.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Two and a half years after those interviews,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Mohammed Babar flew back home to New York.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Remarkably, even this fiercely committed jihadi could be
0:13:49 > 0:13:52induced to become a human source.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Over six months, he told the FBI everything.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00What he'd done, who he'd trained with in Pakistan
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and the attacks they were planning.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Mohammed Babar was to prove a human source
0:14:05 > 0:14:07that intelligence services dream of.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12He was critical. He's an individual who had both the access
0:14:12 > 0:14:16and the capability to get into groups that simply would not
0:14:16 > 0:14:17have existed without him.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Babar talked because he was offered a deal known as a plea bargain.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29In return for a much shorter sentence, he agreed to cooperate
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and reveal everything.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Instead of a life sentence, he served just five years
0:14:35 > 0:14:37and is now a free man.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41This could not have happened in Britain,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44because of fears that sources like Babar could fabricate evidence
0:14:44 > 0:14:46in the hope of a shorter sentence.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- Do you think the UK would benefit from doing the same?- I do.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55If they had access to the information
0:14:55 > 0:14:57in the heads of the numbers,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00those numbers of persons who have been arrested over
0:15:00 > 0:15:03a period of time as to where they went for their training,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06whether it be Pakistan or someplace else, who was
0:15:06 > 0:15:09involved in the training, what other plots were in train that would be
0:15:09 > 0:15:13of benefit to those agencies to have to access to that intelligence.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Mohammed Babar's evidence helped identify a whole
0:15:17 > 0:15:19series of terrorists.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21One of them was Kazi Rahman, the British jihadi
0:15:21 > 0:15:25whom Babar had met at the training camp in Pakistan.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28I can't wait for the day that I meet British soldiers
0:15:28 > 0:15:33on the battlefield and to see them run. I am very happy to kill them.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40By 2005, Rahman was back in Britain and intelligence indicated
0:15:40 > 0:15:43he was an imminent threat.
0:15:43 > 0:15:48MI5 and the Metropolitan Police prepared to catch him red-handed.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Any operation such as this begins with the bread and butter
0:15:52 > 0:15:55of spycraft - surveillance.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05It can build a detailed picture of a target's life, their routines,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08their associates and their intentions.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17Do you have any hesitation about spying on the lives of others?
0:16:17 > 0:16:18No, not at all.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23I know why I'm doing it. I'm trying to prevent something
0:16:23 > 0:16:27major occurring which could lead on to loss of life, you know,
0:16:27 > 0:16:32- so that's, that's my biggest motivation.- What's it like
0:16:32 > 0:16:36when you're doing surveillance, how do you feel?
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Excited. You feel a lot of pressure as well,
0:16:39 > 0:16:43cos you understand the task at hand and how serious it is.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47And you're thinking about any potential hazards or dangers
0:16:47 > 0:16:50that might pose a threat to yourself.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54When you're out there, how do you think of yourself?
0:16:54 > 0:16:57You have to be what I like to call "Mr Grey."
0:16:57 > 0:17:01He's a nobody, he's a person you might pass on the street
0:17:01 > 0:17:04but you'd forget him in a second.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Surveillance is labour intensive, often involving dozens of officers
0:17:11 > 0:17:14working shifts round the clock, just to shadow one target.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19- What's your biggest fear? - Missing it.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Missing a vital bit of information.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27Something that will go on to causing loss of life.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30That's a big fear of mine.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35We have thick smoke coming from the tunnel.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38I need to clear now Russell Square!
0:17:38 > 0:17:44MI5 missed the 7/7 London bombers, and 52 people died.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49In the wake of that horrific day, it was more urgent than ever to
0:17:49 > 0:17:53catch the British jihadi, Kazi Rahman.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59MI5 decided to try and catch Rahman in an undercover operation,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01known as the sting.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11The plan was for undercover officers to meet with Rahman to discover
0:18:11 > 0:18:14if he was planning attacks.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Spies of the Old School would have seemed out of place
0:18:17 > 0:18:20in this kind of operation.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22These officers were all British Asians.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28It's highly dangerous territory to put yourself into a terrorist group.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33I mean, that's an act of great bravery in itself.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39An MI5 officer wired for secret recording, posed as a criminal
0:18:39 > 0:18:42dealing in counterfeit money and false passports.
0:18:42 > 0:18:48- Rahman made it clear he wanted much more.- What else can you provide?
0:18:50 > 0:18:55Rahman indicated a handgun using sign language and then an AK 47.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05At a motorway service station in the south of England,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09the undercover officer arranged for Rahman to meet an arms dealer.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13But the dealer was spy number two, this time
0:19:13 > 0:19:15from the Metropolitan Police.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22I need three Uzis with silencers, magazines
0:19:22 > 0:19:24and 3,000 rounds of ammunition.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Very worrying. You don't need machine guns,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29unless you want to kill a lot of people.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Over a month, the undercover officers gradually
0:19:32 > 0:19:36gained Rahman's confidence. He paid a deposit for the guns.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39He then upped the stakes and asked for rocket propelled grenades
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- and surface to air missiles. - I want RPGs and SAM-7s.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50After four months, the trap was ready.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53The setting was a quiet cul de sac just off a main road
0:19:53 > 0:19:55in Hertfordshire.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00A third undercover officer was tasked with closing the deal.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07And he showed Rahman three Uzis with silencers wrapped in plastic.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16At the very moment Rahman got his hands on the guns,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19he became suspicious.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Look, I'm really not happy here. This looks like a sting.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29ARMED POLICE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!
