The CIA is releasing instructions in Korean, Farsi, and Mandarin for informants in authoritarian regimes looking to communicate with the CIA in a safe way.
“People are trying to reach out to us from around the world and we are offering them instructions for how to do that safely,” the CIA wrote in a statement on Wednesday. “The security of those willing to reach out to us around the world is of paramount importance to us, and we want them to do so as safely as possible.”
The agency tried this with Russian speakers in 2023 and had positive results following the civil unrest Russians felt after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Our efforts on this front have been successful in Russia, and we want to make sure individuals in other authoritarian regimes know that we’re open for business,” the agency wrote.
The languages chosen are widely used: 110 million people speak Farsi throughout the Middle East, and nearly 1 billion people speak Mandarin in China alone.
The CIA released the instructions in infographics online on various social media platforms, as well as on the dark web. The agency wanted to make it easier for people in regimes suffering under digital authoritarianism to reach out, as it can sometimes be impossible to access Western media under government censorship and surveillance.
“Authoritarian countries across the world are restricting people’s access to information, as well as their freedom of movement and communication. As a result, individuals in these places often can’t access Western social media, it can be very difficult to speak out, and telling the truth often carries serious consequences,” the statement says. “CIA is therefore posting these instructions to Telegram as well as to Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.”
The instructions tell informants not to use their home or work computers and to employ only up-to-date browsers, use a private browsing mode, delete browser histories, use the Tor network or a VPN not registered in their country or a country hostile to the United States, and use a “kill switch” VPN feature that allows the device to disconnect from the internet if the VPN connection fails.
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Possible informants were also advised to check their spam folder for replies from the agency. Upon the arrival of a message, the CIA will make an evaluation. “The evaluation process of each message may take time. Based upon our assessment of your security situation, CIA may not reply.”
“This effort represents just one way in which CIA is adapting to a new global environment of increased state repression and global surveillance,” the agency wrote. “Technology is changing our world and authoritarian countries are working to harness it to control their people — but CIA has over 75 years of experience in overcoming the odds to pursue our mission, and we are continuing to do so today.”