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Leaked Document Reveals CIA Instructions For Officials Operating In Germany

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Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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A document released by WikiLeaks Tuesday purports to show the Central Intelligence Agency’s instructions for hackers arriving in Germany.

WikiLeaks’ “Vault 7” batch of documents concentrates on the CIA’s hacking operation. These 8,761 documents are allegedly from the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Va. The documents detail how CIA hackers operate out of the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, and that this serves as a base for operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

One specific document details how hackers in the Frankfurt operation should arrive through customs like a “breeze.”

Some of the instructions are as follows:

  • “Learn/create your cover-for-action story.  There will be a slight difference based on your own cover status.” The document later states that both overt and covert CIA hackers should state they are state department employees there to support technical consultations at the consulate. It says when they arrive, they will “breeze through German Customs because you have your cover-for-action story down pat, and all they did was stamp your passport.”
  • “Do not leave anything electronic or sensitive unattended in your hotel room.  (Paranoid, yes, but better safe then sorry.)”
  • “Be aware that your coworkers here are all under cover. While cover seems like an administrative thing back home, it is vital in the Field.”
  • Help protect everyone’s cover. Avoid using terms outside of the SCIF that could betray that people are not ‘State Department’ employees.  Better to keep work discussions at work.
  • “Respect that while efforts can be made to involve you in social activities, it may not always be possible because of cover concerns.”