0:20:29 > 0:20:34But it was too late. Armed police moved in and Rahman was arrested.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38My first reaction when I heard that he'd been arrested was
0:20:38 > 0:20:40relief that it had been achieved safely.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45A potentially hugely dangerous terrorist was now behind bars.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Rahman had been stung.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52The evidence of the FBI's super source, Mohammed Babar,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55was essential.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Rahman was convicted and sentenced to nine years.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01A potential atrocity had been prevented.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06What gives you the greatest satisfaction in what you do?
0:21:06 > 0:21:11The arrest of the individuals that we've gone up against,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13that's a great satisfaction,
0:21:13 > 0:21:18that we've disrupted anything that could have possibly occurred.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21But in any operation, MI5 surveillance officers
0:21:21 > 0:21:26on the ground are supported by a team of analysts back at base.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Their job is to sift through all the intelligence that comes in,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32not only from surveillance, but also from intercepts,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34agents and foreign services.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38It's really like piecing together a jigsaw.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41We're constantly asking ourselves the big question, which is,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44"What is this network involved in?
0:21:44 > 0:21:47"Is this an attack planning network or what do we know
0:21:47 > 0:21:50"these individuals are actually doing?"
0:21:51 > 0:21:54I believe your department has information on plans
0:21:54 > 0:21:55for the Polaris mixed fleet.
0:21:55 > 0:22:02- My boss had. I shouldn't have told you.- Of course not. But you have!
0:22:02 > 0:22:0750 years ago, the dominant threat was Reds under the Bed.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12The world has now changed beyond recognition.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18But elements of Cold War spycraft are still in use.
0:22:18 > 0:22:24And what's more, the West's old enemies are still out there.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29In the years following 9/11, what the US government found itself
0:22:29 > 0:22:34in need of doing urgently, was to retool our entire national
0:22:34 > 0:22:37security apparatus to deal with the threat presented by Al-Qaeda.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40And did counter-intelligence suffer?
0:22:40 > 0:22:43I think there is no question there was a trade off in resources.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Counter intelligence is tracking down spies from foreign governments.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51From the end of the Second World War,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54the traditional enemy was Russia.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56And it seems the KGB's successors simply
0:22:56 > 0:22:58carried on where the KGB left off.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07The break up of the former Soviet Union did not wipe away
0:23:07 > 0:23:11the memories and the knowledge of how to work effectively against us.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I think the public would be surprised to know that we
0:23:14 > 0:23:17still see intelligence officers posted to
0:23:17 > 0:23:20the United States in the same numbers that we
0:23:20 > 0:23:24saw during the height of the Cold War, so that has not diminished.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30And the classic Cold War fear was Soviet spies living
0:23:30 > 0:23:33under cover in our midst, awaiting Moscow's bidding.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36It's known as the sleeper cell.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Montclair, New Jersey - the quintessential
0:23:44 > 0:23:46prosperous New York suburb.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49The last place you'd expect to find a spy ring.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57For more than 15 years, Richard
0:23:57 > 0:24:01and Cynthia Murphy appeared to be the perfect, all-American family.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07The wife was always, you know, charming and pleasant
0:24:07 > 0:24:08and a lovely smile.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11They were a regular family that fit in with the other families here.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15She was always making sure her front yard looked beautiful.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17She was passionate about her gardening.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25But Cynthia Murphy was actually part of a long term Russian
0:24:25 > 0:24:29sleeper cell planted in the heart of America in the mid 1990s.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34This is a long term assignment, the very concept of sleeper is
0:24:34 > 0:24:38that they're activated when they need to be. They have a mission.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44Here was a group of at least ten Russian spies who spent over
0:24:44 > 0:24:48a decade quietly infiltrating influential policy circles.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53Cynthia worked her way up to a top banking job in Downtown Manhattan.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Meanwhile, her husband ostensibly stayed at home looking after
0:24:59 > 0:25:02the children, while secretly acting as an undercover
0:25:02 > 0:25:04courier for his Russian handler.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09But an FBI operation, codenamed Ghost Stories,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13was just as elaborate and lasted ten years.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Surveillance videos recorded in detail the Russian cell's
0:25:16 > 0:25:18well-honed spycraft.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22The brush pass, where identical bags are swapped.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Inside could be documents, memory sticks or money.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29And the dead drop,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33a secret hiding place for thousands of dollars to fund the spy ring.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Most of the sleeper cell, like Cynthia Murphy,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42were what's known as dead doubles.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Dead doubles are operatives who have stolen the identities of
0:25:46 > 0:25:51dead infants who generally match their date of birth, so in this case
0:25:51 > 0:25:54most of the Russian illegals were in fact dead doubles.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Walking, walking dead.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Creating a false identity is part of the stock in trade of spycraft.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05It's known as creating a legend or alias.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11It's quite nerve-wracking the first time you deploy under alias,
