Alex Blackwell
@alexblackwell.bsky.social
b9a45e5942ca3940f7a811fc93e4ffd0
Pinned
Alex Blackwell
@alexblackwell.bsky.social
· Nov 18
“In every operation there is an above the line and a below the line. Above the line is what you do by the book. Below the line is how you do the job.” – John le Carré (“A Perfect Spy”)
Lübeck, the City of the Seven Towers and the Queen of the Hanseatic League.
November 29, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Lübeck, the City of the Seven Towers and the Queen of the Hanseatic League.
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0161...
The Naibbe cipher: a substitution cipher that encrypts Latin and Italian as Voynich Manuscript-like ciphertext
In this article, I investigate the hypothesis that the Voynich Manuscript (MS 408, Yale University Beinecke Library) is compatible with being a ciphertext by attempting to develop a historically pl...
doi.org
November 28, 2025 at 4:51 PM
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0161...
Trust Me: A Guide to Secrets: Who Gets Them and Why We Have Such a Mixed Track Record with Them www.amazon.com/Trust-Me-Gui...
November 26, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Trust Me: A Guide to Secrets: Who Gets Them and Why We Have Such a Mixed Track Record with Them www.amazon.com/Trust-Me-Gui...
It should be noted that, in addition to the US and Great Britain, the Australians and the Dutch also worked on JN-25. doi.org/10.1080/0161...
Bletchley Park’s work on JN-25
This article describes the work done by codebreakers in the Naval Section at Bletchley Park on the primary World War II Japanese naval cipher JN-25. It also describes the relationship between the U...
doi.org
November 24, 2025 at 2:26 PM
It should be noted that, in addition to the US and Great Britain, the Australians and the Dutch also worked on JN-25. doi.org/10.1080/0161...
The Votivkirche in Vienna, where, in December 1975, Nicholas Shadrin was last seen (on the steps) by CIA officers from a nearby static surveillance post before being kidnapped by the KGB. Russia later admitted he died during the kidnapping.
November 24, 2025 at 12:26 PM
The Votivkirche in Vienna, where, in December 1975, Nicholas Shadrin was last seen (on the steps) by CIA officers from a nearby static surveillance post before being kidnapped by the KGB. Russia later admitted he died during the kidnapping.
I believe this is the first full-length biography of Meir Dagan. www.amazon.com/Architect-Es...
November 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
I believe this is the first full-length biography of Meir Dagan. www.amazon.com/Architect-Es...
A great profile of Sir Richard. www.ft.com/content/acfe...
Former MI6 chief Richard Moore: Britain must regain the ‘power of example’
The outgoing head of the Secret Intelligence Service on the rise of China, why Putin is not interested in talks — and how screen spies aren’t always far from the truth
www.ft.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
A great profile of Sir Richard. www.ft.com/content/acfe...
“History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors…” – T.S. Eliot (“Gerontion”)
November 12, 2025 at 11:48 PM
“History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors…” – T.S. Eliot (“Gerontion”)
Spymaster: The Memoirs of Gordon M. Stewart, CIA Station Chief in Cold War Germany www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/3111...
November 11, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Spymaster: The Memoirs of Gordon M. Stewart, CIA Station Chief in Cold War Germany www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/3111...
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
Veiled intentions: Hamas’s strategic deception and intelligence success on 7 October 2023
On 7 October 2023, Hamas dealt a severe blow to Israel’s deterrence by launching a multi-front incursion that killed more than a thousand Israelis and captured hundreds. Prevailing commentary frame...
doi.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:37 PM
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
“The Persian: A Novel” by David McCloskey www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1324...
November 5, 2025 at 10:33 PM
“The Persian: A Novel” by David McCloskey www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1324...
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0885...
The Emergence of Cognitive Intelligence (COGINT) as a New Military Intelligence Collection Discipline
While warfare has always had a cognitive dimension, the exponential expansion of digital information combined with the deliberate targeting and exploitation of adversary perceptual and cognitive-pr...
doi.org
October 25, 2025 at 11:49 PM
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0885...
If SPG was operating somewhere where a heist occurred, I’m sure they would have to assure HQS: Hey, it wasn’t us. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How the Louvre Jewelry Heist Unfolded
Thieves used a truck-mounted ladder to break into the Louvre and steal items of “incalculable” value.
