MI6, the UK’s foreign intelligence agency, has launched a new online portal called Silent Courier, with the aim of using Dark Web to seduce potential spies and send secrets.
The service relies on the TOR Internet browser, which allows anonymous access to the secure MI6 messaging platform. Instructions for using the Silent Courier will be available on MI6’s new YouTube channel at 2am on Friday.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK “enhances their efforts with cutting-edge technology, so MI6 can recruit new UK spies in Russia and around the world.”
This service requires that users take their own important precautions for their safety. Announcing the launch from the UK Foreign Office, which handles MI6 communications, “MI6 advises accessing the portal to use trusted VPNs and devices that are not linked to themselves to help mitigate the risks that exist in some countries.”
The launch comes after MI6’s retired chief Sir Richard Moore used it in July 2023 to sue British spies against Russian citizens using a rare public speech in Prague. In the same year, the CIA launched a similar online mechanism against the silent courier on the TOR network, appealing for potential spies to pass on confidential information. Moore served as ambassador to launch a new service using his Valedictory speech delivered this Friday in Istanbul. “Our virtual doors are open to you,” he says.
The exact technology behind Silent Courier is unknown, but MI6’s website Sis.gov.uk will similarly encourage potential informants to contact us using TOR and VPN, providing online forms to fill out and provide online forms to fill out. “When creating this account, please do not use a name, phone number, or other data linked to your actual ID.”
Friday’s launch will be accompanied by a smooth-produced video plagued by the image of MI6’s spying most closely related to the fictional spy James Bond. A lonely agent walking through the deep forests and driving an SUV in the desert. This video shows a mockup of the silent courier service on your smartphone. It appears that the file will be uploaded with the phrase “transfer information” written in Russian.
Moore leaves at work as “C” five years later, and will be successful next month by Blaise Metreweli, the first woman to take on the role. Metreweli was previously “Q” and director of MI6, in charge of innovation and technology, previously working in the Middle East and Europe.
Fix:
This article has been updated to correct spelling for BlaiseMetreweli