0:26:11 > 0:26:16overseas, under a different name, under a different identity,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20pretending to have a different kind of employment.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24So there's a lot of preparatory work that you need to do to make
0:26:24 > 0:26:27sure that you understand the person that you're supposed to be.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31- You become somebody else. - You become somebody else.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Spying is a never ending battle.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37As soon as one technique is closed off, a new one is needed.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41After 9/11, there was a huge increase in American security
0:26:41 > 0:26:46and the Russians could no longer use false identities with impunity.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50In 2006, the glamorous Russian spy Anna Chapman
0:26:50 > 0:26:52moved to New York to join the sleeper cell.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55But she was using her own name,
0:26:55 > 0:26:57having once been married to a British citizen.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01She was extremely savvy, very engaging, tremendous
0:27:01 > 0:27:05interpersonal skills, very attractive young lady, very bright
0:27:05 > 0:27:10young lady and trained in technology and covert communications.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16A risk for any spy is to be seen meeting their handler.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18So Chapman came equipped with a brand new
0:27:18 > 0:27:22and ingenious technique to avoid face to face contact.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26An encrypted wireless connection allowed a stream of data to
0:27:26 > 0:27:29be sent to her handler waiting nearby.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33There's a video that shows her shopping in New York City,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35but she's doing far more than shopping.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39As she shops, you'll also see her fiddling with something in a bag.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Well, she's fiddling with a laptop
0:27:41 > 0:27:46and she's transmitting a message to a Russian official who's in close
0:27:46 > 0:27:50proximity. He's not in the store but he's outside in the neighbourhood.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Every week, Chapman rendezvous-ed with her handler to
0:27:54 > 0:27:56pass on her secret information.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00But the FBI had broken Russian encryption
0:28:00 > 0:28:04and reading the messages made them increasingly nervous.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08We were becoming very concerned. They were getting close enough to
0:28:08 > 0:28:12a sitting US cabinet member that we thought
0:28:12 > 0:28:14we could no longer allow this to continue.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Who was the US Cabinet member?
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Well, something that we've never publicly disclosed.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Was the Cabinet member warned?
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Yes.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32Having cracked the Russian encryption code, the FBI
0:28:32 > 0:28:36could now send Anna Chapman messages and even pose as her new handler.
0:28:38 > 0:28:44In June 2010, the FBI took the final and most audacious step -
0:28:44 > 0:28:48arranging a face to face meeting with Chapman.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Tell me, how are you doing?
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Everything is cool apart from the connection.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56So convincing was the FBI undercover agent
0:28:56 > 0:28:59that Anna Chapman literally turned over her
0:28:59 > 0:29:03covert communication laptop to the FBI, which the undercover agent
0:29:03 > 0:29:06was more than happy to take. Told the undercover agent
0:29:06 > 0:29:09she was having technical problems and told him to fix it.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12I understand you're going to Moscow in two weeks
0:29:12 > 0:29:17- but I have something for you to do tomorrow.- Shit. Of course.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22- This is the passport.- In order to prove that she was a spy,
0:29:22 > 0:29:26the FBI asked her to be a courier to hand over forged documents.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30She will say, "Haven't we met in California last summer?"
0:29:30 > 0:29:34You will say to her, "No, I think it was The Hamptons."
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Like something straight out of a spy movie,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40the undercover agent gave Chapman the coded introductions
0:29:40 > 0:29:43the FBI knew the Russian spy ring was using.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48She will come up to me and say, "Haven't we met in California?"
0:29:48 > 0:29:52and I will say "No, I think it was The Hamptons."
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Then give her the documents and get her to sign.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58"You're positive no one is watching?"
0:29:58 > 0:30:01Chapman sensed there was something wrong.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06This is the moment any spy dreads - having their cover blown.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09An hour after meeting the FBI undercover agent,
0:30:09 > 0:30:13she rushed off to buy a new mobile phone under a false name.
0:30:13 > 0:30:19She listed her address as 99 Fake Street. But it was too late.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23The FBI arrested her and the rest of the sleeper cell.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27Had they been allowed to continue, it's hard to say
0:30:27 > 0:30:29where their efforts would have ended.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Why did you decide to swoop when you did?
0:30:32 > 0:30:35There were a number of reasons there, not least of which is,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38several of the individuals were on their way out of the country
0:30:38 > 0:30:41and we would have lost our opportunity to detain them.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46The neighbours in Montclair just couldn't believe it.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50Thought it was a joke. If someone had told me
0:30:50 > 0:30:52that Martians were living next door, I would have believed that first
0:30:52 > 0:30:55before I'd believe we had Russian spies.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58You know, when you think of spies, you don't think of parents
0:30:58 > 0:30:59with little kids.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03One of the neighbours told us they couldn't possibly be spies,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07just look at their hydrangeas. These were expert gardeners
0:31:07 > 0:31:11caring for their lawn and maintaining their garden.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18Mr and Mrs Murphy's real names were Lidiya and Vladimir Guryev.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21Theirs was a marriage made in Moscow.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25These were couples that had been manufactured,
0:31:25 > 0:31:28marriages that had been appointed by the Russian intelligence service.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32They came out of the Russian intelligence academy
0:31:32 > 0:31:34paired with each other for this special assignment.