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:20 PM
If SPG was operating somewhere where a heist occurred, I’m sure they would have to assure HQS: Hey, it wasn’t us. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
Invisible bodies of war: British servicewomen on covert operations in Northern Ireland
Women were employed to operate covertly with British security forces and paramilitary organisations during the Troubles in Northern Ireland (1968–1998). However, the experiences and legacies of Bri...
doi.org
October 19, 2025 at 3:43 PM
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
At NSA elegant cryptanalysis is admired and honored.
But you know what’s better? CIA’s SPG doing a black bag job and stealing the cryptographic keys. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/s...
But you know what’s better? CIA’s SPG doing a black bag job and stealing the cryptographic keys. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/s...
A C.I.A. Secret Kept for 35 Years Is Found in the Smithsonian’s Vault
www.nytimes.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:53 AM
At NSA elegant cryptanalysis is admired and honored.
But you know what’s better? CIA’s SPG doing a black bag job and stealing the cryptographic keys. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/s...
But you know what’s better? CIA’s SPG doing a black bag job and stealing the cryptographic keys. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/s...
A new open access paper. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
Communicating digitally with users. Three trade-offs for intelligence organizations
Most private and public sector organizations, including intelligence services, now pursue digital transformation in one form or another. This article discusses what implications digital transformat...
doi.org
October 9, 2025 at 6:29 PM
A new open access paper. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
A new open access paper. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
The journey of digital transformation in intelligence organizations
This introduction to the special issue explores how digital technologies are reshaping intelligence organizations. It frames digital transformation not as a linear process but as a complex journey ...
doi.org
October 9, 2025 at 6:29 PM
A new open access paper. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
“Progress doesn't come from early risers — progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.” – Robert A. Heinlein (“Time Enough for Love”)
October 8, 2025 at 4:41 PM
“Progress doesn't come from early risers — progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.” – Robert A. Heinlein (“Time Enough for Love”)
The new hot dog machine at CIA HQS?
Sometimes when I’m on a plane I get sad there’s no SkyMall catalogue anymore but I guess the entire internet is SkyMall now
October 4, 2025 at 6:41 PM
The new hot dog machine at CIA HQS?
“We wrap up with an overview of how Fiat-Shamir is used in post-quantum cryptography and in blockchains.” doi.org/10.1080/0161...
The Fiat-Shamir: zero(-knowledge) to signature in sixty minutes (of class time)
Many of the new quantum-resistant digital signature algorithms being evaluated and standardized by NIST rely on the Fiat-Shamir transform for security. This transformation takes a zero-knowledge (o...
doi.org
October 1, 2025 at 7:48 PM
“We wrap up with an overview of how Fiat-Shamir is used in post-quantum cryptography and in blockchains.” doi.org/10.1080/0161...
“The arithmetic correlation or ‘with-carry’ correlation is an analog of the classical correlation of sequences.” doi.org/10.1080/0161...
Notes about imbalance and arithmetic autocorrelation of N-ary half-l-sequences
In this paper, we study the imbalance of N-ary half-l-sequences as well as their arithmetic autocorrelation. The arithmetic correlation or “with-carry” correlation is an analog of the classical cor...
doi.org
October 1, 2025 at 7:46 PM
“The arithmetic correlation or ‘with-carry’ correlation is an analog of the classical correlation of sequences.” doi.org/10.1080/0161...
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
Overcoming Anglocentrism in covert action scholarship
This study argues that Anglocentrism in the study of covert action is driven by factors unique to the discipline, requiring novel mitigations which differ from those already recommended for wider i...
doi.org
October 1, 2025 at 7:43 PM
A new open access article. doi.org/10.1080/0268...
Tulsi ends Global Trends. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...
Gabbard Ends Intelligence Report on Future Threats to U.S.
www.nytimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Tulsi ends Global Trends. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...
Philip Roth said Le Carré’s “A Perfect Spy” was “the best English novel since the war.” www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
Five Best: Cold War Thrillers
Selected by Charlie English, the author of “The CIA Book Club.”
www.wsj.com
September 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Philip Roth said Le Carré’s “A Perfect Spy” was “the best English novel since the war.” www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
The unclassified version of the latest issue of CIA’s Studies in Intelligence (Volume 69, Number 3, September 2025) is now available for download at www.cia.gov/resources/cs...
September 25, 2025 at 9:05 PM
The unclassified version of the latest issue of CIA’s Studies in Intelligence (Volume 69, Number 3, September 2025) is now available for download at www.cia.gov/resources/cs...