Security Update – 9 June 2009

The United States (US) Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, announced on 8 June that all State Department security programs and processes for vetting and clearance will be reviewed, following the arrest of a former department employee last week in relation to espionage charges. Walter Kendall Myers and his wife, Gwendolyn, allegedly passed on top secret documents to handlers from the Cuban Intelligence Service over the course of three decades.

The retired couple have been accused of wire fraud, conspiracy to act as illegal agents of the Cuban government and conspiracy to communicate classified information to Cuba. According to court documents released on 5 June, the couple used a short wave radio to send and receive encrypted Morse code messages in their apartment, before sending emails from internet cafes in more recent years. They also allegedly exchanged classified information with Cuban intelligence handlers via shopping trolleys in supermarkets.

Mr. Myers began working for the US state department in 1977 and is alleged to have been approached by the Cuban government in 1978 during an academic trip to the Caribbean island. A three year investigation into the couple’s activities began in 2006, after the couple first fell under suspicion in 1995. Mr. Myers was granted a high level of security clearance in 1999 in the Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. In his final few months before retiring in October 2007, Mr. Myers is said to have viewed over 200 classified reports on Cuba, despite working as an analyst on European issues. The couple are thought to have been ‘true believers’ in the Cuban system, rather than being motivated by money.

International Operations Group - Analysis

There has been a long history of espionage allegations between the US and Cuba. In a similar case, Ana Montes, a Defence Intelligence Analyst, was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in October 2002 after pleading guilty to spying for the Cuban government. A shortwave radio was also used by Ms. Montes to receive coded messages while a laptop was used to encrypt and decrypt messages exchanged with Cuban intelligence officers.

The Organisation of American Sates (OAS) unanimously agreed on 3 June to end Cuba’s 47 year suspension from the group. Although Cuba has welcomed the move, it refused to re-join the organisation which it sees as an instrument for US dominance in the region. The US has stated that Cuba’s re-admittance to the organisation will be conditioned upon international scrutiny of the country’s one party rule and its human rights standards.

International Operations Group – Services

International Operations Group delivers surveillance and counter-surveillance strategies to mitigate risk across the corporate and government sectors. Our surveillance teams offer extensive experience in the provision of physical surveillance and intelligence gathering services, as well as assisting in the detection and deterrence of acts of espionage. We offer an enhanced range of surveillance detection and technical surveillance countermeasure (TSCM) capabilities and use up-to-date technology equipment and processes to ascertain whether an organisation or individual is the target of surveillance or internal espionage.

International Operations Group also offers tailored due-diligence inquiries and is experienced in the provision of extremely sensitive international and local investigations. Our security consultants have operated in corporate, executive management and government environments across the globe. Please email us at intel@interopsgroup.com or telephone us on +61 2 8003 3933 for additional information or confidential support.

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