0:31:34 > 0:31:40Part of this plan, this sleeper cell, included having children and
0:31:40 > 0:31:44perhaps that's one of the saddest parts of this story, is children
0:31:44 > 0:31:46learning that their parents are not at all who they believe them
0:31:46 > 0:31:52to be and that perhaps their very existence was part of a fabrication
0:31:52 > 0:31:55- of a foreign intelligence service.- For Mother Russia.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00Indeed. To carry out the orders of Mother Russia.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06The Murphy's house now stands empty, the property of Moscow Centre.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09In the end, there were no prosecutions.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13There was a spy swap, reminiscent of Cold War days.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Anna Chapman and the other nine spies were exchanged for four
0:32:18 > 0:32:22Russian nationals on the runway of Vienna airport.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24One of them was Igor Sutyagin.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Two planes were parked next to each other.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29So it took, oh...40 seconds.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32We stepped, stepped on the ladder
0:32:32 > 0:32:34and we were aboard the American plane.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Igor Sutyagin had served 11 years in Russian prison camps for spying.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45He's a nuclear weapons expert and admits he regularly met
0:32:45 > 0:32:49American defence officials at the US Embassy in Moscow.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51But he denies he was ever a spy.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55Given the kind of work you were doing
0:32:55 > 0:32:57and the kind of people you were associating with,
0:32:57 > 0:33:03from America's defence intelligence agency, it seems that you
0:33:03 > 0:33:07were a likely candidate to be recruited by the Americans?
0:33:07 > 0:33:09Well maybe, that is quite possible,
0:33:09 > 0:33:14I don't know. I have some doubt. It seemed to me that I was too visible.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19I openly visited these person in the embassy.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22It seemed to me that spies tried to hide.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27Russia has retained a huge espionage apparatus.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30And Sutyagin believes the Kremlin's spymasters need it
0:33:30 > 0:33:32to justify their existence.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34The Cold War is not over.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38At least in brains of the current Russian leaders.
0:33:38 > 0:33:44They believed they grow up in the Cold War time,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47they feel comfortable in the cold war environment.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Somewhere deep in their brains, the Cold War is still here.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55President Putin was once a KGB spymaster himself
0:33:55 > 0:33:59and sang Anna Chapman's praises.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01She returned to her Homeland a hero
0:34:01 > 0:34:05and joined the annual military parade in Red Square.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08It's a great day for this nation so I'm here to celebrate it.
0:34:12 > 0:34:19She now has a new career as a model and even hosts her own TV show.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25The FBI suspected that Chapman might have been the bait to elicit secrets
0:34:25 > 0:34:27from powerful men in high places
0:34:27 > 0:34:30in what's known as the honey trap.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Was she a honey trap?
0:34:35 > 0:34:39I think part of her value was indeed her ability to be engaging,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42charismatic, and I think to that extent
0:34:42 > 0:34:46she might have been viewed by them as a potential honey trap. She was
0:34:46 > 0:34:50getting closer and closer to higher and higher ranking leadership.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52How close did she get?
0:34:52 > 0:34:54She got close enough to disturb us.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Here.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01That's going to be the last one for a while.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05- Am I going to see you tonight?- Yeah.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10POLICE SIRENS FBI! Let me see your hands!
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Drop the cup, mam.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17The FBI is so concerned, that it's produced a video warning government
0:35:17 > 0:35:21employees to watch out for traitors being seduced in their midst.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Is the honey trap purely a Hollywood fiction?
0:35:24 > 0:35:26No! Gosh, no. Of course it's not.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30The honey trap is used extensively by other countries.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35The money flowed and he was caught in a honey trap.
0:35:36 > 0:35:41It plays to an ego, usually plays to an ego of an older guy.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45Pretty girl, probably should figure it out when you see it.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48She's probably not in your league
0:35:48 > 0:35:51when she sits next to you in a bar or is the translator
0:35:51 > 0:35:53at a conference or whatever
0:35:53 > 0:35:58and strikes up a friendship, asks for contact information,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00within a short period of time becomes your girlfriend
0:36:00 > 0:36:05and then the pillow talk causes a leak of significant information.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09But when that happens, when the pretty girl comes up to you in a bar
0:36:09 > 0:36:14and you're an FBI agent, don't the red lights start flashing?
0:36:14 > 0:36:17I imagine they should. Yeah.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21- I admire your luck, Mr...?- Bond.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26- James Bond.- Mr Bond...
0:36:26 > 0:36:29Traditional spycraft like the honey trap
0:36:29 > 0:36:32may still be with us, but the days when spies
0:36:32 > 0:36:36tried their luck in glamorous, high rolling circles are over.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38It's not the age, the James Bond age where you're going to
0:36:38 > 0:36:41someone at a cocktail party and coming out of the British
0:36:41 > 0:36:44and American Embassy saying, I'm the second secretary.
0:36:44 > 0:36:45Those days are over.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50Now there's a new breed of modern spy, known as the cut out.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59And the country that is master of the cut out is
0:36:59 > 0:37:01the People's Republic of China.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05The Chinese are aggressively targeting government insiders
0:37:05 > 0:37:07like this man, Gregg Bergersen,
0:37:07 > 0:37:12a weapons analyst at the Pentagon with top secret security clearance.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16I think when you see the information,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18you can get out of it what you need.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Two FBI surveillance cameras capture him
0:37:21 > 0:37:26getting his pay off from a Taiwanese businessman, Tai-Shen Kuo.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30Mr Kuo just basically takes around 2,000 in cash and just
0:37:30 > 0:37:33sticks it in Mr Bergersen's pocket.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38- Oh, you sure that's OK?- Yeah!
0:37:38 > 0:37:41Mr Bergersen says, oh, jeez, that's great, thank you so much.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45Mr Kuo was a cut out.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48A middleman doing the work of his Chinese spymaster.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51And Western intelligence believes China is running
0:37:51 > 0:37:55battalions of such cut outs to do the spying for them.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58And they're much more difficult to detect.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59They could be students,
0:37:59 > 0:38:03university professors or businessmen like Kuo, who was recruited
0:38:03 > 0:38:06when he needed help to develop his business in China.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Their MO is to become the eyes
0:38:10 > 0:38:15and ears of the intelligence practitioner on the other end.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18It's all classified.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23But I will let you see it and you can take all the notes you want.
0:38:23 > 0:38:28They drive to a hotel where Bergersen happily gives Kuo
0:38:28 > 0:38:31a top secret document to copy.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34He gets a glass of wine and a cigar and he goes outside
0:38:34 > 0:38:37and over the next hour, Mr Kuo copies
0:38:37 > 0:38:41the information from the classified sheet into his own notes.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46In 2007, Bergersen was sentenced to five years
0:38:46 > 0:38:48and Tai-Shen Kuo to 15.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52But the spymaster remained safely in China.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56China is accused of stealing military
0:38:56 > 0:39:00and industrial secrets on an unprecedented scale.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04One of the first things that I did when I assumed
0:39:04 > 0:39:08my responsibilities as Head of US Counter Intelligence, was to
0:39:08 > 0:39:13read all of the damage assessments. I was astounded at the extent
0:39:13 > 0:39:19to which we had suffered serious, serious losses. One example,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23the Chinese, by espionage,
0:39:23 > 0:39:28acquired all of the design information
0:39:28 > 0:39:31of US nuclear weapons
0:39:31 > 0:39:35currently in our inventory. CURRENTLY in our inventory.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40We know that have that information. We still don't know how they got it.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45The 21st century has opened up a formidable new front
0:39:45 > 0:39:49in the espionage war and there's a dramatic new weapon -
0:39:49 > 0:39:50the cyber spy.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55We used to be concerned about the passing of an envelope
0:39:55 > 0:39:58full of documents. Today, we're concerned about entire networks
0:39:58 > 0:40:03being penetrated in the cyber realm. We're concerned about terabytes,
0:40:03 > 0:40:08gigabytes of information passing in a heartbeat across the ocean.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17And it seems that the cyber spy can go anywhere and get anything.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning fighter is America's
0:40:21 > 0:40:23most advanced warplane.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29At almost 400 billion, it's the US Defense Department's
0:40:29 > 0:40:32costliest weapons programme ever.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37The F-35 contains the latest top secret stealth technology
0:40:37 > 0:40:39that enables it to avoid enemy radar.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47Last year, the Chinese showed off their latest fighter.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49It looks remarkably like the F-35.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53The Americans believe its stealth technology was stolen
0:40:53 > 0:40:57via the internet, a charge China denies.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01When you're talking about giving up technology,
0:41:01 > 0:41:06defence research, you're talking about the difference
0:41:06 > 0:41:09between perhaps winning a battle and losing a battle.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13That's this game we're in, a game with very deadly consequences.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18This high-tech fortress is one of the most secret
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and secure locations in Britain, GCHQ,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25the Government Communication Headquarters in Cheltenham.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29It's Britain's vital line of defence in the war against cyber spies.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36TV cameras have never been allowed to film inside before.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Mark uses computer skills practiced since childhood
0:41:41 > 0:41:44to defend against cyber attacks.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48The first computer I ever had, I was about the age of eight. I was
0:41:48 > 0:41:52- writing computer programmes before I was ten.- Are you a geek?
0:41:52 > 0:41:57I'm absolutely a geek. And the office is full of them.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01It's been lovely to come and work at a place where everyone
0:42:01 > 0:42:04is as geeky as each other and we're all pulling
0:42:04 > 0:42:07- together for a common effort. - And you're proud to be a geek?
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Absolutely, very proud to be a geek.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14Everything that we do is strictly controlled within the law.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18I do penetration testing. We use techniques to test
0:42:18 > 0:42:22the security of the UK government systems in the same
0:42:22 > 0:42:26kinds of ways as a malicious hacker might do in order to identify the
0:42:26 > 0:42:29flaws and vulnerabilities before, before the bad guys do, really.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33How good are the hackers that you're up against?
0:42:33 > 0:42:36They're very good. We just have to make sure that we're,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40you know, keeping up with them and hopefully even better than they are.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46GCHQ says government departments are targeted with 20,000
0:42:46 > 0:42:49hostile emails a month.
0:42:49 > 0:42:54But it's nothing to what one Baltic State next door to Russia suffered.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Estonia is one of the most wired places on the planet and in 2007,
0:42:59 > 0:43:03the whole country was targeted with a massive cyber attack.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05It lasted over four weeks.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11Millions of computers around the world had been
0:43:11 > 0:43:14infiltrated by malicious software viruses.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18They were then used to target and overload Estonia's computer network.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23An adversary will send out malware to computers
0:43:23 > 0:43:27and it allows those computers to be controlled by one master computer.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31So an adversary can control, in effect, hundreds of thousands
0:43:31 > 0:43:35or in some cases, millions of computers from one computer.
0:43:35 > 0:43:40Overloaded computer systems crashed at Estonia's two main banks,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44in the media and in a host of government departments.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46It is actually a little bit frightening.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49I felt that my country was under attack.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52They used actually professional tools, so it is quite clear
0:43:52 > 0:43:57that there was some kind of really strong coordination behind it.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00What's your personal view as to where the coordination came from?
0:44:00 > 0:44:03The country actually who has something
0:44:03 > 0:44:07against the Estonia, politically, is quite clearly Russia.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13For nearly 50 years, Estonia was ruled by Russia
0:44:13 > 0:44:16and it was this Soviet war memorial that triggered the crisis.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20There were rumours that the Estonian government had destroyed it,
0:44:20 > 0:44:24provoking Estonia's Russian minority to riot.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27The cyber attacks soon followed.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29If there is somebody who looks like a dog,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32barks and bites like a dog, then most probably it's a dog.
0:44:32 > 0:44:38I think there was some, let's say,
0:44:38 > 0:44:45sympathisers to the Soviet cause behind those attacks.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49The Russian Government denies any involvement.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52For the modern spy, the cyber attack is the perfect crime,
0:44:52 > 0:44:54almost undetectable.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59The FBI now has cyber agents embedded in countries like Estonia
0:44:59 > 0:45:03to fight the threat from the internet.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07You don't actually have to go outside and carry out the task.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10You can basically do this from your bedroom.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13They can direct their attack through several different countries,
0:45:13 > 0:45:17before it reaches the victim computer. Truly borderless.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21The British Government is investing £650 million
0:45:21 > 0:45:24to counter the cyber threat.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26The Ministry of Defence's Global Operations
0:45:26 > 0:45:30and Cyber Security Centre is central to that operation.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35These are the secret computers that mount a round the clock vigil
0:45:35 > 0:45:38to defend the military's global communications
0:45:38 > 0:45:39and computer systems from attack.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44Almost the whole span of human life now, from what
0:45:44 > 0:45:49people are doing on the internet as individuals, to how armies
0:45:49 > 0:45:53operate on a battlefield, are affected by our cyber-capabilities.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57And that means we have to be able to defend ourselves in cyber space,
0:45:57 > 0:46:01and sometimes defend ourselves in a very aggressive way.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Despite the reliance on such awesome technology
0:46:06 > 0:46:09and the billions spent on Britain's intelligence services,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12things don't always go according to plan.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18In March last year,
0:46:18 > 0:46:23the Foreign Secretary authorised a top secret mission to Libya.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29At around three o'clock in the morning, a special forces Chinook helicopter
0:46:29 > 0:46:34landed somewhere outside the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40On board was an MI6 officer protected by six
0:46:40 > 0:46:43heavily armed SAS minders.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45The operation began just like the movies.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54Its purpose was to make contact with the rebel leadership
0:46:54 > 0:46:56that was fighting to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02Here was a dictator, setting about murdering huge numbers
0:47:02 > 0:47:05of his own people. It was in our national interest to do something
0:47:05 > 0:47:11about that. Now, intelligence does not in any way dictate our decision,
0:47:11 > 0:47:15but of course, it helps us to come to our decision about what to do.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20The plan was to use a farm as an operating base
0:47:20 > 0:47:23with the support of the British farm manager - but no-one had
0:47:23 > 0:47:27informed the rebel leaders that an MI6 emissary was coming.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29Really, we were surprised, you know?
0:47:29 > 0:47:34Me, personally, I have no idea about it, no.
0:47:34 > 0:47:35Never heard about that at all.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39Had the British told anyone in the NTC that they were coming?
0:47:39 > 0:47:42That time, as a secretary of the NTC, I have no idea.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46The council, nobody knows.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Locals had been warned to watch out for looters
0:47:50 > 0:47:54and Gaddafi's fighters, as the situation grew increasingly tense.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00I managed to track down one of the farm guards, who told me
0:48:00 > 0:48:02what happened that night.
0:48:02 > 0:48:03What did you hear?
0:48:03 > 0:48:06TRANSLATION: The noise of a helicopter.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08And they flew over the farm?
0:48:08 > 0:48:11TRANSLATION: They flew over the farm.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14We were surprised and then we became suspicious.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22The guards watched as the MI6 officer and the British team
0:48:22 > 0:48:26drove into the farm and started unloading their equipment.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31TRANSLATION: We thought it was odd this was happening.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33It made us suspicious.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36Who did you fear they might be?
0:48:36 > 0:48:40TRANSLATION: We didn't really know.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43We wanted to find out what they were carrying with them
0:48:43 > 0:48:44and who they were.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52The intruders were quickly surrounded
0:48:52 > 0:48:54and captured by armed guards.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59They offered no resistance. This is not how the movie was meant to end.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05The team looked on as their highly sensitive military
0:49:05 > 0:49:07communications were exposed.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12They were held and interrogated for several days.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14It was embarrassing for MI6,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17but even more so for the Foreign Secretary.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21Last week, I authorised the dispatch of a small diplomatic team
0:49:21 > 0:49:24to Eastern Libya in uncertain circumstances which we judged
0:49:24 > 0:49:28required their protection. They were withdrawn yesterday
0:49:28 > 0:49:31after a serious misunderstanding about their role
0:49:31 > 0:49:34leading to their temporary detention.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40There were other routes into Libya. And other countries' spies
0:49:40 > 0:49:43had already driven into Benghazi from neighbouring Egypt.
0:49:43 > 0:49:48The SAS wanted to go in the same way, but were overruled.
0:49:50 > 0:49:55Why was the decision made to send in SIS
0:49:55 > 0:49:58and SAS officers into Libya
0:49:58 > 0:50:02by the back door, when the Italian and the French
0:50:02 > 0:50:07intelligence services went in under cover of humanitarian aid?
0:50:07 > 0:50:10Well, I'm not going to go into operational details
0:50:10 > 0:50:13about these things, there were good reasons for that.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16Clearly, this was something that went wrong.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Sometimes operations do go wrong.
0:50:19 > 0:50:24Whereas actually such failings are very rare in the operations
0:50:24 > 0:50:26that our intelligence agencies conduct.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31Although the operation was an embarrassing public failure,
0:50:31 > 0:50:35MI6 finally made contact with the rebels.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40Behind the scenes, MI6 supplied them with advanced communications
0:50:40 > 0:50:45equipment and intelligence about plots to assassinate their leaders.
0:50:48 > 0:50:54Spying is not an infallible science. But governments often rely on it.
0:50:54 > 0:50:55Which is why accuracy is so vital.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00In the end, human beings make judgements -
0:51:00 > 0:51:03and those judgements can be misinterpreted.
0:51:03 > 0:51:08How certain can you be that the intelligence that you have got
0:51:08 > 0:51:10is right?
0:51:10 > 0:51:14We are constantly assessing our agents, constantly
0:51:14 > 0:51:17questioning what they are saying, making sure that we're still
0:51:17 > 0:51:22confident in their access, in their motivations and their suitability,
0:51:22 > 0:51:26that we can trust them, that they're not feeding us false information.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30And when you have just one source,
0:51:30 > 0:51:32the stakes can be life threateningly high.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36When you're dealing with single threaded intelligence, whether
0:51:36 > 0:51:39it's counter intelligence, counter terrorism you have to be careful.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41People lie, they cheat and they steal.
0:51:41 > 0:51:47Isn't there a danger that you may want the intelligence to be
0:51:47 > 0:51:50what you want it to be, as opposed to what it actually is?
0:51:50 > 0:51:54There's always another pair of eyes focussed on that case,
0:51:54 > 0:51:58questioning the product, making sure that we are as confident
0:51:58 > 0:52:01as we can be, that it's not just what someone wants to hear.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08The spies' nightmare is the rogue source.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17I went to a town in Germany to meet a man whose codename is Curveball.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21His real name is Rafed Al Janabi.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25He'd worked as a chemical engineer at a seed factory in Iraq.
0:52:25 > 0:52:30In 1999, he arrived in Germany seeking political asylum.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33TRANSLATION: I worked at the Djerf Al-Nadaf site
0:52:33 > 0:52:35for a period of about seven to eight months,
0:52:35 > 0:52:38in a project called Seed Purification
0:52:38 > 0:52:41and I was the site manager for this project.
0:52:43 > 0:52:48He was interviewed at length by Germany's MI6 - the BND.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51He told them the seed plant was just a cover for manufacturing
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Saddam Hussein's Weapons of Mass Destruction - WMD.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59Whilst there, he said he'd overseen the building of a mobile
0:52:59 > 0:53:02biological laboratory that could be driven around the country
0:53:02 > 0:53:04to avoid detection.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07TRANSLATION: I insisted this existed
0:53:07 > 0:53:09and they asked me for diagrams.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11I told them that I was part of the working team
0:53:11 > 0:53:15but I didn't tell them I was an engineering expert.
0:53:17 > 0:53:23Curveball's secret intelligence was eagerly embraced by Washington.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26For the Bush administration, this was the smoking gun that would
0:53:26 > 0:53:28make the case for war.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34As Secretary of State Colin Powell made his landmark presentation
0:53:34 > 0:53:37to the United Nations' Security Council, Curveball's
0:53:37 > 0:53:40intelligence assumed centre stage.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46Every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49These are not assertions. What we are giving you are facts
0:53:49 > 0:53:53and conclusions based on solid intelligence.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55The source was an eyewitness,
0:53:55 > 0:54:00an Iraqi chemical engineer who supervised one of these facilities.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04He was actually present during biological agent production runs.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07But there was just one problem.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Colin Powell said that, "He",
0:54:09 > 0:54:14that's you the source, was present during the biological
0:54:14 > 0:54:16production runs. Were you present then?
0:54:16 > 0:54:22- No. No.- He was also at the site when an accident occurred in 1998.
0:54:22 > 0:54:2612 technicians died from exposure to biological agents.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30- Were you present on site?- No. - When the accident occurred?- No.
0:54:31 > 0:54:36We have first hand descriptions of biological weapons factories
0:54:36 > 0:54:39on wheels and on rails.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42The trucks and train cars are easily moved,
0:54:42 > 0:54:45and are designed to evade detection by inspectors.
0:54:45 > 0:54:52You say you provided diagrams of the mobile biological trucks.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54You were making that up?
0:54:54 > 0:54:56- Yes.- And also,
0:54:56 > 0:55:02you constructed a model of these trucks. Again, you made that up?
0:55:02 > 0:55:07- Yes.- None of it was true? - No.- All of it was lies?- Yes.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13The Administration wasn't happy with the look
0:55:13 > 0:55:15of Curveball's sketched diagrams.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Colin Powell's Chief of Staff was called on
0:55:17 > 0:55:19to make them more presentable.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22Blame me. Blame me.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25I bought the White House team in to do the graphics.
0:55:26 > 0:55:31It was his evidence that supported that contention by the Secretary
0:55:31 > 0:55:34and by the US intelligence community that Iraq had mobile
0:55:34 > 0:55:36biological weapons labs.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38The problem was, is that the administration
0:55:38 > 0:55:41believed what it wanted to believe, didn't it?
0:55:41 > 0:55:43Absolutely. The intelligence was being worked
0:55:43 > 0:55:44to fit around the policy.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54We now know that MI6 and German intelligence warned the CIA
0:55:54 > 0:55:58they didn't think Curveball was wholly reliable.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04After the war, America desperately searched for the mobile labs,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06but found not a trace.
0:56:07 > 0:56:12It was only then that the CIA finally got to interview Curveball.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16Soon after, they took the unusual step of issuing a burn notice,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19retracting all his intelligence.
0:56:21 > 0:56:26Did Secretary Powell feel that he had been let down over
0:56:26 > 0:56:29Curveball or over the intelligence that Curveball provided?
0:56:29 > 0:56:33I don't see any way on this earth that Secretary Powell doesn't
0:56:33 > 0:56:37feel almost a rage about Curveball
0:56:37 > 0:56:41and the way he was used, with regard to that intelligence.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43One of the foundations of intelligence that
0:56:43 > 0:56:46I think many of us analysts were reminded of
0:56:46 > 0:56:47with the Iraqi WMD story,
0:56:47 > 0:56:52is, how carefully do you distinguish between what you know,
0:56:52 > 0:56:55what you don't know and what you think?
0:56:55 > 0:56:59You can very quickly go down a hole of saying, we're pretty sure
0:56:59 > 0:57:01of this, when actually, you're just speculating
0:57:01 > 0:57:05and a lot of smart people do that all the time.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09Curveball underpinned the Bush administration's case for war.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11So why did he lie?
0:57:11 > 0:57:16TRANSLATION: My main purpose was to topple the tyrant in Iraq
0:57:16 > 0:57:19because the longer this dictator remains in power, the more
0:57:19 > 0:57:23the Iraqi people will suffer from this regime's oppression.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28For Britain and America, this was an intelligence failure
0:57:28 > 0:57:30on a catastrophic scale.
0:57:32 > 0:57:40The fact is, we went to war in Iraq on a lie! And that lie was your lie.
0:57:43 > 0:57:44Yes.
0:57:49 > 0:57:53- What's the lesson of Curveball? - The lesson of all intelligence,
0:57:53 > 0:57:56especially at a strategic level, if your going to make fateful
0:57:56 > 0:57:59decisions as a president, you're gonna make decisions to send young
0:57:59 > 0:58:02men and young women to die for state purposes and to kill other
0:58:02 > 0:58:06people for those purposes, you better be damn sure it's correct.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09When intelligence services get it wrong,
0:58:09 > 0:58:13the results can be disastrous.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16But when they get it right, countless lives may be saved.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20In recent years, British jihadis have plotted to blow up
0:58:20 > 0:58:24night clubs and shopping centres and bring down aircraft.
0:58:24 > 0:58:28Those plots and more have been foiled by Britain's modern spies.
0:58:28 > 0:58:31But with the stakes so incredibly high,
0:58:31 > 0:58:35there may sometimes be temptation to go too far.
0:58:36 > 0:58:39Next time, we investigate allegations of British
0:58:39 > 0:58:42complicity in rendition and torture,
0:58:42 > 0:58:45and whether modern spies ever have a licence to kill.
0:58:59 > 0:59:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd